The Eighth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance is scheduled to be held at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 19 and 20, 2008. The theme of the conference will be “Innovation and Authenticity.”
The purpose of the Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, begun in 1997, has been to enable participants in the Islamic finance industry and scholars of the field from all over the world to assemble and engage in productive dialogue concerning the theory, practice, structure and future direction of the field of Islamic finance. The accelerated growth of the Islamic finance industry, continuous since our first Forum, bears testament to the constant flow of innovative ideas and solutions that have been introduced to overcome the challenges facing the field. However, this rapid rate of change has led to some concern about the authenticity of the practices and institutions that now form the landscape of Islamic finance. To address this latest challenge, the Eighth Harvard University Forum will focus on the two issues that have become the central issues of debate within the Islamic finance industry today: the latest innovations and developments at the leading edge of the field, and the long-term impact, scope and authenticity of these ideas in the context of an Islamic community and way of life.
We expect the Forum papers to be of publishable quality, and therefore recommend that prospective authors give great attention to detail while developing their topics and drafting their submissions. For reference, kindly refer to the standards of Harvard University’s official publications, such as the proceedings from past forums which can be purchased online at
http://ifp.law.harvard.edu.
Papers are sought in the following areas:
DEBT AND DEBT- BASED INSTRUMENTS
Critics contend that the Islamic finance industry has been focused on introducing tools that imitate debt structures present in conventional financing rather than emphasizing profit/loss sharing ventures. The Forum will investigate both the theoretical role of debt and product innovation in debt-based financial instruments. Potential topics of interest include:
The role and impact of debt, debt-based, or sale-based transactions in an Islamic economy, as compared to conventional economics
The Islamic legal view of debt, debt-based, or sale-based financial instruments
Consumer debt-based or sale-based financial instruments
Institutional debt-based or sale-based financial instruments
EQUITY AND EQUITY-BASED INSTRUMENTS
The importance of profit-sharing in an Islamic financial system has been an active topic of discussion from the earliest years of the Islamic finance industry. The Forum will investigate economic and legal views of equity as well as focus on specific attempts to introduce equity-based financial instruments.
Economic comparisons of debt and equity, including concern for wealth distribution
The Islamic legal view of equity and equity-based financial instruments
Consumer equity-based financial instruments
Institutional equity-based financial instruments
REGULATION AND SUPERVISION
Many of the changes in the Islamic finance industry are influenced by external forces shaping the global financial and regulatory environment. The Forum will consider the impact of these trends on Islamic finance and how Islamic financial institutions can and should respond. Potential topics of interest include:
The effects (positive or negative) of globalization, liberalization, and international regulation on innovation and authenticity in the Islamic finance industry
The role of shari‘a supervision in the evolution of the Islamic finance industry
Expanding the scope of current shari‘a investment guidelines to include non-financial factors, such as corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, environmental impact, and labor practices
Making the shift from Islamic financial institutions to Islamic financial systems
BEYOND TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES
The Islamic finance industry has largely followed the example of conventional financial institutions in its choice of customers and services. Having achieved a certain degree of commercial success, can it now push the boundaries of traditional financial services? Potential topics of interest include:
The development of Islamic microfinance initiatives, products and services
The application of the principles and practices of Islamic finance to businesses based on Islamic principles
Innovations in Islamic philanthropy and the monetization of Islamic philanthropic instruments
CURRENT ACADEMIC RESEARCH
As in the Sixth and Seventh Forums, a section will be devoted to encourage advanced graduate student research in Islamic finance, economics, law, etc. Students are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. Preference shall be given to those falling within the themes of this year’s forum.
GUIDELINES
Potential presenters are requested to e-mail, in a Word document, the following to ifp@law.harvard.edu:
Biographical sketch of up to 200 words
Single-page list of presenter’s related publications
150-word abstract of the proposed paper
Papers must be original and written exclusively for presentation at the Eighth Harvard University Forum on Islamic finance. In the spirit of academic and professional ethics, papers substantially similar to those already presented elsewhere shall not be accepted. Papers on issues not listed above but relevant to other issues concerning innovation and authenticity in the Islamic finance field may be submitted for review.
All papers, abstracts, and supporting material accepted for the Forum become the property of the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School and may not be reproduced in any form or submitted elsewhere without prior written permission. No submissions will be returned.
DEADLINES
Paper title, 150-word abstract, and bio: September 1, 2007
Draft of Paper: January 1, 2008
Final Paper: March 1, 2008
CONTACT: Islamic Finance Project, 1350 Mass Ave, 347 Holyoke Center, Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel. (617) 496-2296 Fax (617) 496-2373 Email: ifp@law.harvard.edu or nazimali@law.harvard.edu http://ifp.law.harvard.edu
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