Islamic finance has not escaped unscathed from the global financial turbulence of the past year. As the credit crunch hit, the market for sukuk, or Islamic bonds, took a pause, with new issues postponed and months going by without a single dollar-denominated bond being sold.

Despite the setback, however, the pool of liquidity in the oil-rich states of the Gulf, and the still-growing appetite for financial products that comply with the prohibition on the use of interest, have kept the $800bn Islamic finance industry marching on.