New fellow to investigate Islamic finance in Germany
The Academy for Islam in Research and Society welcome Say Cheong Lim, an internationally renowned expert in Islamic finance, as its new research fellow. His project takes a practical approach and examines why financial products compliant with Islamic ethics have so far only gained limited traction in Germany, despite existing regulatory frameworks and a large Muslim population.
Say Cheong Lim studied at Wharton School in the USA and at INSEAD in France and has 30 years of experience in the banking sector. His research focuses, amongst other things, on the intersections between Islamic finance, artificial intelligence and digital banking.
As part of his fellowship, he aims to take a close look at the regulatory and institutional framework, as well as to assess the needs of Muslims in Germany and how they engage with financial products. He will also take a look at ethically minded non-Muslim consumers with an interest in such products.
His project focuses on reviewing current literature on the subject, conducting interviews with financial institutions, and documenting how Muslims engage with financial products, in order to explore issues of awareness, trust and barriers to access regarding Islamic financial products. The aim is to establish stronger links between practically applied Islamic theological perspectives, literature on Islamic finance and the practices of financial institutions.
Further information on Say Cheong Lim’s project can be found here. Our press release on the subject can be found here.
