Islamic finance has faced scrutiny in the United States, with critics suggesting the $1 trillion industry was a front to funnel funds to terrorists or a plot by Muslims to spread a system of Islamic principles known as sharia, which includes a ban on interest.
The Center for Security Policy, a US think tank, last month issued a report titled "Sharia: The Threat to America", which said that practices promoting sharia were "incompatible with the constitution" and should be "proscribed." The report was presented on Capitol Hill and endorsed by some Republicans.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has also been busy on the speaking circuit, calling for a federal law to ensure sharia, and sharia-compliant finance by extension, is not recognised by any U.S. court.
"If there's a choice, and the return and risk analysis is comparable but one place is opening their arms to Muslims while politicians in another country are making them feel unwelcome, of course Muslims will go to the jurisdiction that is more welcoming," said Jawad Ali, managing partner and deputy global head of Islamic finance at King & Spalding.