Islamic finance possesses intrinsic qualities that shielded it from the worst of the financial crisis, said Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

Zeti argued that the continued growth of Islamic finance despite the crisis was proof of its durability, which derives from guiding Shari'ah principles.

Two in particular had enabled Islamic finance to weather the storm, she said. The first was the requirement that all financial transactions must be underpinned by productive activity that