The Islamic finance industry tells a story of constant development and growth across the globe. Its growth has far outstripped that of conventional riba or usury (interest)-based finance over the same period. Some argue, however, that this is only because the industry has been growing from a low base by conparison with conventional financial activities.
This may be true, but take as an example the sukuk market. The European sukuk markets took less than five years to breach the $10bn mark in terms of total outstanding issuance globally, while the Eurobond markets took slightly more than 10 years to breach the same mark.
