Securitization of Islamic assets has been hindered, of late, because of the credit crisis catalyzed by the subprime meltdown in the US.  Islamic financing companies, which prefer to be backed by physical assets (land -> mortgages), are finding a much tougher time selling their proposed securities to investors.  Funny enough, some Islamic banks touted their avoidance of subprime liabilities, but this shows the story is much deeper.