(Economic lessons learned from Coronavirus Pandemic, from an Islamic economics point of view)
Symposium Sessions

Session 1: Does the investment world reflect our real economy?

Session objective:

This session seeks to clarify the difference between real investments that achieve the interests of society in general and investments based on tracking individual and personal interests by capital owners in light of the dominance of the prevailing financial system and the absence of the principles of solidarity and cooperation.

 Session questions:

Can a new investment system be devised that approaches more human needs away from the causes of harm to humans and the environment?
Can governments create incentives for investments in the most important areas? Is it possible to impose restrictions on absurd investments that do not have any positive impact or harmful investments?
How “impact investment” is developed?
How advanced are the ESG indicators?
Do we really have experiences that can be generalized to reach attractive, safe and at the same time beneficial investment results for humans and for the planet on which we all live?

This is what the session seeks to answer through the following papers:

(1) The first paper: Towards a review of the investment system: guidelines and suggested solutions

(2) The second paper: The most important global experiences and major results in the shift towards responsible investment

Session 2: The future of globalization in light of successive crises

Session Objectives:

The importance of the scientific paper lies in assessing the reality of economic globalization in light of the crisis, and then revealing the validity of the alleged claims about the positiveness of globalization, especially in light of pandemics, and identifying its most important effects on societies.

Session questions:

What is economic globalization? Who benefits from it?
Has globalization in light of the pandemic helped facilitate trade and service exchanges between countries?
What have you done to the world’s developing and developed economies alike?
Is it the best model for world economies?
What are the positive and negative services included in the globalization system?
Who are the beneficiaries and affected by the system of globalization in light of the pandemic?
Are there controls and restrictions that can be suggested to improve the “globalization experience”?
What are the consequences for poor countries through the system of globalization in light of the pandemic?

This is what the session seeks to answer through the following papers:

(1) The first paper: Economic globalization and its effects on developing countries.

(2) The second paper: Economic globalization: An attempt to assess and anticipate the future.

Session 3: The contemporary monetary system and its ability to survive and face crises

Session Objectives:

To learn about the role of the prevailing monetary system in light of the pandemic in order to reach the most important economic lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic, from the point of view of the Islamic economy. By diagnosing the drivers of the prevailing economic system, and then examining, studying and analyzing the resulting effects of the Corona pandemic on the prevailing economic system, while monitoring the most important achievements that the prevailing economic system contributed to facing the pandemic and the most important obstacles that the system was unable to confront.

Session questions:

Is the system, with its various components, capable of absorbing the shock?
How true is what some claim that it includes seeds that represent permanent causes of crises?
What are the problems of the monetary system specifically?
How can alternatives be developed for these problems?
How effective is quantitative easing in treating consecutive financial crises?
How can technological development help in developing remedies for successive financial crises?
Can a system really be devised based on other components? On the natural resources of the state? On the production capacity of the state? Or any other models?
Do we really see solutions that take us back to the barter system that humanity knew many centuries ago?
Can regional economies (such as the ASEAN region) develop an exchange model based on currencies other than the US dollar? Can this model cover the entire inter-trade exchange within the region?
How successful are the European Union countries in developing the single European currency area (Euro)? Is (the euro) a real solution for the state? Or is it a new problem for it, as evidenced by the refusal of a number of European countries to join it?

This is what the session seeks to answer through the following papers:

The first paper: Weaknesses in the contemporary monetary system and the proposed remedies.
Paper Two: Does the world need a new monetary system?

Session 4: Charity in times of crisis

Session Objectives:

Highlight the intended aspects of the meanings of social solidarity in Islamic law.
The flexibility of Sharia to respond to the provisions of emergency circumstances.
The extent of the Sharia’s interest in securing the necessary needs and preserving human dignity from begging, especially in light of general pandemics.
The extent of the intervention of the ruler in removing the harm from his people.

Session questions:

What are the sayings of the jurists – may God have mercy on them – regarding the ruling on the wealth of the rich in imposing a right (other than zakat) that must be paid to the poor if the zakat money is not covered to meet the necessary needs? And at the exact time of the outbreak of pandemics? Are they discharged by simply paying zakat on their money?
In the event of a judgment that it is obligatory:
What are the conditions and restrictions governing the issue?
To what extent does the ruler interfere in compelling that?

Session 5: The desired role of the Islamic economy between hope and reality

Almost half a century is the time that has passed since the launch of the Islamic economy in its new models: Islamic banks, Islamic insurance companies, etc. It is an appropriate period for measuring the experience and evaluating it with various tools and indicators.

Is there really an Islamic economic model that can contribute to treating the accumulated and successive crises? Or do we only have legitimate alternatives to some financing tools? Does this model amount to being an integrated economic system that includes solutions to economic problems? Can it defuse the successive crises of the global economy?

These and other questions are raised in an important dialogue session that concludes the symposium sessions through the following topics:

Discussion Topic (1): The centrality of humans in the economic system.
Discussion Topic (2): The driving forces of economic growth
Discussion Topic (3): The Ethical Buildup of the Economic System