MUFTI DR. IRSHAD AHMAD AIJAZ

CHAIRPERSON, SHARIAH ADVISORY BOARD

Mufti Dr. Irshad Ahmad Aijaz, a Shari’ah Advisory Board (SAB) Member of Tropical Bank Ltd in the Capacity of the Chairman Shariah Advisory Board.

Dr.  Mufti Irshad Ahmad holds a Ph.D in Islamic Studies, Masters degree in Islamic and Arabic Studies, Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA Finance) and a Degree in Islamic Jurisprudence and Fatwa equivalent from Jamia Dar-ul-Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan.

Currently he serves as the Chairman, Shariah Advisory Committee of State Bank of Pakistan, Chairman, Shariah Advisory Committee of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Member, AAOIFI Shariah Standard Committee – Karachi.

He is also a Member, Sub-committee on Legal and Regulatory Framework by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, Member, Working Group on Islamic Alternatives for Liquidity Management, by State Bank of Pakistan, Consultant, Shariah Review Bureau – Bahrain and Member, ICAP- Committee on Accounting & Auditing Standards for Interest Free Modes of Financing and Investments.

He is the Dean of faculty of Social Sciences, Al Ghazal University, Karachi,  Pakistan and actively involved in providing consultation for development of policies and regulations for regulatory authorities and different Islamic financial institutions. He also regularly delivers lectures on Islamic Economics and Finance at different forums and educational institutions including National Institute of Banking and Finance (State Bank of Pakistan) and Centre for Islamic Economics (a division of Jamia Dar-ul-Uloom, Karachi, and Institute of Business Administration, Karachi,  Pakistan. He is  a seasoned trainer and subject matter expert in the field of Islamic finance and banking.

PROF. DR. YOUNES SOUALHI

EXECUTIVE MEMBER, SHARIAH ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Dr. Younes Soualhi is a Shari’ah Advisory Board (SAB) Member of Tropical Bank Ltd appointed as the Executive Member of the Shari’ah Advisory Board.

Prof. Dr. Younes holds a PhD (Usul al-Fiqh) from International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), Masters (Usul al-Fiqh) from University of Malaysia (UM), B.A (Shari’ah - Usul al-Fiqh) from Emir Abdulqadir University of Islamic Sciences in Algeria. He is a Registered financial planner and also holds a Diploma in Human Sciences.

He is currently a Chairman of Shariah Committee of Al-Rajhi Bank, Malaysia, the sole Shariah advisor for Kuwait Retakaful (Labuan), the Chairman of Shariah council of experts for Salam Takaful, Nigeria, Shari’ah Member of the Malaysian Stock Exchange (Bursa Malaysia), and the Chairman of Aljazair Mutahidah Takaful company in Algeria. He was previously the Chairman of the Shari’ah board of Munich Re Retakaful and a member of Shari’ah Committee of HSBC Amanah Malaysia.

He is also a Registered Financial Planner (RFP) under Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) and a member of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) Shariah sub-committee. He serves as a Senior Researcher at International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) and the Head of Islamic Banking Unit. He is also a Senior Researcher Fellow and Professor at INCEIF University, Malaysia. 

He is a former World Bank advisor, International Shariah advisor, International trainer, advisor for the DRIVE Takaful product in the Horn of Africa.

He has more than twenty-three (23) years of wide-ranging teaching experience and taught Islamic finance subjects such as Takaful and Retakaful courses for Masters and Ph.D levels. He is a Former Vice-President of the Faculty of Islamic Finance: International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). He has also published articles and books in Islamic Banking and Finance particularly on Takaful and Retakaful.

MOHAMMED BURHAN ARBOUNA

SHARIAH ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Dr Mohamed Burhan Arbouna, is a Member of the Tropical Bank’s Shariah Advisory Board

Dr. Mohamed Burhan Arbouna holds a Ph.D. in Laws - Islamic Banking with specialization in Islamic financial transactions and banking and finance from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and Masters in Comparative Laws. He also holds B.A. degree in Shari'a and Higher Diploma in Education from Islamic University, Medina. He is an expert in Islamic banking and finance since 1997.

Dr. Arbouna worked as Head of Shari’a Compliance in various Islamic Banks and Financial institutions, including;

• Al Salam Bank, Bahrain.
• Kuwait Finance House, Bahrain.
• Seera Investment Bank BSC Bahrain.

He is the AAOIFI Shari’a Standards Coordination and consultation officer at the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)–Bahrain.

Dr. Arbouna also serves various Shari’a Supervisory Boards/Shari’a consultants/Shari’a working groups around the globe, including the following, among others;

• International Islamic Services Boards (IFSB), Malaysia.
• Islamic Development Bank, Bahrain.
• International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), Bahrain.
• Gulf African Bank, Kenya.
• Nigerian Central Bank, Nigeria.
• Accounting and Auditing for Islamic financial institutions (AAOIFI), Bahrain.
• First Global, Sri Lanka.
• Yasaar Consultancy Limited, UK.
• Khaleeji Islamic Consultancy, UK.

Dr. Arbouna lectures on Islamic banking and finance and gives consultancy on orientation and professional programs for several professional and educational institutions.

He is a key speaker in various Islamic banking and finance and Takaful (Islamic Insurance) forums and conferences.