338 chapter eight
financing of Dar-al-Màl-al-Islami and the al-Barakah group. Second,
government financial support has also been important, as in the case
of the Kuwait Finance House or Bank Islam Malaysia. Third, the
contribution of the public at large has also been significant, as in
the case of the Jordan Islamic Bank. It is (a) domestically owned,
(b) 98.7 percent of its capital is owned by private individuals (1.3
percent financed by the Housing Bank of Jordan), (c) none of its
shareholders is a major shareholder, and (d) it is not established in
a typically wealthy oil country. The bank is a good example of the
possibility of establishing an Islamic bank with very little support
from government or wealthy initiators.
The establishment of Islamic financial institutions has directly and
indirectly encouraged the establishment of Islamic business enterprises.
Directly, as these institutions provided Islamic finance to enterprises
willing to be run on Islamic basis, and indirectly as some of these
enterprises relied on the financial resources to the extent that some
attracted capital from Muslim participants who wished to invest their
savings in these enterprises. Islamic business enterprises were involved
in a variety of commercial and industrial activities covering a wide range
of products: textile, furniture, electronic equipment, building and con-
struction, housing, medical equipment, plastics and building materials.
Intellectual Developments
The First International Conference on Islamic Economics
The First International Conference on Islamic Economics was held
in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of King Abdul-Azìz
University, Jeddah. For almost a week, from 21 February to 26
February, 1976 (1396H), some two hundred Muslim economists and
Ulama"’ had the opportunity to present papers, hold seminars, have
discussions and exchange views on a subject that had always been
close to their hearts. “It was a dream that came true”, as the pres-
ident of the conference said. The presented papers covered a wide
spectrum including:
- The concept and methodology of Islamic economics,
- Production and consumption in an Islamic economy,
- The role of the state in an Islamic economy,