Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, along with Hong Kong, have set their sights on becoming hubs for Islamic finance, where investments are made according to Islamic principles. (Under Shariah, or Islamic law, charging interest and making investments in industries like gambling and alcohol are forbidden.) While their sectors may be at varying stages of development, they are facing a common predicament: a shortage of professionals skilled in Islamic finance.
Education institutions around the Asia-Pacific region, like their counterparts in the Middle East and Europe, are increasingly seeking to fill that gap by adding Islamic finance specialization to their master’s programs in business administration and elsewhere.
The number of such courses available in Kuala Lumpur, home to the most developed Islamic finance sector in the region, is growing rapidly. A number of business schools now offer Islamic finance components as part of their M.B.A. programs, and the Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, a private institution in Kuala Lumpur, will offer a new M.B.A. in Global Islamic Finance for students enrolled for the semester starting in October.
Malaysia’s International Center for Education in Islamic Finance, which was established by the central bank in 2006, is working with a growing number of universities around the region and elsewhere to help them start Islamic finance courses.
The center, which teaches its own programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees, has already worked with universities in Malaysia, Indonesia and Britain, and is fielding a growing number of inquiries from institutions around the world, from South Korea and Hong Kong to France and Germany.
The president and chief executive of the center, Agil Natt, said Islamic finance was now considered a viable alternative to conventional finance, and business schools were responding to industry demand for skilled professionals.
“People are beginning to clamor for more qualified people,” he said. “Suddenly it dawned on the universities that this is a growing market.”
The new M.B.A. in Global Islamic Finance at the Universiti Tun Abdul Razak will be available to all students enrolled in the International Business School Alliance, a grouping of universities from Germany, Spain, Russia, the United States, Britain and Malaysia.
Students who choose the Islamic finance specialization will study core M.B.A. subjects for their first semester at the university of their choice, followed by a semester of Islamic finance subjects like the application of Islamic commercial law and Islamic banking products, at the Malaysian university. Students will conduct research into an aspect of Islamic finance, like the sector’s regulatory systems, in their third semester.
Ong Fon Sim, dean of the university’s Graduate School of Business, said it decided to introduce the one-year, full-time program to meet the growing demand for Islamic finance professionals.
“It’s the government’s aspiration to make Malaysia into a global Islamic finance center,” she said. “Islamic finance and banking is here to stay. Everybody recognizes that. Because of that, we think there should be demand.”
In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the University of Indonesia began offering a Master’s in Islamic Banking last year after the country’s central bank asked the school to develop courses to help prepare students for the industry, said Professor Firmanzah, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
The school also offers an Islamic banking specialization for M.B.A. students and plans to offer a bachelor’s in Islamic banking and a doctoral program next year. “We are focusing on Islamic banking since the growth of Islamic banking in Indonesia is quite high compared to traditional banks,” he said.
Islamic finance education is spreading beyond the region’s Muslim-majority countries. La Trobe University in Melbourne started Australia’s first Master’s in Islamic Banking and Finance this year, and has begun offering Islamic finance as an M.B.A. elective.
The Master’s program has attracted students from as far away as Vietnam, Hong Kong, the United States, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia, said Ishaq Bhatti, director of the program.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Business School introduced an Islamic finance elective as part of its M.B.A. program in April.
John Wei, director of the program, said the university decided to offer the elective after observing the increasing influence and economic potential of Islamic countries.
The spread of Islamic finance education is a trend the industry hopes will continue to pick up speed to help meet the growing need for skilled professionals, said Rithuan Mohamed Shamsudin, executive director of the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia.
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/education/27iht-educSide27.html?_r=1&dbk - Sept 27, 2010
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