The Islamic finance industry has undergone rapid growth in recent years, but in representing just 1.5% of global banking assets, it remains a hugely underpenetrated market across many asset classes and geographies. This has led the heavyweight global Islamic players to redefine their strategies to capitalise on these opportunities.

With no single interpretation of Islamic law, differences in rulings between scholars over whether products are sharia-compliant has led to a lack of standardisation in the industry. Resolving this issue is key to bringing about greater efficiency, transparency and cohesion – ultimately helping to raise the curtain for more Islamic business, says AAOIFI deputy secretary general Khairul Nizam.

Despite an impressive 12 months for Islamic finance, the view from the industry is that results could be even greater if hurdles concerning taxation, regulation, legal frameworks, market challenges and a lack of qualified scholars are tackled.

Amid calls for greater reporting transparency and more engagement with the lower end of the economic pyramid, Islamic finance is experiencing a revival. But for sharia-compliant institutions to take advantage of the trends emerging in the marketplace, several key events need to take place.

After recording relatively sluggish growth in last year's survey, this year's ranking shows the Islamic finance industry posting impressive figures, passing the $1000bn mark in assets for the first time.