Covid-19 and Islamic Social Finance

It is said that the COVID-19 pandemic has turned back the poverty clock. As such, there is a need to have social mechanisms put in place to provide relief to those who are affected in this regard. Islamic social finance consists of tools and institutions that could be used to alleviate poverty. This book explores the impact of COVID-19 on Islamic finance to better understand the effectiveness of Islamic social finance in helping those who have been affected by poverty overnight due to the halt in all major economic activities in the context of the pandemic.

Since the struggle against poverty in each country will be different, the book attempts to shed light on the experiences of different countries by presenting successful models of Islamic social finance. The book first looks at poverty and COVID-19 before delving into the role of Islamic social financial institutions and how they have risen against COVID-19. The book concludes by examining the impact of COVID-19 on Islamic microfinance.

This book is the first of its kind on the subject of COVID-19, and it intends to bridge the gap in the literature.

Mohammad Kabir Hassan is Professor of Finance in the Department of Economics and Finance in the University of New Orleans. He currently holds three endowed Chairs-Hibernia Professor of Economics and Finance, Hancock Whitney Chair Professor in Business, and Bank One Professor in Business- in the University of New Orleans. Professor Hassan is the winner of the 2016 Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance. Professor Hassan received his BA in Economics and Mathematics from Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, USA, and M.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA respectively.

Aishath Muneeza is an Associate Professor at International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). She is the first female Deputy Minister of Ministry of Islamic Affairs and was the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Finance & Treasury of Republic of Maldives. She is considered as the founder of Islamic finance in Maldives. Her contribution to Islamic finance includes structuring of the corporate sukuks, sovereign private sukuk of the country including the Islamic treasury instruments; designing of the first Islamic microfinance scheme and establishing and heading the Maldives Hajj Corporation, the Tabung Haji of Maldives.　

Adel Sarea is Associate Professor of Accounting and Economics at Ahlia University- Kingdom of Bahrain. He obtained PhD in Economics and Muamalat Administration (Accounting) from the Islamic Science University of Malaysia in 2011. He joined Ahlia University in September 2011 and has been Director of Ahlia MBA Program since 2013. Dr Sarea is the winner of Emerald Literati Award 2014 for Excellence (BEST PAPER). In 2015, he has been appointed as a recognized PhD supervisor by Brunel University London.