Historically regulators in many of the Gulf countries have taken a looser approach to Shariah Governance in the Islamic finance industry as compared to other jurisdictions such as Malaysia. However, in recent years the trend in the Gulf has been towards the issuance of comprehensive Shariah Governance Frameworks.
Towards the end of 2024 I was honoured to have the chance to pick the brains of over 30 Shariah Experts directly involved in the Islamic finance industry in the UAE & KSA. All of them were of the opinion that the implementation of a comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework by the regulator has had a very positive impact overall on the Islamic finance industry within their jurisdiction.
