President of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development at Global Islamic Economy Summit: World Needs Economy That Restores Ethics to Capital

Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers and President of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development, Abdullah Saleh Kamel, said the world needs an economic system that restores ethics to capital, warning of structural imbalances in the prevailing global economic model.

Speaking at the opening of the Third Global Islamic Economy Summit in Istanbul, Kamel said the shortcomings of the current model stem from the transformation of capital into a “negative instrument” concerned only with its owner and private gain, without regard for any adverse consequences resulting from its use, particularly for the most vulnerable groups and marginalized communities.

The summit, organized by the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy under the theme “Capital in the Islamic Economy: Structuring Wealth for Sustainable Development,” is being held from June 3-6 in Istanbul under the patronage and in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, Imam and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque, advisor at the Saudi Royal Court, member of the Council of Senior Scholars, and president of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy.

Kamel, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, stressed the need for an economic system based on justice and productive spending rather than profit alone. He criticized corporate social responsibility practices in their current form, saying companies contribute only a fraction of what is needed to remedy the significant harm their practices inflict on the environment, people, and animals, in violation of the Islamic principle of preventing harm.

He noted that countries around the world are studying the introduction of legal age restrictions on social media use to protect children after studies demonstrated its harmful effects on their minds, psychological well-being, and behavior. He said this reflects the depth of the ethical imbalance in the prevailing economic model, which produces such practices and then struggles to address their consequences.

Kamel outlined three characteristics that should define capital in the Islamic economy. First, capital should be productive, generate wealth, and be spent. Second, money itself should not be traded as a commodity, which forms the basis for the prohibition of usury (riba), as it transforms money into a commodity rather than a tool serving the economy. Third, wealth should neither be hoarded nor monopolized, but developed through zakat, charitable giving, and endowments (awqaf), which constitute a form of social and charitable capital.

He said wealth concentration and rising sovereign debt are interconnected phenomena that reveal the depth of the imbalance in the prevailing global economic model. He noted that wealth continues to become increasingly concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest one percent, both within individual countries and globally, resulting in the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer.

He added that the dominance of multinational corporations, particularly major technology companies, continues to expand, while governments and societies seek to reduce their negative effects.

Addressing sovereign debt, Kamel said finance ministers’ primary concern today is meeting annual debt-servicing obligations, while repayment of the principal lies beyond the scope of consideration. He said this situation places a burden on stronger economies before weaker ones and highlights deep structural imbalances in the global economic system.

Kamel attributed the root cause of these challenges to the transformation of capital into a “negative instrument” focused solely on its owner and private benefit, without consideration for the effects it leaves on others, particularly vulnerable groups and marginalized communities.

He stressed that Islamic economics offers a different structural framework for capital based on productivity, wealth creation, spending, the prohibition of trading money itself, and the development of wealth through zakat, charitable giving, and endowments. He said this framework is intended not only to benefit Muslims, but humanity as a whole.

Concluding his remarks, Kamel said the role of capital in Islamic economics extends beyond serving Muslims to benefiting all humanity. He expressed hope that the summit would serve as an influential model for Muslim capital in the service of humanity through its financial sustainability, growing impact, and leadership in shaping the future of Islamic economics.

The Third Global Islamic Economy Summit is being held with the participation of ministers, central bank governors, heads of financial institutions, and researchers from around the world.

The summit is organized by the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy in strategic partnership with the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, the Turkish Wealth Fund, the Istanbul Financial Center, Ibn Haldun University, and the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum.