IslamicFinance.de

The Dubai Islamic Humanitarian Foundation donated a sum of Dh5.6 million altogether which was to help 249 families during the past nine months. The money was used to cover school fees for children of 183 families, buy dialysis units and ultrasound imaging equipment for four hospitals, etc.

Read more on: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationge...

In accordance with his tendency to use his fortune to solve global problems of the world’s underprivileged, Bill Gates has turned to Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has signed an MOU with IDB which aims to fight communicable disease and food insecurity in poor countries. In a five-year plan established by the MOU, projects concerning agricultural development, malaria prevention and elimination as well as polio eradication will be worked on. Third World countries included in the plan are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Read more on: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

According to an announcement, Al Ansari Exchange and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will sign a partnership of $10 million (Dh36.72 million). The partnership aims to support two significant health issues: polio eradication and treatment and prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The agreement will start with an initial co-funded contribution of $4 million in support of polio eradication activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Prevention and treatment of NTDs in sub-Saharan Africa is planned as well. The partnership initiatives shall represent focused, strategic philanthropy and have a strong positive effect on the life of people in the poorest countries.

Read more on: http://www.zawya.com/story/UAE_firm_partners_Gates_Foundation_in_health_...

Jomana Al-Kandari, nutritionist at Amiri Hospital, was sponsored by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to attend the first international conference for the nutrition of kidney patients in the USA. This sponsorship is part of KFH's initiative in support of healthcare and education. The knowledge and experience Jomana Al-Kandari gained during the conference shall contribute to the development of the medical services to a world-class level.

Political, humanitarian and financial aid to the victims of violence in northwest Myanmar is being organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. According to Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the dimensions of the violent conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas are hardly known. Therefore, the call for help including housing, food, medical help and political support must be answered.

On time for Ramadan, Takaful IKHLAS Sdn Bhd just started its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme which aims to demonstrate the value of helping one another. As part of the programme, bank representatives visited a poor familiy and grantd them RM500 in cash and daily supplies worth RM300.

Background on the situation of Syrian refugees is provided by the UNHCR on its website:

http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/uploads/SyriaRRP.pdf

Donations are possible via:

http://donate.unhcr.org/syria?utm_source=general-donation-button&utm_med...

According to Forbes Middle East, the charity revenues in the MENA region have marked the highest numbers last year. $564.4 million (Dh2.1 billion) have been spent on charity by institutions and organizations, the most prominent of them being Social Reform Society — General Secretariat of Charitable Work in Kuwait, Direct Aid and the UAE charity Dar Al Ber Society.

This year's Ramadan shall bring joy to over 3.000 people thanks to a charitable campaigne of the Bank of the Year in the UAE - the United Arab Bank (UAB). Together with Awqaf & Minors' Affairs Foundation they will disburse meals during the holy month. Thus, they will become part of the giving spirit of the Ramadan and hope to make their contribution to the development of the society towards betterment.

The holy month of Ramadan will be marked by the Dubai Islamic Humanitarian Foundation's donation of Dh135 million to a number of charity organisations in six UAE emirates. Dubai Islamic Bank's problems should not affect the charitable act which will include Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah as receiving emirates. More than 3,250 poor families will be given magnetic smart cards. The campaigne takes place for the fifth year in a row.

Abu Dhabi National Islamic Finance (ADNIF) has recently donated Dh 1 million as part of its Zakat funds to UAE charitable foundation Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP). The donated money is to support cancer patients. Ameera Bin Karam, Founding Member and President of FoCP, expressed his hope that this gesture will give a good example to other public and private institutions and individuals.

Dear Reader,

IslamicFinance.de is privately funded for many years. Now, for the first time, you have the possibility to make a contribution, from one Dollar upwards!

The technical details, and the money transfer via paypal is organised by Kapipal a new online fundraising tool:

http://www.kapipal.com/islamicfinance

On the blog I gave some more thoughts about Islamic finance media for those interested: http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3454

Please also note: The fundraising action has a deadline, so act today, not tomorrow and tell your friends about it!

All donors who will leave a message will be listed in the article, which follows after closure of the fundraising period.

I am happy to meet you in person either on 19th March in Milano (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/3396) or on 10th May in Frankfurt (http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=BAFINII) at the respective Islamic finance conference.

Wa at Taufiq min Allah, all the best,

Michael Saleh Gassner

Dear Readers,

Islamic finance media are a tricky service. This is true for various reasons: The Internet eats up the revenues, because everything ought to be free. Islamic banks are still a niche phenomena, and international banks like UBS or Deutsche are almost as large as the entire global Islamic finance industry. Consequently the marketing budgets are much lower, too.

Last not least, who should advertise? The banks among themselves or to the clients? Advertising from bank to bank, does usually not make much sense, but real client oriented formats are hard to find, too. May be this is a niche. Others, who could finance Islamic finance media are basically the service providers to the banks, but due to the limited number of Islamic financial insitutions, direct marketing, e.g. face to face meetings will be preferred.

This in short is the background why Islamic finance media are not so well established in terms of journalism and research, but mostly reflecting the press release as criticised by the makers of the Islamic Globe. See: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

Global Donors Forum is the annual convening of World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists to promote effective giving and forge strategic partnerships for high-impact social investment.

The dates for the Global Donors Forum are now confirmed. The Forum will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from April 26-28, 2012. The Global Donors Forum is pleased to announced that Forum will be declared open with a keynote address by Dato' Sri Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

In its 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report illustrated by masterpieces of Islamic calligraphy, by the Chinese Muslim master Hajji Noordeen, deals with the theme “The path to corporate transformation – converting a company to Islam”.

Bank Sarasin reviews the complexities of converting a business to Islam, a topic which is rarely discussed or written about. Conversion is complicated by the need to address every aspect of a business, the lack of broadly accepted standards and regulations, and differences in the Muslim world itself. The Report, released today, is the Bank’s third on Islamic Wealth Management.

Converting a business to Islam can increase the value of a company by 18-25% due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments. But the conversion process is arduous, extending from the design to distribution and beyond, to how the company spends its profits. As Sarasin notes, the market potential is massive, with the global Muslim population expected to increase by 26% to 2030, to 2.2 billion, rivalling China and India in terms of market size.

UNESCO works in education, the sciences, culture and communication and information. Recently it lost a substantial portion of funding as the newspapers reported (see for details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15527534 ). It is worth considering how to support the UNESCO and their goals:

"UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of UNESCO’S mission and activities.

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community – as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – underpin all UNESCO’s strategies and activities. Thus UNESCO’s unique competencies in education, the sciences, culture and communication and information contribute towards the realization of those goals.

The 2nd Quarter 2011 issue of the Malaysian ICM quarterly bulletin published by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is now available online at:
http://www.sc.com.my/eng/html/icm/11_2Q_msianicm.pdf

Dear All,

as salamu alaikum wa Ramadan Karim,

May I kindly ask you to consider signing a petition against hunger, which has already more than 3 million signatories:

www.1billionhungry.org/gassner/

The rational behind it is explained on the website with materials, actions and videos; it is a joint initiative of various organisations and inshallah it will help to support the cause.

Let our fasting also lead to feel with those who do not have to eat at Iftar, let us sign all this petition right away and share it with friends.

Wa at taufiq min Allah,

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

NCB Capital, a GCC wealth manager and Saudi Arabia's largest investment bank, has signed an exclusive agreement with INJAZ-Saudi Arabia to sponsor a three-year financial literacy-training program for male and female Saudi university students.

Dr. Ghaith bin Mubarak al-Kuwari, HE Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, started an exhibition for Arabic calligraphy (Al-Jood Exhibition) by the internationally renowned artist Sabah Arbili, at the Cultural Village (Katara).
The organisers are: Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre (Fanar), Reach Out to Asia (Rota) and the management of the Qatar First Investment Bank.