Islamic funeral and death rites course in Singapore this April

Source: IslamicEvents event page.

IslamicEvents is running a course in English on Islamic funeral and death rites in April. 

The two-day course will cover the basics as well as solutions to different situations that are likely to arise, for example the role of Malay customs when there is a death, and what happens if the death occurs overseas. 

The first day covers the theory and the second day the practical lessons, from bathing the deceased to wrapping them. Ladies and men will be separated during the practical session. 

Interested?

 22 and 23 April 2017, 5pm to 10pm
 IslamicEvents.SG Training Room, 67 Ubi Rd 1, #10-14 Oxley Bizhub, Singapore 408730
 Amir Ali bin Idris Ali

Fees: S$78 per person, S$150 for two people, inclusive of dinner, notes and a certificate of participation. Register. There is a maximum of 50 people

Register at Al-Ahdaf Academy for madrasah tuition

Al-Ahdaf Academy has opened 2017 registration for madrasah* tuition, conversational Arabic and preparatory courses for kindergarten.


Classes are either held in Paya Lebar or in Tampines. The Paya Lebar location is near Paya Lebar MRT station, at the Arab Association (Al-Wehdah), 11, Lorong 37, Geylang Road, Singapore 387908. The Tampines venue is at #07-06 Income @ Tampines Junction, 300 Tampines Avenue 5,
Singapore 529653.

The Madrasah Tuition Program caters to full-time Singapore madrasah students from primary up to secondary level. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for their exams in Arabic and Islamic subjects.

There is a Weekday Tuition Program from Monday to Thursday at Paya Lebar. Students can choose from a twice weekly or weekly tuition programme.

A Week-end Tuition Program is held once a week on Saturdays or Sundays at Tampines, either at 9.30am to 11.30am or at 11.30am to 1.30pm.

A minimum of four students are required to start a twice weekly class. Lower primary students pay a monthly fee of S$180 each; upper primary students pay S$190 and secondary students pay S$200.
The weekly class requires at least two students. Lower primary students pay S$150 each a month; upper primary students pay S$160 and secondary students pay S$180.

The Kindergarten Students Preparatory For Primary 1 Madrasah course provides sufficient preparation in the Arabic language for K1 and K2 students to sit for the madrasah’s primary one entry test. K1 and K2 refer to the two years of kindergarten just before primary school, and would correspond to students of four to five years old, and five to six years old respectively.

This course is available all year round. K2 classes are held every Wednesday at the Paya Lebar venue from 3.45pm to 5.45pm. There are currently some vacancies.

A weekly K1 class at Paya Lebar will be beginning soon, with the days and times to be shared later. New once-a-week K1 and K2 classes are beginning in March at the Tampines venue.
Three or more students are required to start a class, at S$130 per month per student. Materials will be provided.

A Conversational Arabic course for secondary madrasah students is also available at Tampines on Sundays from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The course is designed to enable students to converse in Arabic with basic vocabulary in three months (14 lessons). The course is tailored to help individual students on pronunciation, memorisation and general progress.

At least 10 students are required to form a class. The course costs S$80 a month for three months, and the books cost S$25.

There is a one-time registration fee of S$20 that is waived for those who register for any course by 11 March 2017.

Interested?

Register. Registrations will be confirmed via email, SMS or WhatsApp.

*An Islamic religious school is termed a madrasah in Singapore. There are six full-time madrasahs in Singapore:

1. Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah
2. Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah
3. Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah 
4. Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah (this is a girls-only school)
5. Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah (this is a girls-only school)
6. Madrasah Wak Tanjong Al-Islamiah

First Islamic Finance and Muslim Lifestyle Sectors Convergence Training Programme launched

BIBF and DinarStandard have introduced the world’s First Islamic Finance and Muslim Lifestyle Sectors Convergence Training Programme. DinarStandard is a US-based growth strategy research and advisory firm with core experiences in halal economy sectors.

The burgeoning halal food and Muslim lifestyle sectors were estimated to be worth US$2 trillion in 2013, and are expected to reach US$2.47 trillion by 2018, based on the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2014 report, produced by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with DinarStandard. This represents a huge opportunity for Islamic finance, which has been for the most part untapped.

“Bahrain is well positioned to leverage its positioning as a regional financial hub with a well-developed banking sector and a growing Islamic finance industry to create an impact in the halal economy sectors; especially given that it has a well-diversified economy that does not heavily rely on the oil and gas sector. Finance, tourism and industrial manufacturing play a strong role in its economy. With growing competitiveness from the region, a key growth opportunity for its already robust Islamic finance sector, is the emerging global Halal economy space”, said BIBF Director Solveig Nicklos.

The Convergence of Halal Market Economy and Islamic Capital training course is a managerial level course tailored for Islamic finance and takaful executives and managers and lifestyle sector executives, managers and students. The course will give participants a summary of the halal market opportunity and focus on specific areas of financing/ takaful needs and gaps by the key halal economy sectors of food, pharma, personal care, travel and fashion. Specific focus will be on the halal food value chain opportunities. The course covers the six-core halal economy sectors beyond Islamic finance. These sectors covered include halal food, family tourism, clothing/fashion, media/recreation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and outlines their geographic and market potential profile.

The Convergence of Halal Market Economy and Islamic Capital course is scheduled for 7 and 8 June and will be held at BIBF premises.

Australian Centre for Islamic Finance announces January Islamic finance course

The Australian Centre for Islamic Finance (AusCIF) is running four weeks of online classes about Islamic finance, with Q&A sessions from 21 January 2015.

Students spend four to six hours a week over four weeks on the class as they wish. There are live online classes every Wednesday and Thursday from 7 to 9pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney time) with 12 months' access to all class recordings and lecture notes.

The course will provide practical training and opportunity to explore the key principles of Islamic finance, which AusCIF says is now a A$1.7 trillion-dollar global industry. The centre says those who want to understand more about the rules concerning wealth-related issues in Islam, Islamic banking and finance, are likely to benefit, including, but not limited to practitioners, professionals, lawyers, analysts, regulators, students and imams.

Almir Colan, Director of AusCif and an adviser to several institutions that provide Islamic finance and investment, will deliver the course. He was a consultant lecturer and board member for the Master of Islamic Banking and Finance Course at La Trobe University and a member of the Advisory Reference Group for the Bachelor of Accounting/Associate Degree of Accounting at NMIT. Most recently, he advised the Securities & Investments Institute Asia-Pacific in the area of sukuk and Islamic capital markets. Colan holds an MBA from Deakin University and a Master of Islamic banking and finance degree from La Trobe University. 

“The AusCIF course is spectacular; it provides the student with a concise yet holistic understanding of the vastly growing Islamic finance industry and its innovative shari'ah compliant products... what I mostly found intriguing was its practical approach on dealing with everyday transactions," said Sheikh Moustapha Sarakibi in a testimonial online.

The course is A$197, with an early bird discount of 25% if the registration is made with the using promotion code AUSCIF25 by 1 December 2014. More about a students' discount is available here.

Click here to register. 

*Images from the AusCIF website.

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and INCEIF announce course on Islamic finance & banking

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and INCEIF-The Global University of Islamic Finance have signed a MoU  to deliver courses on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Islamic finance and banking.

Source: INCEIF. INCEIF President and CEO Daud Vicary Abdullah signed the MoU on behalf of INCEIF while CIArb was represented by Chartered Arbitrator and Chair of the CIArb Malaysia Branch, Catherine Chau. 

The collaboration was announced on the sidelines of Global Islamic Finance Forum 2014, a biannual forum that offers a unique networking opportunity for regulators, industry practitioners, business leaders and shari'ah scholars. 


The collaboration between INCEIF and CIArb is focused on expanding the range of dispute resolution options available in Islamic finance. With the rise of the global Islamic financial services industry, this partnership is timely in facilitating the resolution of future commercial opportunities. 

The courses in Islamic Finance for Arbitrators will provide professional Arbitrators with the theory, the case law and the tools necessary to understand and settle financial, commercial and contractual disputes which arise within the framework of Islamic banking and finance.

To kickstart the collaboration, CIArb and INCEIF will conduct a short course, Certificate in Islamic Banking & Finance Arbitration, from 25 October to 1 November 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The eight-day course is designed to provide a thorough understanding of the practices and procedures of Islamic banking and finance and the role of arbitration within it.

The course will cover:

• Shari'ah – Foundations for Islamic banking & finance
• The Islamic financial system with emphasis on Islamic banking & finance
• Financial infrastructure of Islamic banking & finance
• Islamic banking & finance products and services
• Legal documentation for Islamic banking & finance products for arbitrators
• International arbitration and its related components as a form of dispute resolution.

The course will be conducted by faculty from CIArb and INCEIF. The Course Directors will be Profesor Dr Nayla Obeid, FCIArb, Chartered Arbitrator, Chair of CIArb’s Board of Trustees, CIArbs’s Trustee for the Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent, and Founding Partner, Obeid Law Firm, together with Professor Dr Saiful Azhar Rosly, Director, Consulting & Executive Programmes at INCEIF.

Other subject matter experts include:

1. Professor Rashda Rana, Barrister & Arbitrator and Chair of the CIArb Education & Membership Committee
2. Associate Professor Dr Ahcene Lahsasna, Deputy Director for Centre of Research and Publication, INCEIF
3. Adjunct Professor Mohamed Ismail Shariff, INCEIF
4. Professor Dr Mohamed Wahab, MCIArb and Head of International Arbitration, Zulficar Partners
5. Professor Adnan Amkhan Bayno, FCIArb and Head of Chambers, Mena Chambers

Dr Comair-Obeid said: “Given the rapidly growing market for Islamic finance and the significant increase in confidence in  arbitration as the preferred mechanism for resolving both financial and commercial disputes, arbitrators trained in the fundamental principles of Islamic finance are fast becoming a market commodity.

“More and more financial institutions are providing an expanding range of financial products and services compliant with Islamic banking regulation and the basic tenets of shari'ah law. In order for arbitrators and ADR practitioners to be fully equipped to deal with disputes that arise therein, training in the fundamentals of Islamic banking and finance has never been more important globally.”

CIArb Director General Anthony Abrahams said: “The joint initiative between CIArb and INCEIF to train and educate arbitrators, practitioners and bankers in arbitration presents a world leading course aimed at resolving Islamic banking disputes. As this style and culture of financing grows into a major force within global banking so the mechanism for settling differences becomes of paramount importance."


INCEIF CEO Daud Vicary Abdullah said: “INCEIF is delighted to be partnering with CIArb in this landmark agreement to develop education and competency in the legal arbitration profession. With the rapid global growth of Islamic finance, it is vital that practitioners are well equipped with robust and consistent education to enhance their competency.”

Free Islamic civilisation and Asian civilisation MOOC to be offered by Universiti Putra Malaysia

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said its new online learning environment, available for free to the local community and globally as well, will include a course on Islamic civilisation.

The new method of learning, incorporating video lectures, interactive forums, chats, quizzes, and e-assessments, is in line with the current National Higher Education Strategic Plan which emphasises life-long learning, e-learning, internationalisation and knowledge transfer, the university said. 

UPM is currently converting the “Islamic Civilization and Asian Civilization” (Tamadun Islam, Tamadun Asia) course that is compulsory for all public universities as a MOOC course to benefit in-campus students as well as interested public communities. To be conducted in English, the course will focus on the role of civilisation in building Malaysian society based on principles such as mutual respect and social interaction within a multiracial society.  

Students can register online for the Putra Massive Open Online Course (PutraMOOC), and complete a course in roughly seven to eight weeks. 

*Images from UPM website