A trillion dollar financial industry is revolutionising the global economy. Governments and corporations across the Islamic world are increasingly turning to finance that complies with Sharia law in order to fund economic growth. Even in the West, Islamic finance is rapidly becoming an important alternative source of funding at a time when the conventional finance industry is reeling from the effects of the financial crisis. From its origins in the seventh century, Islamic finance has sought to develop core ethical principles that are based in the foundations of Islam and Sharia. By engaging critically with the complexities of international finance, it has evolved and adapted into a world emerging from the economic and moral aftermath of a global financial crisis. But with an increasing Western interest, is it able to remain true to the principles of its faith? Can it maintain its ideals of social justice? Or is Islamic finance guilty of the very dangers it seeks to avoid? In Heaven's Bankers, Harris Irfan, one of the world's leading Islamic finance bankers, gives unparalleled insight into the heart of this secretive industry. From his personal experience of working with leading bankers, scholars and lawyers, he debunks the myths of Islamic banking, analyses its greatest deals and looks to the future of a system that has reprioritised the very nature of money itself.

Author Biography

Harris Irfan is Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at European Islamic Investment Bank plc. He is also the founder of Islamic finance advisory firm Cordoba Capital, an EIIB group company. He is a front office investment banker with 20 years experience in London and the Middle East, including 11 years at Deutsche Bank where he co-founded the world leading Islamic finance team, and most recently at Barclays where he was global head of Islamic finance across the group. Harris has been an official spokesman on the subject of Islamic finance for the institutions he has represented, and regularly speaks with the BBC, Sky News, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters and the Financial Times. He has competed in motor racing and has 35 podium finishes and championship wins at national level in karting, touring cars and GTs. He is a former race school instructor at Yas Marina F1 Circuit and the Dubai Autodrome and was a freelance motorsports writer for the Middle East editions of CAR and evo magazines, as well as Crank & Piston. He is married with three children and lives in Surrey.