To coincide with the Global Islamic Economic Summit

Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of UAEU, the 23^rd International Conference on Islamic Economics was inaugurated on Tuesday, October 6^th. The two day conference was held in the Intercontinental Hotel/ Dubai-Festival City. The title of the conference was “Implementation and the Imperatives for Transformation.” The conference was organized by the College of Law at UAEU, in cooperation with Dubai Courts. Also present were Professor Mohamed Al Baili, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Michael G.T. McMillin, a member of the New York State Bar Association and a Professor of Islamic Finance, as well as academics and specialists in Islamic economics.

The Conference aims to analyze the nature of transformation in Islamic economies: its causes, effects, consequences and various prerequisites. The conference will also discuss the social, economic, legislative and Sharia requirements for transformation, as well as address issues of who controls the Islamic Economy both locally and internationally.

Professor Mohamed Al Baili gave an opening speech and stressed that UAEU interacts with government directives and national initiatives which support the leading role of the UAE in the Islamic Economy. This is reflected in the changing global economy, where the university’s strategy addresses issues related to the local, regional and international community.

The first sessions were chaired by His Excellency Dr. Abdul Wahab Abdoul, President of the Federal Supreme Court, under the title, “The imperatives of a transformation to an Islamic economy in light of changes both locally and internationally. “ Professor Mohamed Sultan Alolama, Professor of Sharia Law and Islamic Studies in the College of Law at UAEU, presented a paper on the transformation to an Islamic economy and the obstacles that stand in the way of such a change.

Dr. Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al Janahi, an adviser at the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, explained the importance of developing global standards to facilitate the transformation to an Islamic economy. Mr. Thamer Al Nweiran, a Ph.D candidate in Economics and Banking at Yarmouk University in Jordan, discussed the phenomenon of traditional banks that transformed into Islamic ones.

Mr. Ahmed Abdul Rahim, Director of Sharia Control at the Al Salam Bank in Bahrain, and Mr. Ahmed Marzouqi, Chairman of Sharia Control at Mawarid Finance in Dubai, addressed the issue of transforming a traditional bank into an Islamic one: both the theory and application.

The second session was chaired by Dr. Butti Sultan Al Muhairi, Assistant Professor in the College of Law at UAEU. It was called, “The prerequisites of transforming to an Islamic economy. “ Professor Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Al Bader, a professor at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, presented a paper on financial institutions and their transformation towards Islamic economics as according to the requirements of Fiqh and Sharia Law. Dr. Abdul Karim Ba’adash, from the Faculty of Economics, Management and Commercial Sciences, at the University M'Hamed Bouguerra, Algeria, talked about the economic and social requirements of a shift towards Islamic economics; and Dr. Oqba Abdul Lawi of Université d'El Oued in Algeria, presented an analytical study of the problems the gap between theory and application in the Islamic economy.

The first-day was concluded by Professor Dr. Breesh Abdul Qadir, a researcher in  Economic and Financial Sciences in Algeria, who discussed the requirements for a transformation to sustainable finance in Islamic economic thought.