The Kingdom of Bahrain is set to host the 20th Annual Shari’ah Boards Conference organised by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain on 14-15 Shawwal 1443 AH corresponding to 15-16 May 2022. The flagship conference will be held in a physical manner at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, for the benefit of the global audience, the proceedings will be aired live via. Zoom and other social media platforms.

The annual conference is considered as one of the most important gatherings in Islamic finance industry for which Shari’ah scholars, policymakers and decision-makers come together on one platform to deliberate and discuss pressing topics in Islamic finance industry globally. To date the conference has received registrations of more than 1,200 global stakeholders. This is in addition to the globally renowned speakers including Shari’ah scholars, industry practitioners and senior representatives from the government and other important guests. The chief guests of the conference confirmed to date include H.E. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain, H.E. Dr. Feras Milhem, Governor, Palestine Monetary Authority, Sheikh Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Chairman, AAOIFI Shari’ah Board and H.E. Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman, AAOIFI Board of Trustees.

The two-day conference will have keynote speeches in addition to six panel discussions. On day 1, there will be three panel discussions in addition to the opening ceremony. The panel discussions will include an interactive discussion session on integration among Shari’ah and regulatory requirements, applying the new risk-free benchmark rates in Ijarah and Murabaha, variance in the contracts’ vitiators (Mufsidat Al-Aqd) and its impact on Shari’ah provisions. The day 2 of the conference will have panel discussions on financing via dynamic Musharaka, difference between service agent, the management agent and the investment agent, while the last session of the conference will be on Shari’ah governance frameworks.

The 20^th edition of the conference is supported by Saudi National Bank (SNB) from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jumhouria Bank from Libya, Kuwait Finance House as major partners. The gold partners include Al Salam Bank from Bahrain, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) from UAE and the Al Baraka Banking Group from Bahrain while the silver partner includes Jordan Islamic Bank and the technology partner is IFIN from Bahrain.

On this occasion, H.E. Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Chairman of AAOIFI Board of Trustees stated that “AAOIFI Shari’ah Board’s Conference under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain and in collaboration with other Islamic financial institutions has been playing an important role in guiding the Islamic finance industry globally for last 20 years”. He added that “we are pleased to bring forth this important conference once again in a physical manner after a gap of two years. I am very much looking forward to meeting industry leaders and colleagues at the conference and share insights into the work AAOIFI has been undertaking”.

The AAOIFI Secretariat looks forward to hosting and meeting you at the conference. Attendance, please click here, to attend the conference virtually, click here. Alternatively, you can view the conference page and download the agenda from: Link