The growing influence of Islamic financial institutions necessitates not only a better understanding of Islamic economics but also the opportunities they create in the world’s financial markets. IE Business School’s Center for Islamic Economics and Finance was therefore established, in collaboration with King Abdulaziz University and Casa Árabe, to help promote Islamic banking and finance in Spain and other European countries. This collaboration between the academia and business in the two countries, Spain and Saudi Arabia has been a starting point for Spain to accommodate new modes of finance that Islamic finance offers for public and infrastructure projects through public-private partnership.
The center aims to leverage the experience of King Abdulaziz University and IE, to enhance Islamic financial awareness and knowledge among Spanish and international businesses, state authorities and other interested parties. The Center’s objective is to become the leading Islamic finance center in Europe.
The Center has four main pillars: 1.Education – courses in Islamic finance. 2.Research – cases, thesis, papers. 3.Executive training – contemporary Islamic finance and regulatory issues. 4.International awareness – Think tank in Islamic finance and sustainable finance.
One of the major events happened in June 2010, the symposium “Beyond the Crisis: Islamic Finance in the New Financial Order (Madrid) brought together officials, experts and academics in the field of Islamic finance from Saudi Arabia and Spain, as well as countries that include Britain, France, Germany, and India. Islamic Finance has long been included in the syllabus of the Master in Finance and Master in Advanced Finance programs at IE Business School. Listen to our professor Celia de Anca, professor of Islamic Finance discussing Islamic Banking Practices
For more information on the Center of Islamic Finance and its current activities, click here.
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