At the global crossroads of established traditions and modern economics: The International Center for Education in Islamic Finance
A unique academic institution
In the financial world today “growth” and “hiring” are not words one frequently encounters, but for the practitioners of Islamic finance there appears to be no problem as pressing as that of identifying, hiring and retaining top-quality talent. “We are in the middle of a major growth trajectory – notwithstanding the global economic crisis – and we have real manpower issues,” comments En. Ahmad Zaini Othman, CEO of AmIslamic Bank Bhd in Kuala Lumpur. “We’re not talking about just hiring bodies to staff one-off deals – but rather the depth of knowledge necessary to support a full Shariah-based platform of financial services, with the full understanding of all this entails,” he continues, going on to add that “We are fortunate here in Malaysia to have institutional support for this effort, notably from INCEIF.”
INCEIF (International Center for Education in Islamic Finance) occupies a distinct position in Islamic finance: It is not only a center offering state-of-the-art programs across a full range of disciplines and topics in the financial and economic principles of Islam and Shariah law, but also a fully accredited university that confers both Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Islamic finance. INCEIF’s flagship CIFP (Chartered Islamic Financial Professional) program is designed for professionals to gain broad expertise in the disciplines of Islamic banking, capital markets, asset management and “takaful” (insurance), and is available via distance learning in addition to the on-campus program at INCEIF’s main campus in Kuala Lumpur. The CIFP program, which marked a milestone in February 2009 by graduating its first class of charter recipients, is recognized by the Malaysia Qualifications Agency as equivalent to a Master’s degree.
The tradewinds of global Islamic finance
INCEIF is a bustling global port of call. In 2008 the International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) was established under the auspices of INCEIF as a venue for internationally renowned Shariah scholars to conduct applied research and to study contemporary issues in Islamic finance. INCEIF’s programs are also in use by a growing number of international academic institutions including Reading University in the U.K. (home to the highly regarded Henley Business School) and the University of Bahrain, among others. “Market recognition comes in the form of acceptance of our programs by other academic institutions,” noted INCEIF President Agil Natt, in his remarks at the Inaugural Convocation of CIFP graduates in February of this year, highlighting the continuing adoption of INCEIF programs elsewhere in the world.
A learning-committed central bank
The driving force behind INCEIF’s establishment in 2006 was Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank. “Against an environment of a rapidly evolving Islamic financial industry and the growing significance of Islamic financial institutions globally, human intellectual capital has become the defining factor in sustaining the performance and competitiveness of the Islamic financial industry,” said Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz in her welcoming address at the INCEIF Strategic Partnership in December 2006. That vision led to the hiring of top Malaysian and international academicians to craft a unique educational program both to train the next generation of Islamic finance practitioners and to stimulate the exchange of ideas and viewpoints among established Shariah scholars. Dr. Syed Othman Alhabshi, Professor of Islamic Economics, Chief Academic Officer and Dean of Faculty noted wryly that “in 2007 [Bank Negara Governor] Dr. Zeti brought me out of a quite comfortable retirement to take on new responsibilities at INCEIF, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Islamic finance: More than just profit and loss
Dr. Othman describes an academic curriculum steeped in the deep underlying essence of the Shariah principles that form the basis of Islamic finance. “We spend a great deal of time going back to Islam’s original sources so that our students gain a full understanding of how to apply Shariah principles to contemporary uses and purposes,” he notes. For example, in the Master’s of Islamic Finance program, students, the vast majority of whom have completed undergraduate courses of study as well as gained experience in the work world when they arrive at INCEIF, are required to complete a core curriculum that includes courses in “usul al fiqh” (Islamic jurisprudence) and “fiqh muamalat” (Shariah civil contracts) alongside corporate finance, risk management, portfolio management and other disciplines familiar to financial students around the world.
Shariah scholars in the non-Muslim world
The spread of Islamic finance beyond the borders of the Islamic world can be clearly seen in the relationship between INCEIF and the U.K.’s Reading University. Reading’s Henley Business School is a full-service business school ranked second in the U.K. and fifth in Europe, according to the school’s website. Henley is also home to the ICMA Centre, supported by the Zurich-based International Capital Markets Association, with a focus on research and academic issues pertinent to investment banking and the capital markets (which notably includes three state-of-the-art dealing rooms for the students, equipped with the latest in technological gadgetry provided by sponsor Thomson Reuters). ICMA Centre has a collaboration program with INCEIF offering a Master’s of Science degree in investment banking and Islamic finance. Students at Henley Business School who participate in this program are able to spend three months at INCEIF’s Kuala Lumpur campus as part of the twelve-month program. “We believe this marks an important advancement in the sharing of knowledge and skills in the area of Islamic finance,” said Dr. Zeti of Bank Negara Malaysia in a recent address to participants in the INCEIF Public Forum held at the ICMA Centre. “Indeed we value this partnership and look forward to the opportunity to extend further this relationship in a wide range of areas within the context of Islamic finance.”
Meeting the challenges of taking Islamic finance to its next level of evolution will not be easy, but all agree that a top-quality pool of talent with the breadth and depth to address the complex issues of Islamic finance as they take root in the mainstream of global financial markets is the one non-negotiable, absolute requirement. “We need to start teaching at an early level and getting young people excited about the growth opportunities they can expect to realize in Islamic finance,” argues Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil, CEO of Asian Finance Bank, a Kuala Lumpur-based institution, majority-owned by the Qatar Islamic Bank. INCEIF’s Dr. Othman echoes this sentiment: “We want our students to be excited about finance and also to truly understand what it means to practice Islamic finance. This is an important time for us – we are approaching a new stage of Islamic finance and our young people have both a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous responsibility in front of them.” As this market continues to grow, it appears clear that INCEIF will be there at the center of activity.
