Islamic finance, sustainable development and developing countries: Linkages and Potential

This chapter considers the role of Islamic finance in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. The SDGs require unprecedented mobilization of funds to support their implementation. Given the social and moral ethos and emphasis on prohibition of riba (interest) and asset-backed financing, Islamic finance offers an effective non-traditional means of financing for sustainable development activities and projects in developing countries. This chapter demonstrates that the ideology of Islamic finance, its attributes, principles, products, instruments and institutions all tend to be well-suited to boosting the SDGs. It also shows that Islamic finance has great potential in supporting developing countries efforts to finance the SDGs agenda. Divided into seven sections, the chapter outlines sustainable development from an Islamic perspective, and the principles of Islamic finance, before assessing the role of Islamic financial institutions, sukuk (Islamic bonds), and Islamic social finance (zakat and waqf) in promoting the SDGs.

KEYWORDS: Islamic finance, innovative finance, developing countries, financing gap, SDGs

Dr. Mohammed Khair Alshaleel

Full-time Lecturer in financial and commercial law University of Essex, UK

Mohammed is a full-time lecturer and the Director of Student Experience at the University of Essex. Mohammed obtained his PhD in International Financial law from the University of Essex in 2017. He also has an LLM in International Trade law from the same university. He has an LLB from the University of Damascus where he graduated as the Best Student of the Faculty of Law. He has presented his research in different national and international conferences. Mohammed has particular interests in international financial law, international trade law and Islamic banking and finance law. His recent publications are:
1- Alshaleel, M., (2019). Money Market Funds Reforms in the US and the EU: the Quest for Financial Stability. European Business Law Review
Van Ho, TL. and Alshaleel, MK., (2018).
2- Alshaleel, M., (2019). Islamic finance, sustainable development and developing countries: Linkages and Potential. In: CSR in Developing and Emerging Markets – Institutions, Actors and Sustainable Development. Cambridge University Press
3- The Mutual Fund Industry and the Protection of Human Rights. Human Rights Law Review. 18 (1), 1-29