Since 2000, sukuk have become important Islamic financial instruments in raising funds to finance long-term projects. Malaysia issued the first sukuk in 2000. Bahrain followed in 2001. Since then both the corporate sector and countries have used sukuk to raise alternative financing.
The most common sukuk structures copy the cash flows of conventional bonds. Such structures are listed on stock exchanges. Debt certificates can only be bought before the finance occurs and then held to maturity, from an Islamic perspective. This is critical for debt trading at market value without incurring the prohibited riba, interest, on money.
The sukuk industry has in general led the way in humanitarian Islamic financing. For example, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) have developed – with the support of the World Bank – a unique life-saving Islamic investment vehicle.