Islamic finance in the US and American Muslims

By Kal Elsayed. First published in Islamic Finance News, 3 April 2019.

Most American Muslims were told that riba is forbidden and never told why. The answer takes a scholar and an economist: the scholar explains that usury creates wealth from nothing, and the economist explains that it raises debt, widens inequality, concentrates wealth and raises unemployment. Guidance sees its role as more than a financial institution. It is a community leader and educator for American Muslims, and it has begun government outreach so that Islamic finance receives the same legal protection in the US as the financial practices of other faiths. American Muslims are approx. 1% of the population, young, financially active and expected to double in number by 2050, which makes that work critical.