The phrase “talking shop” is the kiss of death to any conference. Organisers want something to happen to leave a lingering buzz and a sense of the life changing.
One of the latest fashions in the Muslim world is the Islamic finance conference. Islamic finance has the DNA for a profitable alternative to conventional finance. Industry professionals speak with pride – and rightly so – about how it emerged unscathed from the global economic crisis. There is also exciting news of financial centres outside the Muslim world entering the global Islamic financial market with David Cameron’s announcement that next year the UK will be issuing £200 million (Dh1.197 billion) of sukuk (Islamic bonds). But beneath these financial headlines, there is another trend mentioned, but rarely celebrated with the same gusto: the increasing popularity of Islamic finance with non-Muslim consumers.
I’m not excited by this as some kind of means of “trumpeting” Islamic values over other alternatives. Let the paranoid peddlers of the “creeping Sharia” myth be in no doubt. What I’m excited about is that it shows that listening to the needs of ordinary consumers and offering them products that chime with universal values is inherent across cultures and societies. There are alternatives to the current products on offer to all consumers. In this case, it is inspiration from Islamic values that is creating an offering that in its infant stages is attempting to provide an alternative based on ethics and fairness, in contrast to an economic system that has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years for elitism, exploitation and injustice.
At its root Islamic finance is designed to remove investment from harmful industries, ensure there is real value in transactions and at a consumer level to make sure risk and profit is fairly shared between borrower and lender.
Islamic finance and halal food are the most visible of the sectors being driven by the needs of Muslim consumers. Both are clearly prescribed Islamic requirements, so it’s no wonder they are driving the Islamic economy. But for those of us involved in understanding emerging trends among Muslim consumers, one thing is clear: Muslim consumers want to extend Muslim values into all aspects of products and services they consume, from fashion and cosmetics to travel and health care.
It was refreshing to attend this week’s Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai. The conference was a breath of fresh air centring around talk of consumer values, of innovating for consumer needs and understanding who is the Muslim consumer. Almost every speaker talked about the need to build products and services grounded in universal, Islamic values, and through their universality appeal to a global consumer. Innovation inspired by Muslim values was the buzz word.
This summit has undoubtedly put Dubai on the map as leading the conversation about the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and their consumption needs. But it will also provide a change in thinking about Muslim-inspired innovation. Industry practitioners at the summit relentlessly asserted that the Islamic values offer innovation not just for Muslim consumers but for all consumers. Muslim values like business transparency, accountability, worker fairness, supply-chain ethics, trust and social consciousness of business impact appeal across the board.
The time for me-too products from the Muslim world has passed: we are re-entering the age of Muslim-inspired innovation.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www.spirit21.co.uk
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
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