Dalal Aassouli

This study evaluates how legal and regulatory architectures shape banks’ digital transformation in Qatar relative to peer jurisdictions and isolates the regulatory components that most strongly predict observed differences in digital maturity. Employing a comparative mixed-methods design, the study links a structured legal-regulatory assessment to quantitative benchmarking of fifteen banks (five Qatar, ten international) using a Digital Maturity Index and inferential tests (descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, and OLS regressions). International banks exhibit higher average digital maturity than Qatar banks, and across the sample, regulatory clarity and coherence are positively and significantly associated with digital maturity, whereas supervisory intensity alone shows no comparable effect; implementation frictions in open banking/interoperability, unified data protection, and approval timelines constrain collaboration and product rollout in Qatar. Moreover, the cross-sectional design, modest sample size, and index weighting choices limit causal inference and external validity, indicating the need for longitudinal and quasi-experimental designs to corroborate mechanisms and generalize findings. Policymakers should adopt risk-proportionate, outcomes-based rules, codify interoperable API standards, strengthen data rights and cloud/third-party governance, and establish sector-level KPIs to match supervisory expectations with bank execution and accelerate safe digitalization. Enhancements to privacy, data portability, and inclusive digital onboarding are likely to improve consumer trust, competition, and access, thereby advancing broad-based participation in digital financial services. The study integrates legal analysis with bank-level operational metrics through an analytically tractable index and a Qatar–international comparison, demonstrating the outsized role of regulatory clarity in advancing digital maturity.

This paper presents a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review (2015–2025) of 20 empirical studies on digital transformation in retail banking, examining how artificial intelligence (AI) strengthens cybersecurity, enables FinTech collaboration through interoperable APIs and open-banking infrastructures, and embeds data-driven decision-making across core functions. We searched major databases, applied predefined eligibility criteria, appraised study quality, and coded outcomes related to digital adoption, operational resilience, and customer experience. The synthesis indicates that AI-enabled controls and API-mediated partnerships are consistently associated with higher digital-maturity indicators, conditional on robust model-risk governance and prudent third-party/outsourcing management. Benefits span improved customer experience, efficiency, and inclusion; however, legacy systems, regulatory fragmentation, cyber threats, and organizational resistance remain binding constraints. We propose a unified framework linking technology choices, regulatory design, and organizational outcomes, and distill actionable guidance for policymakers (e.g., interoperable standards, proportional AI governance, sector-wide cyber resilience) and bank managers (sequencing AI use cases, risk controls, and partnership models). Future research should assess emerging technologies—including quantum-safe security and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)—and their implications for digital-banking stability and trust.

This book explores the intersection of food security and Islamic ethics, focusing on the policies and practices that can ensure adequate food and nutrition for vulnerable populations in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries. With contributions from international scholars, the book adopts a multi-dimensional approach to understanding the challenges of sustainable food security, the Islamic perspective on addressing food security concerns, and the most vulnerable groups impacted. Drawing on the Qur’an, Prophetic traditions, Maqaṣid Al-Sharīʿah principles, and Islamic legal rulings, the authors argue that religious traditions have always called on believers to support the poor and the hungry. Overall, this book raises important philosophical, ethical, social, and political questions regarding food security and its promotion of human well-being and social justice through Islamic ethics, including the intersection of gender equality and food security, highlighting the important role of women in household food production. By promoting inclusivity, sustainability, and social justice, Islamic ethics offers a valuable framework for addressing the pressing challenges of food security in the 21st century.

This chapter aims to discuss how Islamic green finance can promote the development of sustainable agriculture to attain food security and mitigate climate change. To do so, it will be presented in the following way: Section 2 presents an overview of the major food security issues and agriculture financing sources in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. The next section briefly examines the ethical foundations of Islamic green finance. Section 4 discusses how Islamic green finance can promote the development of sustainable and green agriculture to ensure food security in these countries.

This chapter addresses a number of issues in relation to food security in Qatar, with particular reference to low-income migrant workers. We begin with a general discussion of the Islamic perspective on food security as an ethical foundation for human existence. This is followed by an overview of Qatar's food security ranking and specific policies before and during the Saudi-led blockade with reference to the Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP), established in 2008. The importance of water in a desert climate is canvassed with Qatar's water security in relation to domestic food production, as well as strategies that include foreign land acquisition and foreign agricultural investments. The last section of the chapter is dedicated to a discussion of the particular circumstances of food security and the most vulnerable of the migrant labour force in Qatar. Here we highlight that workers may be provided with food by their employers, receive a cash food allowance, or neither. Protecting their rights to proper ethnically appropriate and nutritious food is imperative, with government policies and charitable organizations assisting where employers may be unwilling or unable. Recent evidence on the health and well-being of the largely Asian low-income workforce in Qatar provides the basis on which the authorities have launched food security education and awareness programmes. Finally, we emphasize the need to utilize Islamic moral imperatives among larger sectors of society to help with enhancing workers’ rights.

The paper aims to assess the global landscape of refugee finance with an overview of global refugee‐related financing mechanisms and instruments. Despite the growing refugee population worldwide, most refugee financing mechanisms are characterized by their post hoc, grant‐based, small‐scale, short‐term, and unpredictable nature. This study will analyze the quantum of refugee finance supplied by different donors and intermediary types, the instruments through which they deploy refugee finance, and to where this financing is directed. It will then evaluate their effectiveness in addressing refugee financial inclusion and empowerment. The paper finally suggests alternative instruments and financing mechanisms leveraging Islamic finance, sustainable finance, and fintech. Two key mechanisms are proposed: a Refugee Empowerment Sukuk and a blended finance structure adopting a results‐based financing approach. The study recommends developing a proactive approach using event‐based financing with early warning triggers, leveraging fintech solutions for traceability and efficiency, and scaling up result‐based financing in social impact and humanitarian financing.

Employing Grey Relation Analysis (GRA) and Leximetrics, this study conducts a comparative analysis of sustainable food governance performance in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries (OIC). It assesses the alignment of their food security policies with sustainable development principles. Addressing a gap in the existing literature, the study aims to assess two separate components of food security governance, i.e., policy formulation and policy implementation. This is achieved by focusing on critical intrinsic factors like sustainable agriculture, sufficiency, resilience, and inclusivity, and sustainable finance which are often overlooked in policy formulation and evaluation. The findings reveal inadequate incorporation of sustainable finance, sustainable agriculture, circular food systems, and effective governance principles. Several countries lack concise policies (e.g., Iran, Turkmenistan, Suriname), relying on fragmented approaches, while others adopt regional food security strategies with observed differences in food governance versus policy alignment performance. The study enhances our understanding of food security governance and policy formulation and implementation, offering insights for advancing sustainability in the food security policies of the OIC.

Financing capital investments and working capital have been the key challenges for small businesses during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Excessive indebtedness can increase the fragility of firms, particularly during times of uncertainty. While there are several programs globally that target entrepreneurs’ financial literacy, most of them do not take into consideration entrepreneurs’ financial resilience during and after crisis times such as pandemics. The objective of this paper is to discuss the status of financial literacy programs targeting entrepreneurs. This paper conducts a review of the relevant literature to establish the initial understanding and then generates a framework consisting of entrepreneurs’ financial literacy along with its components. This is done by carrying out qualitative content analysis of the various financial literacy initiatives targeting entrepreneurs in twenty countries globally to understand their target segments, scope, initiating organisations and limitations. The paper then suggests a framework for entrepreneurs’ financial education that takes into consideration financial resilience during and after crisis situations in general and pandemics in particular.

This study follows Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to examine the existing literature on the connectedness of green bonds with other markets as an attempt to highlight the effectiveness of green bonds in risk management and the benefits associated with incorporating green bonds in investment portfolios. An extensive search of relevant research papers to the scope of the review led to the identification of 31 articles published by February 2022. Our analysis traces the evolution of studies on green bonds’ interactions with other markets, the methodologies and data frequencies used for cross-market relations analysis, and the role of green bonds in portfolio risk management (diversifier, hedge, and safe-haven) in normal and extreme market conditions. The study reports several interesting findings. First, green bonds can be a strategic safe-haven avenue for investors in stocks, dirty energy stocks, and the foreign exchange market in the US and China in extreme market downturns. Second, green bonds demonstrated hedging properties against spillovers from Bitcoin, forex, soft commodities, and CO₂ emission allowance. Third, the role of green bonds in the markets of natural gas, industrial metals, and crude oil is limited to a portfolio diversifier in different investment horizons. Fourth, green bonds had no diversification or hedge benefits for investors in conventional bonds. Fifth, the interrelationships between green bonds and most markets’ understudy were influenced by macroeconomic and global factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic policy uncertainty, OVX, and VIX. Our review of the literature also facilitated identification of future research topics. The outcome of the review offers insightful information to investors in green bonds in risk management and assets allocation. Policy makers can benefit from this review in effective policy legislation for the advancement of the green bonds market and acceleration of a smooth transition to a net zero emission economy.

Climate change, environmental degradation and the novel covid-19 pandemic have affected financial markets worldwide forcing investors to search for safe haven assets for portfolio diversification and risk management. To this end, this study employs Wavelet coherence techniques and the spillover index methodologies to investigate comprehensively time-varying relationship between green sukuk and selected assets from the crypto-currency and commodity markets. The investigated period covers a period of 30 months pre and post covid-19 pandemic dating from October 15, 2019, to March 10, 2022. The projections of wavelet coherence analysis indicate a weak correlation between green sukuk and Bitcoin, Binance coin, gold and silver across different investment horizons whereas a moderate correlation was spotted between green sukuk and Ethereum and Palladium at low frequency on the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic. The static spillover analysis signified high connectedness between assets under study in the short term and affirmed potential long term diversification benefits of integrating green sukuk for risk adjusted returns of the portfolio. Dynamic rolling windows results demonstrated the impact of covid-19 pandemic on the intensity of assets’ connectedness particularly in the short run prompting temporal transmission of risks between asset classes at the onset of the covid 19 pandemic. The findings of the study are robust and offer useful insights to investors, speculators, academia, and policymakers.