IslamicFinance.de

Oliver Agha, founding Partner of Agha & Co, a shari'ah-compliant law firm based in the United Arab Emirates, is a board member of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, and secretary general of the World Islamic Finance Institute.
Islamic finance is torn between the market success of emulating conventional structures and developing genuinely Islamic structures that show its spiritual ethos.
The industry is continuing to grow inspite of its inherent problems, and some market analysts forsee it will be valued at anywhere from $3 to $5 trillion by 2016.
While the spiritual precepts behind Islamic finance support risk sharing and partnerships, many products in the market reflect risk profiles of conventional structures. As disputes in such products/structures expand, the judgments could threaten the future of the industry.
But, as a conclusion, Islamic finance is not a failure. It is never correct to blame a discipline for the failures and shortcomings of its adherents. However, in order to continue to grow in a correct way, it must come back to its spiritual underpinnings best reflected by the motto: "Principle before Profit".

Agha & Co (the Firm), a Shariah compliant legal consultancy established by Oliver Ali Agha, commenced operation in Dubai in May 2010 and is scheduled to have a formal office inauguration on October 25, 2010. Previously, Agha and Dr. Saeed Mohammed Al-Shamsi established Agha & Shamsi, an affiliated firm, in Abu Dhabi. The Firm and its affiliate are said to be the first Shariah compliant legal consultancies established globally.
Agha & Co’s strategic position in the UAE, fast becoming a major commercial hub for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), includes a network of affiliation arrangements with leading law firms both internationally.
Agha & Co’s partners have previously lead practice areas at top Am Law 50 and top tier English firms, and are well-respected in the fields of Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Corporate (including cross-border M&A), Projects, Project Finance, Energy, Public-Private Placements (PPPs), Commercial Transactions, Capital Markets, Islamic Funds & Private Equity, Restructuring, Insurance (Takaful), Arbitration and Dispute Resolution.