Doha Islamic Finance Conference Calls for Using Virtual Influencers

The 12th Doha Islamic Finance Conference concluded with a set of recommendations, calling for the use of virtual influencers in Islamic finance to support financial literacy, awareness, and access to Islamic financial products, underscoring the need for human oversight and a comprehensive governance, regulatory, and technological framework to govern influencer activities.

The closing statement recommended establishing a comprehensive governance and regulatory framework for smart crowdfunding to ensure transparency, trust, contributor protection, and Shariah compliance.

It further advocates using smart crowdfunding as a strategic tool for inclusive economic development by supporting Islamic finance models, SMEs, and social initiatives, while strengthening collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, fintech companies, and charitable organizations.

The statement also called for accelerating digital transformation in capital markets by adopting smart sukuk, blockchain, and AI solutions in accordance to Shariah controls for improving the efficiency, transparency, and access while reducing the costs.

This requires interoperable digital infrastructure, regulatory frameworks for tokenized assets, Shariah governance, and digitally executable standards that align Shariah with regulatory requirements. The conference urged expanding sustainable and inclusive sukuk to support development finance, financial inclusion, and innovation in Shariah-compliant digital markets.

The conference urged Islamic financial institutions to invest in neural-network-inspired agentic AI systems. It called on regulators, Shariah scholars, and AI researchers to establish unified standards for governance, audit, and explainability that ensure a balance between autonomous decision-making capabilities and continuous Shariah compliance, while promoting transparency, flexibility, accountability, and effective risk management within Islamic financial environments.

The closing statement further underscored the importance of developing programmable governance charters that encode the founder’s conditions (Shart Al-Waqif) into immutable algorithms, while keeping the human mutawalli (trustee) as the final legal and Shariah authority.

This balances technical efficiency with Shariah goals and protects waqf assets from cyber threats and algorithmic errors.

It also encouraged the transition toward smart waqf models based on data, automation, and digital governance, while leveraging the capabilities of AI agents to enhance waqf management, improve operational efficiency, strengthen transparency, accountability, oversight, and optimize the investment and management of waqf assets.

It further called for the development of clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets (currencies) donations in the non-profit sector in line with Shari’ah rulings, the establishment of dedicated regulatory sandboxes for digital-asset philanthropy, and the formulation of unified Shariah, supervisory, and disclosure standards for digital donations.

The statement stressed the importance of developing tools for Shariah audit and continuous review to protect consumers and guide sound financial behavior for ehancing the Shariah compliance.

Furthermore, it recommended that zakat institutions gradually adopt digital governance, agentic AI, and modern fintech solutions that account for Shariah and regulatory requirements and information security.

This would improve efficiency in zakat collection and distribution, transparency, fairness, and service quality for payers and beneficiaries.

The conference also recommended enhancing collaboration between the institutions among OIC and leading zakat institutions to share expertise, promote digital zakat best practices, and develop common guidelines for the use of modern technologies in zakat management, thereby strengthening sustainability, social impact, and public trust.

The statement also noted that Agentic AI systems share several characteristics with the classical agency (wakalah) contract while differing from it in other respects.

Given the operational environment of AI agents, the most appropriate juristic characterization is to treat them as a newly developed independent contract whose rulings vary according to its different forms and applications, rather than fitting all cases under a single traditional fiqh classification. It further highlighted that the resolutions of Islamic Fiqh academies and Shari’ah standards accommodate the general rulings applicable to agentic AI systems.

Smart contracts fulfill the essential elements of a valid Shariah contract, while their Shariah ruling varies depending on their specific applications, as well as the platforms and technological means through which they are executed.

​The 12th Doha Islamic Finance Conference, held in Doha on 16 June 2026, attracted broad participation from Islamic finance specialists, representatives of government entities, international organisations, and financial and academic institutions specialising in economics, finance, and technology.

The conference served as a platform for presenting the latest developments and innovations, with a particular focus on future trends at the local, regional, and international levels aimed at advancing Islamic finance and shaping the future of the Islamic financial industry. 

It also sought to foster global dialogue among experts, researchers, and policymakers, while exploring the opportunities offered by emerging technologies to develop innovative solutions that enhance the sustainability and resilience of the Islamic financial sector.

Held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the conference was convened under the theme ‘Islamic Finance in the Age of Agentic Systems’. 

Organised by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultations in strategic partnership with Dukhan Bank, the conference was supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) as the Official Sponsor, the General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs as the Diamond Sponsor, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) as the Gold Sponsor, and Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema) as the Bronze Sponsor.