In this episode, Saifdean talks to Safdar Alam, CEO of investment firm Maydan Capital, about Islamic finance. Safdar starts by describing the basic principles of Islamic finance and the ethical justification for Islam’s prohibition on lending with interest. He and Saifedean then talk about how Islamic finance works in practice today; how it is mimicking the mainstream financial system; and the ways in which bitcoin might provide an ethical alternative to common practices often considered haram. In the Q&A Safdar answers questions about the Islamic definition of “speculation” and how this differs from “gambling”.

Resources

• Safdar’s official website
• Safdar’s Twitter thread on why Islamic banking needs to reform
• 2014 Bank of England bulletin “Money creation in the modern economy”
• 1964 book by the US Federal Reserve about how money is created: A Primer on Money
• Positive Money explainer video series on how money is created: part 1
• Maydan Capital official website
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode #59: Bitcoin: The Most Islamic Form of Money? with Harris Irfan
• Safdar’s textbook Islamic Banking in Practice
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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