After the COVID-19 Outbreak, Is Islamic Finance a Cure for Global Economic Disruptions?

The coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented financial and economic disruptions worldwide. Academic interest in the COVID-19 outbreak has led to a rapid influx of publications on the subject matter from both Islamic and conventional finance and economic perspectives. This chapter analyses the contributions of Islamic finance and economy (IFE) literature to the global discussion through a bibliometric analysis and literature review of publications on IFE and COVID-19 using the dimensions database. The chapter investigates the role IFE research has played in providing solutions capable of addressing global challenges in the wake of the pandemic. The chapter reveals that IFE has made efforts during the pandemic to mitigate the effect of the crisis and strengthen economies. But unlike after the 2008 global financial crisis, IFE is not focusing on global solutions and is more confined to localised country-specific solutions for recovery and resilience. The chapter recommends repositioning IFE's academic focus towards tackling issues and providing solutions on a global scale.