Waqf Development and Innovation: Socio-Economic and Legal Perspectives

Waqf is one of the most potent socio-economic tools for reducing public sector deficit and breaking the chain of intergenerational poverty. Providing a high-level discussion on waqf development and innovation within the context of modern socio-economic and legal developments, this book examines the importance and potentials of waqf and the issues relating to its legal and regulatory framework.

The research delivers future directions for countries that plan to explore this socio-economic institution. Readers and policymakers will be able to replicate successful experiments and learn from some failed initiatives to seek alternative funding platforms to support the fiscal policies of developing countries. The volume discusses the relevance and novel application of waqf in the modern economic system and social development, it reviews applicable laws and regulations pertaining to waqf and trust laws and examines critical, cross-country case studies and experiences.

Setting an agenda for further researchers in the field of waqf, this comprehensive high-level analysis, with case studies from leading jurisdictions across the world, is a key resource for researchers, policymakers and institutions interested in charitable endowments, Islamic finance, and social finance.

Syed Nazim Ali is the Director, Research Division and Director of Center for Islamic Economics and Finance at the College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). Prior to joining HBKU, he was the Executive Director (Acting) of the Islamic Legal Studies Program (2010–2013) at Harvard Law School and has been the Founding Director of the Islamic Finance Project at Harvard University since its establishment in 1995.

Umar A. Oseni is currently Chief Executive Officer, International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), a multilateral organization. He earlier served as Acting Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, and General Counsel of the IILM. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Islamic Legal Studies Program of the Harvard Law School in the United States and has published widely in issues of Islamic finance law and regulation.