تکافل خانواده در توسعه کشورها: مورد بررسی در خاورمیانه و آفریقا شمالی (منا) Family Takaful in developing countries: the case of Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

1. Introduction Islamic investment and finance have long been evolved as a form of financial intermediation for the Islamic community to conduct financial transactions that conform to Islamic tenets. The last decade in particular has witnessed a rapid evolution and expansion of the Islamic financial services industry, which has gained wider acceptance and appreciation. Since its inception, the international Islamic finance industry has expanded beyond the traditional borders of the Muslim-based economies into the major industrial economies and grown greatly (Billah, 2002; Fisher and Taylor, 2000; Annuar 2004; Rahman et al. 2008; Rahman and Daud, 2010; Gustina and Abdullah, 2012; Sherif and Shaairi 2013). Today, Islamic Finance is no longer a niche product serving a specialised market, but is now offered in more than 60 countries, with total assets in Islamic banking reportedly growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.3% between 2004 and 2011, reportedly exceeding USD1.1 trillion as seen in Figure 1. Such increase in financial assets are supported by Middle-East petrodollars as well as the global spread of the Islamic religion, there are around 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide (Pew Research Centre 2011) who are seeking for products that adhere to their principles (Zaher and Hassan, 2001, Sherif, 2016). INSERT Figure 1 here This combined with the ever-increasing oil prices has led to higher savings and net worth individuals (HNWI) wealth rates of the Middle East region. Those regions also have a higher net worth individuals (HNWI) wealth (see Figure 2). Such steady growth in HNWI and savings rates have increased the demand for Shariah – compliant investment opportunities that in turn show great potential in the Islamic finance industry. Furthermore, over the past three decades, Islamic banking has become a growing force in global financial circles, as Islamic banks exist in over 70 countries worldwide (Warde, 2010). ‘Islamic Indexes’ were created in 1999 by Dow Jones to accommodate cautious Muslim by offering Shariah compliant investment portfolios. It is clear that Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) has now become a major feature in global finance from just a mere ambiguous financial experiment. In addition, numerous western banks have established either Islamic banking subsidiaries or offered their customers Islamic financial products such as those provided by Citibank, Bank of America, HSBC, Union Bank of Switzerland and Goldman Sachs (Zaher and Hassan, 2001; Khan, 2010).