Group Plans to Certify Scholars as Shariah Law Experts for Financial Matters
Addressing concerns that unqualified individuals could be serving as decision-makers on boards that determine whether financial products comply with Shariah religious law, a group of leading Islamic scholars is working to establish a certification process.
The International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance in Kuala Lumpur plans to name a board of regulators by the end of the year. The regulators will then establish a permit process to certify Islamic scholars qualified to participate in Shariah boards that determine whether financial products comply with religious law requirements, including a rule that interest cannot be charged, reports Bloomberg.
Earlier attempts to certify scholars were blocked by the difficulty of addressing differing Shariah law interpretations throughout the Muslim world, attorney Madzlan Mohamad Hussain tells the news agency. He is a partner at Zaid Ibrahim & Co., the largest law firm in Malaysia.
