By Hassan Nurudeen Olawale & Aminah Harun
GOMBAK, 23 September 2014: The official ceremony of the 5th International Conference on Islamic Jurisprudence in the 21st Century kicked off at the Cultural Activities Centre (CAC) of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) today. The theme of the conference read: œIslamic Financial Industry and the Need for Revision within the Framework of Maqasid al-Shariah.
In his speech, the chairman of the conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr Ahmad Basri Ibrahim noted that the Islamic Financial industry is at its steady rise not only in the Islamic world but also in non-Islamic environments despite criticism from some quarters.
Deputy Rector (Internationalisation & Industry and Community Relations) Prof. Dr. Berghout Abdel Aziz, who represented IIUMÂ Rector, Prof. Dato’ Seri Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin said: “What we see in the Islamic Financial industry today is a transformation of theories into practices. The current trend in the development of the industry is a sharp contrast to what we had about 30 years ago”.
The current challenges faced in the industry are sophisticated, hence, we must provide sophisticated approach to counter them, he said. This is very important because the industry is worth trillions of Dollars. As a result of this, more scientific approach must be considered in order to sustain the momentum, he added.
This conference was organised by the Department of Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS) and sponsored by Bank Muamalat, Bank Islam, Bank Rakyat and Al Rajhi Bank. Twenty speakers and presenters from many countries participated in this three-day conference from 23 to 25 September, 2014.
Photos by Noor Azmna Shah Ismail, IIUM.