Lanai Kijang, July 2, 2012, ISRA Consultancy organized a one-day workshop conducted by Shaykh Dr. Muddassir Siddiqui on litigation of Islamic finance products and structures. The workshop was jointly organised with the Association of Shari‘ah Advisors in Islamic Finance (ASAS) in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia.

The title of the one-day workshop was Shariah & Litigation with a Special Reference to Some Landmark International Court Cases: A Sharing Moment With An Expert.

Sheikh Dr, Muddassir Siddiqui is uniquely qualified, both as a Shari‘ah expert and a US-trained attorney. He is a member of the Shari‘ah Standards Committee of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). He obtained his.

• Bachelor’s Degree from Islamic University of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia.
• Master of Law from Temple Law Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Juris Doctor from Chicago Kent College of Law, Illinois.

He was admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor at law by the Supreme Court of the State of New York. He is currently a registered foreign lawyer with the English Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The objectives of the one-day workshop were as follows:-

• To expose the participants to the challenges faced by Islamic banks with regard to Shari‘ah principles, financial instruments, regulation, the tax code and marketing;
• To provide a description of modern instruments in Islamic finance and litigation issues related to them.
• To strengthen participants’ understanding of what happens to Islamic finance instruments in case of distress and defaults;
• To expose the participants to a few selected court cases in Islamic finance.

The response to the workshop from legal officers, risk management officers, Shari‘ah advisors, scholars and Shari‘ah officers working in the banking and finance industries was overwhelming. 35 people participated in the workshop.

The topics discussed during the workshop were:-

• Challenges faced by Islamic banks with regard to Shari‘ah principles, financial instruments, regulators, tax codes and marketing
• Modern tools of Islamic finance and some important issues related to litigation
• Islamic finance instruments under distress and default, and a discussion of the resulting court cases, with special reference to the important landmark court cases.

The last session of the workshop was a question-and-answer session. Participation was lively. Many questions were raised on current Shari‘ah issues in the litigation of Islamic finance products and structures.

The one-day workshop with an expert was the first ever organised by ISRA Consultancy. Towards the end of the workshop, the evaluation feedback forms were distributed among participants to obtain their feedbacks and comments. Al-hamdulilah, they gave very positive and encouraging comments. Due to the participants’ positive comments, ISRA Consultancy will organise more workshops with scholars in the future, providing them the opportunity to share their valuable knowledge and experience with the participants.