Muslims make up about a quarter of the world's population, so it seems that banks would have woken up to the potential earlier, but no matter. Today, Islamic finance has been in growth mode, perhaps one of the fastest-growing sectors in global finance. A report from KPMG says the annual growth rate is 15 percent and the market now exceeds $700 billion. It is attracting firms big and small. Even governments are getting involved. Britain has said it would issue Shariah-compliant bonds, the first Western nation to do so. We'll likely see an explosion of compliant products. There is a huge amount of money up for grabs that stems from oil-rich nation. Cycling those funds into the global financial system will require Sharia-sensitive approaches and services. In many ways, all this is just beginning. Here's a case study of some of the intricacies.

For more:
- here's an article from Investment Dealers' Digest (For FierceFinance readers)