A shari`ah and legal study of the feasibility of introducing Islamic money market in Mauritania

Abstract

In recent decades, Islamic finance has set a firm foundation and exhibited remarkable growth in the financial industry around the world. However, there is need for liquidity means to maintain and strength the growth of Islamic finance. Money market plays a major role in development of Islamic financial industry through facilitating the liquidity management and increase efficiency of Islamic financial institutions. In Mauritania, Islamic finance continues its progress; several Islamic financial institutions are operating currently in Mauritania. Therefore, there is a need to introduce an Islamic money market (IMM) to enhance the growth of Mauritanian Islamic financial system by providing the liquidity management that is crucial for the smooth function of lslamic financial market. The principal objective of this research is to assess the possibility of introducing Islamic money market in Mauritania from the legal and shari`ah perspectives. The research is an exploratory qualitative study. Both secondary and primary data are used in this research. Primary data conducted through interview method, a number of shari`ah scholars interviewed. On the other hand, secondary data is obtained through the Mauritanian banking regulations, legal library books, Mauritanian official legal journal, and websites. The research findings show that, there is a need for amending the existing law or introducing new law which will allow introducing IMM in Mauritania. According to Mauritania Scholars, Malaysia Islamic interbank money market products are divided into three categories: shari`ah compliant products, non shari`ah compliant products and products need modification to be a shari`ah compliant.