Islamic Finance Symposium

2nd ANNUAL ISLAMIC FINANCE SYMPOSIUM

Islamic Finance: Resilience in a Time of Financial Crisis?

A day-long conference featuring scholars and practitioners

Saturday, February 28, 2009
University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Boalt Hall

presented by JMEIL and the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law
Earn 5 CLE Credits

Register Here

Overview:

Islamic finance, or asset management in accordance with shari'a, prohibits the payment or receipt of interest income, and investment in Islamically-prohibited products such as alcohol, pork, and pornography. The field has quickly expanded into an industry valued at over 500 billion dollars, involving corporations, law firms, and religious advisers, who devise shari'a-compliant bonds, partnerships, private equity deals, and mortgages. This phenomenon has reached the U.S.; several U.S.-based banks have emerged and dozens of American law firms have opened offices in the Gulf region or cultivated a practice niche from their U.S. offices.

However, the field of Islamic finance remains a mystery to many, and to others who are deeply familiar with it, it remains a realm of open debate, as many points relating to the theory and application of Islamic finance are hotly contested. The Symposium aims to both provide basic information about Islamic finance and provide a forum for its critical examination.


Some questions that the Symposium will address include:

* What is Islamic finance? Why do some Muslims seek alternative financial structures? What forms do these alternative financial structures take?

* How are Islamic financial products weathering the current global economic downturn?

* Does the practice of Islamic finance differ by region, between the Gulf States, Southeast Asia, and the West?

* Does Islamic finance have a sound theoretical foundation? As practiced, how well does Islamic finance live up to Islamic principles?


Format:
The day-long conference will be held Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Symposium will consist of approximately 10 lectures and panel discussions featuring leading academic and practitioner figures in the field.

The opening and closing addresses of the Symposium will probe the theme of the relative health of Islamic finance during the current period of global financial crisis. The Symposium will offer an "Introduction to Islamic Finance" session for those unfamiliar with the field. The Symposium will feature content for practitioners, covering financial tools such as sukuk (Islamic bonds), in addition to addressing unexamined issues such as bankruptcy in Islamic finance. Other panels include "Microfinance in Muslim Communities," "Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia," and a session confronting the argument that Islamic finance is a front for "terror financing."

Register Here

PAST EVENTS

1st ANNUAL ISLAMIC FINANCE SYMPOSIUM, 2008

"Islamic Finance & Banking: Possibilities & Challenges in the Global Market"
April 3rd, 2-7:30 pm in the Goldberg Room, Boalt Hall

Islamic Finance has long been an important alternative financial system in the global marketplace. The increasing interaction between Western and traditionally Islamic markets has raised a number of issues relating to the present and future use of Islamic Finance. Therefore, the Symposium will provide both a practitioner and scholarly perspective on these issues through a structured forum for discussion on Global Islamic Finance.