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Recorded 6 April 2015. Posted 9 April 2015.

I was recently approached via LinkedIn by Mazari Lasfer, a journalist with Radio Algeria International for an interview on Islamic finance. I am always happy to help, and the interview took place on Monday 6 April. After transmission, Radio Algeria have placed the recording on YouTube and I have just listened to it.

The interview actually provides an excellent short introduction to Islamic finance for those who have not come across it before.

The sound quality is quite good, especially taking into account the fact that I was using a mobile phone in my garden while my interviewer was in Algiers. The only difficulty might be catching the three Arabic words I use during the interview as you may not be familiar with them. They are:

• riba - normally understood as charging or paying interest
• gharar - excessive levels of uncertainty in a contract
• takaful - most simply understood as Islamic insurance

I asked the interviewer to send me the questions in advance to assist my preparation. They are reproduced below, as they were asked in this sequence in the interview.

1. What definition would you give to Islamic Finance?
2. Where and when did they first apply this financial system?
3. What is the difference between Islamic Finance and nowadays finance [normally called "conventional finance"]?
4. What are the benefits of Islamic finance?
5. What would be the repercussion on economy and how would you expect markets’ reactions if adopted by westerners?
6. Which countries apply this financial system?
7. What do financiers and bankers say about it? Do they expect it to be long lasting?
8. Has there been a historical evolution of Islamic Finance?
9. How do you describe today’s Islamic Finance?
10. What would be the challenges for Islamic finance?

You can listen to the interview below.