Shariah and ESG | Islamic Finance & the SDGs 2021 Virtual Summit

Are the principles behind ESG finance and the SDGs compatible with Islam? Islamic finance pioneer Stella Cox CBE, Managing Director of DDCAP Group, interviews Shariah scholar Dr Akram Laldin of ISRA to explore.

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UKIFC in partnership with UN and Islamic Development Bank organised a virtual global summit on Islamic finance and the SDGs, to coincide with the UN General Assembly. The summit:

- Highlighted the natural alignment between Islamic finance and the SDGs, based on the Maqasid Al-Shariah (higher goals of Islam);
- Examined some of the challenges for Islamic finance and the SDGs;
- Showcase the practical progress made by Islamic financial institutions on the SDGs, including multilateral organisations, governments, and commercial banks and asset managers; and
- Examined the role for Islamic social finance in achieving the SDGs

By focusing on the natural alignment between the Islamic faith and the SDGs, we seek to drive engagement with and acceptance of the Goals among communities who might otherwise not engage with them.

The summit featured a mixture of high-level discussions about the global trends facing the Islamic finance industry, scholarly debate regarding the Goals, and practical showcases of SDGs in action in Islamic finance.

Summit sessions:
Dr Rola Dashti: setting the scene -    • Dr Rola Dashti | Islamic Finance & th...  
Shariah & ESG Interview -    • Shariah and ESG | Islamic Finance & t...  
Practical Challenges for Islamic Finance -    • Practical Challenges | Islamic Financ...  
Dr Sami Al-Suwailem: Integrating the SDGs into Islamic Finance -    • Integrating the SDGs into Islamic Fin...  
Green Sukuk -    • Green Sukuk | Islamic Finance & the S...  
Islamic Banking & the PRB -    • Islamic Banking & the PRB | Islamic F...  
Islamic Investment -    • Islamic Asset Management | Islamic Fi...  
From Halal to Tayyib -    • From Halal to Tayyib | Islamic Financ...  
UN-IsDB Islamic Social Finance Dialogue -    • UN Social Finance Dialogue | Islamic ...  

The Global Islamic Finance and SDGs Taskforce, initiated by the UKIFC, was launched by the UK Government together with IsDB to promote awareness and adoption of the SDGs amongst commercial Islamic financial institutions. This summit is informed by, and builds on, the work of the Taskforce and the UKIFC’s broader activities in promoting the SDGs and its work with GEFI as part of the Faith in Finance Path to COP workstream.

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