USA Thanks to the USA’s relatively small Muslim population, the
The American Finance House LARIBA, founded in California in
number of participating banks in which individual investors
the eighties, and the Amana Funds, founded in Washington,
have access to Islamic finance products is small. Although some
are two of the first Islamic financial institutions established in
banks in the USA have announced Islamic financing packages
the USA. The Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Index is designed
that contain products compatible with sharia, Islamic financing
to measure the performance of U.S. equity securities that have
instruments are not currently in high demand in this country.
been screened for adherence to sharia investment guidelines. Other index providers such as Standard & Poor’s, Morgan Stanley Capital International, Financial Times Stock Exchange, and Russell Investment publish an Islamic stock index that attracts investors from all over the world.
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