The Islamic investment market is worth between $100 and 150 billion, and is growing rapidly at between 12 and 15 percent a year, said Lana Marrash, a partner in The International Investor, a Kuwaiti firm specializing in Islamic investments.

The International Investor is linked up with Footsie International, a subsidiary of the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange, to start a system for quoting the Islamic prices on the Stock Exchange, which Marrash said would give the shares better exposure. "Now it is being taken in the Footsie family, Footsie International being one of the world major indexes providers, it will increase (Islamic) exposure."

She said the origins of the growth of this market "began not from a growing awareness of Islam but because of the tremendous wealth amassed by the Arabs during the past 20 years, coupled with the fact that usury is a serious thing in Islam."

Footsie (FTSE, short for Financial Times - Stock Exchange) is composed of the 100 top shares, and is the top measure of the London Stock Exhange, the biggest bourse in Europe.

The Islamic Footsies consist of a principal indicator with four regional indicators - Americas, Europe, Pacific and East Africa.

Firms operating in such fields as alcoholic drinks, banks (because usury is banned by Islamic law), tobacco, gambling, insurance or any form of raising or selling pigs and pork, are excluded. The indices also exclude companies whose indebtedness exceeds a third or more of their capital, but permit investment in 24 currencies in 31 sectors.

The United States represents more than half of the main index, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan, which together account for a third. Main sectors covered by the 1,000 firms on the list are computers, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications, followed by autos, retailing, electronic equipment, media, chemicals and agro-food.

Footsie International calculates the indices while The International Investor provides the expertise for identifying and evaluating the companies. A committee of four experts from an Islamic bank and Islamic judges is tasked with supervising the whole.

The Financial Times reported recently that the Islamic market was attracting more and more non-Islamic investors. The US Citigroup's Global Islamic Finance Group made $5.9 million profit last year while the British group HSBC set up an Islamic financial department.

For its part Barclays announced in October that it was launching a $30 million Islamic mutual fund.