"Islamic finance today is a trillion-dollar industry. It is fast becoming the main way in which large projects get funded globally - such as buildings, aircraft, shipping - and many financial analysts expect Islamic banking assets worldwide to double within five years. In Heaven's Bankers, Harris Irfan provides an authoritative yet entertaining account of how a system of finance invented in the seventh-century Middle East is fast taking over the world of modern banking. The book draws on his first-hand relationships with some of the world's leading bankers, scholars and lawyers, many of whom attend a single mosque in Dubai - the Masjid Al-Samad - the epicentre of today's Islamic finance revolution. It provides a warts-and-all description of the industry; debunks some myths about Islamic finance - such as its perceived relationship with the financing of terrorist activity or its incompatibility with Western values; and asks whether today's Islamic finance industry is true to the fundamental principles of a faith committed to social justice"--Publisher's description.

Originally published: London : Constable, 2014. "Inside the hidden world of Islamic finance" -- Cover.

The quiet revolutionaries of Masjid al-Samad -- The nature of money -- The gentler face of Londonistan -- The rocket scientists of Deutsche Bank and the billion-dollar scholar -- The skunk works specialists -- The doomsday fatwa -- Standardizing the industry : accelerating chaos or bringing order? -- The credit crisis and Islamic finance -- When Sukuk go bad -- The regulator strikes back -- Arbitraging Islam : the great vampire squid arrives -- The future of Islamic finance.