The Role of Islamic Finance in Enhancing Financial Inclusion in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Countries

The core principles of Islam lay great emphasis on social justice, inclusion, and sharing of resources between the haves and the have nots. Islamic finance addresses the issue of “financial inclusion” or “access to finance” from two directions — one through promoting risk-sharing contracts that provide a viable alternative to conventional debt-based financing, and the other through specific instruments of redistribution of the wealth among the society. Use of risk-sharing financing instruments can offer Shar ahcompliant microfinance, financing for small and medium enterprises, and micro-insurance to enhance access to finance. And redistributive instruments such as Zak h, adaqat, Waqf, and Qar -alasan complement risk-sharing instruments to target the poor sector of society to offer a comprehensive approach to eradicating poverty and to build a healthy and vibrant economy. Instruments offered by Islam have strong historical roots and have been applied throughout history in various Muslim communities. 1 Mahmoud Mohieldin serves as World Bank President’s Special Envoy. Zamir Iqbal is Lead Investment Officer with the Treasury of the World Bank. Ahmed Rostom is a Financial Sector Specialist with the World Bank and is also affiliated with The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and. Xiaochen Fu is pursuing graduate studies at Kennedy Business School at the Harvard University. The views expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. An earlier version of the paper was presented at 8 International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance in Doha, Qatar, held from December 19-21, 2011. 56 Islamic Economic Studies, Vol. 20 No. 2 The paper identifies gaps currently existing in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries on each front, that is, Shar ah-compliant micro-finance and financing for small and medium enterprises and the state of traditional redistributive instruments. The paper concludes that Islam offers a rich set of instruments and unconventional approaches, which, if implemented in true spirit, can lead to reduced poverty and inequality in Muslim countries plagued by massive poverty. Therefore, policy makers in Muslim countries who are serious about enhancing access to finance or “financial inclusion” should exploit the potential of Islamic instruments to achieve this goal and focus on improving the regulatory and financial infrastructure to promote an enabling environment.