Pope Francis and Islamic finance
Next week, Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Washington, D.C., to kick off his first visit to the United States, giving an anticipated 18 speeches. Although we don’t yet know the content of those talks, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if, when talking about social justice from his own faith perspective, he describes the basics of Islamic finance. With his focus on justice and human dignity, Pope Francis has beautifully articulated the values of his faith as well as the aims and purposes of Islamic finance — namely social justice, ethical trade, and ultimately the glorification of God through service to creation. Pope Francis has made poverty and economic justice central themes of his papacy. More courageous in this than many people in positions of influence, the pope has railed against economic injustice, even linking environmentalism to this issue. In his recent encyclical on the environment, he said: “e have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” That letter also drew inspiration from a Muslim thinker, a nod