Algeria, May 5-6, 2014 – Faculty of Economics, Commerce and Management, University of Setif, in collaboration with the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA), jointly organized an international conference on “Innovation and Financial Engineering Products and Application: Between the Conventional and Islamic Finance Industries”, and an international workshop on “The Role of Institutions, Research Centers and Supporting Bodies in the Development of the Islamic Financial Industries”. Although most of the papers and slides presentations were in Arabic, some were presented in English and French.

The two-day conference and workshop were held at Ferhat Abbas University, Algeria with the aim to cover four main themes which include financial, rules and application on engineering and innovation in the conventional financial banking industry as well as the reality and prospects of Islamic sukuk and its future application in the Algerian economy. In total, there were more than 70 presenters comprising various prominent scholars, intellectuals and researchers from at least 9 countries attended the event.

On the first day, the conference commenced with a du’a and recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, followed by welcoming and introductory remarks by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr Salih Salihi and Prof. Dr. Mohammad Akram Laldin, the Executive Director of International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA).

The first session was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Said Bouheraoua. Prof. Dr. Hussein Hamid Hassan, the representative from Al-Salam Bank presented on the “Financial engineering in the Islamic Industry”, while Prof. Dr. Mohammad Akram Laldin spoke in the second presentation on “The Role of Central Bank of Malaysia in Developing Malaysia’s Islamic Finance Industry”. The third presentation was delivered by Prof. Dr. Ibn Zaghibah ‘Iz Al-Din on the topic titled “Islamic Financial Engineering within the Objectives of Shariah”. Finally, Dr. Al-Iyashi al-Fadad from the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Jeddah highlighted some IRTI major projects such as the drafting of Islamic financial products based on the most important sources of Islamic law books from main madhahib (Islamic legal schools).

After a short break, the second session which was chaired by Dr. Jamal La’umarah commenced. The first presenter was Mr. Bartimah Abd al-Wahab, the General-Director of Zakat and Waqf. He presented on “The Experience of Algeria in Non-Profit Financing”. Dr. Jabbar Mahfudh, from the University of Setif, was the next presenter with his presentation on “Islamic Financial Markets”. The third presenter was Dr. Mursi al-Hijazi from Egypt who presented on: “Sukuk Industry: Between Reality and Challenges”. The program continued with the presentation by Dr. Shamsiah Muhammad on: “Shariah Issues in Intangible Assets”. She highlighted the concept of property and its merit from Shariah perspective. The final presenter for the morning session was Dr. Tijjani, who presented on “Accounting Issues in Assessing Islamic Financial Instruments in Accordance with Fair Value”.

The final session of the first day commenced after the lunch break and chaired by Dr Ammar Ammari. The session consisted of six presentations:

• Mr. Sulaiman Nasir: “Sukuk as a Tool for Sustainable Development”
• Miftah Saleh: “The application of Sukuk in GCC countries”
• Dr. Nawal ‘Ammarah: “The Governance of Waqf Sukuk and Its Role in Achieving Sustainable Development”
• Dr. Marjan Muhammad: “Risk Sharing in Musharakah: Theory and Practice”
• Dr. Tarar: “The Role of Sukuk as an Alternatives to Interest Based Loan”
• Dr. Zairi: “Is Innovation a Good Approach or an Evil One?”.

The programme for the second day started with the first session that was chaired by Dr. Dawoodi Kirish. There were 6 presentations, namely:

• Dr. Hasan Lasaasnah: “Composited and fictitious contract and the development of Islamic financial Product in Light of Maqasid Al-Shariah”
• Dr. Younes Soualhi: “The Islamic Financial Products between innovation and Simulation”
• Dr Said Bouheraoua: “Approaches in Engineering Islamic Financial Product: A Critical Appraisal”
• Dr. Umar al-Kattani: “Innovation in Islamic Finance”.
• Dr. La’amarah Jamal: “Financial Product as Applications for Contracts in Islamic Financial Industry”
• Dr. Abd al-Majid Qady: “The Role of Sukuk in Mobilizing local Savings in Algeria”.

The second session focused on the role of research centers and supporting bodies in the development of the Islamic finance industry, which was presented by five panellists who were the representatives of their institutions. While Dr. Ahmad Abd al-Alim presented on the role of Organization of Islamic Council of Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC-IFA), Dr. Marjan Muhammad presented on the role of the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in developing Islamic finance industry. This is followed by the presentation by Salem al-Houti from Libya on the role of Libya and Morocco and in the development of Islamic finance industry. Later, Dr. Shariqi Umar discussed about the role of Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Finance Institutions (AAOIFI) in Islamic finance. The final presenter was Prof Dr. Salih Salihi, who spoke on the project to build the largest Islamic banking industry scheme in Algeria.

At the end of the international workshop, the organizers thanked all the presenters and participants of the conference, especially those who travelled from far to attend the program and hoped that it was beneficial to all. Finally, Br Hamza Chouder read the recommendations of the international conference and workshop.