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DIFC based Hawkamah partners with the Islamic Finance Council UK on unique Shariah scholar training programme

DUBAI, UAE: DIFC-based Hawkamah, Institute for Corporate Governance , has partnered with the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) to trial a unique training programme which provides tailored conventional markets training for Shariah scholars.

The IFC Scholar Professional Development Programme, developed by the IFC, a UK based not-for-profit, and assisted by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Institute (CISI), provides a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) approach comprising of relevant and structured learning activities on conventional markets. The programme is exclusively tailored for Shariah scholars and those involved with the Shariah assurance process and has been run successfully in London, Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Nasser Saidi, Executive Director Hawkamah and Chief Economist of DIFC Authority commented, "We are pleased to organise the first Dubai session of the IFC CPD Shariah Scholar development program in Dubai. Hawkamah has been active in strengthening corporate governance in Shariah compliant institutions and building capacity at the level of the board of directors. We hope that such capacity building programs encourage Shariah scholars to drive innovation in the Islamic finance industry by developing Islamic finance instruments for financing the infrastructure and public developmental projects, which will ultimately lead to the development of the Islamic Capital markets."

IFC Chairman, Tariq Masood, commented, "We welcome the decision by Hawkamah to introduce this unique programme. To be a meaningful global industry it is important for key global jurisdictions in Islamic finance to co-ordinate and work together to raise standards for all."

The inaugural Dubai session to be held on the 1^st of June, marks the first such session in the UAE region and will be focusing on debt capital markets and will be hosted at the DIFC offices of international law firm, Simmons & Simmons .

Muneer Khan, Partner and Head of Islamic Finance at Simmons & Simmons commented, "As a long-term strategic partner of the IFC, we are delighted to have the opportunity to host another IFC Scholar development training day. This is a much needed international initiative to help Shariah Scholars to develop the practical legal and commercial context they need to be able to apply their Shariah knowledge."

The importance of CPD has now been recognised in AAOIFI, IFSB and the recently updated Shariah Governance standards issued by Bank Negara and presents a vital component to empowering Shariah scholars by both raising standards and enhancing capacity.

Dr Daud Bakar, a senior Shariah scholar comments, "To provide meaningful fatwas it is imperative for Islamic finance scholars to have a sound grasp of conventional finance to compliment their Shariah knowledge. This course aims to achieve exactly that in a structured and systematic manner and thus presents a key tool in developing Shariah scholars. I commend the Islamic Finance Council's vision and determination in delivering this now truly global course."

The IFC together with CISI have developed this pioneering programme which is the only globally synchronised programme of its kind.

CISI Managing Director, Ruth Martin, said, "We are delighted to support the Dubai launch of the IFC/CISI Scholar Professional Development Programme. It is integral to cross-cultural understanding of the western and Shariah models of finance and we look forward to working with the IFC in its future development."

The IFC welcome like-minded partners who wish to engage in the programme. For further details please contact the IFC on cpd@ukifc.com

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About the Islamic Finance Council UK
The Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) is a not-for-profit body established to promote and develop the Islamic finance industry. Based in the UK, the IFC has run a number of educational and awareness events and is engaged in advanced research, thought leadership and strategy advisory. The IFC specializes in policy advisory for Government bodies on Islamic finance and its members contribute to various UKTI and HM Treasury Islamic finance working groups.

For further information please call UK: 00 44 (0)207 193 6329
Email: press@ukifc.com
www.ukifc.com

About the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
The CISI's mission is to help members attain, maintain and develop their knowledge and skills and to promote the highest standards of ethics and integrity in the securities and investment industry.

Evolved from the London Stock Exchange, we now have more than 40,000 members in 89 countries. CISI exams are taken by 92% of the world's banks and in the past year we set almost 40,000 examinations in 70 countries, covering a range of vocational qualifications.

Based in the City of London, CISI is a global organisation with representative offices in financial centres such as Dublin, Singapore, Dubai, Mumbai and Colombo. We work in close cooperation with regulators, firms and other professional bodies worldwide.

For further information on the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment contact Lora Benson, Head of Media, London UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7645 0662/+44 (0)7801 521034 or lora.benson@cisi.org.

About Hawkamah
Hawkamah , the Institute for Corporate Governance, was launched in February 2006 with the aim of advancing corporate governance practices in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Hawkamah was created for the region, by the region, and of the region to bridge the governance gap by assisting the region's countries and businesses in developing and implementing sound, well integrated corporate governance frameworks.

As an autonomous international association, Hawkamah brings together corporate governance practitioners, regulators and institutions to define and develop a home-grown-yet globally integrated - system of governance that promotes institution building, corporate sector reform, good governance, market development and increased investment and growth across the region. Our objective is to shape corporate governance practices and framework throughout the region by promoting the core values of transparency, accountability, fairness, disclosure and responsibility.

For information about Hawkamah 's initiatives on improving corporate governance in the area of Islamic Finance, please contact info@hawkamah.org,Tel: 00971 4 362 2551, www.hawkamah.org

© Press Release 2011