IslamicFinance.de

A group of Islamic endowments, or awqaf, and the Dubai government have launched an international organization tasked with improving investments made in the sector. The Awqaf International Organization (AIO) aims to coordinate commercial efforts of sharia-compliant charitable foundations from around the globe. They have amassed huge holdings of real estate, commercial enterprises and other assets, which according to a Dubai government estimate total $1 trillion globally. Management of some awqaf assets has been criticised as inefficient. Now AIO has also been tasked with recommending unified templates for legal frameworks and overseeing applications of sharia standards in accounting, reviewing, and governance, said Husain Benyounis, secretary general of Awqaf New Zealand. The founding members of AIO include awqaf from South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., and the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah.