Students in a library at the Unissa campus in Beribi, Gadong. Picture: BT/Rudolf Portillo
AN INTERNATIONAL conference on Islamic finance organised by the Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (Unissa) will look into resolving issues facing the industry and even tackle challenges in the distribution of zakat funds, a dean at the university said.
Slated on March 1-2, the conference will be attended by international resource speakers.
Dr Mohamed Sharif Bashir, dean of Faculty Business and Management Science at Unissa and chairman of the conference’s organising committee, said he hopes the conference will serve as a forum for the presentation and exchange of ideas on areas of improvement in the development of the Islamic banking and finance industry, both locally and internationally.
“We will try to provide some policy (suggestions) regarding the legal and syariah issues related to Islamic banking and finance, and also the discussion of problems related to the distribution of the zakat fund and how to improve this,” he said, adding that the conference is expected to consolidate fundamental syariah principles as advocated by scholars, as well as the operational aspects voiced by the practitioners.
Over the years, he said, a divide has emerged between scholars and practitioners on how to develop the sector.
“On one hand, many scholars argue that the development of Islamic banking and finance today tends to mimic the conventional sector,” he said.
He explained that practitioners will often need to overcome a problem or complication hastily, while scholars require time to come up and present their findings.
“As scholars, we need time to investigate and examine specific problems. We also need to analyse this information before coming up with our findings,” said Dr Mohamed.
“This may take a long time and based on the issues and challenges (time constraints), the practitioner might apply solutions which are not syariah-compliant,” he added.
The dean said that the conference will also tackle recent research findings to address challenges and issues in the sector in light of the global economic crisis.
“We will work together with the relevant people such as the policymakers and financial institutions to carry out joint research projects which can help the scholars come out with useful findings, results and solutions,” he said.
“We want to provide an effective contribution in the development and progress of Islamic banking in this country, towards realising the guidance given through Islamic teachings,” added Dr Mohamed.
The two-day conference will showcase 25 papers from foreign specialists and experts from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the Middle East, among others.
The experts will touch on topics, ranging from “A Preliminary Study of Tourists’ Expenditure Pattern in Brunei” to “Risk Management and its Challenges to Modern Islamic Financial System” and “Basic Values for Islamic Banking and Finance”.
Dr Mohamed, a native of Sudan, obtained his Bachelor in Economics and Master’s Degree in Economics from Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, before obtaining his PhD in Economics from the University Putra Malaysia.
He had also served as a deputy director of the World Fatwa Management and Research Institute of Malaysia and is the editor of the Journal of Fatwa Research and Management, as well as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Muamalat and Islamic Finance Research and an associate contributor for the United Kingdom’s Islamic Economics Encyclopedia.
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