Humayon Dar is the director general of the Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance, a research institute specializing in the financial sectors of the countries with significant proportion of Islamic banking and finance.
Prior to joining Cambridge IIF, Dar served as Director General of Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). He is also Chairman of the Cambridge-Edbiz Group of Companies, which owns Edbiz Consulting and Cambridge IFA. He is a sharia (Islamic law) advisor, Islamic economist, and advocate for Islamic banking and finance. He has served as a member of the Shari'a boards of Arabesque Asset Management, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Omarco Holding, Hong Leong Islamic Bank Malaysia, Hong Leong MSIG Takaful, Allianz Global Investors Luxembourg, and UMEX Securities.[1]
He served as managing director at Deutsche Bank and CEO of its Islamic finance subsidiary,[2] and has also been a visiting Professor for Islamic Finance for universities in the UK, Malaysia and the Middle East.[2]
Though not a classically trained Islamic scholar, he has undergone training in the Islamic sciences, such as Quranic hermeneutics. His academic influences include Muhammad Umer Chapra, Khurshid Ahmad, Anas Zarka, Nejatullah Siddiqi and Abdul Rahman Yousri.[3]
Education and personal life
Dar was born in Gakkhar Mandi on the Pakistani side of the Punjab province. After he finished secondary school education at his home town, the young Dar was sent to Lahore, where he attended Government College Lahore (now called University Government College Lahore). He spent two years there before he was admitted to International Islamic University Islamabad in 1986.
Dar co-founded (with Joohn Presley) an MSc program in Islamic economics, banking & finance at Loughborough University.[5] He has also assisted the Cass Business School, of London's City University, in creating and offering an Executive MBA in Islamic Finance.[6] He holds a Visiting Professor position in Islamic Finance at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), and is an Adjunct Professor in Islamic Finance at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore (Pakistan).
In 2005, he joined Dar Al Istithmar, a joint venture between Deutsche Bank, the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies and Russell Wood, which was created to provide advice on offering financial products that comply with Islamic law.[7] Deutsche Bank organised a series of seminars regarding Islamic finance throughout the Middle East in 2005, with which Humayon Dar emerged as an influential opinion-maker in the global Islamic financial services industry.[8] In March 2006, Dar was named managing director of Dar Al Istithmar and a managing director at Deutsche Bank.[5] Under Dar's leadership, Dar Al Istithmar emerged as a global think tank for Islamic finance. His leadership was recognised by Euromoney that presented Dar Al Istithmar "Best Islamic Advisory & Assurance" award, for both 2006 and 2007.
In 2007, the team from Dar Al Istithmar was absorbed by the BMB Group, the Eastern-focused investment and advisory group led by Rayo Withanage, the resulting company renamed BMB Islamic. Dar was appointed as its CEO.[9][10] In 2008, BMB Islamic was accepted as member of the Bahrain-based association Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions.[11] In March 2011, he founded Edbiz Consulting Limited, which fast emerged as a leading think tank for the Islamic financial services industry. In September 2012, Dar successfully launched Edbiz Corporation as a holding company for all the businesses he has developed over the years. Dar serves as its chairman. Following the success of his various ventures, in 2014 he founded Cambridge IFA, a company specialising in Islamic financial innovation.
In addition to his advocacy of Islamic banking and finance, Dar sits on a number of Sharia Advisory Boards. He has previously sat on Sharia Boards of Allianz Global Investors (Luxembourg), Hong Leong Islamic Bank (Malaysia), Hong Leong Tokio Takaful Marine (Malaysia) and Halal Industries Group (UK).[citation needed] Through his Shari'a advisory role with Nasdaq OMX, he was instrumental in developing Nasdaq 100 Sharia and OMX 30 Sharia indices of which 7 are already in the market. His current Sharia advisory engagements include Arabesque Asset Management, Omarco, and Nasdaq OMX.
Dar co-edited a book on "Sharia and Legal Aspects of Islamic Finance". Dar is also founding editor of Global Islamic Finance Report, an annual publication reporting on developments in the Islamic financial services industry worldwide.[12] Global Islamic Finance Report 2012, released in March 2012, focuses on Islamic philanthropy and social responsibility and was recognised at Global Donor Forum 2012 as the best research publication on the topic. The then Crown Prince of the State of Perak (Malaysia) and now Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Shah, presented the Best Research & Publication in Islamic Philanthropy Award to Professor Humayon Dar on 28 April 2012, at the Global Donor Forum held in Kuala Lumpur. GIFR has since then become an influential yearbook in Islamic banking and finance.
In 2009, he also founded Islamic Finance Access Programme (IFAP), which aims at providing affordable Islamic financial intelligence to the institutions and individuals seeking to learn more about the Islamic financial services industry. In 2011, Dar's consultancy firm, Edbiz Consulting, started a new quarterly magazine, ISFIRE (Islamic Finance Review), which specialises in analyses of new trends in Islamic banking and finance. In 2011, Dar also founded Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA). The first awards ceremony took place in December 2011 at Muscat (Oman), where H.E. Tun Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, received the top "Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award." The second awards ceremony took place on 19 November 2012 at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), where HRH Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, the Regent of the State of Perak, received the top "Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award." The third ceremony took place in Dubai on 26 November 2013, where HE Shaukat Aziz, a former prime minister of Pakistan received Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award for 2013. The fourth GIFA ceremony took place in Dubai on 26–27 October 2014, where HE Nursultan Nazabayev, president of Kazakhstan became the fourth GIFA Laureate when he received "Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award", witnessed by Sheikh Moahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice-president and prime minister of UAE. The fifth GIFA ceremony took place in Bahrain on 28 October 2015, were HRH Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II (current Emir of Kano) received the prestigious Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award and was proclaimed the fifth GIFA Laureate.
Works
Sharia and Legal Aspects of Islamic Finance 2009. co-edited with Umar Moghul, (Chancellor Publications, London (UK))
Related Research Articles
Islamic banking, Islamic finance, or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic banking/finance include Mudarabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharaka, Murabahah (cost-plus), and Ijara (leasing).
Sukuk is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI as "securities of equal denomination representing individual ownership interests in a portfolio of eligible existing or future assets." The Fiqh academy of the OIC legitimized the use of sukuk in February 1988.
Muhammad Taqi Usmani SI, OI, is a Pakistani jurist and a leading scholar in the fields of Qur'an, Hadith, Islamic law, Islamic economics, and comparative religion. He was a member of the Council of Islamic Ideology from 1977 to 1981, a judge of the Federal Shariat Court from 1981 to 1982, and a judge in the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from 1982 to 2002. In 2020, he was selected as the most influential Muslim personality in the world. He has been conferred the title of Shaykh al-Islām for his knowledge in Islamic studies. He is considered a leading intellectual of the contemporary Deobandi movement, and his opinions and fatwas are widely accepted by Deobandi scholars and institutions worldwide, including the Darul Uloom Deoband in India. Since 2021, he has been serving as the Chairman of Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia. His father, Shafi Usmani, was the Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and migrated to Pakistan with his family after the partition of India in 1948.
Al Rayan Bank PLC is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom, established in August 2004 to offer Sharia compliant financial service products to customers of any faith. The bank has one Premier branch in Knightsbridge in London.
The Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is an Islamic bank in Dubai, established in 1975 by Saeed Bin Ahmed Lootah. It is the first Islamic bank in the world to have incorporated the principles of Islam in all its practices and is the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates.
M. Yaqub Mirza is a Herndon, Virginia-based businessman and Islamic activist.
A Sharia Board certifies Islamic financial products as being Sharia-compliant. Because compliance with Sharia law is the underlying reason for the existence of Islamic finance, Islamic banks should establish a Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) to advise them on whether their products comply, and to ensure that their operations and activities comply with Sharia principles. There are also national Sharia boards in many Muslim majority countries that regulate Islamic financial institutions nationwide.
Banking or banking activity that complies with Sharia —known as Islamic banking and finance, or Sharia-compliant finance—has its own products, services and contracts that differ from conventional banking. Some of these include Mudharabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharakah, Murabahah, Ijar (leasing), Hawala, Takaful, and Sukuk.
The International Zakat Organization (IZO) is an Islamic charitable initiative which focuses on the use of Zakat. Its aim is to work in the international Islamic community among the 56 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and in the wider world to foster cooperation in economic, social, cultural, and other areas.
A Shariah advisor is a person or institution, deemed acceptable in Islamic financial services industry to advise on Islamic legal and wider Shariah matters related with structuring of Islamic financial products. A Shariah advisor can be an independent individual, a group of individuals, or an institution with adequate human and technical resources to advise on legal and Shariah matters in the context of financial product structuring. An example of an individual Shariah advisor is Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi, a Bahraini national, who advises scores of institutions around the globe.
Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) are one of the most prestigious awards in Islamic banking and finance. Other prestigious awards are Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance, and The Royal Award For Islamic Finance, founded by the government of Malaysia. GIFA was founded by the consulting firm Edbiz as part of its advocacy for Islamic banking and finance. Since its inception in 2011, GIFA has emerged as the Number One Islamic finance awards programme in the world.
Global Islamic Finance Report (GIFR) is an annual publication, covering recent developments in the global Islamic financial services industry. Produced by Edbiz Consulting, a London-based Islamic advisory firm, it is the first global publication of its kind. Edited by Professor Humayon Dar, it is the oldest yearbook in Islamic banking and finance and is considered as the most authentic source of information in the field. GIFR is also recognised for its pioneering work on the Islamic Finance Country Index (IFCI), which ranks about 50 countries of the world in terms of their involvement and leadership role in the Islamic financial services industry.
Adnan Chilwan is an Indian banking business executive, currently the Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank.
Rusni Hassan currently is a Professor and Dean at IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia. Previously, she was a Deputy Dean at the Institute, a Coordinator for Research and Publication and Course Coordinator for Islamic Law of Transactions and Islamic Banking and Takaful. She was a Research Committee for Review of Islamic Banking Laws, Central Bank of Malaysia and an examiner for Financial Planner Association of Malaysia. Presently she is the examiner for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. She was a member of Shariah Advisory Council Bank Negara Malaysia and Shariah Advisor for Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia. She also served as Secretary for the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance Malaysia for 8 years starting from 2012 until 2020.
The Islamic Reporting Initiative (IRI) is an independent nonprofit organization leading the creation of the IRI Standard: a reporting standard for Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) based on Islamic principles and values. Its objective is to enable organizations to inclusively assess, report, verify and certify their ESG and philanthropic programs in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Shariq Nisar is an Indian finance professional, academic and activist. He received PhD in economics from Aligarh Muslim University, one of the oldest universities in India. He co-founded TASIS, a shariah advisory institution, related to finance, based in Mumbai, that screens stocks for Shariah compliance. His first major work was the launch of India's first Shariah Index in association with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Later on he worked with the National Stock Exchange to launch Shariah index for them. He is advisor to Kerala Government's Islamic Finance venture Cheraman Financial Services Ltd. He also helped Government of India owned General Insurance Corporation of India establish its Retakaful division in 2009. During 2013 and 2014, he served as a senior visiting fellow at Harvard Law School. He was invited to share his views before the Select Committee of Indian Parliament on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill (2015). He served as a non-executive independent director at Octaware Technologies from November, 2015 to December 2018, India's first shariah compliant publicly listed company. Dr. Nisar has also authored various books in the area of Islamic Finance with International as well as Indian perspectives. He has been awarded Bharat Inclusion Research Fellowship 2020.
The Islamic banking and finance movement that developed in the late 20th century as part of the revival of Islamic identity sought to create an alternative to conventional banking that complied with sharia (Islamic) law. Following sharia it banned from its practices riba (usury) – which it defined as any interest paid on all loans of money – and involvement in haram (forbidden) goods or services such as pork or alcohol. It also forbids gambling (maisir) and excessive risk.
Islamic banking and finance — the industry built around avoiding interest and other financial practices found in violation of sharia — has been both praised and criticized by observers.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
