The Chancellor Guide to the Legal and Shari'a Aspects of Islamic Finance

The Chancellor Guide to the Legal and Shari'a Aspects of Islamic Finance Authors

Chapter 1: Background to Islamic Finance and Banking

By Dr Humayon Dar and Umar Moghul

Dr Humayon Dar
Chief Executive Officer BMB Islamic UK Limited:

Dr Humayon Dar is the Chief Executive Officer of BMB Islamic, with offices in London and Dubai.

He is a leading player in the Shari'a advisory business, having been associated with most of the recent innovative developments in Islamic banking & finance, including but not limited to structuring Islamic put options, Shari'a-compliant short-selling techniques, and Islamic financial futures contracts. His most recent contribution to the Islamic financial industry is in the form of first-ever Islamic SRI screening methodology, bound to be a pathbreaking development in Islamic investing.

As CEO of BMB Islamic UK Limited and a member of its own and other Shari'a Supervisory Boards, Dr Dar is actively involved in enhancing Shari'a authenticity of Islamic financial products. His work was acknowledged by Euromoney in 2006 and 2007, when the team led by him received the "Best Islamic Advisory & Assurance" award for two consecutive years.

Dr Dar holds a BSc (Hons) and MSc (both in Islamic Economics) from the International Islamic University Islamabad, where he studied with a number of top Islamic jurists and Muslim thinkers. He also has an MPhil and PhD (both in Economics) from Cambridge University, where he conducted research on Islamic finance. His post-doctoral research has exclusively been on Islamic economics, banking and finance.

Dr Dar is widely consulted by corporates, governments and regulatory bodies on matters related with Islamic banking & finance, and is frequently interviewed by print and electronic media including the Financial Times, BBC, and CNN.

Umar F. Moghul - Partner:

Education:
Temple University, J.D., 1999
University of Pennsylvania, M.A., B.A., 1996

Umar F. Moghul is a Partner with Murtha Cullina LLP, in Hartford CT, USA. He practices in the area of Islamic finance and law, banking & finance, private equity and mergers & acquisitions.

Mr. Moghul has represented an array of financial institutions, businesses, joint ventures and high net worth individuals (many of which operate according to Islamic principles), in a variety of cutting edge financing transactions. He has advised on conventional and Islamic private equity transactions (both controlling and non-controlling). In the realm of real estate, Mr. Moghul's practice has included the establishment of real estate investment funds and one-off financing transactions, a novel Islamic warehouse financing transaction, and the design and documentation of novel Islamic residential, commercial and construction financing products. His legal practice also encompasses counselling financial institutions with respect to their obligations under the USA Patriot Act.

Mr. Moghul has published several articles and has spoken at numerous forums regarding Islamic law and Islamic finance. He is a lecturer in law at the University Of Connecticut School Of Law where he teaches Islamic law.

Mr. Moghul earned his JD from Temple University and his BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania.