27 countries unified for development of Islamic Microfinance

The salient topics discussed at the conference included bringing together the Islamic Microfinance Institutions on a single platform, role of Islamic Microfinance in poverty alleviation, Shariah and related issues of Islamic Microfinance Institutions and their solutions, Outreach of Al Huda Centre for Excellence in Islamic Microfinance to different countries and dissemination of Qarz-e-Hasna Model of Akhuwat.

Representatives from microfinance institutions from 27 countries expressed their intent to unify their efforts for poverty alleviation and social development through Islamic Microfinance.

Speaking on the successful completion of the forum, Zubair Mughal - Chief Executive Officer AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics highlighted that the assemblage of a large number of institutions on the forum of Islamic Microfinance is a clear indication that it is the only viable solution of poverty alleviation around the globe.

He urged the World Bank, IDB, USAID, IFC and other international institutions to include Islamic Microfinance in their priority list for social development and poverty eradication; otherwise the achievement of Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations will not be possible.

While addressing the conference, Dr. Amjad Saqib (Executive Director - Akhuwat) declared that Islamic Microfinance Network will be spread all around the world; a specialist Shariah Supervisory Committee will be setup to cope with the Shariah challenges encountered by Islamic Microfinance Institutions. He further stated that the '3rd Global Islamic Microfinance Forum' will be organized by Al Huda CIBE in November, 2013.

Al Huda CIBE hosted the said forum in Dubai with the joint effort of Akhuwat, in which internationally well-renowned speakers addressed the participants. The key-note speakers Justice Khalil ur Rehman, Shariah Advisor - AlBaraka Bank Limited, Mr. Kavilash Chawla MD, Nur Global Strategies- U.S.A, Mahesh Jayanarayan, Chairman UMEX Market Group Ltd-UK, Zaigham Mehmood Rizvi,Expert Consultant on Housing and Housing Finance-World Bank - Washington - U.S.A, Dr. Amjad Saqib, Executive Director - Akhuwat -Pakistan, Pervez Nasim Chairmen Ansar Financial and Development Corporation Canada, Syed Hussain Haider Senior Consultant - Govt of Punjab & Akhuwat, Ms. Katrin Fakiri MD (MISFA)-Afghanistan, Gulnora Yakubova, Operation Director, LLCMDO 'ARVAND'-Tajikistan, Md. Ariful Islam, International Programmes Muslim Aid-Bangladesh, Humaiyun Saeed Jamshed, Senior Director (Marketing) SAB International FZ,UAE, Raffick Nabee Mohomed Founder & Secretary, Al Baraka Multi-purpose Co-operative Society Ltd,Mauritius, John D. Harwood, Canada, Aziz Ur Rehman Manager Shariah, Mawarid (Finance) UAE, Mohamed El Mehdi Zidan, Director Baraka Editions-France. Dr. Tariq Cheema CEO World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists - U.S.A and others presented their research papers on Islamic Microfinance to enrich the knowledge of the participants.