Edinburgh Guides to Islamic Finance is a series of short guides to key areas in Islamic finance, offering an independent academic perspective and a critical treatment.<BR><BR>This is the first book-length study of Islamic financial services in the United Kingdom. It describes the ways in which British examples of Islamic financial provision illustrate both the main characteristics of Islamic financial teaching and some key issues in the situation of British Muslims.<BR><BR>The author's approach is broadly sympathetic to the general spirit and aims of the Islamic financial tradition but critical of some of its manifestations in practice. The book is especially topical following the crisis in the UK banking industry and the unprecedented level of public debate about the appropriate aims and techniques of the financial markets. Some commentators have expressed disappointment that Islamic finance in the UK has failed to live up to the high expectations surrounding it This book gives a balanced account of the sector's strengths and weaknesses.