FinTech Innovations and Islamic Banking Performance: Post pandemic Challenges and Opportunities

Current research aims to investigate the role of �nancial technology (Fintech) during pandemics on Islamic �nancial institutions and banks’ performance. The study identi�ed measures of lockdown executed by numerous countries across the world that have also indicated the signi�cance of leveraging technology and establishing a livelier Islamic �nance industry. The results and data analysis identi�ed adoption of greater digitalization and incorporation of �ntech strengthens the spirit of the industry in a more unstable ecosystem and challenges like pandemic and open another new opportunity for growth. However, recent �nancial years have shown that there is room for expansion and growth, especially for Sukuk issuance, by guidelines and regulations, and ease and velocity of implementation. The results also suggested various indications on the effect of �nancial technology reform on the Islamic banks’ growth signi�cantly with the adoption of the Fintech revolution. Since the performance of Islamic banking proved to be better in certain aspects compared to conventional banking, this study suggests industry adopt paradigm change and development of �nancial technology to enhance the global market.


Introduction
Islamic banks are currently a major partner in the eld of banking and nance. Contrary to conventional commercial banks, Islamic banks invest money in a manner consistent with Islamic rules and principles.
Islamic banks are currently spread in many countries of the world, especially in the Arab Gulf countries, and they are constantly working on developing nancial systems and making them more exible and responsive to customers' requirements. Islamic transactions are not limited to the Gulf and Islamic countries, but also include other countries such as Japan, South Korea, Britain, and other countries (Gözübüyük, Kock and Ünal, 2020). Studies indicate that more than 600 Islamic banks are currently operating around the world, and they are spread over 75 countries. Islamic transactions are distinguished in that they have exceeded the normal transactions of banks, as Islamic banks are currently working on issuing Islamic Sukuk that are required to implement some large projects. The rapid spread of Islamic banks around the world has made them at the forefront of competition with usurious banks, especially regarding the use of nancial technology in the implementation of operations as well as in providing services to customers in the best and fastest ways. Because of the rapid spread of Islamic banks, interest in nancial innovations for these banks has been a necessity and not an option to keep pace with the development in the world of nancial technology and the ability to stay in the market under the strong competition that they are exposed to by usurious banks (Laallam et al., 2020). The Islamic banking sector has witnessed a great development in recent years due to the great development that has occurred in nancial technology, especially Islamic nancial technology. This development was accompanied by a signi cant increase in the demand for Islamic banking products by banks and other nancial institutions, whether Islamic or conventional and at the global level, especially those distributed in the Arab Gulf states, the United States, and Asia (Ramli, Marzuki and Nazri, 2020). Fintech is a nancial technology use new applications of nancial technology, and work to invest in this digital technology as a necessary infrastructure in the great competition that the banking sector is witnessing at the global level has remained (Khairulanuwar and Chuweni, 2020). Also, the banking sector is required to work on the continuous development of human resources to be able to keep pace with this new world of technology. Many Islamic banks believe that customers are not ready to replace their Sharia-based services with ntech innovations that are still being fully compliant with Sharia, and therefore they do not expect customers to grow in anger over the inaction and lack of many of them seeking to adopt products of nancial technology. Many CEOs of Islamic banks believe that opening to nancial technology requires high cost and highly skilled human resources, especially as it is developing at a high speed. In addition, it is likely to negatively affect cyber and information security, and budget constraints, but the emergence of a new type of nancial technology under the name of Islamic nancial technology in many countries of the world is gradually growing and expanding, and it is known as all contemporary digital nancial applications that can be used In the Islamic banking and nancial services sector, and it does not intersect with the purposes of Islamic Sharia, and leads to the development of new business models, based on technology, to enhance the objectives of Sharia in the economic, environmental, nancial and social elds, and to provide better services to Islamic banking customers, in terms of product quality and speed of service delivery (Ali, Ahmad and Kamaruddin, 2020). It provides easier and less costly access to Islamic nancial services, keeping pace with the aspirations of the new generation, and achieving nancial inclusion to alleviate poverty and establish social justice (Tarique et al., 2020). It has achieved impressive results, proving that the effective use of Islamic nancial technologies coupled with innovative business models, in light of a favorable regulatory, legislative and supervisory environment that is consistent with the purposes of Islamic Sharia, and quali ed human resources, enhances con dence in Islamic nance and banking, and leads to an increased demand for its products, and the expansion of its investments, especially that nancial technology has raised the ceiling of competition between nancial institutions to provide the best and fastest services, and the pattern of change in the market has become very fast (Muhammad, Suluki and Nugraheni, 2020). In light of the new reality, many Islamic banks have realized the importance of embracing Islamic nancial technology and have designed their development plans to include innovative banking solutions that are in harmony with Islamic nancial technology products and to meet the changing needs of their customers, especially young people, and seek to enhance mutual trust with them. For example, the Islamic Bank of Dubai has designed a digital strategy entitled "Ready for the New", about which its CEO Group says: "We live in a different world almost entirely led by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is a digital journey that connects human behavior with the Internet of Things, and that is why we, as a leading Islamic bank, have to Correct the role we play in society, and in the daily lives of our customers, to keep pace with this change". As well as Bahrain Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Bank, and other Islamic banks in Bahrain (Aziz et al., 2020).
In addition, the repercussions of the Corona pandemic prompted Islamic banks to accelerate their digital strategy and to spread and adopt Islamic nancial technology innovations at a pace that was not possible before the growing repercussions of the Corona pandemic. The adoption of Islamic nancial technology innovations in the Islamic banking sector and their continued development by Islamic nancial engineering, and support for the innovation of new nancial technology products that are compatible with Islamic Sharia, will give the Islamic nancial and banking sector a new impetus to move forward, allow it to improve its product offerings, and enable it to compete with the nancial and banking sector not only on the level of the Islamic world but also on the global level.

Digital innovations in banks:
Day by day, dependence on digitization and nancial technology is increasing in all sectors around the world, especially the banking sectors, as this rapid development falls under the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution. Reliance on digital and nancial technology has increased signi cantly with the spread of the Corona pandemic, which began in China in late 2019 and later spread to all parts of the world, as a result of this, the traditional work practices were temporarily dispensed within most sectors around the world, especially the banking sectors, and the shift to Working remotely, and with that was accompanied by the banking sectors converting most banking services to electronic services to complete most customer services through mobile applications, as well as money exchange machines distributed widely in alleys around the world (Buallay et al., 2020). With the increasing demand for nancial technology for banking sectors compared to other sectors, it has become imperative for the global banking sector to adapt to these increasing developments so that the banking sector can play its role effectively . The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are considered pioneers in the eld of nancial technology, as they are among the rst countries that accelerated investment in nancial technology as one of the sources of economic diversi cation in the region. The Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the pioneers in the eld of investment in nancial technology, as the Kingdom of Bahrain is witnessing renewed nancial technology projects that provide the banking sector with various banking services in line with the increasing demand for them through the provision of biometric ATMs distributed throughout the Kingdom (Utomo et al., 2020).
In this regard, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain issued Resolution No. (43) of 2017 regarding the experimental environment for nancial technology, and in May 2017, the Bank issued a nal paper on the "Experimental Regulatory Environment" (Syachfuddin and Rosyidi, 2020). On the bank's website, the paper included setting a framework for the use and development of the nancial technology industry in an organized manner. The bank's board of directors also issued a decision to establish a unit specialized in the eld of nancial technology and innovation (Shaik Mohammed and Waheed, 2019).
Harmony between FinTech and arti cial intelligence in enhancing the banks' performance: Digital and nancial technology have constituted one of the main pillars of the banking sector, as most of the clients of this sector accomplish most of their transactions through digital applications that are widely spread (Shaikh et al., 2019). Financial technology and arti cial intelligence constituted a real starting point for restructuring nancial services and transforming them from traditional services to services of an electronic nature. Fintech has contributed to reducing customer service time as well as reducing the cost of providing these services and increasing their accuracy. The great shift towards digitization and the increasing use of nancial technology requires the banking sector to put in place supervisory systems capable of ensuring the security and integrity of all nancial transactions that arise between banks and stakeholders. This development argues that nancial technology represents opportunities and challenges at the same time for various banks and nancial institutions (Alziyadat and Ahmed, 2019). The use of arti cial intelligence and nancial technology in the banking sectors has reduced the costs of completing nancial transactions as well as improved the performance and pro tability of banks as well. The great advantages offered by nancial technology and arti cial intelligence have shaped the pursuit of many sectors, especially nancial and banking, to increase investment in arti cial intelligence tools and modern nancial technology (Dharani, Hassan and Paltrinieri, 2019). Studies indicate that arti cial intelligence will contribute about $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030. On the Arab level, the region's share is expected to reach 2%, as arti cial intelligence applications will contribute about $320 billion to the economy of the Middle East region by 2030, equivalent to 11% of the GDP. A pilot regulatory environment is de ned as a safe place where companies can test nancial products and services with advanced technologies without the burden of laws, regulations, and licenses (Mohd-Rashid and Tajuddin, 2019; Zaki et al., 2019).
Emerging nancial technology companies have revolutionized the eld of nancial systems at the global and Arab levels, as they were able to provide a large package of nancial services that changed the face of nancial transactions and transformed them from traditional transactions using paper to entirely electronic transactions, such as remittances, loans, depositing checks, withdrawing and depositing funds, and obtaining On account statements, insurance services, crowdfunding and many other nancial services that are now available in many nancial institutions and the banking sector alike (Ho and Mohd-Raff, 2019; Kabir Hassan, Rashid and Aliyu, 2019). Banks and nancial institutions have sought to adopt many of these modern technologies in the world of nancial technology to take advantage of their capabilities in carrying out their work and to catch up with the development and competitiveness that has become a reality in the new nancial environment (Boudt, Raza and Wauters, 2019). Hence, it has become imperative in the modern nancial technology environment to have legislative, supervisory, and regulatory frameworks that allow the operation and development of new nancial technology and nancial arti cial intelligence in line with the requirements of each nancial institution. Framing these nancial technologies and arti cial intelligence systems within legal controls would enable the relevant supervisory and regulatory authorities to work to mitigate the risks that could arise from operating these systems while maintaining nancial stability and nancial soundness (Hasim, Ari n and Zakaria, 2019).
Since nancial technology has become one of the most important nancial applications with widespread and widespread use in the nancial and banking circles, many emerging companies in the eld of nancial technology have integrated operations of arti cial intelligence and nancial technology in the traditional operations of many nancial institutions and banks to help these institutions improve performance Its operations are faster and safer. Financial technology has become one of the most important technology sectors used globally, as it performs many special tasks such as credit rating operations, fraud detection, manipulation, and wealth management, in addition to many of the tasks previously mentioned (Rosman, Haron and Othman, 2019).
In addition to the above, it has become possible to use arti cial intelligence algorithms to predict the many changes that occur in the stock markets and analyze these changes as well as give insight into the economy as well as better understand the habits and tastes of consumers (Othman and Tahir, 2019). Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology is also used to operate many nancial and accounting systems more quickly and e ciently, such as processing nancial operations related to accounts receivable and creditors, as well as preparing nancial reports faster and more accurately and presenting them to decision-makers in a timely and appropriate form. In addition to the previous duties of nancial technology, it has also become used in the eld of creating marketing strategies for banks to help them improve their operations and enhance their competitiveness (Hanif, 2018;Kuran, 2018). On the other hand, the huge volume of nancial data that is operated under the new nancial technology has made this data more vulnerable to the risks of piracy and theft, which prompted the companies producing and operating these nancial systems to nd means of protection for this data that would protect sensitive nancial data and stop piracy and potential electronic attacks.

RegTech and Impact of regulations on Islamic banks development
For the legislative framework of the newly developed nancial technology, most Arab countries have shortcomings in legislation for these new tools, especially in the founding legislation, including general legislation related to electronic transactions, electronic identi cation, and electronic signature. The failure to pass these legislations does not allow unleashing of electronic nancial and banking transactions, nor the launching of innovations and developments in electronic transactions. The legislative framework is required to keep pace with technological developments and protect private and public interests. To ensure the security of operations carried out by Islamic banks based on nancial technology, it is necessary to reconsider the existing legal and legislative structure by working to include new legislation that guarantees the security of data and operations based on nancial technology, such as payment systems and services, which helps Islamic banks manage legal contracts Ensure continuous monitoring and control of operations to protect the Bank and its customers (Anagnostopoulos, 2018;.
It is also necessary for Islamic banks to keep pace with developments in the use of nancial technology by setting regulations, policies, and procedures that regulate the internal work in them, whether for developing the skills of workers in these banks or for monitoring operations that are carried out using this technology and the safety and security procedures followed in these banks or for Providing electronic services that ful ll customers' desires and expectations in a safe, e cient and cost-effective manner, as well as the security that must be provided to investors. Fintech has ful lled this need by providing many innovative and secure electronic nancial services. There is no doubt that this would keep Islamic banks in the circle of competition with other traditional banks in the face of modern nancial companies that adopt this type of technology ( Challenges facing FinTech and AI companies in Arab Countries: One of the most important challenges facing the spread of nancial technology companies in the Arab countries is related to gaining customers' trust due to the concerns these customers have regarding fraud and piracy, especially in the absence of clear protections that protect stakeholders from fraud and piracy that they face when dealing with electronic nancial services. in many Arab countries. In addition to the above, we also note the absence of legal legislation that would combat electronic crimes in many Arab countries, as it is available in some Arab countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Oman, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Not to mention the di culties facing the establishment of nancial technology companies due to the nature of the laws regulating the establishment of nancial services companies, as well as the limited capital ready for such projects (Javaid and Al-Malkawi, 2018).
Among these challenges is also the increasing di culties that these companies face in meeting the requirements of compliance with the laws related to anti-money laundering and combating the nancing of terrorism. In addition to concerns related to electronic fraud and piracy, the arti cial intelligence sectors in the Arab region face major problems concerning the ability to access information in light of the weak infrastructure of communication networks and the Internet and their low speed, as most nancial companies and banks in the Arab region need to be restructured And a new infrastructure that allows it to take advantage of arti cial intelligence techniques, and this, of course, require large investments that are often di cult to secure. The second challenge facing nancial institutions and banks in the Arab region if they tend to bene t from arti cial intelligence techniques is the limited skills and expertise needed in the eld of nancial technology and arti cial intelligence, as there are no quali ed professionals in the eld of arti cial intelligence and digitization who can link the infrastructure of their institutions to the process of digital transformation. around the world (Elhaj, Muhamed and Ramli, 2018).
Financial technology and its impact on money transfer: Considering the rapid development of mobile smartphones and the huge capabilities that they provide for their users, and the availability of the Internet faster, the user is waiting for better services and easier ways to provide all his daily needs, which has helped to increase the intensity and erce competition. This led to the decline of traditional business models that favor innovative areas, and survival in the market and ensuring long-term continuity depends on comprehensive support (Wediawati et al., 2018). There is no doubt that all businesses have moved towards automation and societies towards cashless and digital. Recently, modern technological techniques, such as the blockchain, have achieved great success in the areas of money; Where it was able to issue digital money for central banks, which led to an increase in electronic transactions; Due to the entry of the public sector and its support for digital. Modern technological techniques have also been able to transfer and lend money quickly, which may exceed the banking mechanisms deployed around the world. In terms of speed, cost, and ease (Ghosh, 2018).
Financial technology and its role in promoting economic growth: Fintech technologies are modern innovations aimed at competing and developing traditional methods of providing nancial services. These technologies depend entirely on the Internet to accomplish the tasks assigned to them (Noor, 2018). Many nancial technology companies have succeeded in providing many nancial services that have been widely accepted in the nancial circles and their services, especially about payments, remittances, and digital currencies, in addition to other services such as insurance services, wealth management, and others. Given the importance and sensitivity of nancial transactions, the importance of having legal and legislative frameworks capable of reducing the risks of electronic theft and piracy in a manner that ensures information security and nancial stability has emerged (Klein, Weill and Godlewski, 2018).
Technological innovations have already made banking and commerce through smart apps, for example, the only smartphone app for stock trading (Robinhood) that charges no transaction fees, and lending sites (Prosper) and (Lending Club) which promised to reduce interest rates within Loan competition operations, as well as banking services and stock trading via smartphones. In commodity markets and digital portfolios such as Apple and Google, which are developing e-portfolios systems, nancial advisory and robot-advisory sites such as (Learn Vest, Betterment) and money management tools such as (Mint) and (Level). These changes related to technology modernization, credit generation, risk transfer, and equity have increased the credit available to borrowers while nding more e cient ways to raise capital at lower costs (Ahmad, Rais and Shaik, 2018). Cybersecurity threats remain the most signi cant threat to nancial services today. Studies show that enhancing internet and data security is very important for FinTech companies. Education and awareness of technology solutions are critical to preventing vulnerabilities in the nancial system. All FinTech companies have some security or privacy issues associated with web applications and APIs. According to research by ImmuniWeb, a global technology company based in Geneva, Switzerland, which specializes in security testing implementation technologies, 98% of global ntech startups are vulnerable to major cyberattacks, including fraud and application security attacks on mobile and web. The research also indicated that 100% of ntech companies have some security or privacy issues associated with web applications, APIs, and subdomains. Cross-site scripting (XSS), display of sensitive data, and security miscon guration are major website weaknesses, and all Fintech's mobile apps have at least one vulnerability, and this is the most signi cant cybersecurity risk for the ntech industry today (Masih, Kamil and Bacha, 2018).
The role of nancial technology in developing the performance of Islamic banks: Islamic banks have become at present mainly present in the nancial markets, whether in Islamic countries or other countries. Whereas, these Islamic banks provide diverse and competitive services to traditional banks, especially about investing investors' money in a manner that is compatible with Islamic Sharia, thus avoiding investors from engaging in usury and what is contrary to Islamic Sharia (De La O González, Jareño and El Haddouti, 2018). Islamic banks have constituted an important alternative to usurious traditional banks, as they have contributed to the development of the nancial system of banks in many countries, especially countries with an Islamic character. In the year 2021, statistics indicate that there are more than 600 Islamic nancial institutions distributed in about 75 countries around the world. These institutions include stock exchanges, takaful institutions, banks, and insurance institutions. The Islamic nancial system has extended to include many other countries besides Islamic countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Britain, where banks in the mentioned countries have resorted to opening many windows for Islamic transactions, as they sometimes resorted to issuing Islamic bonds for the implementation of huge infrastructure projects (Adam, Al-Aidaros and Ishak, 2018).
The successes achieved by Islamic banks constituted a great challenge for these banks, as it made them in direct competition with the traditional usurious banks spread around the world. The aspects of competition were particularly evident in bene ting from modern nancial technology innovations in the eld of customer service and the completion of nancial transactions in a way that increased the e ciency of these banks and improved their services signi cantly (Causevic, 2018). Recent innovations in the eld of nancial technology have constituted a major turning point in the development of the global nancial system and the improvement of the competitiveness of banks, especially Islamic banks. Among the Islamic countries that have been interested in bene ting from the innovations of modern nancial technology in developing the performance of their Islamic banks are Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Gulf countries, where these banks were able to develop the performance of their banks by providing their products and services that rely mainly on digital technology to complete transactions related to these products and services in a way that competes strongly with banks traditional usurious. According to a study conducted by EY, results showed that 78% of banks in the Gulf countries are seeking to adopt more nancial technology to improve their electronic services (Murdayanti and Puruwita, 2018).

Role of FinTech innovations and AI in developing the future of banking services:
Despite the many bene ts of expanding the construction of nancial technology and arti cial intelligence, the safety and security of information have constituted a major obstacle to the continuity of innovation in this eld without borders. Thus, it is necessary to balance the global trend towards technological innovations and the risks associated with this trend. Therefore, to ensure the integrity of these innovations and not turn into sources of fraud and piracy, the following points must be taken into account, especially in the Arab region: a. The necessity for banks and nancial institutions to develop legal frameworks for payment operations that contribute to the development of nancial and technological products and help spread nancial inclusion services by enabling marginalized segments to access the payment system. b. The necessity of investing in modern technological technologies such as the blockchain in the context of developing electronic nancial services to reduce the traditional methods of using cash.
c. The need for the various components of the banking and nancial sector to pay attention to training employees on the mechanisms and techniques of nancial technology and arti cial intelligence, given their role in diversifying economic activity and developing banking work to become more responsive to the changing and multiple needs of the widest segments of dealers with this pioneering and vital sector. The paper also applied comparative index approach to analyze the conventional and Islamic banks performance during pre and post covid era. Data published in World health organisation's international classi cation of diseases, Labuan international business and nancial center, and S&P Global to analyze the performance and growth indices during pandemic.

Results And Discussion
Performance of Islamic Finance in Fintech era The Islamic nance or Shari'a-compliant nance contains ( Figure 1) Islamic banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Insurance and Islamic capital markets, Takaful, and other IFIs (Razak et al., 2021). According to ICD-Re nitiv in 2020, there are more than 1526 Shari'a-compliant nancial establishments were running businesses in 72 nations, regulated in 46 countries, with an expected to increase from US$2.5 trillion in 2018 to US$3.5 trillion during 2024 Islamic nance assets (Khan et al., 2018). Reports (Figure 2  in 2020, with ranks offered for 135 nations (Figure 3). It represents certain indicators like Quantitative development, governance, awareness, etc., deemed to be the key drivers of growth in the trade. By quantifying variations in these indicators over time and throughout territories, the IFDI offers a crucial instrument in regulatory policy in the industry. The overall development of industries has been measured by the IFDI considering the depth of the ecosystem. Table encapsulates the present state of the global  Islamic nance industry through various indicators and emphasizes its top-ranking nations as per

Islamic Finance and Covid 19
The Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdown have negatively impacted worldwide economic activities.
As the pandemic expands and regulators-imposed lockdowns to reduce escalation, the impact of this epidemic has touched beyond the public health sector (Banna et al., 2021). The current pandemic negatively contributed to the real economy which created serious economic concerns and projected data from the Economic Intelligence Unit showing a devastating effect of the Covid-19 crisis on scal and monitory growth in most countries . Though the Covid-19 virus is an exogenous jolt to the economic and nancial system, the Islamic nancial services industry is not immune to such a crisis (Allaymoun and Hamid, 2020). The expected shortfall in performance of Islamic nancial service business is not signi cantly distinct from the conventional business. However, data is evident that Sharī'ah-compliant products and equities achieved noticeably healthier than conventional equities (Baber, 2020b).

Sukuk: Islamic Capital Market
The capital markets, an important resource of investment, are not exempt from the collision of Covid-19.
With a burst of anticipated credit rating reductions, funds accessibility will be restricted to high-quality issuers, which will be expected to rise in more severity. Non-payments and reshu es are very likely in the near time, although at a considerably greater cost of nancing. With the help of the capital markets, established countries have declared asset acquisition programs that caused a huge movement in the debt and equity markets.
The Islamic capital markets are the other most substantial element of the Islamic nance sector, where Sukūk are the most important contributors . Islamic nancial structures are different, Islamic banks demonstrate lesser risk rates on an average, as associated with conventional reserves. For Islamic banks, the greater the leveraging and greater the net pro t margin, the greater the subsistence likelihood, while the similar is usually negative for conventional banks. Nevertheless, Islamic banking's severe dependence on cash investments and the use of products for security makes them comparatively more susceptible to high-level in ation and real nancial activity (Billah, 2021 Within this framework, arti cial intelligence and nancial technology will have a signi cant impact on restructuring banking operations to become invisible in the future, whereby the human element is completely dispensed within completing most of the nancial transactions requested by customers (Rahman et al., 2020). However, this option will greatly contribute to the use of nancial technology and arti cial intelligence to improve the e ciency of banking operations and enhance the capabilities of employees without completely laying off them by providing smarter solutions to customers, ensuring the implementation of transactions as quickly and at the lowest possible cost (Islam and Ahmad, 2020). In addition to the important role of nancial technology in managing banking operations, it may pose a major threat that must be taken into account and reassessed on an ongoing basis to ensure the safety and integrity of nancial operations and the stability of the nancial and banking sector in general (May 2020).
The intense competition witnessed by traditional nancial institutions and nancial technology companies in providing nancial services has led to many banks seeking to introduce some changes in their business models. By expanding reliance on technology and investing in its infrastructure. For example, reports indicate that Gulf banks' reliance on modern technology carries many opportunities and challenges, on top of these opportunities, enhancing customer experience and facilitating banking operations (Khan and Azmat, 2020). As for the obstacles and restrictions, there are concerns related to the technological penetration of the internal information of these banks, which may cause severe damage to the systems of these banks, and despite these concerns, the overwhelming majority of executives in Gulf Cooperation Council banks are still embarking on developing various solutions., to overcome those obstacles, and most importantly, there is a tendency to enhance inter-bank cooperation at the international level, and in this regard, technological systems are the rst way to achieve this (Zaremba et al., 2020).

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the Islamic nance industry's vulnerability to exogenic threats, as it was subjected to the serious consequences of the pandemic in the same amount as its conventional counterpart. Islamic nancial organizations devoted most of 2020 to surviving with the twin blows of adapting to the pandemic and previously low oil rates. Accordingly, the industry slowdown during the year after undergoing a 14.4% y-o-y increase in 2019. Total Islamic nancial assets are projected to have touched US$ 2.9 trillion by the end of 2020, coordinating last year's totals. Thus, a quick and active reaction has now become essential to guarantee productivity, as well as stimulate improvement and development in commerce. The upswing in technology implementation, digital keys, decision making via data-driven mode, and data distribution throughout the banking, capital markets, nance, and micro nance elds, are expected to accelerate this improvement and strengthen the industry's whole resilience. For now, Islamic social nance instruments are expected to establish a more predominant position in the international market, along with exclusive Islamic investment products such as Sukuk, which be able to be leveraged as substitute nancing means during the COVID-19 induced consequences and slowdown. The authors declared no potential con icts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Competing interests
We are hereby declaring that there is "No Competing interests"

Funding
The authors received no nancial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Availability of data and materials
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Authors' contributions