Mrs Malak Alnamy

Malak Alnamy

Impacts of Different Islamic Schools of Thought on Islamic Banking and Finance

Malak holds a Master’s degree in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University, and graduated top of her Bachelor’s degree class at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah. She is currently a PhD candidate at La Trobe Law School, with a scholarship from the Saudi government to research banking regulations in Saudi Arabia. Before joining La Trobe, Malak worked as a qualified lawyer in Saudi Arabia and as a Lecturer in Financial Law at Jazan University, acting as a Vice Dean (Student Affairs) and Coordinator of the Accounting Department. She has attended training courses and international conferences at Harvard and in Kuwait.

Impacts of Different Islamic Schools of Thought on Islamic Banking and Finance

Different Islamic schools of thought have profound influences on the conduct of Islamic banking and finance. Some Muslim scholars agree on the primary source of Sharia guidance for Islamic finance contracts, while other Muslim scholars place emphasis on Sharia secondary sources. This is a controversial topic. The Sharia boards of various financial institutions include Muslim scholars who may not belong to a single school of Islamic thought; thus, a Fatwa might be issued based on different interpretations of Sharia sources. This paper will consider the impact on the validity of Islamic financial contracts of the varying Islamic schools of thought.