THE GUARDIAN: PARIS (Reuters) - As the world financial industry sheds jobs by the tens of thousands, the $1 trillion Islamic banking sector has a growing load of work for sharia scholars but few candidates coming forward to do it.
Experts steeped in the Muslim scriptures are critical to Islamic finance, which requires a religious stamp of approval before a bond, mortgage contract or other financial product can be marketed as moral according to the standards of the Koran.
But qualifying for this work takes much more time and effort than other jobs in finance require. Candidates must first study Islamic law or sharia for many years, and then master finance.
"Globally, and especially in Europe and America, there is a shortage of scholars familiar with both fields," said Mufti Abdul Kadir Barkatulla, an Indian-born imam in London who sits on sharia boards for six banks including Lloyds TSB.
"A few scholars are going around the world (advising banks) and new scholars are not being trained fast enough to take their place," he said at an Islamic finance conference in Paris.
Part of the problem is linguistic. Many Middle Eastern scholars work only in Arabic, the language of Islam, but the global market needs scholars fluent both in Arabic and in languages such as English or French.
A study for Paris Europlace, an industry group trying to develop Islamic banking in France, said there were fewer than 100 scholars in the world qualified to sit on sharia boards.
Demand for Islamic banking has grown in recent years and expanded from the Middle East as more of the world's 1.3 million Muslims seek investments that comply with their faith. >>> By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor | December 1, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
