Doha conference puts AI at Islamic finance centre

Doha’s 12th Islamic Finance Conference opened on Tuesday with artificial intelligence moving from a technology sidebar to the centre of debate over Shariah-compliant banking, waqf, zakat and digital markets.

The one-day gathering at Al Majlis Hall in the Sheraton Grand Doha was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and carried the theme “Islamic Finance in the Age of Agentic Systems.” The event was inaugurated by Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, with Ghanem bin Shaheen bin Ghanem Al Ghanem, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, attending.

Organised by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultations in strategic partnership with Dukhan Bank, the conference brought together government bodies, international organisations, Islamic finance institutions, academics, technology specialists and Shariah scholars. Its agenda signalled a shift from general fintech adoption towards autonomous AI tools that can analyse data, execute tasks and support decision-making with limited human intervention.

Participants examined how agentic AI could be used by Islamic financial institutions while remaining within Shariah and legal controls. Discussions covered AI agents in financial services, automated trading, smart sukuk and the regulatory treatment of autonomous tools that may influence investment, credit, compliance and product design.

The choice of theme reflected a wider question confronting Islamic finance centres across the Gulf and Asia: whether innovation can be accelerated without weakening the principles of transparency, asset-backing, risk sharing and ethical governance that define the sector. For Qatar, the issue carries added weight as financial-sector modernisation forms part of broader economic diversification plans and as regulators support fintech and digital banking.

Sheikh Abdulla bin Fahad bin Jassim Al-Thani, chairman of Dukhan Bank’s board of directors, told the opening session that rapid advances in smart technologies were creating wider opportunities to reshape financial services. His remarks underlined a recurring theme: AI can raise efficiency, but it must be embedded in governance structures that clarify accountability when automated systems produce errors.

The conference also looked beyond banking. A track on waqf considered how AI agents could support the management and investment of endowments through better asset monitoring, beneficiary targeting, investment screening and long-term planning. Another session explored digital crowdfunding and crypto-asset-based models, areas attracting attention for both capital mobilisation and regulatory complexity.

Zakat governance formed another core strand. Speakers and researchers examined how intelligent systems could analyse zakat data, improve transparency, automate parts of collection and distribution, and link zakat institutions with sustainable development objectives. The debate pointed to a practical challenge for Islamic social finance: data-led tools may improve delivery, but public trust depends on auditability, human oversight and clear jurisprudential standards.

One of the more unusual themes focused on virtual influencers and their possible role in Islamic finance, waqf and charitable campaigns. The topic reflected the spread of AI-generated personalities in digital marketing and raised questions about disclosure, authenticity, consumer protection and the ethics of using synthetic figures to promote financial or charitable products.

The Doha Islamic Finance Conference Award was launched during the event as a global initiative to recognise achievements in Islamic economics and finance. Its introduction added an institutional element to a conference that has developed since its launch in 2010 into one of Qatar’s main platforms for debate on Islamic banking and Shariah governance.

The timing coincided with signs of steady growth in Qatar’s Islamic finance industry. Total Islamic finance assets in the country reached about QR718.5bn in 2025, up 5.3 per cent from a year earlier. Islamic finance activity spans banking, sukuk, takaful, investment funds and non-bank finance, with Islamic banking remaining the dominant segment.