The conference hosts some heavyweight Muslim figures

By Wa'il Shihab & Khalid Hanafi, IOL Staff

ISTANBUL, September 27 (IslamOnline.net) - Attended by a huge number of companies, organizations, and individuals from more than 50 countries, the International Islamic Finance Forum (IIFF) was inaugurated in the Turkish capital Istanbul Monday, September 27.

Some 60 distinguished speakers from all over the world were to take part in the forum.

Among the prominent scholars and academics who will speak and take part in the IIFF are Dr. Mohammed A. Elgari, Sheikh Nizam Ya`qbuy, Dr. Hussain Hamad Hassan, Dr. Monzer Kahf, and many others.

The three-day forum will tackle hot topics such as deposit insurance and the plight of investment account holders, Tawarooq, time value of money, Islamic bankruptcy, etc.

In addition, the IIFF will cover regulating of Islamic banks in the West and in Muslim countries, as well as studying the development or otherwise of Islamic finance in the European Union.

Scholars attending the forum will give opportunity to participants to ask about the different controversial Islamic issues that cloud the minds of many people.

Islamic “Davos”

Due to the fact that the IIFF is proved to be a distinctive Islamic finance forum, it is considered “a kind of Davos symposium devoted to the relationship between the Qur’an and modern finance,” according to the Euro am Sonntag magazine, Germany .

Also, Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director, Dow Jones Islamic Indexes, USA , states: “The International Islamic Finance Forum has become, over time, the Islamic World Economic Forum”.

Islamic banks, meanwhile, are increasing in the West. Few weeks ago, an Islamic bank was inaugurated in Britain . According to economic experts, the need for the Islamic finance is ever increasing, particularly among the Muslim communities.

Interest Forbidden

It is known that Islamic Shari`ah forbids dealing with interest. This ruling is based on the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Hadith. Therefore, Islamic banks face the challenge of coping with the Shari `ah conditions regarding finance and giving good services to investors.

IIFF aims at solving the problems and challenges that face the Islamic banks so that Islamic banks could give good service that don’t conflict with the dedicates of Shari `ah.