Oman’s new Islamic banking rules could encourage the development of a larger pool of Sharia scholars and ultimately help to raise operating standards for them around the world, according to bankers and scholars.
Last month, the sultanate’s central bank released an extensive Islamic banking rulebook which included provisions for Sharia scholars, such as fit-and-proper criteria and term limits on scholars’ appointment to Sharia boards, which decide whether products and activities obey Islamic principles.
Oman is the last country in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to introduce Islamic banking, but the level of detail in the rules could help set it apart from the others, and even give it some influence over global trends in the industry.
“I admire the positive spirit behind many articles in the law, which aims to achieve a higher level of good governance and avoidance of conflicts,” said Washington-based scholar Muddassir Seddiqi, president and chief executive of ShariahPath Consultants LLC.
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