Manama: As part of its core strategy to develop human capital for the Islamic finance industry, the Bahrain-based Waqf Fund for Research, Education and Training has announced a new professional development initiative. It has been designed for the benefit of Sharia scholars, Sharia auditors and compliance professionals to enhance their understanding of global financial and capital markets, the fund said.
Chaired by Khalid Hamad, executive director, banking supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain, the Waqf Fund comprises the Central Bank of Bahrain and 18 prominent Islamic and conventional banks with Islamic finance operations in Bahrain. The fund will jointly host the first training session from April 7 to 8 with the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) under its ‘Scholar Development Programme'.
"The Waqf Fund's joint initiative with the IFC aims to enhance Sharia scholars' understanding of the conventional financial markets and products, to assist them with a comparative understanding that bridges the gap between bankers and scholars during transaction structuring and approval process. We are proud to be able to serve and develop the industry, and are also working on other initiatives to produce more Sharia'a scholars specifically for the Islamic finance industry," Hamad said.
IFC chairman Tariq Masood said: "We welcome the decision by the Bahrain Waqf Fund to introduce this unique programme designed to empower Sharia scholars. It is encouraging to see Bahrain, a recognised global hub for Islamic finance, working together through global partnerships by joining with the UK and Malaysia on this programme to benefit what is now a truly global industry."
The programme is exclusively tailored for Sharia scholars and those involved with the Sharia compliance function, and has been run successfully both in London and Kuala Lumpur.
