LAHORE: The total volume of Islamic Banking has increased to over $1 trillion and has been growing at an annual rate of 15 to 20 per cent, claimed Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri.

Addressing the inaugural session of World Islamic Economics and Finance Conference, hosted by his own organisation, he said that the banking sector’s problems could only be solved by adherence to religious edicts and proposed the creation of “Global Sharia Finance Guidance Authority (GSFGA)” to conflate regional and jurisprudence issues.

Calling for consensus among different Islamic schools of thought, he highlighted the need for a universally acknowledged code to ensure sustainable development.

He urged on the Muslim world to formulate its own economic identity on the basis of stable economic foundations. The proposed GSFGA would include representation from differing schools of thought, without designating any scholar the power to veto any banking product.

He attributed conflicts within opposing Islamic sects as the major obstruction in Islamic banking’s growth, and called for dialogue within the community to achieve standardization of the rules.

The two-day moot includes scholars from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UAE, USA, Indonesia and Australia, and seeks to find solutions to economic problems the ummah is facing.

A number of local and international scholars presented their research findings on the first day.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018