The Cultural and Demographic Aspects of the Islamic Financial System and the Potential for Islamic Financial Products in the German Market

Diplomarbeit, die am 24.11.2004 erfolgreich an einer Fachhochschule in Deutschland im Fachbereich Wirtschaft eingereicht wurde. Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to show the potential Muslims in Germany have concerning their number and financial power. As assumed, whilst developing the idea for this work, no financial institution is existent in Germany which offers banking services in compliance with Islamic law. Would it not make sense to introduce such instruments in a market which accommodates more than 3 million Muslims? Are the hurdles for introduction too high or is the financial potential of the Muslim population too low to care about such questions? They will be answered in this thesis. To gather information necessary for writing this thesis, the author read various books about Islam, its roots, and its financial systems. The "World Wide Web" was a valuable source, especially publications of data by statistical offices, ministries, and institutions dealing with the topic. For certain parts specific data were not accessible to the author. For investigation purposes he wrote letters and mails to various institutions to find out that specific data were not available and certain statistical investigations were not undertaken. In that case approximations and extrapolations were used and marked as such. The author has divided the thesis in four parts. The first chapter, "Chapter A - Islam - History, Cultural Aspects, and Principles for the Financial System", introduces Islam, its roots and foundation about 1,400 years ago. In that chapter basic Islamic principles are explained and their relevance in all aspects of Muslim life is shown. With those principles underlying, a financial system developed which is different from the Western one. The development of the financial system is described as are various Islamic financial tools explained. In "Chapter B - Muslims in Germany" it is shown how the Muslim community in Germany developed. It is explained ...