Islamic banks need experts

PARIS: As the world financial industry sheds jobs by the tens of thousands, the $1 trillion Islamic banking sector has a growing load of work for Shariah scholars but few candidates coming forward to do it.

Experts steeped in the Muslim scriptures are critical to Islamic finance, which requires a religious stamp of approval before a bond, mortgage contract or other financial product can be marketed as moral according to the standards of the Holy Quran.

But qualifying for this work takes much more time and effort than other jobs in finance require. Candidates must first study Islamic law or sharia for many years, and then master finance.

"Globally, and especially in Europe and America, there is a shortage of scholars familiar with both fields," said Mufti Abdul Kadir Barkatullah, an Indian-born imam in London who sits on Shariah boards for six banks including Lloyds TSB.

"A few scholars are going around the world (advising banks) and new scholars are not being trained fast enough to take their place," he said at an Islamic finance conference in Paris.

Part of the problem is linguistic. Many Middle Eastern scholars work only in Arabic, the language of Islam, but the global market needs scholars fluent both in Arabic and in languages such as English or French.