Islam and capital, mortared by trust: the case of Sri Lanka

The purpose of this paper is to trace the history and legacy of Islamic finance (IF) in Sri Lanka in the context of the emergence of life finance. It tracks the social life of finance through a genealogy of trust and capital.

The methodology used is qualitative. It is an extended case study using conversations, company documents and newspaper archival research.

Trust, transparency and ethics must be understood locally to have salience. The implicit effect of locally understood ideas of trust that have been built into the movement of capital (via ethical branding and transparency in IF, education and social awareness) can reconfigure relationships between communities in a country that has been ravaged by war.

There have been few studies on IF in Sri Lanka; this study will enrich those offerings. However, they must be understood in relation to the emergence of life finance.

This study presents a new viewpoint on the relationship between finance and social well-being and new categories through which to understand finance.

The implicit effect of locally understood ideas of trust which have been built into movements of capital (via ethical branding and transparency in IF, education, socially aware) can reconfigure relationships between communities in a country that has been ravaged by war.

There have been few studies on Islamic Finance in Sri Lanka; this study will enrich those offerings. But they must be understood in relation to the emergence of life-finance in South Asia.