Industry Article

I would like to turn my attention this month to area of our business that is gaining in traction and requires considerable thought, analysis and attention. This relates primarily to technology, otherwise known as FINTECH, and how it relates to the real world and the real economy. I must confess that, as someone in their 60's, I cannot claim to have any particular expertise in this area. However, I would like to make some observations (based purely on my experience) and to promote not only a discussion but also to speed up the process of realisation.

This month I would like to focus on an area that I consider of great significance and one that I have written about frequently in the last year or so. The focus is the alignment of Maqasid al Shariah with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a topic that I have commented on several times before in this column and I should like, with your indulgence, to give you the latest thoughts and updates that I have been having in this area after several related meetings in recent days. During the last month or so I have had several discussions with a couple of very prominent and globally recognised scholars. Both have expressed concerns, as I have, that the scholars in general, are less relevant than they should be in the current day and age. Indeed, both have commented on the fact that the Shariah Boards are starting to look like Fatwa factories, when they should be looking more closely at the outcomes of their decisions, particularly with regard to alignment with global SDGs.