Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are becoming the global pressure to ascertain sustainable development in a country or any institutional level worldwide. It affects the policymakers in providing future direction and responding to current developments. Thus, the study attempts to examine the performance of Majlis Agama Islam dan 'Adat Melayu Perak/Islamic Religious and Malay Tradition Council in Perak State (MAIPk), Malaysia, on the SDGs achievement, which relates to the issue of zero hunger in the society. The study adopts in-depth interviews with the stakeholders of MAIPk and performs a survey of Islamic social finance recipients in Perak State, focusing on the monthly financial and food bank assistance programs, which the number of recipients is 11,769 and 25,144 recipients. The finding of the study reveals that MAIPk successfully contributes to the achievement of SDG 2, whichcreate social impact for the recipients, such as an increase in the ability to access healthy food, increase physical and mental health, and motivate the recipient to be involved in altruism activities. The study pioneers the scientific examination of thesocial impact assessment in the State of Perak, Malaysia case. Additionally, the findings of the study imply that the Islamic social funds' institution needs to increase its awareness of measuring social impact on society instead of only focusing on the output-based measurement.

Following the recent global financial crisis, Islamic banks (IBs) have grown rapidly and are found to create more liquidity for the economy relative to their conventional counterparts. Nonetheless, the significance of their impact on real economic output relative to pure conventional banks (PCBs) has not been examined empirically. The aim of this study therefore is to investigate the liquidity creation impact of full-fledged Islamic banks (FIBs) and PCBs on real economic output. We examine 12 Muslim-majority countries over a period of 13 years from 2010 to 2022. We employ both the feasible generalized least square (FGLS) and panel-correlated standard errors models. Our findings show that both FIBs and PCBs liquidity creation per capita have a statistically significant positive impact on real economic output. Notably, FIBs have a marginally higher impact than PCBs. In terms of bank size, our findings show that only large FIBs and PCBs have positive impacts on real output. These findings are robust for both types of banking systems� on- and off-balance sheets liquidity creation components and subsamples including countries where IBs are systematically important. Finally, our findings also indicate a positive bidirectional causality between the liquidity creation of FIBs and real output but a reverse unidirectional causality between PCBs� liquidity creation and real output. Our results imply that policymakers should maintain a clear differentiation between the business models of FIBs and PCBs and act to enhance their liquidity creation to spur real economic output.

This study employed a novel methodological perspective to evaluate the impact of zakat on one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), i.e., education. The study has employed macrolevel data on zakat spending collected from the zakat department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and microlevel data from a renowned national survey, the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM). Based on the data set used for empirical analysis, a multilevel model was used to control the effect of intraclass correlation. The findings of this study confirmed that zakat spending by the public sector reduces deprivation in education. Hence, the households benefiting from zakat allocations are less likely to face barriers in accessing education. Furthermore, the study shows that educated and female-headed households are less likely to experience deprivation, emphasizing the importance of empowering such households as a strategy to reduce educational inequality. However, the mechanism of zakat disbursement should be refined and made transparent to pursue SDGs by empowering individuals through quality education, vocational training, and enhancing technical skills, which may ultimately reduce poverty in the country. In addition, the method ology adopted in the study opens doors for further research to decompose the results and design policies accordingly.

In a significant shift towards financial inclusivity and adherence to Islamic guidelines, the Maldives has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its government-issued education financings. This move comes in response to a directive from Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who called for all government financings for higher education, both within the Maldives and abroad, to comply with Islamic principles. The Ministry of Higher Education, which oversees the issuance and management of these financings, has already initiated steps to implement the changes. The primary change involves the restructuring of financing repayments, which will now solely cover the principal amount. This adjustment means that students will no longer be required to pay any additional charges or interest, a move aimed at alleviating the financial burden on borrowers. In addition to this, the ministry has announced that no administrative fees will be applied to financings that have already been repaid. One of the more notable adjustments is the reversal of the 1% administrative fee that was previously deducted from student financings, with repayment amounts being recalculated accordingly. These measures are designed to ensure that the financings align more closely with the ethical and moral standards set forth by Shariah law, which prohibits the charging of interest or unjust fees. The ministry has expressed strong support for the president's decision, recognizing it as a reflection of the government's commitment to making financial transactions more just and equitable for students. The changes are also seen as a part of the broader effort by the Maldivian government to ensure that the country's financial systems operate in line with Islamic finance principles, promoting fairness and transparency.