abdul rasheed ghaffour : islamic finance and the fiqh of crisis management keynote address by mr abdul rasheed ghaffour, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the 16th international shariah scholars forum ( issf ) " islamic finance and the fiqh of crisis management ", 6 october 2021. * * * assalamualaikum w. b. t and a very good afternoon to all distinguished guests and fellow participants. it is a pleasure and honour for me, to be part of what i believe will be another stimulating and thought - provoking dialogue. i would like to record the bank ’ s appreciation to isra for hosting this annual platform, and also more broadly, for its continued dedication in advancing the frontiers of applied shariah knowledge in islamic finance towards greater heights and prominence. the chosen theme “ islamic finance and the fiqh of crisis management ” is very apt and timely. with the persisting rage of the covid - 19 pandemic, our economic and financial backdrop is gripped with unprecedented challenges that emerged within a very short period of time – priced with great health, economic and social costs. the forecasted statistics are rather staggering, sparing no countries from economic fallout and social regress. with as many as 150 million people globally estimated to be pushed into extreme poverty by 20211, exacerbated with the fact that global unemployment is expected to hit more than 200 million people by 20222, the impact from the crisis has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable. at the same time, disruptions and displacements due to the long - term threats of climate change events continue to persist. collectively, these present serious ramifications to macro and socio - economic development. implicit from this crisis is the valuable lesson which compels us to rethink on how we can and should navigate more inclusive and sustainable development, and the role of finance. this presents a prime opportunity for islamic finance to deliver greater values and impact. with principles of maqasid shariah that are universally aligned with the vision of sustainable, balanced, and inclusive economic growth, islamic finance can meaningfully contribute towards delivering maslahah ( benefits ) at large and preventing mafsadah ( intensified harm ) to the economy and livelihood of the people. indeed, islamic finance and islamic financial institutions can provide clear leadership on this front. as the global economy heads towards recovery, a

evolved as an integral and competitive component of the overall financial system that operates in parallel with the conventional financial system. the malaysian islamic financial system is founded on three major strategies. firstly, the islamic financial system has been evolved as a comprehensive financial system that is diversified in terms of its institutions, markets and players. the islamic financial system comprises the islamic banking institutions, the takaful industry, the non - banking institutions and the islamic money and capital markets. the supporting financial infrastructure includes the robust regulatory and supervisory framework that is reinforced by the legal and shariah framework, the payment and settlement systems and the mechanism for the liquidity operations by the central bank. the assets of the islamic banking system now comprise 16 % of the market, while the takaful sector has garnered 7 % market share. significant progress been achieved in particular in the islamic capital market where the outstanding amount of islamic private securities amounted to usd79 billion or 54. 3 % of the total outstanding private securities in the market. the number of shariah - based unit trust funds have also increased to 136 with a net asset value of over usd5. 2 billion while 85 % of the listed malaysian stocks are shariah - approved counters. the second strategy is to accord greater emphasis on the enabling environment for increased innovation in the islamic financial industry. the product range in islamic finance has now expanded into a broad spectrum of innovative instruments, including investment and equity linked products based on musyarakah, mudarabah and ijarah. these products are competitive both in terms of product structure and pricing. the enhanced depth of the islamic financial markets, in particular, the sukuk market, has increased the attractiveness of the islamic financial instruments as an asset class for investment. the drive for innovation has been supported by the investment in human capital development. a sufficient pool of the talent and expertise has been key to the development of the islamic financial hub in malaysia. the international centre for education in islamic finance ( inceif ) was established in 2006. inceif which has an international faculty and students from more than 40 countries is focused on programmes for islamic finance professionals and specialists in islamic finance. the first group of students for the chartered islamic finance professional qualification, cifp, offered by inceif, is expected to graduate at the end of this year after completing a three year programme that includes an internship with an islamic financial institution. inceif also offers a masters and phd programme in islamic finance. to promote research