IslamicFinance.de

The Royal Award for Islamic Finance is on a global search for an exceptional individual in the field of Islamic finance. The biennial award is spearheaded by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia. It recognises Islamic finance visionaries who contribute significantly to the growth of Islamic finance. The award recipient is selected by an independent seven-member international jury chaired by Tun Musa Hitam. The most recent recipient of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance in 2016 was Prof Datuk Dr Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim. He was instrumental in founding the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). The closing date for nominations is March 31, 2018, and interested persons can submit their nominations online.

Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim was conferred the Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2016 by the King of Malaysia, His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The biennial Royal Award initiative recognises individuals who have excelled in advancing Islamic finance globally. Professor Datuk Rifaat’s contributions include the establishment of two international standard setting bodies, the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). He is the first Secretary-General of the IFSB, a post he held since the IFSB started to operate in 2003 until 2011. Under his stewardship, the membership of the IFSB expanded from nine founding members in 2003 to almost 200 members in 2010. He is a prolific writer and has authored several academic papers in key areas including accounting, finance, governance, Shari’ah and regulatory issues to further contribute to the development of Islamic finance.

Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, PhD, PJN is an authority in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI) both at the professional and academic levels. He has played a pioneering role in the development of Islamic finance, while his leadership in setting accounting, auditing, governance, Shariíah and regulatory standards has been instrumental in establishing the position of the IFSI in the mainstream of global financial services. He believes that some of the major internal barriers have emanated from a lack of a proper understanding of the specificities of Islamic finance. Many tend to interpret Islamic finance transactions either from their conventional knowledge or their perspective of understanding Islamic Fiqh.

In late December 2010 Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, Secretary-General of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) was the last one to receive the Islamic Business & Finance Award 2010 for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.
The Professor guided the IFSB from its beginning in 2003.

Jaseem Ahmed was appointed Secretary General by the Islamic Financial Services Board.
Ahmed, who currently serves as the Director of the Southeast Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank, succeeds Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim to become only the second secretary general of the standard setting organisation.