Expand Schools Courses Amid shortage Sharia Scholar

Universities are expanding Islamic finance courses as the demand for qualified professionals in Islamic law exceeds supply in the industry $ 1 billion.

International Islamic University Malaysia plans to start postgraduate courses specializing in capital markets that comply with Shariah, banking and insurance after the registration of its overall finances to comply with Muslim principles tripled in the last year said Professor Mohd Azmi Omar, the dean of the institute. La Trobe University in Melbourne, which began classes this year, is working with officials in Malaysia to provide industry recognized qualifications.

The lack of skills is one of the biggest challenges for the expansion of the global Islamic banking, based in Washington, said Patrick Imam, an economist at the International Monetary Fund. About 50,000 people will be needed over the next five to seven years to meet demand, according to Ishaq Bhatti, head of Islamic banking and La Trobe funding program.

"There are very few people who are very good, both in finance and interpretation of Islamic law," the imam said in an email response to questions sent on 10 December. "For Islamic banking must be fluent in finance and Islamic principles, and are usually one or the other."

Industry Standards

The Islamic finance industry, with a capital of Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board estimates will rise to $ 1.6 trillion by 2012, is the development of global standards to improve the legislation. The Manama, Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions said the shortage of specialists increases the risk of conflict of interest because many sit on various advisory boards.

Sheikh Nizam Yaquby of Bahrain and Syria Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah who serve on 85 boards of Islamic financial institutions, ranked first among the 20 religious scholars in an October report from Zawya, a midline News this business and directory, and the Funds @ Work AG, a consulting firm Kronberg, based in Germany.

Experts are preparing the first certification standard for scholars. A standing committee should be selected later this year to work on creating a body responsible for issuing permits for qualified persons to sit on the boards of the Sharia, Aznan Hasan, the chairman of the oversight committee, said in a August 30 interview in Kuala Lumpur.

"You could see the hunger and thirst for Islamic finance when first announced this program in July 2009," said Bhatti La Trobe, in an interview on 28 October in Kuala Lumpur. "At first we thought that 100 people would sign up, then we started getting requests for high profile government and industry, which increased to 200."

Thailand, Senegal

Thailand, Senegal and Sudan are among the countries seeking to harness the wealth of 1.6 billion Muslims in the world by selling Islamic bonds, which are reviewed by experts for the implementation of Islamic law.

Global sales of sukuk, which pay returns based on asset flows to comply with the ban on religion in the interest fell 28 percent this year to $ 14.5 million for the same period of 2009, as data compiled by us. Issuance reached a record $ 31 billion in 2007.

Shariah-compliant bonds returned 12 percent in 2010, the HSBC / NASDAQ U.S. Dollar Dubai sukuk index shows, while the debt in emerging markets gained 13 percent, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. 's EMBI Global Diversified index.

Malaysia yields

The difference between the average yield of sukuk in developing countries and the interbank offered rate in London has dropped 160 basis points, or 1.6 percent, to 308 this year, according to the HSBC / NASDAQ U.S. Dollar Dubai . UU. sukuk index.

The performance of Malaysian Islamic bonds with a maturity of 3.928 percent in June 2015 was little changed today at 3.06 percent, according to the price of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The extra yield investors demand to hold the government rather sukuk Dubai from Malaysia also was little changed at 342.

The UK's Durham University, Al-Azhar University in Cairo and Ethics Institute of Islamic Finance in Dubai also offer courses in Islamic finance. Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an Islamic legal studies program through its School of Law, according to data on its website.

Durham University

Schools and universities are facing a shortage of teachers for courses on Islamic finance as demand increases, "said Professor Rodney Wilson, professor at the Center for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Durham.

"We need to appoint more staff" as Durham only four class teachers, Wilson, who is based in London, said in an emailed response to questions yesterday.

La Trobe University is working with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance for approval to offer the Chartered Islamic Finance Professional Certification, said Bhatti.

The Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, IIUM will begin a Masters in Islamic capital markets in September 2011 in relation to the Securities Commission of Malaysia, dean of the institute, said in an interview on 6 December.

"We have bankers, lawyers and fresh graduates who attend our classes," said Mohd Azmi, who also teaches Islamic capital markets in Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia.