issue no. 163 - january–march 2007 / muharram–rabi al awwal 1428

IIBI NEWS
NEWHORIZON January–March 2007
Meeting with Japanese delegation
Warren Edwardes, a member
of the IIBI’s informal Board of
Governors, received a Japanese
delegation visiting London for a
research project ‘The Emergence
of Islamic Finance in the UK’.
Professor Koji Muto, professor
of Middle Eastern economic
studies and Islamic finance,
College of Asia Pacific
Management; Katsura
Daikuhara, principal economist
(Middle Eastern economic
development); and H. Hosoda,
the latter two both from the
Japan Centre for International
Finance, acknowledged that
London is seen as one of the key
centres of growth in the Islamic
finance sector today. They
discussed London’s prospects
of becoming the centre of global
Islamic finance transactions,
such as sukuk, and the pros
and cons of this scenario. The
delegation also assessed the UK
government’s efforts to promote
Islamic finance in the country
and what remains to be done in
this area.
The talks were not limited to the
domestic issues of the industry,
but embraced other topical
subjects of Islamic finance on a
worldwide scale. The Japanese
delegation raised the very
interesting question of the
differences in Shari’ah
interpretation between the Gulf
countries and Malaysia, and
whether such uncertainty causes
problems, for instance, in
damaging the stability of
issuance or trading of sukuk.
Other global problems, such as
a possible increase in the costs
of Islamic products and services
due to the conflict between
strengthening competitiveness
and Shari’ah compliance, as
well as the negative effect that
the petrodollar shrinkage might
have on Islamic finance, were
also discussed.
IIBI director general joins Muslim Power 100
Mohammad Ali Qayyum,
director general of IIBI, has
been included in the Muslim
Power 100 list, an initiative
set up by Carter Andersen,
media and business consulting
organisation. In the words
of Khalid Darr, chairman of
Carter Andersen, the Muslim
Power 100 names ‘Muslim
men and women who
contribute positively and
often powerfully within
all sectors of British life’.
The purpose of the nomination
is to set out how the Islamic
‘traditional core values of
empathy, objectivity, integrity
and impartiality drive the
contribution to the social and
cultural welfare of Britain’.
Today, the Muslim population
in the UK is estimated at 2.1
million with a contribution
to the annual GDP (gross
domestic product) of £51
billion.
The country’s Islamic finance
services sector has grown
considerably over the past few
years and continues to increase
steadily. Qayyum believes
that unbiased education and
training from independent
organisations like the IIBI
supported by professionals,
the industry, regulators and
government is the key to
successful promotion and
implementation of Islamic
finance both within the
UK and outside it.
Mohammad Ali Qayyum,
IIBI
In 2003, Qayyum became
director general of the Londonbased
Institute of Islamic
Banking and Insurance (IIBI),
bringing in-depth knowledge
and practical experience gained
from nearly three decades in
the banking industry.
Until the sad demise in March
2005 of the IIBI’s founder
and chairman, Muazzam
Ali, Qayyum assisted him in
reviewing the Institute’s shortterm
strategy. The late Ali,
who established the IIBI as a
non-profit organisation, was
a pioneer and highly respected
figure; he realised early on that
the success of the Islamic
banking movement would
depend heavily on education,
training and research.
Since taking on the position
of director general, Qayyum
has been working closely with
members of the IIBI’s informal
Board of Governors on
developing the short-term
as well as long-term business
plans to take the IIBI to a
higher level. Together with
his team and the Institute’s
‘friends’, Qayyum is continuing
the late Ali’s legacy of
promoting Shari’ah-compliant
finance and of establishing the
IIBI as a global centre of
excellence in Islamic banking
and insurance education,
training and research based
in the City of London.
18 IIBI www.islamic-banking.com