Dubai, NU Online
“Where do I learn Islamic finance?” seems to be the question on everyone’s mind these days. With options ranging from short workshops to masters-level programs, students are spoiled for choice. <>

With the spread of Islamic finance globally, the spread of Islamic finance education was sure to follow. The Global Islamic Finance Education research report from Yurizk helps individuals and institutions weigh their options.

Yurizk’s CEO Sadia Karim said, “Human capital development is a critical challenge for the Islamic finance industry and previously there was no comprehensive study that addresses the major issues and at the same time backs the insight with collective data. 

GIFE 2013 bridged that gap of information and brought critical insight into the challenges facing the Islamic finance industry in human resources development and the industry’s long term sustainability.”

Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, the Dubai-based global leader in Islamic finance certification, believes that the options in Islamic finance education are only as good as their adherence to third-party standards.

“Islamic finance is one of the few global industries in which one can get away with calling something ‘Shariah compliant’ without any independent third-party verifying that it is actually Shariah compliant. The onus is on Islamic finance educators to ensure that what they are teaching has been checked by an Islamic finance scholar as adhering to a globally accepted standard like AAOIFI.” 

Ethica was amongst the report's key contributors and submitted a section on the need for standardizing Islamic finance education.

As options for Islamic finance education grow, the prestige of institutions will likely be measured by their Shariah authenticity more than by any other factor. The Global Islamic Finance Education report gives students a sound starting point before committing to a program of study.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq