Residential Mortgage Crisis – An Islamic Finance Perspective

Abstract

In this paper, we try to analyze the US residential mortgage crisis in the light of the financial principles of Shari'ah. For this purpose, we will firstly present a summery of the US residential mortgage crisis. Then, in the second part of the paper, we will explore relevant financial principles of Shari'ah law. In this part, special attention is paid to analyze the residential mortgage crisis according to Shari'ah principles and Shia interpretation of Shari'ah through Civil Code of Iran. The main claim is that if mortgage transactions had been concluded in compliance with the principles of Shari'ah law, the whole chain of crisis would not have occurred.

Keywords: Credit Crisis of 2007, Islamic Finance, Shari'ah Law