An excellent and very well-written article.

It is interesting to note your assessment on CSR. As you rightly say, AAOIFI mention in its Governance Standards for Islamic Financial Institutions No.7 (standard 5/2/1) that as part of mandatory conduct, 'IFIs shall implement a CSR policy for screening prospective clients. This policy must include: (a) Screening criteria...'

The question is what is the screening criteria and does it go far enough to ensure the welfare of society? AAOIFI recommend that 'The policy stipulating the screening criteria may include provisions for...review of the impact of the prospective client's investment on the economy, society and the environment.' This can shed the spotlight on IFIs contribution to CSR; however, the phrase 'may include' makes this a recommendation rather that a mandatory requirement. Perhaps this should become mandatory as part of the shari'ah audit? Or perhaps there is scope for a rating agency to be developed that can undertake such an analysis?