Islamic finance : principles, stakes and implementation - Collège Des Bernardins

Please note that the conference will be held in English. La conférence aura lieu en anglais.

Valued at over $5 trillion (UKIFC, 2025), the Islamic finance sector spans prominent financial hubs across the globe. By skillfully creating faith-compliant options, its early pioneers aim at driving financial inclusion and GDP growth worldwide.

In this special lecture, Omar Shaikh -- Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) and Board Member of the UK Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC)--will break down the core principles of Islamic finance and demonstrate how they concretely shape modern financial decisions.

Echoing the Faith in the Common Good forum hosted by the IHEFR and the Collège des Bernardins last April--where representatives from over 30 institutional faith-based investors gathered to share their practices--we are pleased to deepen our exploration of how Islamic faith guides contemporary finance and banking.

From foundational references in the Qur'an to the latest guidelines issued during COP28 (UAE, 2023) and the UN-hosted Al-Mizan initiative, Islamic Finance relies on a rich corpus of principles and frameworks.

Omar Shaikh, who contributed to the Faith in the Common Good forum, returns to the Collège des Bernardins for a comprehensive conference examining how Islamic institutions and professionals approach finance, investment, and ethical stewardship today.

About the Speaker

Omar Shaikh | Managing Director, GEFI & Board Member, UKIFC
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Omar Shaikh specializes in ethical/responsible finance, Islamic finance, and private equity. He has extensive experience advising governments and financial regulators on building ethical financial ecosystems. Formerly Head of Islamic Finance at EY London, Omar has led high-impact global initiatives through GEFI, including :
- Path to COP and the SDG Financial Products Platform (in partnership with UNDP).
- The Global Islamic Finance and UN SDGs Taskforce (launched alongside the UK Government and IsDB).
- The award-winning Edinburgh Finance Declaration--the world's first shared-values finance agreement between Islamic finance institutions and the Church of Scotland.

Launched in early 2025, the Institut des Hautes Études de Finance Religieuse (IHEFR) aims to promote ethical asset management and explore the role of faith-based finance in serving the common good.