Ibn Haldun University hosted a special talk by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar titled “Building Bridges, Lighting Beacons - Lessons from Islamic Economics and Islamic Finance for the Ummah and for a Fractured World” on June 3, 2026.
Held at the Ibn Haldun University campus, the program was organized as part of the Türkiye-Malaysia Islamic Capital Markets Forum. In his talk, Tan Sri Azman emphasized that Islamic economics and Islamic finance should be understood not merely through technical financial instruments, but also through moral responsibility, development, justice, institutional building, and social impact.
Beginning with the foundations of Islamic economics and finance, Tan Sri Azman addressed major global challenges, including inequality, climate crisis, geopolitical tensions, financialization, and humanitarian crises. The talk reflected on both the vulnerabilities of the global system and the economic and institutional challenges facing the ummah.
Tan Sri Azman also discussed Malaysia and Türkiye as crossroad regions and “connector nations”. He highlighted the complementary potential of the two countries in Islamic finance, capital markets, sustainable finance, and institutional capacity building.
One of the key parts of the presentation was Tan Sri Azman’s reflection on three conceptual ideas: “Khaldunomics”, “Kancilnomics”, and “Tayyibnomics”. Through these concepts, he discussed Ibn Khaldun’s circle of justice and development, the strategic possibilities available to small and agile nations in an uncertain global environment, and the need to move Islamic finance from “halal” compliance toward a higher level of “tayyib” impact.
Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar is Chairman of INCEIF University and a member of the MIFC Advisory Panel. He previously served as Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s strategic investment fund, and has made significant contributions to Lembaga Tabung Haji, MIFC, and the development of Malaysia’s Islamic finance ecosystem.
The special talk offered a broad and thought-provoking discussion on how Islamic economics and Islamic finance can build bridges and provide guiding beacons in responding to contemporary global challenges.
