Bahrain Regulator May Limit Scholars’ Role: Bloomberg

A Bahrain-based agency is proposing new rules for religious scholars involved in the $1 trillion Islamic finance market, aiming to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest or improper disclosure, reports Bloomberg (Aug 9, 2010).

The guidelines may address whether Shariah scholars can own shares in the institutions they serve and how many advisory boards they join, said Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, secretary-general of the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, whose standards have been adopted in countries including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“There’s a potential case for conflict of interest, and a case of information leakage or perhaps competition impact,” the newswire quoted Alchaar in a telephone interview in Kuala Lumpur. “We wanted to address the concerns in an unbiased manner. When the guideline is published it will be a bold move and it may cause a stir.”

The proposals underline concern that Islamic financial products, designed to comply with Shariah law to be acceptable to devout Muslims, may be overseen by scholars who have a financial interest in their issuance. Global standards are still developing in the industry, whose assets are forecast by the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board to almost triple to $2.8 trillion by 2015, the report added.