9 nominated as members of Shariah Council ‍

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has nominated nine scholars and experts as the members for the Shariah Council that has been formed to draw more investments in the country’s stock market.

The decision regarding their nomination was taken in a BSEC regular meeting on Monday.

Dr Mohammad Abdur Rashid, an Islamic Studies professor at Dhaka University, will serve as the chairman of the Shariah Advisory Council.

As per the rules, five out of the nine nominated are: Shariah scholars Prof Dr Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Mufti Shahed Rahmani, Mufti Yousuf Sultan, Mufti Dr Waliur Rahman Khan, representatives of Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh, and Mawlana Shah Wali Ullah.

And the other four are: Prof Abu Taleb, finance and banking expert, AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul, legal expert, Prof Md Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan, accounting expert, and Mezbah Uddin Ahmed, capital market expert.

In the last five years, the stock market had seen the issuance of new Shariah-based securities such as Mudaraba perpetual bonds, Sukuk bonds, and Shariah-compliant mutual funds.

As there was no Shariah council in place, any issues over the management of these securities could not be resolved. Shariah council will play an important role in propping up the Islamic capital market.

The formation of Shariah Advisory Council will help bring Islamic Shariah-based securities to the capital market of Bangladesh. Domestic and foreign investors will show interest to invest in the country’s capital market, BSEC said.