Professionals Who Serve and/or Benefit from the New Islamic Banking Industry
Shari’aa Scholars Shari’aa scholars come from diversified backgrounds;
they have accumulated a respectable body of knowledge and command the
respect of all. The demand for Islamicfinance Shari’aa scholars has out-
stripped the available supply, which elevated many of the scholars, espe-
cially those who have a good command of the English language, to the level
of ‘‘superstars.’’ In RF banking, the Shari’aa scholars serve three important
operating functions.
1.Developing the proper models to be used in financing
2.Developing Shari’aa-qualified banking products and services
3.Ensuring that the bank operates according to Shari’aa (religious
compliance)The Shari’aa scholars also serve another important function, and that is
the marketing of the bank they represent. The Islamic bank with the most
superstars scholars on its Shari’aa Board will carry more credibility to its
operations and will attract more depositors and customers. Shari’aa schol-
ars also participate in and attend seminars, symposia, and international
conferences to represent the banks they work for and the products they de-
veloped. They hold training courses, give television and radio interviews,
and go on talk shows (some are beamed live to the United Kingdom and the
United States), which brings a lot of customers to do business with the
banks they represent. For example, as a prerequisite for their success and
their ability to sell their shares to the public, new Islamic banks make sure
that theirShari’aaBoards include some of these superstar scholars. A typi-
cal Shari’aa Board member commands an annual retainer of approximately
$50,000 (or more) and a first-class plane ticket and accommodations when
he travels. Scholars with this superstar status sit on the Shari’aa Boards of
an average of 50 to 70 banks. This raises very serious conflicts of interest,
confidentiality, and insiders’ concerns and issues. It is hoped that a major
effort will be designed to increase the supply of these scholars by producing
a new generation of scholars to serve in the future.
Attorneys Many Western attorneys became involved in the field of Islamic
banking, because world banking laws and regulations are set according to
Western standards. Most of the attorneys involved specialize in tax plan-
ning, business structuring, and financial engineering. These disciplines are
important because the attorneys invited to ‘‘Islamize’’ the banking agree-
ments, finance contracts, deed of trusts, promissory notes, and arbitration
were requested to improvise these legal documents so that they would be
acceptable to both Shari’aa experts and to Western countries like the United
RF Banking Model for the 21st Century 241