National and Global Islamic Financial Architecture:
Problems and Possible Solutions for the OIC Member Countries
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governance, risk management and strategic issues. In 2010, ICLIP and FIDE merged to form the
ICLIP Leader & Governance Centre to cater to the training needs of board members and senior
management. The Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) was established in
2007 to provide sound financial knowledge and skills to entry-level graduates (BNM 2011: 30-
31).
While professionals of Islamic financial institutions can avail the training from these
institutions, BNM has taken initiatives to enhance the knowledge and skills base for the Islamic
financial sector. The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) was
established in 2006 as a global university of Islamic finance to provide academic and
professional education and training. In 2008, the International Shariah Research Academy for
Islamic Finance (ISRA) was established to promote applied research Shariah and Islamic
finance (BNM 2011: 30-31).
Malaysia is among the leading countries providing education and training in Islamic finance.
The country is ranked first in Knowledge Indicator in Islamic Finance by ICD-TR (2015: 110)
with 30 educational institutions offering Islamic finance degrees and 46 institutions offering
Islamic finance courses in 2014. Malaysia is also one of the most research active countries in
Islamic finance and produced 401 articles published in peer reviewed journals and producing
121 research papers in the discipline.
To make Malaysia the global hub and learning center for Islamic finance education, the
International Council of Islamic Finance Education (ICIFE) was established in 2014 under the
initiative of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia. The main objective of ICIFE is to ‘increase
and maintain the professionalism of the educators in Islamic finance at the national and
international levels’.27 The vision of the organization includes becoming ‘a premier global
organization for providing dynamic leadership in quality assurance and enhancement of
Islamic Finance Education worldwide’ and to ‘make significant contributions to the intellectual
domains of Islamic Finance and other relevant fields of professional practice’.
4.4.8. Summary and Conclusions
Malaysia has one of the most robust financial architecture for Islamic finance which reflects the
political will of the government of Malaysia to promote the industry. Development of the
Islamic financial sector is part of a broader strategy and various public bodies have taken
initiatives to accomplish these goals. The laws have been updated to deal with changing
environments, and the regulatory bodies have played a pro-active role in promoting different
segments of the industry. In particular, BNM and SCM has assisted in the development and
promotion of Islamic markets and instruments and also contributed to a sound Shariah
governance regime at both the regulatory and organizational levels. The government has also
played an active role in advancing education and training in Islamic finance. Many educational
institutions are engaged in research and providing education in Islamic finance to create an
adequate and appropriate human capital that can propel the industry forward.
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