The market and the minaret

I was recently invited to a quiet meeting with a retired government official and a guest I had been asked to introduce. My role was simple: to bridge the introduction and help set the tone.

While we waited, the conversation drifted to the guest’s world — finance and commerce. He spoke with an easy fluency about markets, capital, and the calculus of risk. Almost by chance, I mentioned a reality rarely discussed outside Muslim circles: the limits Muslims face in participating fully in the stock and equities markets.

The guest looked surprised. “But the market, while speculative, is based on forecast — there’s an actual science behind it.” 

My Muslim companion, a retired director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, explained gently: while markets use science and forecasting, Islam draws a line where uncertainty (gharar) becomes excessive and where earnings come from interest (riba) or impermissible businesses. The principle isn’t about rejecting enterprise — it’s about avoiding speculation that turns profit into chance rather than shared risk.

That is why I find it encouraging to see the Philippines slowly opening up space for Islamic banking and finance: a system that would let Muslims participate without compromise while welcoming ethical capital from abroad. Under Republic Act 11439, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has laid the groundwork for Islamic banking and implementation is now gradually unfolding.

One clear pathway is through “sukuk” — Islamic bonds providing returns tied to real assets rather than interest. Neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia have shown how sukuk can become powerful instruments for development. The Philippines could become a destination for sovereign wealth fund investments from Middle Eastern countries, while private sukuk funds could help local firms with a fresh infusion.

Another pathway is “takaful,” or Islamic insurance, where members pool contributions to guarantee one another against loss. Unlike conventional insurance based on uncertainty and interest-bearing investments, takaful operates on solidarity and shared responsibility.

Yet if the potential is clear, why has progress been slow? Our regulatory framework, built around conventional finance, lacks specialized guidelines for Islamic instruments. Bankers and regulators need education in profit-sharing models. There’s also limited exposure: Islamic finance hasn’t yet entered mainstream conversation among financial planners and policymakers, though that is beginning to change.

But these are barriers of knowledge and will, not capacity. Malaysia didn’t become a sukuk hub overnight — it required deliberate policy choices and patient institution-building. The Philippines already has the legal foundation; what’s needed now is commitment.

These developments aren’t just for Muslims. Consider the growing interest in ethical and sustainable investing. Investors increasingly want money supporting real economic activity, not financial engineering. Sukuk, by design, must be backed by tangible assets — infrastructure, real estate, equipment. This transparency appeals not only to Muslims seeking Shariah compliance but to anyone wary of the opacity that contributed to past financial crises.

Similarly, takaful’s mutual-protection model resonates with our bayanihan tradition — community support expressed in financial form. A farmer in Mindanao and an entrepreneur in Manila may practice different faiths, but both can benefit from insurance built on shared responsibility rather than profit maximization.

That waiting-room conversation reminded me that change often begins with small exchanges — one sincere question, one clear explanation. Islamic banking is not about limiting options. It is about broadening them — for Muslims seeking dignity in participation and for a nation seeking new partners in growth. 

The challenge now is for policymakers, regulators, and our banking community to move from policy to practice: to issue sukuk that fund development and to offer takaful products that protect families while honoring faith.