Praise for Foundations of shar+'ah Governance of Islamic Banks
"The Islamic banking industry, worth over 2 trillion dollars, represents a fast growing phenomenon in an otherwise depressing context of global finance. What is the source of this relative stability and resilience? shar+'ah compliance makes Islamic banking distinct, as it operates not only within a framework of certain well defined ethical imperatives but also has the unique feature of making finance asset based, leading to generation of real goods and services in society, and not simply financial expansion.
Foundations of shar+'ah Governance of Islamic Banks is a timely effort to bring into sharp focus this unique dimension of Islamic Banking. It contains a well-researched, fully documented, fairly detailed and authentic exposition of the key concepts of shar+'ah, Islamic guidelines for banking governance and some of the major efforts made over the last four decades to develop operational mechanisms to make banking shar+'ah-compliant. This book is an essential read for those who want to understand Islamic banking, and more so, for those engaged in the Islamic Banking industry anywhere in the world."
—Khurshid Ahmad, Professor, Chairman, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, Ex- Senator, Federal Minister for Planning, and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Pakistan
"shar+'ah compliance lies at the heart of Islamic finance and is what makes it unique. The book provides a comprehensive treatment of the shar+'ah governance issues covering basic shar+'ah principles applied in Islamic finance and the processes through which these are operationalized in practice. The volume is a valuable source of information for anyone who would like to study diverse aspects of processes and practices related to shar+'ah governance in the contemporary Islamic financial industry."
—Habib Ahmed, Professor of Islamic Finance, Durham University Business School
"In this ground-breaking work, Karim Ginena and Azhar Hamid have accomplished what others have only hinted at and, by doing so, have rendered a valuable service to the growing Islamic financial services industry. With scholarly attention to detail, and a fine understanding of the global context in which Islamic finance operates, the authors have provided a roadmap for governance that should find wide appreciation in corporate and regulatory circles worldwide."
—Shaykh Yusuf DeLorenzo, shar+'ah board member of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)
"An important academic and practical related addition to the new discipline. Tools such as shar+'ah risk assessment grid and audit checklists are particularly helpful. This book serves as a useful implementation guide and takes a fresh approach compared to the current boring, descriptive texts."
—Shahul Hameed bin Mohamed Ibrahim, Associate Professor of Islamic Accounting, INCEIF, Malaysia
"Islamic banks by definition have to operate in accordance with shar+'ah law, but how is this enforced? This study explores the practical issues in shar+'ah governance which involves both external audit and internal controls. As the interpretation of Islamic commercial law is inevitably subjective, shar+'ah board members often have legitimate differences of opinion. The authors examine how these can be reconciled to reduce shar+'ah risk."
—Rodney Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Durham University, UK and INCEIF, Malaysia
