Kuala Lumpur, May 21, 2009 – ISRA conducted an open dialogue between its council of scholars and other scholars and prominent academicians in the Islamic banking and financial industry.

The meeting of ISRA’s council of scholars and other prominent scholars and academicians in Malaysia was to enable a free flow of ideas, issues and concerns that the scholars might have on the status and development of the Islamic banking and financial industry. The open dialogue lasted two hours and was chaired by the Executive Director of ISRA, Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin.

The issues and topics brought up and deliberated by the scholars included the important role of research institutions like ISRA, to ensure that proper research is conducted in Islamic banking and finance. Also discussed was the current financial crisis and how Islamic banking and finance could be shown to be a viable and better alternative to conventional banking and finance. The recent ruling on the impermissibility of organised tawarruq by the OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy, and the possible dichotomy between ‘shariah compliant’ and ‘shariah based’ products, were also deliberated on.