2nd Annual UC Berkeley Islamic Finance Sympoisum

2nd Annual UC Berkeley Islamic Finance Symposium
“Islamic Finance: Resilience in a Time of Financial Crisis?”

Information and agenda is online at: http://jmeil.boalt.org/?q=islamic-finance-symposium

The Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law and the Miller Center for Global Challenges and the Law present the 2nd Annual UC Berkeley Islamic Finance Symposium, "Islamic Finance: Resilience in a time of financial crisis?" The day-long conference will be held Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Symposium aims to provide a venue for the critical examination of the theory, practices, structure, and development of the field of Islamic Finance. The Symposium will consist of 10 sessions, involving a combination of lectures and panel discussions featuring leading figures in the field.

The opening and closing addresses of the Symposium will probe the theme of the relative health of Islamic finance during the current period of global financial crisis. The conference will feature content for practitioners, covering financial tools such as sukuk (Islamic bonds), in addition to addressing unexamined issues such as bankruptcy in Islamic finance. The symposium will offer an "Introduction to Islamic Finance" session for those unfamiliar with why some Muslims seek alternative financial structures and what form these structures take. Other panels include "Microfinance in Muslim Communities," "Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia," and a session assessing the extent to which Islamic finance fulfills Islamic principles.

Media contact: Amy Coren, UC Berkeley School of Law, aecoren@berkeley.edu

WHEN
Saturday, February 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
WHERE
Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley 94720
WHO
Conference participants and their topics include:

Isam Salah, partner, King & Spalding, LLP, on Islamic financial markets during the current financial crisis;
Mahmoud El-Gamal, professor, Rice University, on assessing the extent to which Islamic financial products match their ideals;
Oliver Agha, partner, Agha & Shamsi, Inc., on the fundamental concepts and practices of Islamic finance;
Midhat Syed, partner, Murtha Cullina, on challenges and solutions to striking shari’a-compliant private equity deals in the U.S.;
Mercy Kuo, senior project director, National Bureau of Asian Research, on unique features of the practice of Islamic finance in Southeast Asia;
Ibrahim Warde, adjunct professor, Tufts University, on Islamic finance and the U.S. “financial war on terror;”
April Rinne, director of venture development, Unitus Investment Group, on deployment of microfinance programs in Muslim-majority countries.