This is an excellent book worth reading (Ismail, 2022). It examines the development of Islamic finance (IF) industry outside its traditional heartlands, particularly focusing on Eurozone, Asia and the Americas. As author claims in her own words, this work is “the first book to be written about Islamic finance operations in the Eurozone”. The author highlights how London has long been a “Western hub of Islamic Finance” thanks to its legal infrastructure which was initially developed by the UK and then applied in other Muslim minority countries like Australia (Bhatti, 2015). However, due to the Brexit event which prompted Islamic finance actors to shift towards Dublin and other Eurozone centres. The book’s description makes clear that Dr Ismail “compares the growth of Islamic finance in London, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, outlines the implications of Brexit and also presents a case study of Ireland”. Thus, the main themes of the book are the interplay between international financial centres (IFCs) and IF growth, the impact of legal and regulatory regimes (especially post-Brexit) and the case for new hubs (notably Ireland). The work also addresses perennial debates within Islamic banking (e.g. profit-sharing vs interest) and suggests governance fixes (for example, strengthening the role of Shariah scholars on bank boards).
The text is organised into an introduction, six substantive chapters and a conclusion.
The chapters are:
International Financial Centres and Islamic Finance.
English Commercial Courts and Islamic Finance Disputes.
Islamic Finance Developments in the Republic of Ireland.
Standardisation and Irish Policy Makers.
Islamic Finance in International Commercial and Investment Arbitration.
Irish Financial Regulators Regulating Shariah Supervisory Boards.
While the index may create the assumption that Dr Ismail’s book points to her legal and geographic focus on Europe, this is not necessarily the case. Her book, specifically in Chapters 1 and 5 implicitly cover Asian jurisdictions comparing them to European markets. For example, in these chapters she explicitly compares IF in London, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.
Notably, while chapters 2–6 concentrate on the UK and Ireland, chapter 1 and parts of chapter 5 implicitly cover Asia (e.g. comparing London with Kuala Lumpur and Dubai) and international arbitration (Bhatti, 2018) (which may involve American or global parties). However, no chapter explicitly deals with Islamic finance in North or South America, despite the title. Across the text, recurring themes include regulatory regimes (strict vs lax supervision), the role of courts and the search for credible standards (Shariah-compliance, AAOIFI-type rules, etc.)
Thus, the methodology adopted for the book relies on comparative and qualitative analysis primarily. It draws on case-law, policy analysis and institutional case studies rather than quantitative data. For instance, the book contrasts regulatory philosophies in major financial centres: the introduction notes that some IFCs favour “strict supervision” of markets while others prefer “light supervision”, and that such approaches can “define the success and failure of international financial centers”. Dr Ismail contextualises such phenomena within the context of macro-economic problems that impact global and/or regional financial markets. An example of this is the BCCI crisis of the 1990s that the author has mentioned in the book. Dr Ismail uses this point in history to illustrate how financial markets slowly transitioned from self-regulation via financial regulations to statutory provisions. This proves beneficial as it helps explain what lead to regimes (strict vs lax supervision), the role of courts and the search for credible standards (Shariah-compliance, AAOIFI-type rules, which are now subject to some sort of revision – see Bhatti et al. 2025) in their current form, not as abstractions, rather in a manner than explains the trajectory of these systems. Similarly, the chapters on Ireland and regulators read as policy-oriented studies: the author assesses Ireland’s potential as a Eurozone IF hub (post-Brexit) by examining its legal reforms and market readiness.
A key strength is the book’s originality and scope. The author notes that it fills a gap by focusing on the Eurozone and Western markets for IF. The comparative lens is valuable: by examining London, Dublin, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur together, the book situates the Eurozone story in the global context. The work is also timely and relevant: the Brexit-driven migration of financial services is an urgent issue, and the author’s analysis of Dublin/Ireland is ahead of many commentators. Chapters on arbitration and regulators extend the usual finance narrative into legal territory, which is a unique contribution. This allows the text to help readers understand the problems in Islamic finance as it does not shy away from controversy. For example, it explicitly addresses criticisms of Islamic banks (interest vs profit-sharing) and proposes governance reforms to address them. The writing is generally clear and academic in tone, with careful definitions and explanations. The chapter on English courts lucidly explains why common-law judges have been reluctant to consider Shariah, and the chapter on Irish regulators systematically reviews policy changes. Where the author cites legal cases or regulatory rules, she provides background so that non-experts can follow. By bridging economics and law, it encourages dialogue between economists who study IF growth and lawyers who study contract enforceability (Ulfah et al., 2023). In summary, the book’s pioneering subject-matter, comparative depth and legal-economic integration are major positives.
Nevertheless, its fatal weakness is its discrepancy between the title and content. Despite promising coverage of “Asia and America”, the chapters are overwhelmingly Europe-centric. Aside from passing references (e.g. Kuala Lumpur, Dubai), little is said about Islamic finance in Asia (beyond Southeast Asia) or in the Americas. For instance, North America (USA/Canada) is not treated in any chapter, and Latin America is absent (Alam, 2021). The focus on Ireland, London and related international arbitration suggests the book’s real domain is Western markets, so readers expecting a balanced tri-regional study may be disappointed. This narrow geographical lens limits the generality of some conclusions: what applies to Ireland (a common-law economy) may not map onto, say, Islamic finance in Brazil or Hong Kong (Kunhibava et al., 2024).
The narrative makes number of assertions about market trends, but usually without supporting statistics or econometric analysis. Claims like Ireland being “the most appropriate country” rely on legal-structural arguments, but one wonders how the volume of actual Shariah-compliant business compares to other contenders. In places the prose is descriptive rather than analytical. For example, the section on regulatory bodies catalogues which Irish agencies oversee Islamic banks but does not analyse whether this model has been effective in practice. A reader hoping for charts of Islamic bank asset growth or surveys of investor attitudes would not find them here. The book’s reliance on legal and policy sources means it sometimes reads more like a law reform report than an empirical study.
Additionally, the author strongly promotes Ireland’s potential, yet there is little discussion of obstacles (e.g. small domestic market, competition from established hubs). The optimistic tone (“the time is particularly right… for a Eurozone hub”) could have been balanced with counterarguments or risks. Similarly, the solution of global standardisation of Shariah practices (cited in the introduction) is presented as largely beneficial, but the practical hurdles or cultural resistance to such standardisation receive scant attention. The prose generally stays neutral, but a critic might note a slight academic bias: legal and regulatory fixes are emphasised, while economic or spiritual dimensions of Islamic finance get less focus.
Dr Faiza Ismail’s Islamic Finance in the Financial Markets of Europe, Asia and America breaks new ground by surveying Western markets for Shariah-compliant finance. It offers a detailed account of regulatory and judicial factors affecting Islamic finance in Europe, with worthwhile comparative insights into Asia. Its strengths lie in originality, legal-economic analysis and relevance to post-Brexit finance. Weaknesses include its narrow regional focus (despite the expansive title), reliance on qualitative narrative over data and occasional lack of critical counterpoints. Nevertheless, this book is a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners interested in the intersection of global finance, law and Islamic banking.
