Edinburgh Guides to Islamic FinanceSeries Editor: Rodney Wilson
Edinburgh Guides to Islamic Finance is a series of short guides to key areas in Islamic finance, offering an independent academic perspective and a critical treatment.
Islamic Financial Services in the United Kingdom Elaine Housby
This is the first book-length study of Islamic financial services in the United Kingdom. It describes the ways in which British examples of Islamic financial provision illustrate both the main characteristics of Islamic financial teaching and some key issues in the situation of British Muslims.
Coverage of the subject is comprehensive with chapters on:
* the history of Islamic finance in the UK
* personal accounts
* home purchase finance
* the equivalents of personal loans and insurance, investment, and commercial funding
* the relatively new bond-like instruments of sukuk
The author's approach is broadly sympathetic to the general spirit and aims of the Islamic financial tradition but critical of some of its manifestations in practice. The book is especially topical following the crisis in the UK banking industry and the unprecedented level of public debate about the appropriate aims and techniques of the financial markets. Some commentators have expressed disappointment that Islamic finance in the UK has failed to live up to the high expectations surrounding it. This book attempts to give a balanced account of the sector's strengths and weaknesses.
Elaine Housby has completed a PhD on the subject of Islamic finance in Britain at the Open University.

Foreword; 1. Introduction; 2. History of Islamic Financial Services in the UK; 3. Personal Accounts; 4. Personal Finance; 5. Home Finance; 6. Takaful; 7. Investments and Wealth Management; 8. Sukuk; 9. Business Finance; Conclusion; Glossary and Abbreviations; Index.