Islamic finance scholar Professor Dr Akram Laldin from Malaysia has said there is a need for a global shari'ah compliant dispute resolution mechanism at the eighth Shari'a Scholar session hosted by The Waqf Fund, a Bahrain-based special fund to
support Islamic finance training, education and research.
Dr Laldin is a board member on Bank Negara
Malaysia's Shari'a Advisory Council, AAOIFI and a number of Islamic
financial institutions in Malaysia and globally.
Dr Laldin also stressed that shari'ah scholars hold heavy responsibility and should be proactive in developing
themselves through continuous training, not just in shari'ah but also
in relevant areas such as economics, finance, banking, accounting, and law in order to be able to give a religious verdict after full
knowledge and understanding of the matter.
According to Dr Laldin, several key challenges are seen in shari'ah compliance, suggesting the need for a global dispute resolution body, which does not exist at this time:
• Conventional mindset of key decision-makers and a lack of conviction and belief in what they are doing
• Not following the right process
• Copying conventional products without due consideration to shari'ah
• Implementation challenges in the absence of understanding of shari'ah
• Lack of understanding of shari'ah by the auditors
• Advertising and promotion not in line with shari'ah
• Restructuring products or transactions without ensuring shari'ah compliance