Over recent years, the phrase ‘Shariah-compliant products’ has been used in Britain with increasing frequency. Familiar with the banking and finance industry or not, most people will have heard of a ‘sukuk’ and some may even have heard of ‘takaful’. However, very few people fully understand what these concepts mean and how Islamic Finance works.

With the origins of modern Islamic Finance rooted in the Gulf countries in the 1970s, Islamic Finance has been innovatively embraced by Islamic and non-Islamic countries around the world from Malaysia to Britain. The industry grew exponentially in the late 1990s and early twenty-first century and is now approaching US$1 trillion in size. Understanding Islamic Finance will provide a practical guide to the industry for delegates with little or no previous knowledge of the industry. The briefing will draw together leading industry practitioners to explore what Islamic Finance is from financial, legal and academic perspectives. The panellists will focus on the following issues:

• The basic concepts and principles of Islamic Finance;
• How Islamic Finance works on a practical level;
• How the industry has grown and why it’s becoming important in the UK;
• The relationship between Islamic Finance and conventional banking;
• Legal and regulatory issues affecting the future of Islamic Finance.

Understanding Islamic Finance, kindly sponsored by Europe Arab Bank, will provide a platform to learn more about this exciting sector and how it can benefit British businesses. The seminar will unravel the mysteries of Islamic Finance and explain why this increasingly prominent industry has become integral to the financial framework of the MENA region. With the growth of Islamic retail banking in the UK and a large number of companies using Islamic Finance alongside conventional finance models, now is the time to learn why Islamic Finance has become important and to understand the complexities that will govern its future.