SUKUK WARS: THE RACE FOR ISLAMIC FINANCIAL SUPREMACY

Sukuk Wars: The Race for Islamic Financial Supremacy examines the intense competition among Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states for leadership in global Islamic capital markets. The book reveals that sukuk are far more than financial instruments; they function as arenas of geopolitical
rivalry, struggles over religious authority, and contests over Muslim identity within global capitalism. Through a historical and comparative lens, the book demonstrates how distinct national strategies have shaped divergent paths in the development of Islamic finance. Malaysia emerges as an early mover, building dominance through regulatory sophistication, human capital development, and continuous innovation, including the world’s first green sukuk. Indonesia adopts a contrasting approach by democratizing Islamic finance through retail sukuk, enabling mass public participation and mobilizing domestic capital for large-scale infrastructure. The Gulf states, by contrast, leverage overwhelming financial power, dollar-denominated issuances, and claims of religious authority to achieve quantitative dominance, even as they lag behind Southeast Asia in institutional depth and social inclusion. Beyond market metrics, the book explores deeper
battlegrounds such as stalled sharia standardization, talent shortages, contested religious legitimacy, and persistent social justice gaps. Sukuk Wars ultimately argues that no single actor emerges as a definitive winner: Malaysia leads intellectually, Indonesia democratically, and the Gulf financially. The true victor
is Islamic finance itself, which demonstrates the capacity of a religiously grounded, non-Western financial system to grow, endure, and reflect the broader struggle of 1.8 billion Muslims to reconcile faith, modernity, and aspirations for a more just economic order.