🎙️ Episode 80: Why Islamic Finance Is Losing Its Purpose

Islamic finance is now a multi-trillion-dollar global industry. But has it drifted away from what it was originally designed to achieve?

In Episode 80 of Majlis & Markets, Hassan Jivraj is joined by Harris Irfan, CEO and Co-founder of Cordoba Capital Markets, to examine why Islamic finance struggles to reform and why meaningful change remains so difficult. The conversation questions whether blind support for an established industry has created unhealthy, asymmetric financial relationships, and whether a more ethical, partnership-based alternative can realistically emerge.

We discuss the purpose and limits of Islamic finance standards, the role of regulation and enforceability, and why investors may increasingly seek alternative financial models that better align with ethical investment principles. The episode also explores Bitcoin, crypto, digital currencies, and whether the future of finance will move towards healthier economic relationships for borrowers, lenders, and society more broadly.

This is a conversation about markets, incentives, and systems, not outrage. It asks whether Islamic finance can still deliver on its promise, or whether new models will ultimately replace it.

Topics covered

• The current state of Islamic finance
• Why reform has stalled
• Partnership-based finance vs asymmetric relationships
• Ethical investment and economic health
• AAOIFI standards and enforceability
• Bitcoin, crypto, and alternative finance
• The future of Islamic finance in the UK

Guest

Harris Irfan
CEO and Co-Founder, Cordoba Capital Markets
🌐 https://ccmkts.com/
🐦 https://x.com/harris_irfan

Related episodes

🎙️ Halal or Hype? Demystifying Islamic Finance (Episode 7)
https://majlisandmarkets.buzzsprout.com/1907033/episodes/14625977-episode-7-halal-or-hype-demystifying-islamic-finance

🎙️ Setting the Standard: AAOIFI’s Impact on Islamic Finance (Episode 49)
https://majlisandmarkets.buzzsprout.com/1907033/episodes/16355515-episode-49-setting-the-standard-aaoifi-s-impact-on-islamic-finance

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:48 The current state of Islamic finance
• 4:12 AI’s role in Islamic finance
• 8:35 Quality of growth in Islamic finance
• 10:50 AAOIFI Sharia Standard 62
• 15:27 Enforceability challenges
• 17:57 Industry support for SS62
• 20:27 Asset-backed vs Asset-based structures
• 23:41 AAOIFI credibility
• 24:53 Investor returns
• 27:24 Returns vs social good
• 29:37 Islamic economies and global institutions
• 33:10 CBDCs vs stablecoins
• 37:27 Bitcoin and market resilience
• 41:11 Skepticism towards crypto
• 43:33 The future of UK Islamic finance
• 47:22 Maqsid Al Shariah efforts