Dar Al Sharia named Best Sharia Advisory at Islamic Finance News Awards

A one-stop solution centre for all Sharia, legal and financial consultancy for all types of Islamic financing and investment transactions, such as Sukuk, Funds, product development, conversion of conventional banks into Islamic institutions, etc. on the global level, Dar Al Sharia has evolved from DIB's own Sharia Coordination Department, the first ever experiment carried out by an Islamic bank.

At the same ceremony, DIB received an impressive four awards in total, including the coveted 'Best Islamic Bank in the UAE' award, 'Syndicated Deal of the Year' and 'Wakalah Deal of the Year.'

"We are extremely honoured to be recognised as the 'Best Sharia Advisory Firm,'. Although Dar Al Sharia just completed its first full operational year in 2009, the recognition it has received to date highlights the depth of expertise we offer in providing world-class and authentic Sharia guidance to our clients. On behalf of Dar Al Sharia, I would like to dedicate this award to Dr. Hussain Hamed Hassan, the Chairman of DIB's Sharia Board and a prominent Sharia scholar, in recognition of his lifelong services to the cause of Islamic finance and for providing valuable guidance to the Dar Al Sharia team,"

said Sohail Zubairi, Chief Executive Officer, Dar Al Sharia.

Established in July 2008, Dar Al Sharia is yet another innovative service offered by Dubai Islamic Bank that conducts, in addition to structuring and documentation, the research and development, Sharia training, Sharia audit and on-going Sharia guidance to Islamic Financial Institutions. The company liaises closely with clients, lawyers, bankers, and investors on an end-to-end basis, from the initial concept through to the completion of transaction structure and documentation, in a fully Sharia-compliant manner.

In addition to the 'Best Sharia Advisory Award,' Dar Al Sharia also substantially contributed to the 'Syndicated Deal of the Year' (Bin Laden Islamic Syndication) and 'Wakalah Deal of the Year,' (IFC Sukuk) awards. These high-profile transactions, were supervised in structuring and documention by Dar Al Sharia.

The Islamic Finance News Awards honours the best in the Islamic financial industry. It is one of the most prestigious awards and highly recognised by the global Islamic capital markets. Established in 2005, The Islamic Finance News Polls continue to be an apt representation of the current Islamic financial market landscape and is the industry's leading and most comprehensive annual poll.