Growth is robust and prospects look bright for the Islamic banking industry. In the past two decades of its less than forty-year existence, remarkable development has taken the USD 150 billion peripheral industry to one surpassing the USD 1.5 trillion level. Though the challenge to validate expectations is colossal, the trend represents a paradigm shift in the form of a quiet revolution- one that is likely to persist in the near future. That a nascent, fringe industry should serve as a topic of debate in international media reflects its burgeoning clout. The idea of ethical banking, interwoven into the fabric of the ideal Islamic system led many to examine and even pursue it as an area of study in the wake of the global financial crisis. At least in theory, it exuded an overall sense of shared responsibility and destiny through partnership and investment in real, productive assets. Dubbed the fastest growing sector of the international financial system, mak...