The International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in collaboration with Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF 2014) organized ADVANCE FIQH INTERACTIVE FORUM (AFIF 2014) on Thursday 4 September 2014 at Sasana Kijang. The AFIF is a scholarly interactive forum designed for both leading Shariah scholars and industry experts to exchange ideas and share thoughts on contemporary issues related to the Islamic finance industry.

The AFIF aims at providing a platform in which Shariah scholars and practitioners get together to give first hand experiences and share solutions for the integration of Shariah and the market in the global linkage. The presentation and interactive panel discussions cover wide range of Shariah and market issues include both not limited to the following:

1. Islamic finance Operations.
2. Shariah instruments applied to Islamic finance products.
3. Harmonization of Shariah standards and resolutions.
4. Harmonization of Shariah and legal framework for global arena.
5. Fundamental principles of Shariah and its characteristics applied to global linkage:
   • Objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shariah)
   • Public interest (Maslahah)
   • Consideration of customary practices (‘itibar al-‘urf )
   • Concept of easiness (mabda’ al-taysir )
   • Comprehensiveness of Islamic law ( Shumuliyyat al-Shariah )

The forum was graced with the presence of the following guest speakers among the leading Shariah scholars and industry experts:

1. Sheikh Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman; the Chairman and CEO of LARIBA Bank of Whittier, USA. The Former Chairman of the Islamic Shurah Council of Southern California.
2. Mr. Simon Gray; Director-Supervision, Dubai Financial Services Authority UAE. A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Securities and Investment Institute and Institute of Financial Services.
3. Sheikh Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar; the Former Special Advisor of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Non-Interest Banking (NIB) and the Secretary of Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) at Central Bank of Nigeria.
4. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azman Mohd Noor; Assoc. Prof. of Islamic Jurisprudence at IIUM. A member of Shariah Advisory Committee (SAC) at Securities Commission Malaysia (SC); Deputy Chairman of Shariah Committee (SC) at Alrajhi Bank and a member of Shariah Committee of SME Bank and the Chairman of Shariah Committee of Am Takaful.

The forum which was scheduled for two hours between 10:00 am to 12:00 pm was well attended as about 150 participants including Shariah scholars, academics, practitioners and students actively participated in the forum.