Islamic civilization is not a thing of the past without any link with the present. Rather, Islamic civilization is the fruit of the culture, history, thought, inventiveness and originality of a people, who have never and will never cease to offer it as a gift to mankind.This dynamic role for civilization in our era, is exactly the practical role of ...

MissionThe goal of "SHIRKAH-Islamic Banking & Finance" Magazine is to develop the potentialities, the opportunities and the ethical essence of Islamic banking and financial industry among Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions and their western counterparts in accordance with a spirit of collaboration.One year contributionGolden Sponsor:CHF 20000 (Swiss Franks) / USD 20000 / EURO 15000* 200 COPIES of SHIRKAH Magazine:50 copies ...

The Mosque of al-Azhar was founded by Jawhar al-Siqilly, the Fatimid conqueror of Egypt, in 970 as the congregational mosque for the new city of al-Qahira. The first khutba was delivered from its minbar in 972 and a university was established there in 988.The core academic life of Al-Azhar has remained much the same for over a millenium: its students ...

Certain architectural features have become fixed and eternal. In this modern world, they help us find our architectural roots and remain true to our identity.Almost every architectural structure addresses, in a direct sense, cultural identity and philosophy within a physical context.If we want to understand, appreciate, and evaluate the architectural quality of a building, we need to develop a sense ...

Ibn Khaldun is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology and Sciences of History. He is best known for his famous 'Muqaddimah,' (Prolegomena). Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mohammad, generally known as Ibn Khaldun after a remote ancestor, was born in Tunis in 732 A.H. (1332 C.E.) to an upper class family that had migrated from Seville in Muslim Spain. ...

Zakah has been an integral part of all prophetic religions. All of the prophets exhorted their followers to pay zakah.[1] The Old and New Testaments contain various verses that encourage the followers to spend on the welfare of the poor and needy.[2] Although Old and the New Testaments do not indicate any fixed heads of expenditure for zakah, the Quran ...

Before shedding light on the very important role of the Higher Religious Supervisory Board affiliated to the International Association of Islamic Banks, which is established to protect and enlighten the path of the march of Islamic banks as well as laying for them the solid and clear basis within the framework of the rulings of the glorious Shariah, we think ...

Islam allows loan as a form of social service among the rich to help the poor and those who are in need of financial assistance. Loan in Islam may be obtained in two ways: (i) Loan with condition of repayment, and (ii) gratuitous loan without any compensation or gift. However, Islam does not recognize any loan with interest for the ...

Ever since the creation of Pakistan, the issue of Islamization has been a subject of debate both within and outside the country. Islamization of laws is an important element of the overall concept of Islamization in the country, and this aspect generated great discussion and deliberations in 1979 when the government introduced Hudud Laws (Ordinances).An objective study of the views ...

Sarasin announced today the publication of its Islamic Wealth Management Report 2010. The report provides investors with an in-depth overview of the various asset classes in Islamic wealth management along with a synopsis of the market scenario during the past 18 months. The report also explores the concept of estate and succession planning, which Sarasin believes is insufficiently addressed in ...

Waqf Fund, a Bahrain-based special fund to support Islamic finance research, education and training, held its 3rd Senior Roundtable Discussion on Sunday 13 June at the Bait Al Quraan lecture hall.This latest event in Waqf Fund's Roundtable discussion series, which is a thought-leadership forum, focused on "Resilience of Islamic finance during the financial crisis and its future". The interactive discussion ...

Musharakah means relationship established under a contract by the mutual consent of the parties for sharing of profits and losses,arising from a joint enterprise or venture.* Investments come from all partners/shareholders hereinafter referred to as partners.* Profits shall be distributed in the proportion mutually agreed in the contract.The existence of Muta'aqideen(Partners):* Capability of Partners: Must be sane & mature and ...

The 22nd Board of Directors meeting of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) was hosted recently by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in Dubai, UAE.The meeting was attended by senior representatives of DIFC, Bank Indonesia, Central Bank of Sudan, Central Bank of Bahrain, Islamic Development Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance - Brunei Darussalam, Labuan Financial Services ...

In recent years we have seen property investments in the Arabia become highly speculative and increasing in price. Much of this has been due to the buying and continual of reselling of properties that have not been completed. Particularly in the United Arab Emirates this has built up a speculative bubble that took away actual property values to ones that ...

Dr Humayon Dar is a world-acclaimed Shari'a technician, known for his innovative approach to structuring of Islamic financial products. He represents a rare breed of scholars who are involved in the Islamic financial industry as practitioners, and hence are strategically positioned to offer technical Shari'a advice on structuring of Islamic financial products. He attended International Islamic University Islamabad (Pakistan) for ...

The sub-prime mortgage crisis resulted in a loss of confidence among banks. As a consequence, many banks declined to participate in interbank markets. The result was diminished liquidity in the banking system at a crucial time. Lack of liquidity means loss of depositor's confidence and the resulting systemic risk which has caused runs on a number of banks. Since the ...

The Central Bank of Bahrain announces that the latest Sukuk issuance of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain has been successfully placed.The initial size of the Sukuk offering was $500 Million USD, but the issue was oversubscribed by almost 8 times. As a result, the value of the Sukuk was raised to $750 Million USD."One of the major reasons ...

Real Estate plays a key role in the development and progress of any economy and it is often considered as the leading indicator of the economic health of any country.The Real Estate sector was, until middle of 2008, witnessing a boom, attracting large investments from Financial Institutions, and individuals, from within the GCC region and from abroad. It was generating ...

Islamic banking industry has grown rapidly during the past three decades spreading its operations in many parts of the globe. Making its first debut in the small Savings Association of Mitghamr (Egypt) in 1963, its strength has now reached over 250 financial institutions operating in more than 40 countries with assets valuing USD 750 billions, and an annual growth rate ...

The banking system in Lebanon is the most liberal in the region. Over the years, Lebanon has developed core competence in banking and financial services and recorded above-average performance. The sector benefits from a free exchange system with no restrictions on the movement of capital and earnings. Furthermore, the banking secrecy law ensures anonymity, and low tax rates provide additional ...

FORMER CHAIRMEN OF THE UNION TO DATEMr. Joseph Geagea (Lebanon) From 12/3/1974 Till 5/5/1977Mr. Bashir Zouhairy (Common Banks) From 6/5/1977 Till 25/11/1980Mr. Labid AbdelKader Al-Kara Gholi (Iraq) From 26/11/1980 Till 25/11/1983Mr. Anwar Al-Khalil (Lebanon) From 28/5/1983 Till 30/4/1989Mr. Naji Al-Soukhiry (Tunis) From 1/5/1989 Till 30/4/1992Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Azizi (Egypt) From 1/5/1992 Till 30/4/2001 Dr. Joseph Torbey (Lebanon)From 1/5/2001 Till 2007Mr. ...

Nucleus of the major monotheist religions, site of the Creature historic civilizations and cultures, narrating prime actor of inter-ethnicities discovery, the Mediterranean and Middle East area is the hinge of the North and South, the East and the West. A crossroad of three continents of the Globe, the Mediterranean/Middle East area is much more than bordering space, not only to ...

The recent financial crisis is a combination of credit risk, leverage risk and liquidity risk. Speculation led to leveraging deals which were fostered by the development in the credit derivative markets.Islamic finance can provide a solution to stop this type of recurring financial crisis. At first, it encourages to be modest and do not go beyond one's means. A system ...

The Imams of The Four Schools of FiqhImam A'zam Abu Hanifa (alaihir rahmah), Imam Maalik (alaihir rahmah), Imam Shaafi (alaihir rahmah) and Imam Ahmed bin Hambal (alaihir rahmah) are the leaders of the four schools of Fiqh (Islamic Law)."FIQH" is the Science of Islamic Law or Jurisprudence. It refers to the collection and compilation of Islamic laws based on the ...

Many years back Allama Iqbal wrote in his lectures on "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam" that "the claim of the present generation of Muslim liberals to re-interpret the foundational legal principles (of Islam) in the light of their own experience and the altered conditions of modern life is, in my opinion, perfectly justified." Iqbal is no longer here ...