Kuala Lumpur, 1 Dec 2022 – INCEIF University is pleased to announce the launch of the ninth ISRA Corner, a dedicated gathering space for academic materials in Islamic economics, banking and finance, muamalat and halal economics, at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Gombak.

The one -stop space is located at Dar al- Hikmah Library and provides books, journals, research papers, resources and computers with free access to the ISRA IFIKR platform. Serving the IIUM community, the project is generously sponsored by CIMB Islamic Bank.

The ISRA Corner project, first launched in 2018 at Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok, Kedah, will hopefully enrich knowledge resources in Islamic economics and finance.

CIMB Islamic, represented at the launch by its Regional Head of Shariah Advisory & Governance Mr Ahmad Suhaimi Yahya, was supportive of the project because the initiative was in line with the bank’s vision to be part of the betterment of the community. In this instance, to provide benefits to students and lecturers particularly in the fields related to Islamic finance.

IIUM is the third university chosen by CIMB Islamic for the sponsorship of the ISRA Corner after Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Bangi and Universiti Teknologi MARA in Puncak Alam, Selangor. The bank’s sponsorship allows the ISRA Corner to be utilised free of charge by university residents. With the availability of this facility as one of the main reference materials, it would enable more students and lecturers to gain access to up -to -date information and quality knowledge of Islamic finance.

Also present at the launch was IIUM Chief Information Officer Prof Dato’ Dr Norbik Bashah Idris, IIiBF Deputy Dean, SD & Community Engagement Asst Prof Dr Nur Farhah Mahadi and INCEIF Deputy President Operations Dr Syahmi Mohd Karim.

In his remarks at the launch, Dr Syahmi said the ISRA Corner initiative was INCEIF’s show of gratitude and appreciation to IIUM for adopting textbooks published by the university’s research arm, ISRA Research Management Centre.

The textbooks used for IIUM’s banking and finance courses are:

• Islamic Economics: Principles & Analysis
• Islamic Financial System: Principles & Analysis
• Islamic Capital Market: Principles & Practices
• Islamic Legal Maxims and Their Application in Islamic Finance

The ISRA Corner Initiative is an on-going initiative by INCEIF to share the knowledge and experience related to Islamic finance with local and foreign institutions of higher learning. Other universities which are hosting the ISRA Corner include Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali Brunei in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Politeknik Nilai in Negri Sembilan; and University Malaysia Kelantan in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan.

The initiative would also assist in enriching the collection of publications in Islamic finance and economics in university libraries for the benefit of the IIUM community, especially through I-FIKR. Among the benefits is the access to I-FIKR translation of 2,775 contemporary fatwas (from Arabic to English) related to Islamic banking and finance. The number of fatwas increases from time to time.

INCEIF is also grateful to CIMB Islamic for its participation as the university values the bank’s expertise and experience as a much-welcomed knowledge to the academic world. Therefore, the knowledge produced in universities would be more than mere rhetoric and ideas. Instead, the skills and knowledge should be usable and applied by the industry. Students at the 3 sponsored universities are given the opportunity to undergo industrial training at the bank.

Ends.