Legal and Regulatory Framework in Islamic Banking System: Bangladesh Perspective
Islamic finance is one of the prominent phenomena over the last decade in the Middle-East and South-East Asia especially in banking industry. The role of Islamic banking in economy is still heavily debated.  The legal and regulatory framework in Islamic banking is more important rather than its function. But there is no independent body for regulating Islamic banking sector in Bangladesh. This paper argues that an independent body should be established for the regulation of Islamic banking in Bangladesh. Keywords: Regulation, Law, Islamic Banking, Bangladesh
Islamic Finance Gears Up
** While gaining ground, the industry faces unique regulatory challenges Islamic finance is developing at a remarkable pace. Since its inception three decades ago, the number of Islamic financial institutions worldwide has risen from one in 1975 to over 300 today in more than 75 countries. They are concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia (with Bahrain and Malaysia the biggest hubs), but are also appearing in Europe and the United States. Total assets worldwide are estimated to exceed $250 billion, and are growing at an estimated 15 percent a year (although cross-border data remain scarce). Islamic financial products are aimed at investors who want to comply with the Islamic laws (Sharia) that govern a Muslim's daily life. These laws forbid giving or receiving interest (because earning profit from an exchange of money for money is considered immoral); mandate that all financial transactions be based on real economic activity; and prohibit investment in sectors such as tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and armaments. Islamic financial institutions are providing an increasingly broad range of many financial services, such as fund mobilization, asset allocation, payment and exchange settlement services, and risk transformation and mitigation. But these specialized financial intermediaries perform transactions using financial instruments compliant with Sharia principles. What are the reasons behind the recent growth in Islamic finance? One is the strong demand from a large number of immigrant and nonimmigrant Muslims for Sharia-compliant financial services and transactions. A second is growing oil wealth, with demand for suitable investments soaring in the Gulf region. And a third is the competitiveness of many of the products, attracting Muslim and non-Muslim investors. Yet despite this rapid growth, Islamic banking remains quite limited in most countries and is tiny compared with the global financial system. For it to take off and play a bigger role, especially in the Middle East, policymakers must tackle enormous hurdles—notably on the regulatory front. Islamic banking has so far been spared from a serious financial crisis, with the exception of a few small cases (such as the Dubai Islamic Bank in 1998 and Ihlas Finans in Turkey in 2001). Nevertheless, building confidence in a new industry is fundamental for the development of Islamic finance. What is Islamic financing? The fact that Islamic laws prohibit paying and receiving interest does not imply that they frown on making money or encourage reverting to an all-cash or barter economy. They encourage all parties in a financial transaction to share the risk and profit or loss of the venture. Depositors in Islamic banking can be compared to investors or shareholders, who earn dividends when the bank makes a profit or lose part of their savings if the bank posts a
The development of biological systematics : Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu, nature, and the natural system
A reevaluation of the history of biological systematics that discusses the formative years of the so-called natural system of classification in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Shows how classifications came to be treated as conventions; systematic practice was not linked to clearly articulated theory; there was general confusion over the "shape" of nature; botany, elements of natural history, and systematics were conflated; and systematics took a position near the bottom of the hierarchy of sciences.