Oliver Agha published in Islamic Finance News (IFN); The crisis Islamic finance was built to solve – and cannot

Professional Associate at Outer Temple Chambers, Oliver Agha has been published in IFN’s April 2026 edition (Volume 23, Issue 15). His article is titled ‘The crisis Islamic finance was built to solve – and cannot’.

Islamic Finance News (IFN) is a subscription-based publication journal, published weekly, which provides exclusive and comprehensive coverage of the global Islamic financial markets through in-house analysis and expert external contributions. Oliver Agha is a frequent contributor to the publication.

The modern financial order is a monument to excess. Global debt now approaches US$350 trillion, built not on production or genuine value creation but on the compounding of obligation – debt layered on debt, governments borrowing to fund consumption, the costs deferred to those least able to bear them.

In this article, Oliver highlights that Islamic finance is facing a defining test as global economic pressures expose deep structural weaknesses in the industry. He also adds that the modern financial system, built on excessive debt and guaranteed returns, reflects the very conditions the Quran’s prohibition on riba was intended to challenge. Islamic finance, having replicated those systems rather than replacing them, is no more ready for it than the industry is.

The articles covers:

• Conventional debt in Islamic clothing
• The additional exposure conventional finance does not carry
• Many problems, one root cause

There is and always has been only one cure to the multiple ailments that have plagued this industry and that now threaten it as it invariably sails into a coming storm. This article is the first in a series, and will follow subsequent articles which will address what that cure is and the framework required to set the course right.

Read the full article here.

Find out more

Oliver Agha is a Professional Associate at Outer Temple Chambers based in the Middle East. He specialises in the interplay between Common Law, Civil Law and Islamic Law as these different legal systems intersect in the MENAT Region. He has advised clients, including governments/quasi-governmental bodies/entities, quasi-regulators, financial and Islamic financial institutions, corporates and high net worth individuals on cross border M&As, JVs, project finance, Islamic Law, Islamic Finance, corporate/commercial and complex cross-border disputes including those that impinge on Islamic/Regional Laws. He has also advised high net worth Islamic individuals with assets spread across the World on intestate planning. 

To find out more about Oliver, email Lexie Johnson or call + 44 (0) 207 427 0801 or Dave Lovitt on +44 (0)207 353 6381.

External Publications, News 16 Apr, 2026