Following the official launch by the then Economic Secretary to the Treasury Kitty Usher MP in July 2008 the inaugural UK Session of this innovative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme took place on 25th October 2008.
The Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) and the Securities & Investment Institute (SII) programme brought together for the first time the leading UK shariah scholars and internationally renowned scholars including Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi from Bahrain for an exclusively tailored training session on conventional markets. The session was also attended by senior global shariah scholar Dr.Daud Bakr from Malaysia, who commended the initiative and highlighted the importance for scholars to participate in such programmes, particularly new and intermediate level scholars.
A key topic covered during the programme was a detailed analysis of the global credit crisis. The event provided the first formal forum in the UK for leading Islamic finance scholars to discuss the current financial crisis and compare the Islamic financial approach with conventional markets.
Ruth Martin, Managing Director of SII said, “ We are very pleased to have partnered with the IFC in this important initiative. The inaugural session has come about at an extraordinary time in the world of financial services and will have engendered much debate and greater understanding amongst our shariah scholar delegates.”
At the time of the launch of this IFC/SII initiative by the then Economics Secretary to the Treasury Kitty Usher MP said: “This is a ground-breaking initiative between the IFC and the SII to develop the financial skills of shariah scholars from around the world. This is an excellent example of what the UK has to offer in terms of skills and professional development and I am pleased to hear that it is already receiving support from around the world. This just shows how industry and other organisations can work together to help the Islamic finance sector develop, both here in the UK and globally, and we in Government are delighted to lend our support to it.”
The CPD programme has the full backing of the UKTI and an endorsement from Lord Digby Jones, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, along with the support of the leading Shariah scholars from around the world.
International legal firm Simmons & Simmons are acting as legal sponsor for the project. Head of Islamic Finance Muneer Khan noted: “The members of the Islamic finance practice at Simmons & Simmons have had the opportunity over several years of practice in this area to benefit from the knowledge and guidance of many learned scholars. This is an opportunity for us to give something back and we very much look forward to working with the IFC and its strategic partners in this much needed capacity building initiative.”
The IFC Scholar Professional Development Programmeis an exclusively tailored conventional markets training programme designed to assist Shariah scholars and those associated with the Shariah assurance process to have a comprehensive and up to date understanding of conventional financial markets, covering both key fundamental mechanics and contemporary issues.
