Fintech, Digital Currency and the Future of Islamic Finance

Nafis Alam is Professor of Finance and Head of the School of Accounting and Finance at the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), Malaysia. His research focuses on FinTech, banking regulation, corporate finance, and Islamic banking and finance. He is a research affiliate of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK, and contributes regularly to a global industry report on FinTech and financial regulation. Nafis previously studied Banking and Finance at Monash University, Australia.Syed Nazim Ali is Professor and Director of the Center for Islamic Economics and Finance in the College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, which is part of the Qatar Foundation. He has spent the last 30 years spearheading interdisciplinary research in Islamic and faith-based initiatives in finance as well as community development. Syed has been the Founding Director of the Islamic Finance Project (IFP) at Harvard Law School, Harvard University, USA, since 1995.

• 1. Introduction: FinTech and Islamic Finance in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); Nafis Alam and Syed Nazim Ali.- 2. A Critical Analysis of Bitcoin from an Islamic Legal Perspective; Farrukh Habib.- 3. Combining Islamic Equity Portfolios and Digital Currencies: Evidence from Portfolio Diversification; Abdelkader O. El Alaoui, Amina Dchieche and Mehmet Asutay.- 4. The Application of Smart Contracts to Murabahah Home Financing: Towards an Integrated Model; Mohamed Cherif El Amri, Mustafa Omar Mohammed and Ruslan Sabirzyanov.- 5. The Application of FinTech in Microtakaful as a Means of Digital Financial Inclusion: Insights from the GCC; Muhammad Ashfaq and Najeeb Zada.- 6. Gharar Free Rebittance: Powered by Blockchain; Lokesh Gupta.- 7. Regulatory Issues in Cryptocurrency Usage; Abdolhossein Zameni and Nafis Alam.- 8. Beyond the Jurisprudential Quagmire: Perspectives on the Application of Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology in Islamic Economics and Finance; EvrenTok.- 9. Does FinTech Revolution Lead to the Disintermediation of Banks? A Study into Islamic Bank Income; Ruhaini Muda, Mohd Saifulizwan Mohd Lateff, Roshayani Arshad, Arif Azhan Rashdan, Ibrahim Abiodun Oladapo and Jaizah Othman.- 10. Utilising Blockchain Technology for Post-trade Securities Settlement:  A Framework for Islamic Capital Markets in the GCC Region; Leisan Safina and Umar A. Oseni.- 11. Any Luck with Bitcoin in Saudi Arabia?; Umara Noreen, Zaheer Ahmad, Ohoud Saud Mohammed Alfirm and Nouf Ahmad Hamad Alhomoudi.- 12. Strategic Assessment of Islamic FinTech in GCC Countries; Tariq Gulrez.