The main theme ISSF 2015, held in Malaysia, was Strengthening the Global Connectivity of the Islamic Finance Industry: Reality and Prospects. At the end of the event, Sheikh Dr al-Ayyashi Feddad, Senior Researcher representing IRTI, read out the resolutions of this year’s forum:
- ISSF 2015 proposes to set up a committee to evaluate the past ten years of ISSF, and to put forward a plan for the next ten years.
- Coordination with relevant parties, including individuals and organisations, to further strengthen the ISSF.
- Open more collaboration with other parties in organising the ISSF.
- Differing views and fatwas are positive phenomena if they are based on the principles of ijtihad in the shari'ah.
- It is advisable to work on closing the gaps in fatwas in order to prevent contradictions in practical application and also to harmonise between the fatwas and the financial products.
- Efforts are needed to further develop and strengthen shari'ah governance in the Islamic finance industry.
- ISSF 2015 also recommends the establishment of a supreme council by supporting organisations such as the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), IFSB, IDB and CIBAFI, together with the International Fiqh Academy and IDB. This council would have its own shari'ah board and other technical boards. Its resolutions would be endorsed by the International Fiqh Academy in its position as the highest shari'ah reference for Muslim countries.
effort should be made to cooperate on major projects and to plan research for the next ten years by identifying gaps that need to be filled and prioritising them.
- There is a need for cooperation in appraisal studies and in developing mechanisms to rate research on Islamic economics and finance.
- The forum calls for the establishment of new research institutions for Islamic economics to pursue objectives and study areas that the existing research institutions are not dealing with in order to bring added value to the academic research.
- Mechanisms should be established for competition among research institutions within a cooperative framework with the objective of improving their end products.
- Innovative solutions should be found for the Islamic finance industry, especially in the area of sukuk and working towards partnership-based financial instruments.
- The forum calls for the study of successful international models of financing that are close to Islamic financing based on partnership or any interest-free financing modes.
- Special attention should be given to Islamic sukuk as they are the most effective financial instruments in realising global connectivity at the supervisory level and in the capital markets.
- Special attention should also be given to the products of the charitable sectors, particularly the zakah and waqf institutions. It is recommended that next year’s Forum be about establishing an international institution to coordinate between zakah organisations.
- Work should be done on binding terms of reference for the members of shari'ah boards of Islamic financial institutions.
- A working committee should be formed to lay down the principles of fatwa to ensure its stability and its linkage to other relevant areas such as legal, accounting and risk management.
- Work should be done on a mechanism to coordinate between shari'ah boards in order to establish rules regarding governance of the boards and conflict of interest. The ISSF 2015 invites ISRA, IRTI, AAOIFI, IFSB and CIBAFI to propose a mechanism for its implementation.
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the ISRA-Thomson Reuters Islamic Commercial Law Report 2016, which was launched during the event