Development of Islamic Finance in Europe and North America : Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shade a light on the development of Islamic finance industry in the west. It is observed that Islamic finance industry in the west traced back to the late 1970s and the main reason behind the interest of western countries in Islamic finance is economical. However, there are regulatory, legal, knowledge and social obstacles facing Islamic finance industry in the west. These matters must be resolved to allow Islamic finance industry to flourish in western countries.