AAOIFI has completed 25 years since its inception, a lifespan marked by achievements in development and issuance of standards for the international Islamic finance industry. In celebration of its contribution to the growth of the industry, AAOIFI is organizing a conference on international Islamic finance and economy al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. The organization of the conference was confirmed by a Noble Order by His Majesty The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz which grants approval for this conference, to be hosted by the Emirate of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and held in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. AAOIFI has also been graced with a generous approval by HRH Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Prince of al-Madinah al-Munawwrah Province to patronize the conference. HRH Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz will honor the event with his attendance and inauguration of its proceedings. The conference will also be attended by His Excellency the Chairman of the Capital Market Authority, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a distinguished group of senior officials, Shari’ah scholars, and experts from the Islamic finance industry, from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all around the world.

The contemporary Islamic finance industry has evolved over the past 4 decades. It is indeed timely for AAOIFI, with its vast institutional experience, to spearhead an initiative aimed at revisiting the history of the Islamic finance industry in order to evaluate its achievements, consider its strengths and weaknesses, identify further improvements, and contemplate the way forward for this industry.

The pioneering project will be launched in this conference and will be resumed through a series of successive conferences.

The main themes at this conference are:

1)  To revisit and document the history of the Islamic finance industry through discussion panels hosting early pioneers who led the industry’s journey from its early blueprints and aspirations.  The industry has been transformed into a global force, with a remarkable rate of growth. The conference will feature dubbed “Face to Face with Pioneers” dialogue sessions with a distinguished group of industry leaders from diverse backgrounds (business leaders, Shari’ah scholars, economists, regulators, finance industry leaders, accountants, etc.) in order to revisit and record the early history of the industry, and evaluate the current reality, through the eyes of the industry pioneers, with an overarching objective of preserving this great chronicle and heritage.  These sessions will be moderated through direct dialogue with panelists according to preset topics, and then the floor will be open to audience to directly discuss and discourse with these pioneers.

2) To set technical and professional foundations for mechanisms and criteria whereby the degree of advancement and sophistication of the Islamic finance industry can be measured in different areas such as Shari’ah-compliance performance, human resources, knowledge development, economic value-addition, employment, wealth creation, social responsibility and society support, etc. These sessions will feature the presentation of a seminal paper by a distinguished expert in a specific field, commentators’ views, and discussion of the paper and broader session topic by three experts. The floor will be open to the audience for discussion and comments. Overall, each session aims to establish a vision about a project under such a theme, which a think tank or a research center or any professional entity may be commissioned to undertake. Implementation will be based on the criteria and framework set and defined by this session. The project report will be launched and introduced in a successive conference, through a dedicated session.

The aim of such session shall not be to amend and rectify the industry’s performance in these different aspects, but rather to figure out a set of criteria and factors that can be used to carry out evaluation projects.

Hosted by: Emirate of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province

Official Sponsor: Capital Market Authority (CMA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia