16 Jun, 2020
Experts and academics have delivered presentations and keynote speeches during the second day of the 12th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance via live webcast from Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim (ISZ) University, Turkey.
The week-long conference, which opened on 14 June 2020 under the theme ‘Sustainable Development for Real Economy,’ is jointly organized by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), ISZ University, and International Association of Islamic Economics (IAIE).
President of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, delivered the opening speech at the conference, which virtually brought together renown academics, regulators and other experts from around the world to discuss key issues in Islamic economics and finance.
Day 2 of the conference featured two keynote lectures and two paper presentation sessions in English and Arabic languages, in which a total of 12 papers were presented.
In his keynote lecture titled “Ottoman Waqf-based and Western European Interest-based Financial Systems (1450-1900)”, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bulut, Rector of ISZ University, provided a comparative overview of the two systems. He focused on social objectives, values and workings of the two systems in deriving lessons for the current problems of sustainable development of real economy. The paper concluded that innovative approaches e.g. cash waqf, flexibility in law, focus both on meeting the basic needs and cash needs of individuals, and prioritization of voluntary sector works for the progress of sustainable development.
Prof. Murat Cizakca of KTO Karatay University, Turkey, delivered a keynote lecture titled “Broad Look at Islamic Finance”. The lecture focused on potential areas of Islamic finance, other than Islamic banking, that are often relegated in present discussions on Islamic finance. Indeed, he noted, Islamic banks have contributed in transforming non-banking Islamic societies into banking societies. However, the broader view of the Islamic finance sector covers other subsectors that have proved to be game changers in history. He mentions importance of combined study of private (for profit), voluntary (waqf), and state finance sectors for the development and progress of Islamic finance.
Video recording of the second day’s sessions is available on YouTube. The first lecture starts at hour 2:23 into the recording, the second from hour 3:08, while the paper presentation sessions in English and Arabic start respectively at hours 0:26 and 4:02 of the video.
The full program of the conference and more details on how to follow the sessions can be accessed here.
