Accurate and comprehensive data on the extent of the problem of childhood obesity is lacking in countries of the Middle East. This review, based on a Medline search, summarizes the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in the region during 1990-2007. The highest rates of obesity and overweight were reported from Bahrain and the lowest from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Studies fr...

Islamic Finance is more than an asset class – it is a way of life lived by 1.6 billion Muslims around the world. But its reach goes even further – non-Islamic countries, governments, and businesses, have all invested in or issued Islamic securities for one reason or another. With the ongoing push of globalization of trade and finance, Islamic financial flows, long a localized phenomenon, have b...

Department of Community Medicine, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Department of Internal Medicine, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Institute of Education, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Pharmaceutical Chemistry, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Department of Family Medicine,...

a r t i c l e i n f o The Dow Jones Islamic Market indices (DJIMI) are constructed by screening out stocks that are incompatible with Islam's prohibition of interest and certain lines of business. However, as a blunt instrument, the interest rate can affect discounted cash flows of any firm, even a firm with no financial leverage. This study reveals that the aggregate portfolio of Islamic stock...