Development of Islamic Finance in Non-Muslim Countries, Challenges and Recommendations

The crisis-resistant structure of the Islamic finance sector and the rich fund resources of the Gulf countries attract non-Muslim countries as well as countries with a large Muslim population. The aim of this study is to examine the development of the Islamic finance sector in non-Muslim countries, to define the challenges encountered in these countries in terms of Islamic finance and to offer constructive recommendations to overcome these challenges. The scope of the study is limited to the UK, USA and Canada, which are among the top non-Muslim countries in the Islamic finance country index, and Luxembourg, which has broken grounds in Islamic finance in Europe. Incompatibility of legal regulations in non-Muslim countries with Islamic principles, lack of qualified Shariah advisors, insufficient standardization of Islamic financial products, incompatibilities in financial reporting and accounting policies are among the difficulties encountered. With the efforts of governments and international Islamic financial institutions to overcome these obstacles over time, Islamic financial markets in non-Muslim countries are expected to develop significantly.