The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) mourns the loss of Haj Saeed Bin Ahmed Al Lootah — a key founding father and pioneer of Islamic banking, the founder of the world’s first Islamic bank (Dubai Islamic Bank 1975), the founder and chairman of Saeed Ahmed Lootah Group, and the founder of the Arab Islamic Insurance Company in 1979, who passed away, aged 97, on the 28th July 2020 (corresponding to 7 Dhu al-Qa’dah 1441) , in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

At this saddening moment, H.E Shaikh Ebrahim bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman, Board of Tustees,  stated: “On behalf of AAOIFI and its Board of Trustees, I would like to express our deepest grief at the sorrowful demise of Haj Saeed Al Lootah, and to offer heartfelt condolences to his family. I do remember that I had the honor to meet Haj Saeed Al Lootah  in 1975 to contemplate and discuss the introduction of ​​Islamic banking in general and the establishment of Dubai Islamic Bank, in particular. This meeting culminated in the compilation of a comprehensive report on Islamic banking, realizing the need to speed up the process of establishing it and the way forward to move it on. This report was well received by the Bahraini government at the time, as regulatory authorities adopted the idea of ​​establishing an Islamic banking sector in the country and opening it up for licensing at an early stage of this experiment.”

He added: “The idea, then, spreaded to other countries worldwide, and had a great deal of resonance that was reflected in the efforts of all loyal adopters towards establishing an institutional body that would be entrusted with setting Islamic finance standards for the entire industry, namely the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions ( AAOIFI). This would not be have been achieved had it not been, after blessings of Allah, by the sincere efforts of the pioneers, and prominently Hajj Sa’eed Lootah.”

Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General, AAOIFI, remarked: “We are all deeply grieved by the sad demise of Haj Saeed Bin Ahmed Al Lootah who, not only for us but for an entire generation, was a role model and a driving force behind doing good and doing the right thing. We extend our consolences to his esteemed family and to all those who are influenced by him as an outstanding pioneer and entrepreneur in many walks of life and business.”