This article aims to study the way in which Islamic finance can contribute to recovering the credit economy in Arab transitions. To this end, it describes the reasoning behind Islamic finance in a community-based focus for credit intermediation, and subsequently indicates strategies of financial inclusion adopted by this approach. Moreover, it addresses issues of the political economy in relation to Egypt and Tunisia, highlighting how the persistence of structural weakness can hamper the promotion of local development via tools of Islamic finance. Finally, the article will analyse the link between market liberalisation and civil empowerment in North Africa, focusing on Islamic finance as a possible instrument for this aim.
Credit economy, Islamic finance, Arab transition, community development, civil empowerment.