DID YOU KNOW?

  • Established in 1987, the world's largest Islamic Equity Fund is US based.

  • Islamic Cross border investment into US real estate and private equity started since the 80s. The market has evolved to offer tax efficient investment using offshore and onshore leverage structures.

  • Conventional banks in the US may offer Murabahah (installment sale) and Ijarah (lease to own) under the existing banking regulation.

  • The first experiment for Islamic housing finance in the US was done in the 80s. It was not successful, but was filled with lessons for future players. Find out why they got into trouble.

  • Freddie Mac supports Murabahah home finance with banks and Musharakah Mutanaqisah with mortgage companies. This underpins the USD10billion Islamic home finance market.

  • A number of Islamic products in the US took inspiration from existing practices - redeemable ground leases, real estate co-ownership and profit sharing deposits!

  • Real estate foreclosures, Sukuk defaults, and cross border Islamic bankruptcies have all been tested in US courts.

Check out our course plan


JOIN US AND DISCOVER

  • How did key players develop their Islamic Finance products the US?

  • How do Islamic Finance tools fit into different parts of the US financial system?

  • How did some pioneers made big mistakes and how can we learn from them?

Filled with insider practical tips, you will identify opportunities in the US market and extract lessons for implementation in other markets.

OUR STORY

How was this course born?

The perception is that there is not much development of Islamic Finance in the US. In reality, the US is a vibrant market for Islamic Finance. However, there is very few comprehensive analyses of the market. We often ask, when did this happen, who did that, how come they could do it,… and many more questions.


For forty years, our group CEO, Mr Abdulkader Thomas, has pioneered Islamic Finance including the US market. He has been involved in many of the stories that we recount in this course.  


He was responsible for shepherding the first US banking regulatory approvals of Ijarah and and Murabahah. He also secured regulatory approval for an Islamic profit sharing deposit to be applied in the US under FDIC regulation.  Abdulkader also structured the first REIT of REITs  facilitating  Muslim  investment in listed US REITs whilst complying with Shariah. Besides the US, he was also involved in the UK and Middle East as a banker.


When we realized that he had the answers because he was there, we wanted to know if the story had been told? Had it been told in a way that allows the listener to take away practical ideas and put them to work.


When we found out that the story wasn’t out, we convinced him to share with us the story of Islamic Finance in America in a user friendly, ready to apply style.

What will you learn?

The US legal and regulatory frameworks are remarkably flexible. Without changing laws, thoughtful bankers have put Shariah principles to work in the American context. 


You will examine practical applications with references and examples.


Course Curriculum

Sign Up for FREE Previews of all MODULES

    1. How the System Works - Watch this to get the full benefit

    2. DISCLAIMER

    3. Introduction - Islamic Finance in the US

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. PREVIEW

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Phase 1 Handout

    3. Phase 1: Early Domestic Exploration

    4. Recommended Readings

    5. Phase 1 Quiz

    1. PREVIEW

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Phase 2 Handout

    3. 2.1 Introduction

    4. 2.2 Real Estate

    5. 2.3 Private Equity

    6. Recommended Readings

    7. Phase 2 Quiz

    1. PREVIEW

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Phase 3 Handout

    3. 3.1 Muslim Savings & Investment (MSI)

    4. 3.2 United Bank of Kuwait (UBK) - Predecessor to Ahli United Bank (AUB)

    5. 3.3 Bank of Whittier (BoW)

    6. 3.4 Guidance Financial Group (Guidance)

    7. 3.5 Summary

    8. 3.6 Challenges

    9. Recommended Readings

    10. Phase 3 Quiz

    1. PREVIEW

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Phase 4 Handout

    3. 4.1 Rule 1 - Permission to Follow Local Customs

    4. 4.2 Rule 2- Redeemable Lease (Ijarah) Under Bank Mortgaging Power

    5. 4.3 Rule 3 - Murabahah Under Bank Installment Bank Power

    6. 4.4 Rule 4 - Construction Extension from Rule 2 (Ijarah)

    7. 4.5 Rule 5 - Profit Sharing Deposits Already Exist

    8. 4.6 Summary

    9. 4.7 Key Issues

    10. Recommended Readings

    11. Phase 4 Quiz

    1. PREVIEW

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Phase 5 Handout

    3. 5.1 Equity Capital Market

    4. 5.2 Debt Capital Market

    5. 5.3 Debt Capital Market Issues

    6. Recommended Readings

    7. Phase 5 Quiz

About this course

  • $99.99
  • 61 lessons
  • 3.5 hours of video content

Still can't make up your mind?

Check out a snaphot of one of our Modules: Phase 5 Capital Markets

 


Frequently Asked Questions

Here's more about the course

  • How long is access to the course?

    Do it based on your schedule. You have 90 DAYS to access the course. Don't worry we'll send you a reminder in case you forget. 😊

  • How do I learn?

    You will enjoy various learning approaches - discussion, videos, structure analysis, additional readings etc. There will be quizzes at the end of each module to test your understanding.

  • References and Bonus Materials

    The bonus materials include cases, current Islamic banking rules in the US, background readings and additional references to help you develop practical knowledge.

Instructor(s)

Abdukader Thomas

Group President & CEO

Based in Kuwait, Abdulkader has over 40 years of diversified financial services experience in major markets including Bahrain, New York, London, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. His areas of activity have included trade finance, real estate finance, securities, and alternative finance at various global and regional financial institutions.

As the general manager of a foreign bank branch in New York, he was responsible for securing the first US banking regulatory approvals of alternative financial instruments in the mortgage and installment credit/sale as banking instruments. Later as the founding member of a de novo bank project, he secured US regulatory approval for Islamic profit sharing deposits. He is an authority on Islamic deal structures and securities.

Along with his team at SHAPE, Abdulkader works on projects that include launching de novo Islamic banks and Islamic banking windows, policies and procedures including Shariah policies, Shariah compliance, product development and structuring. Clients include a diversified universe of financial institutions from North America, the MENA region, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe.

He is the co-author of Structuring Islamic Finance Transactions (Euromoney 2005), Islamic Bonds (Euromoney 2004), Sukuk (Sweet & Maxwell 2009), and Managing Funds Flow Risks and Derivatives: Applications in Islamic Institutions (Sweet & Maxwell 2012) and Housing the Nation (Cagamas 2013). Abdulkader served as a technical expert on the Shariah boards of Bank Muscat Meethaq (Oman). He chairs the committee at Sterling Client (Nigeria) and consults for University Islamic Financial (USA). He also serves as an independent director of Alkhabeer Capital in Jeddah. He was previously chairman and director of Sanabel Investment Co. (formerly Alkhabeer International) in Bahrain. He has acted as a member of the international advisory board of the Securities Commission of Malaysia. Abdulkader speaks English, Arabic, French and Spanish.

Shabnam Mokhtar

Group Executive VP

Shabnam spearheads research and development activities at SHAPE. Some of the projects that she managed include: Review and enhancement of Fatwa on Credit Guarantee Scheme delivered by a Scandinavian development fund in Somalia; Research for a bankruptcy case in the US and a criminal case in Canada related to Islamic Finance Service providers; Analysis of Islamic ETF and Islamic structured product to develop an Islamic hedge fund product for a hedge fund manager based in GCC; Review and enhancement of Fatwa on Carbon Trading for a global energy trading firm’s London operation.

Shabnam also manages strategic and business plan formulation for launching of Islamic businesses and delivers customized trainings for clients covering full spectrum of Islamic Finance activities.

With a global clientele experience, Shabnam brings implementation knowledge taking into account the business context, regulation and Shariah views in different markets.

Shabnam serves as the Shariah Committee member for RHB Islamic Bank.