Contributi di Alessandro Cupri

Debt market transactions in the Islamic financial system:the case of sukuk

ABSTRACT: In recent years, the secondary market for sukuk has been booming with growth rates ranging between 10-12%. In this paper we intend to analyze the structure of investment certificates that comply with the rules and economic principles of the Shari'ah. The markedly legal aspects of this instrument are therefore highlighted, first outlining the general structuring of Islamic certificates, and secondly, analyzing the operational profiles of the different types of sukuk most widespread on the Shari'ah compliant market. Finally, the guidelines issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions on the subject are examined and the essential features of difference between the sukuk and conventional bonds are analyzed from a comparative point of view. The finale highlights the unexpressed potential of sukuk, recalling the best strategies for expanding Islamic investments. The primary objective is to raise the awareness of the relevant financial authorities, which appear disinterested in the Islamic financial market despite the resilience of this segment even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SOMMARIO: 1. Il mercato Shari’ah compliant e le radici concettuali di un modello economico alternativo - 2. I sukuk - 3. Le varie tipologie di sukuk: sukuk al-ijarah, sukuk al-mudarabah, sukuk al-musharakah - 3.1. (segue) I sukuk e le principali regole in uso nella prassi giuridico-finanziaria - 4. Profili di incompatibilità tra i titoli obbligazionari convenzionali e la Shari’ah - 5. Quale futuro per il mercato dei sukuk(?) - 6. Notazioni conclusive.

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa: l’Islam tra religione ed economia - 2. Dalla finanza al contratto islamico, tra vincolo e libertà: alla ricerca di una teoria generale dei contratti - 3. L’etica islamica dei contratti: divieto di ribà e divieto di ghàrar - 4. Operatività delle attività della banca islamica e contrattualistica commerciale Shari’ah Compliant - 5. I contratti di tipo partecipativo: “mudàraba” e “mushàraka” - 6. (segue) Tipologie di mudàraba - 7. Cenni conclusivi e prospettive future.

The Prophet's Economy: Islamic Finance and the Religious Foundations of Islamic Law of Shari'ah Compliant Contracts

ABSTRACT: The growing presence of Muslim believers in Europe has increasingly led to heated debates also at the doctrinal level. Legal and economic literature, particularly, has recently emphasised the importance that inclusive, effective and efficient financial regulation can have on the degree of integration of the Islamic communities present in non-Muslim contexts. Since the Shari'ah dictates a series of behavioural rules in different sectors of the believer’s life, the Koran and the narratives of the Prophet (hadith) offer a series of prescriptions also in economic matters. With the aim of outlining the religious and juridical reasoning of the so-called halal economic dimension, this paper first examines the economic principles of Islamic finance: the prohibition of ribà (interest), the prohibition of ghàrar (uncertainty) and that of maysìr (speculation). It then provides a recognition aimed at finding a general theory of Islamic contracts. Finally, it reconstructs the discipline of the mudàraba and musharàka participatory contracts. These two forms of contracts represent a product of Islamic finance widely used in banking-financial practice and considered by Islamic legal schools to be totally in conformity with the Word of Allah. They are therefore instruments of comparison particularly interesting as well as useful for the Italian legal system. They can represent a flywheel for the integration of Muslims in the social fabric, and at the same time, an antidote to the unstable European economic panorama.