OPINION - Right track, wrong train ? Rushdi Siddiqui in the Malay "Business Times"

The end of the year is a good time to reflect. Rushdi Siddiqui asks and answers  10 relevant questions (hereunder).  Blake Goud gives his opinion (click Sharing Risk dot Org logo at the right).  What do YOU think ?  
Share your opinion on the Blog of Blake, to keep the answers centralized.

THE year 2010 was a year of "headwinds" for Islamic finance, and the last article of the year is a survey on issues that merit more airplay and public comment. There were so many interesting stories in Islamic finance; some good (announcement of IILM Corp), some bad (Investment Dar using syariah defence), and some ugly (anti-syariah movement).

This is not meant to be a scientific survey, but more of dialogue to answer the bigger question: Are we getting closer to where we should be in Islamic finance?

REPORTS - The first Deloitte Islamic Finance leaders survey in the Middle East

This is the first Deloitte Islamic Finance leaders survey in a biannual series targeted at industry practitioners and leaders of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the Middle East. The survey is based on interviews conducted with industry leaders between April and June 2010.

Several key themes emerged in the results of this survey. The first is a fair consensus on the need for an effective regulatory framework and good governance. The survey findings emphasize the importance of introducing new or revised regulatory measures–chief among them being Islamic accounting standards and risk management.

GENERAL - Transatlantic survey shows Turks choosing to cooperate with Mideast

According to the 2010 Transatlantic Trends public opinion survey released yesterday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the percentage of Turks who said Turkey should act in closest cooperation with countries in the Middle East on international matters has doubled to 20 percent from 2009 figures. Furthermore, the majority of Turks were not concerned about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, in sharp contrast with the European Union and the United States respondents, who were concerned.