DIB launches 2016 UAE Sharia Departments Forum

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced that it has launched the first UAE Sharia Departments Forum, with the strategic objective of developing the Islamic financial services sector in the UAE.
The event was organised by the bank, as a founder and sponsor, with the valued participation of other local Islamic banks, to create a platform where the Shariah departments of financial institutions across the country can meet to exchange experiences and share solutions to the challenges they face. As the first event of its kind in the country, the forum was led by the Shariah department at DIB and featured the Shariah departments of other local Islamic banks including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic and Al Hilal Bank.
'Shariah Audit' was chosen as the theme of the event this year with a very comprehensive series of panels, each of which was led by one of the participants, discussing a different element of the topic.
DIB chaired a session on the 'Shariah Auditor's Guide', while other banks covered topics such as 'Shariah audit based on the risk of non-compliance' which was managed by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank; 'the relationship between Shariah audit and internal audit, and areas of cooperation' by Emirates Islamic; and 'the differences between the Shariah auditor and the Shariah compliance reviewer' by Al Hilal Bank. The event concluded with a roundtable discussion on the findings and the recommendations of the Forum.
Moosa Khoory, head of Shariah at DIB, said: "Given our unparalleled heritage in Islamic banking, we strongly believe that Shariah compliant financial institutions across the country need to come together to collaborate in order to share knowledge and work together to effectively address the biggest challenges we face today. With this goal in mind, we are proud to have organised this initiative and would like to thank all the participating banks for their support."
"The event was established as a leading annual platform to discuss the most pressing issues facing Sharia departments and to develop innovative solutions that will drive the ongoing evolution of the Islamic financial services sector," Khoory added.
The inaugural forum was attended by all the employees working in the Sharia departments of the participating banks. DIB's Shariah department is looking forward to expanding the forum over the next four years to include all the Islamic banks and Islamic windows in the country, as well as Islamic finance companies, such as Takaful providers.
- business@khaleejtimes.com