The Iranian Association of Islamic Finance (IAIF) held the 10th Islamic Finance Conference in cooperation with universities and seminaries, banks, insurance companies and the country's capital market on the 4th of February, 2025.

At this conference, researchers presented their latest achievements in the field of Islamic finance from the perspective of banks, insurance and stock exchange, and senior economic officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran delivered speeches. Also, the best Islamic finance research/book reward was awarded.

.The main theme of the conference was Production Leap in Cooperation with General Public in Islamic Finance Markets

Sub-themes:

1- Designing New Islamic Financial Instruments and Products in line with Production Leap

2- Restoring Investors' Trust in Financial Markets

3- Financing Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and The Role of General Public in it

4- Supporting Retail Investors in Islamic Financial Markets

5- Crowdfunding and Public Participation in Financial Markets

6- The Role of New Technologies in Increasing Public Participation in Financial Markets

7- Fintech; Regulation and its Applications in Financial Markets

8- Solutions to Strengthen Financial Inclusion and Access to Services and Products of Financial Markets

9- Improving Financial Literacy and its Role in Increasing Public participation in Financial Markets

10- Cryptocurrencies and Possible Capacities to Develop Public participation in Financial Markets

11- Public Participation in Production and its Place in the Seventh Development Plan

In the beginning of the conference, Dr. Ali Salehabadi, Chairman of the Iranian Association of Islamic Finance (IAIF) via video conference, stated that the IAIF should take steps to improve knowledge and financial literacy, adding the production leap in cooperation with general public in Islamic financial markets requires two basic axes, including strengthening the financial markets, security and safety for the development of infrastructure and increasing the level of financial literacy.

He pointed to the readiness of the IAIF for promoting knowledge and financial literacy and said to provide the necessary platforms for exchanging ideas and promote financial literacy and be successful as in the past, the association needs the cooperation of the board members and other members.

Salehabadi stated that this association played an effective role in the development of Islamic financial sciences in the past years and added one of the main missions of the association is the development of these sciences.

Somewhere else he touched upon the measures of the association and explained holding 7 specialized pre-sessions at domestic and international levels , such as crowdfunding and people's participation in financial markets, people's participation in production, holding 4 management courses and 2 professional management courses with a total of 120 students, 17 specialized financial jurisprudence courses for students and members of the association, holding 10 sessions of International Forum Committee , holding 10 Islamic finance conference, holding 7 DBA and MBA courses in Islamic capital market. Salehabadi also noted the IAIF cooperates with 12 scientific and research journals and the articles of members of the association can be published in those journals.

Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, the Chairman of the Shariah Committee of the Securities and Exchange Organization emphasized that there are about 70 billion dollars of stagnant capital, currency and gold, outside the economic cycle and production, while we are seeking resources between 5 and 10 billion dollars from abroad.

He said in order to attract people's currency and gold, the banking system should take appropriate policies like what the Iran Mercantile Exchange has done regarding gold, and a good confidence-building atmosphere has been formed to encourage people to invest.

In the end, he suggested that these funds can be attracted by setting up project funds in the capital market for upstream and downstream oil and gas projects.

He also suggested that these funds can be attracted by setting up project funds in the capital market for upstream and downstream oil and gas projects.

In the special section of the 10th Islamic Finance Conference, the 6th Islamic Finance Award was awarded to Dr. Hossein Meisami, Secretary of the Central Bank’s Shariah Council.

On the domestic panel, Dr. Fereydoun Rahnamai Roudposhti, a Professor of Islamic Azad University, science and research branch and also the secretary general of the Financial Engineering Association, Gholamhasan Taghi Nataj, Associate Professor of Imam Hossein University, Hossein Meisami, secretary of the Shariah Council of the central bank, and Hossein Fahimi, a member of the Islamic Financial Association of Iran participated.

Rahmanai stated the basic missions of associations are to think together and talk in order to solve the concerns and find solutions to improve the future state of the country. He added we can overcome the economic problems through production, investment and work.

Taghi Netaj said that financial discipline in the banking system means to clarify the budget deficit, control it, prevent the weakening of the value of the national currency as a means of solving the government's financial problems, clarify the sources and expenses of the banking system's budget, clarify debts and obligations and the debt management policy of the banking system.

He added the financial discipline of the banking system means the evaluation of control, monitoring, optimal and effective integrated management and achieving balance in the performance of the budget and assets of the banking system in accordance with the goals of the economic system by using an effective and efficient internal control system. In fact, the intelligent supervision along with transparency that originates from within the bank is considered to be the shape of the financial discipline system, and the level of skill of the employees of the banking system, the technological infrastructure and laws are considered to be the key factors of financial discipline in banks.

Fahimi said in order to solve the problems, the policy makers should provide requirements of inflation control for relevant institutions and take steps to reduce government expenditures. “We need to focus on the fundamentals that have made our banking system sick. If we do not focus on the basic principles, our banking system, which should be the driving engine of the country's economy, turns into a challenge on the shoulders of the country’s economy. Keep in mind that in these years, wherever people have seen a positive movement, they have come to invest. People have the ability to invest and participate in production projects and plans, but there should be sufficient supervision and the projects should be properly introduced to the people so that the people have real participation in the production projects” he said.

Hossein Meisami stated the issue of production leap in cooperation with general public in Islamic financial markets is a very important issue and our role in providing the necessary tools for this purpose is very significant. Money and financial markets are so intertwined that it is impossible to define a border between the money market and the financial market.

He touched upon the new law of the central bank, saying we have the opportunity to create tools. The Shariah Council of the Central Bank has become one of the pillars of this bank. There are 5 mujtahids (highly top clerics) in the Shariah council, and our laws are confirmed by the directors of seminaries and the Guardian Council. He added all contracts including leasing, must be approved by the Shariah Council.

The second part of the conference, started in the afternoon, with the international online panel on “Production Leap in Cooperation with General Public in Islamic Financial Markets”.

Dr. Ali Salehabadi, head of the Iranian Association of Islamic Finance (IAIF), Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General of AAOIFI from Bahrain, Prof. Dr. Azmi Omar, President of INCIEF University of Malaysia, and Sheikh Hassan Shabir Maisami, Chairman of Al-Sadiq Institute of Islamic Banking and Economics of Pakistan, were on the panel.

Dr. Ali Salehabadi, Chairman, IAIF

While appreciating the sponsors of the 10th Islamic Finance Conference, namely AAOIFI, INCEIF and ISRA, Minhaj University of Lahore, COMSATS University, Al-Sadiq Institute, EAIFE (European Academy for Islamic Finance and Economics), Tazkiyeh Institute and Jamber University of Malaysia and the Indonesian Association of Islamic Economists, Dr. Salehabadi said I hope the issues raised here will lead to a better and deeper understanding of Islamic finance.

He went on to say that the mission of the Iranian Association of Islamic Finance is to develop and promote the current status of Islamic financial activities around the world in particular in Iran. We have done our best to keep our target community up to date with the latest developments in various fields of Islamic finance in different countries.

The chairman of IAIF said we have representatives of the Shariah Committee and Shariah Council of different financial sectors of Iran, i.e. the capital and money market, at the high level of the management of the IAIF. The Chairman of the Shariah Committee of the Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran (SEO) and the Shariah Council of the Central Bank of Iran is the board member of directors of the IAIF.

Salehabadi said the Iranian Association of Islamic Finance is also active in the international arena and the establishment of the international forum committee is one of the innovations of the association, which is attended by Islamic finance elites from different countries of the world. Also, the association interacts closely with institutions, associations, organizations and prominent people around the world, and so far more than 50 foreign speakers have participated in the association's international webinars.

Prof. Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar, President and CEO of INCEIF, Malaysia

He talked about the experience of crowdfunding and people's participation in Malaysia's financial markets. The president of INCEIF University said there are four types of Islamic crowdfunding in Malaysia, which are donation, reward, equity and P2P.

Regarding the donation crowdfunding, he said donors provide financial assistance to non-profit projects in accordance with Sharia, social development projects, etc.

Regarding rewards, he said donors contribute money as a gift or final product from the owner of the project.

Regarding equity crowdfunding, he said investors pay a significant amount of money and become shareholders of crowdfunding, and the profits and losses are shared among them.

About P2P, he stated investors will receive the principal repayment with interest.

Dr. Azmi Omar said another experience of Malaysia is Islamic crowdfunding for zakat and endowment development, among its features are the existence of a transparent platform, the development of updates, its easy access and the creation of an Islamic philanthropy environment which is more accessible and effective.

At the end, the president of INCEIF said the integration of social Islamic finance with Islamic finance in Malaysia is another experience of the country, which created a platform called “my Wakaf”, which is actually an initiative by Islamic banks and government Islamic religious councils to develop waqf through crowdfunding and innovative and efficient banking channels.

Sheikh Shabbir Hassan Maisami, Founder and Chairman of Al-Sadiq Institute, Pakistan

He said production leap is referred to a significant increase in production and economic activity, often driven by innovation, investment and collaboration. In Islamic financial markets, this leap can be achieved by involving the general public in productive economic investments in harmony with both the principles of Sharia and the demands of the market.

Sheikh Maisami clarified that Islamic finance creates an alternative to conventional financial systems by providing tools that directly involve people in economic activities, such as profit sharing, equity-based partnerships, and Islamic investment funds.

Regarding the role of people in Islamic financial markets, he said Islamic financial markets are designed to promote inclusion and allow ordinary people to participate in economic activities in an ethical and beneficial way for society. Unlike conventional financial markets dominated by large institutional investors, Islamic finance provides avenues for individual investors to directly engage with businesses, projects and investments. Instruments such as sukuk enable public participation by offering fixed income benefits that comply with Shariah laws.

Also, crowdfunding platforms in Islamic finance provide another exciting opportunity for the general public to participate in venture financing. These platforms can be structured in accordance with Sharia law, allowing small investors to support projects they believe in, such as renewable energy, healthcare or technology startups.

At the end, he said cooperation between Islamic financial markets and people can lead to job creation and economic growth, promotion of ethical investment and financial inclusion.

Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General, AAOIFI, Bahrain

At the beginning of his speech, he said some key challenges are limited to Iran's economy such as international sanctions, banking sector challenges, financial deficit, lack of foreign direct investment, geopolitical tensions and structural issues.

Regarding overcoming the aforementioned challenges, he said Iran can deal with sanctions by developing alternative payment systems, creating cross-border solutions in accordance with Sharia and strengthening regional cooperation. Moreover, supporting entrepreneurship through Islamic finance and Islamic social responsibility programs can reduce the unemployment rate.

The Secretary General of AAOIFI emphasized that the promotion of transparency and accountability, the implementation of Islamic governance standards such as AAOIFI standards can help to further exploit the Iranian banking sector.

Ansari stated the development of applicable models for production such as creating a regional hub of Islamic finance, promoting Islamic fintech crowdfunding, creating educational capacity, moving towards global regulatory spaces and strengthening strategic cooperation with countries that are not sanctioned can help Iran's economy.

The Secretary General of AAOIFI mentioned the use of fintech can lead to the development of infrastructure, sustainability and the creation of innovative models, increasing the awareness and efficiency of planning, therefore, they will ultimately result in production leap.