Sunday, 29 September 2019

Muis honours volunteers at Muis Awards 2019

At the Muis Awards 2019, Chief Executive of Muis Esa Masood said that 2019 award winners exemplified the defining values of the Malay Muslim community - character, competence and citizenry. He added that the volunteers possess skillsets and capabilities that make up the foundations of a community of success, defined by the values above.

The annual event honouring volunteers saw the highest honour of the  Jasa Cemerlang (Outstanding) Award presented to Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi Hassan in recognition for his long-standing stewardship and leadership in PERGAS and the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG). Pergas is a non-governmental organisation that raises the quality of Islamic education and welfare, and envisions credible religious leadership.

Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi is well known in the community for his contribution towards the progressive development of asatizah (religious teachers). He urged those in the religious field to continue the good work of uplifting the community.

"This award is meaningful but it is a special recognition not for me but for my fellow asatizah. It is a recognition of the good work and contribution they have made to community and the nation. I urge my fellow asatizah to continue striving and serve the community to the best of their abilities. With rapid development and change in our social landscape, we have the responsibility to guide and nurture our future generation to understand and apply the right Islamic knowledge," he said.

This year, eight Jasa Bakti (Service) Award were given out. Muis said recipients have shown "true leadership, leading with dedication, enthusiasm and have contributed numerous years of voluntary service."

Jasa Bakti Awards recipients comprise:

Dr Bibi Jan Mohd Ayyub

Hamidah Ibrahim

Ustaz Mohamad H Rais

Hj Muhammad Effendy Ibrahim

Hj Mustapha Kamal Osman

Muhammad Hidhir Abdul Majid

Hj Mohamed Rashid Shariff

Hjh Norain Mohd Noor

At the event, representatives of the mosques and the President’s Challenge Charity Briyani led by Hj Allaudin Mohamed, Hj Paiman Supangat and Hj Shaick Fakrudeen presented a cheque worth S$100,000 from the Muslim community to President Halimah Yacob. This is the annual contribution by the Muslim community to the annual President’s Challenge fund-raiser.

"This contribution from the Muslim community is a manifestation of the spirit of rahmatan lil alamin, or blessings to all, where, as Muslims, we are taught to be of benefit to all mankind, regardless of race or religion, demonstrate kindness to all living creatures, and to respect and protect nature and the environment," said Esa.

He also disclosed that Muis disburses $1.1 million of zakat funds contributed by the community to benefit about 13,000 individuals monthly. The support provides for financial needs, as well as religious education for children.
"Indeed, this generous spirit of giving, to ensure the underserved in the community are taken care of in an ongoing and sustained manner, is an important element in what defines a successful community," he said.

Esa also shared that a recently-launched initiative, FITRAH, under the M3 collaboration with Mendaki and MESRA, now involves 350 religious counsellors and community befrienders volunteering to help ex-prisoners reintegrate into society and provide support to their families.

"We are in the process of training these volunteers to be able to be better equipped tin their roles," he said.

AM Best gives ADNTC a positive outlook

AM Best has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a-” of Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company (ADNTC) from the UAE.

The credit ratings reflect ADNTC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The revision of the outlooks to positive reflects AM Best’s expectation that ADNTC will enhance its position in its domestic market whilst continuing to outperform takaful and conventional insurance peers as it executes its business plan.

AM Best considers the takaful regulations in the UAE to be sufficiently strong, given the protection it provides to policyholders. Consequently, ADNTC’s risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s capital adequacy ratio (BCAR), is well in excess of the strongest threshold, on a combined basis, and prospective capitalisation is expected to be sufficient to support the company’s business plans.

An offsetting rating factor is ADNTC’s moderate reliance on reinsurance. However, the credit risk is mitigated by the company’s reinsurance panel, which is considered to be of good credit quality, AM Best said. Whilst the company’s asset base is concentrated in the UAE, it holds a low-risk investment portfolio that is considered highly liquid and has one of the lowest balance of debtors in the market.

ADNTC reported profit before tax of AED68.3 million for 2018, equivalent to a return on equity of 20.1%. The company’s overall earnings are driven predominately by its underwriting operations, which have generated strong results and historically have exhibited a relatively low level of volatility. The company’s five-year (2014-2018) average combined ratio is excellent at 69.9% (63.8% in 2018), with the majority of profit derived from its family takaful products. For 1H19, despite double-digit growth in gross written contributions, the company’s profit increased by 21% to AED44.8 million, compared with the same period in 2018.

AM Best expects the company’s strong operating performance to continue, given its effective underwriting controls and experienced management team. ADNTC also benefits from a solid reputation as one of the most successful takaful operators in the market, which is complemented by its strong relationships with local Islamic banks.

Given its track record of strong operating performance, ADNTC has been reducing its dependence on the qard hasan (i.e., an interest-free loan from the shareholders’ fund to the policyholders’ fund), with the life technical account in a surplus position. In 2018, the company distributed AED4.4 million surplus to eligible policyholders, making it the first takaful operator in the UAE to distribute a surplus. AM Best expects this to provide a unique value proposition for customers and further enhance its business profile in the region.

Friday, 20 September 2019

Gelatin finds new applications

The Gelatin: Insights Into & Future of the Worldwide Market 2016-2024 report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Gelatin continues to see demand from the food sector. Gelatin comes mainly from bovine hides and pig skin, but  there is increasing interest in non-mammalian sources of gelatin such as fish. Halal gelatin is also emerging as a niche market segment in the food and pharma sectors. In pharmaceuticals, low awareness and a lack of stringent religious restrictions is holding back progress for halal gelatin.


There are however many gelatin alternatives, such as carrageenan, rice starch and xanthan gum. These are growing in popularity. Potato-based starch solutions in particular are set to replace gelatin in sugar confectionery.

Europe dominates global consumption, while the Asia-Pacific region spearheads current and future market growth.

Hindrances to growth include cultural and religious specifications, ethical concerns, and a shift to vegetarianism. 

Among the findings:

- Developing countries in Asia offer potential growth opportunities

 - A bright outlook is projected for the gelatin market in India, with the country being a leading exporter

- Edible gelatin is driving growth in China, especially demand for functional foods

- In Australia, osteoarthritis is driving demand for gelatin supplements

- The pharmaceutical sector is a leading market for gelatin in India

Companies mentioned in the report include Capsugel (US), Darling Ingredients (US), Ewald Gelatine (Germany), Gelita (Germany), Geltech (South Korea), Nitta Gelatin (Japan), Sterling Biotech (India), and Suheung (South Korea).

Details:

Buy the report (May 2019)

A related report, World - Gelatin and Its Derivatives - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights, was published in September 2019.

IFSB updates PSIFI data up to Q119

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has released country-level data on financial soundness and growth of the Islamic banking systems for Q119 from IFSB member jurisdictions.

This 13th dissemination completes the availability of quarterly data from Q413 to Q119, and is part of the IFSB’s Prudential and Structural Islamic Financial Indicators (PSIFIs) project. This project currently compiles data from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Turkey, the UAE and the UK.

The Secretary-General of the IFSB, Dr Bello Lawal Danbatta stated, “The PSIFIs project for the Islamic banking sector has reached an advanced and sustainable stage with coverage of over 95% of global Islamic banking activities.”

IFSB has achieved this level of data compilation and dissemination as a result of the strong support from taskforce members of participating member jurisdictions. Dr Bello added, “(The) IFSB Secretariat expects continued support from the taskforce members of newly-joined jurisdictions to implement the new Medium-Term Plan (2020-2022) for (the) PISIFIs project, targeting to start dissemination of data for Islamic insurance (takāful) and Islamic capital market (ICM) sectors.”

Dr Bello also mentioned that new actions would be taken under the new Medium-Term Plan in order to increase the utilisation of PSIFIs data.

The IFSB Task Force on PSIFIs – comprising representatives from 24 participating jurisdictions - facilitates the collection of Islamic banking data. A total of six regulator and supervisory authorities (RSAs) from the takāful sector and four RSAs from Islamic capital markets have joined the database project to compile PSFIs database for the respective sectors. The IFSB Secretariat regularly conducts capacity-building workshops/meetings with the country representatives of the taskforce. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – are also the members helping to enhance clarity and consistency of reporting indicators across jurisdictions.

Details:

The PSIFIs Database containing the full set of data plus metadata is available on the PSIFIs portal at the IFSB website

Monday, 16 September 2019

Muis releases Islamic calendar and prayer times for 2020

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has released 2020 versions of the Islamic calendar, prayer times and key dates for 1441.

Ramadhan begins 24 April 2020 in Singapore.

Other key dates include:

22 March 2020
Isra and Miraj (الإسراء والمعراج), marking a trip in a single night that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) took to heaven and to Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Israel

9 April 2020
Mid-Sha'aban (شَعْبَان), marking half a month before Ramadhan

10 May 2020
Nuzul Quran, marking the day the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) received the text of the Quran 

24 May 2020
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadhan

31 July 2020
Eid al-Adha; the Hajj is held around this period

20 August 2020
Islamic New Year, 1442

29 August 2020
'Ashura (عاشوراء), commemorating the death of Hussein and his family and supporters at the Battle of Karbala in Karbala, Iraq. Hussein is a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

29 October 2020
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)’s birthday

Details:

Download the calendar and prayer times. All files are PDFs.

Tuesday, 3 September 2019

Mutiara Harapan Islanic School organises fair for students

To celebrate Muharram, the Islamic New Year, Mutiara Harapan Islamic School (MHIS) hosted 467 students at an Islamic Fair 2019 in Bintaro, South Tangerang, Indonesia from August 26-29, 2019.

Themed Celebrate the Learning, Share the Values, there were art activities, project presentations and roleplay depicting scenes from the Quran and Islamic values.

The event involved MHIS' students from all stages, including playgroup and kindergarten, primary and secondary, as well as inclusion development classes for children with special education needs.

For three days, students broke into small groups to create a project portraying Islamic values in contemporary settings. The results ranged from a tote bag with Islamic calligraphy, short movies to mobile games for Android. The projects were showcased on August 29. 

All activities featured Islamic-based learning integrated with Cambridge International education by emphasising MHIS principles of literacy and joyful learning.

"We encourage students to hone the emerging skills needed for global competitiveness, such as creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Thus, they will take the lead in this global era, while creating progressive Muslim generations that are openminded and able to step outside the box," said Jamaludin Badri, Primary Principal of MHIS.

Projects from preschool students included:

- A mosaic of paintings with Islamic themes, such as mosques and the Ka'abah.

- Islamic calligraphy

- Du'a and hadith recitations

- Islamic songs

"With cheerful illustration and (the catchy) tunes of Islamic songs, children from the early years can easily dive into various Islamic terms and values in their daily life," said Firta, a parent of MHIS preschoolers.

More than 310 primary students showcased art presentations and short stories featuring the 100 names of Allah, the Quran, hadiths, calligraphy focused on the Arabic alphabet, and manasik umrah, the rituals surrounding the pilgrimage.

Some 15 children with special needs went onstage with Islamic songs. They also created of a tote bag, painted with Asmaul Husna calligraphy.

Secondary students were keen to interpret the values through digital works. "Junior high students involved in the creation of short movies (depicting} prominent Muslim scientists, with a trailer publicly released on the last day of the event. For the high school students, they posed different challenges by creating a brand-new Android-based mobile game that was exhibited at the Game Corner area," said Firman, an Islamic studies' teacher at MHIS.

Jamaludin added, "We've awakened students' creativity through arts enrichment rooted in the surah, hadiths and Holy Quran. This not only (reflects) on students' academic performances, but we encourage them to build positive contributions towards the wellbeing of the community."

MHIS' next event is Open Day on September 21, 2019. The event will feature performances in English and Quran recitations by students.