Abstract

The essay deals with a common opinion according to which Islamic finance would be inherently ethical while conventional finance would be affected by excessive hazard and speculation. This assumption has indeed become quite popular after the recent financial crisis. However, as every generalization, it risks to oversimplify the matter. On the contrary, it is true that the recent financial defaults in western markets induced a renewed interest for the Islamic financial model in light of the market globalization and of the recent integration and/or interaction between the two models, in order to prevent the systemic-risk too. Under this perspective, the essay analyzes the main features of Islamic model, taking also into account the most significant experiences of ethical finance developed within the conventional model.