Shari'a Compliant Finance: The Overlooked Element for Developing an Effective Financial System in Afghanistan

摘要

An effective financial system is essential to economic development. US Army doctrine acknowledges that military forces play an important role in supporting economic stabilization and infrastructure development. A specific task is to support the financial system. However, stability operations have not always been successful. This monograph argues that the application of Shari'a Compliant Finance (SCF) increases bank penetration and thereby improves economic development during stability operations in Afghanistan. This leads to five lessons for military commanders. The first lesson is that SCF is at least a valuable complement for the development of a financial system in Afghanistan. Second, commanders should question and challenge the Western paradigm by a Muslim paradigm in order to prevent that the military commander develops a deficient operational approach. Third, the military has to invest in basic knowledge of the Afghan society, Islam, and SCF. Fourth, the military should start building partnerships with other organizations to enable unified action. The final lesson is that the military commander should focus on facilitating local efforts instead of providing a solution for the development of the financial system in order to achieve the maximum development results.