What is a contract in Islam? Is it an aspect of Muslim religion or of secular life? How much has it changed over the centuries? Undertaking a search that spans revelation, legal tradition, and the reality of the Muslim world, this book explores the Islamic contract (‘aqd in Arabic) as a ‘city’ at the crossroads of convergent paths of translation, comparison, and law in context. In particular, the book shows that only by re-orienting traditional categories of Western law-religion toward the East can an alternative path of discovery for the ‘aqd be advanced. Hence, through a fortuitous encounter with an Arab Girl, the reader will (re-)visit the Temple of Western modernity and explore a city ruled by Towers of dialectical forces, carrying a hermeneutical Ring that combines dialectics, Islamic studies, and media theory. This interdisciplinary approach will not only enrich our knowledge of the ‘aqd but also make it more understandable as a cultural and social construction to which both Muslims and non-Muslims have participated in forging its multiple representations. By inviting the readers ‘to know who they are’ while looking at her, the Arab Girl is already waiting for us to listen to the Islamic contract in a new way. By applying a distinctive law and religion approach to the study of the contract in Islam, the book provides a comprehensive exploration of a topic that is of interest to legal and economic comparatists as well as to readers in anthropology, Islamic and cultural studies, and it is also of topical meaning for today’s international lawyers and the operators of an increasingly multicultural and transnational market.

A thought provoking and scholarly compendium of essays on various important aspects of Islamic finance. The book is wider ranging than its title suggests; the key chapters do focus on the EU, but there are broader and particularly interesting topics including women and Islam and financial stability and development in the context of Islam. Overall a solid assessment of the progress Islamic finance has made in Europe.' - John Presley, Loughborough University, UKHighlighting the impact of current globalization on financial markets, this topical book challenges the universality of Western property rights and interprets Islamic finance in Europe as part of a plural financial system, where different conceptions of economic justice(s) co-exist and influence each other. The contributing authors analyse key economic development and social integration issues from an Islamic perspective and outline the European approach to accommodating Islamic finance, with particular regard to the peculiarities of individual nation-states. Set in this context, the book presents financial pluralism as a device to enhance a level playing field in the global marketplace, as well as to foster a plural open society. Providing a comprehensive and methodological guide to Islamic finance in Europe, this book will prove an illuminating and informative read for academics, students and policymakers with an interest in the impact on financial regulation of an increasingly globalized world. Contributors: S.S. Ali, M. Asutay, V. Cattelan, I.-Z. Cekici, E. de Rosmorduc, J. Ercanbrack, A. Farhoush, G. Gimigliano, M. Mahlknecht, W. Menski, E.M. Napolitano, C. Porzio, D. Scolart, F. Stainier, M.G. Starita, L.M. Visconti, L. Weill

The current dynamics of world economy show remarkable changes in the socio-economics of credit provision and entrepreneurship. If the emergence of the sharing economy is fostering innovative models of collaborative agency, networking and venture business, economic actors are also looking for a more sustainable development, able to foster profitability as well as community welfare. This book investigates Islamic social finance as a paramount example of this economy under change, where the balance between economic efficiency and social impact is contributing to the transformation of the market from an exchange- to a community-oriented institution. The collected essays analyse the social dimension of entrepreneurship from an Islamic perspective, highlighting the extent to which the rationales of "sharing," distribution and cooperation, affect the conceptualization of the market in Islam as a place of "shared prosperity." Moving from the conceptual "roots" of this paradigm to its operative "branches," the contributing authors also connect the most recent trends in the financial market to Shari'ah-based strategies for community welfare, hence exploring the applications of Islamic social finance from the sharing economy, FinTech and crowdfunding to microcredit, waqf, zakat, sukuk and green investments. An illuminating reference for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers dealing with the challenges of a global market where not only is diversity being perceived as a value to be fostered, but also as an important opportunity for a more inclusive economy for everybody.

The current dynamics of world economy show remarkable changes in the socio-economics of credit provision and entrepreneurship. If the emergence of the sharing economy is fostering innovative models of collaborative agency, networking and venture business, economic actors are also looking for a more sustainable development, able to foster profitability as well as community welfare. This book investigates Islamic social finance as a paramount example of this economy under change, where the balance between economic efficiency and social impact is contributing to the transformation of the market from an exchange- to a community-oriented institution. The collected essays analyse the social dimension of entrepreneurship from an Islamic perspective, highlighting the extent to which the rationales of "sharing," distribution and cooperation, affect the conceptualization of the market in Islam as a place of "shared prosperity." Moving from the conceptual "roots" of this paradigm to its operative "branches," the contributing authors also connect the most recent trends in the financial market to Shari'ah-based strategies for community welfare, hence exploring the applications of Islamic social finance from the sharing economy, FinTech and crowdfunding to microcredit, waqf, zakat, sukuk and green investments. An illuminating reference for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers dealing with the challenges of a global market where not only is diversity being perceived as a value to be fostered, but also as an important opportunity for a more inclusive economy for everybody.

This book addresses 3 questions: is money a way to create a European Union identity? If so, which type of identity is this? And in what ways is the EU identity changing? The book brings together experts from a variety of backgrounds and academic approaches to analyse the law of money and payments on the one side, and the law of capital and investments on the other. The book is divided into 2 parts. Part I covers scriptural, electronic, and digital money. It analyses the European framework for payment services users, explores limits and challenges of the Banking Union, and looks at the project for a digital euro. Part II investigates the policy and regulatory drivers of the EU's changing identity, from the early modern roots of the European law of money and capital to the regulatory strategy set in the Capital Markets Union and the role conferred on venture capital; from the fintech-based developments of payment systems to the newly-established fiscal and monetary policies in the post-COVID phase. The book will be of interest to researchers, academics and policy makers in the fields of law and regulation, as well as political economy and political sciences.

This book addresses 3 questions: is money a way to create a European Union identity? If so, which type of identity is this? And in what ways is the EU identity changing? The book brings together experts from a variety of backgrounds and academic approaches to analyse the law of money and payments on the one side, and the law of capital and investments on the other. The book is divided into 2 parts. Part I covers scriptural, electronic, and digital money. It analyses the European framework for payment services users, explores limits and challenges of the Banking Union, and looks at the project for a digital euro. Part II investigates the policy and regulatory drivers of the EU's changing identity, from the early modern roots of the European law of money and capital to the regulatory strategy set in the Capital Markets Union and the role conferred on venture capital; from the fintech-based developments of payment systems to the newly-established fiscal and monetary policies in the post-COVID phase. The book will be of interest to researchers, academics and policy makers in the fields of law and regulation, as well as political economy and political sciences.