Fighting global inequality with Islamic finance

A January 2017 report issued by Oxfam found that the eight richest individuals in the world have a net wealth of $426 billion–equivalent to the total amount of wealth held by the poorest 50% of the global population (some 3.7 billion people). That same report found that the world’s 10 largest corporations together have revenue greater than that of the 180 poorest countries combined. Not included in the report is the similarly deplorable statistic that nearly 25% of the 1.6 billion Muslims globally live in extreme poverty. While tools like zakat — which requires Muslims to give 2.5% of their wealth each year to help those in need — are vital in the struggle to mitigate the effects of inequality, we can sometimes overlook the potential of faith-based solutions to address the root causes of inequality as well. One of the most significant of these causes — the lack of financial inclusion — can be effectively addressed through access to Islamic banking. Only 10-15% of adults in Muslim-majority countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central, South, and Southeast Asia have bank accounts. Greater access to formal financial services like Islamic banking could help alleviate the structural poverty in these regions and