Sharia and sharia alike

The range of financial products available to Middle Eastern investors has expanded significantly in recent years. A combination of cash-rich buyers in the region looking for new ways to boost returns and a large number of local and international banks lining up to help them achieve that has resulted in the proliferation of instruments marketed as sharia (Islamic law)-compliant, including some with embedded derivatives.

However, this development has not been without controversy. While some sharia