The Waqf Fund, a Bahrain-based special fund to support Islamic finance training, has launched a Diploma in Islamic Commercial Jurisprudence.

The qualification is aimed primarily at those working for Internal Sharia Review departments of Islamic financial institutions.

The programme, due to commence from October, is being offered with the assistance of Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance ( BIBF).

"The diploma programme provides an opportunity to develop the understanding of Islamic commercial jurisprudence in considerable depth," said Waqf Fund chairman and Central Bank of Bahrain executive director banking supervision Khalid Hamad.

"The programme, which will be conducted in Arabic, consists of seven modules.

"Each module is of 50 hours and will take a month to complete. Qualified teachers from within Bahrain and outside are being engaged to deliver the modules.

"The Waqf Fund will bear the cost of this programme for its member institutions," he added.

"Quality education and training in Islamic finance have been somewhat lagging in comparison to the impressive growth of the industry," said BIBF Centre for Islamic Finance head Dr Mohammad Omar Farooq.

"We have a duty to make available substantive and up-to-date training for those working in the Sharia departments of Islamic financial institutions in various capacities.

"The Centre for Islamic Finance at BIBF has been a pioneering contributor to this industry's education and training needs and we are pleased to have this opportunity to make a difference.

"The Waqf Fund and BIBF have an ongoing partnership in serving the Islamic finance industry," Farooq said.

"We are confident that this new diploma, reviewed and certified by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions will be an important step toward filling the current void," he added.-TradeArabia News Service