Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
More than 25 years ago, at the time that I embraced Islam, I became aware that our Creator gave us guidance in all matters of life, including commerce. As a banker, I was instantly concerned that “riba” is very much like interest on a loan. From that point, I began to study this question, and I continue to seek answers as to how we should transact commercially and financially to comply with the Divine Guidance.

What does your role involve?
Developing and delivering strategies for the efficient delivery of Islamic concepts in the financial and business fields.

What is your greatest achievement to date?
By God’s grace, I was able to work with the teams that secured the first regulatory approvals for Islamic financial instruments in the United States.

Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
We deliver training at the complex level for all key areas of Islamic capital markets and bank structuring. Out training is organized through two important international training groups, of which Islamic Finance Training is one. We also provide enterprise and transaction level structuring advice.

What are the strengths of your business?
Knowledge: we know from experience the capital markets and many Shariah rules; and we are keen students of the Shariah.

What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
A desire to personally comply with Shariah felt by the Muslim team members, and a deep respect for that value among the non-Muslim team members.

What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
A shortage of the right human resources.

Where do you see the Islamic finance industry, maybe in the next five years?
InshaAllah, it will be widely established in the Islamic and developed countries, operating reasonable alternatives to traditional banking services.

Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance?
Islamic banks and bankers need to understand that the nature of the Shariah means that we cannot do exactly everything that is done by conventional banks. By necessity, our product outcomes will be different, and may be less comprehensive.

The sole mission of SHAPE Financial Corp. is to design and structure Islamic financial solutions for the capital markets and banking sectors. Our clients include banks, securities firms and prospective issuers seeking to understand the intricacies of Islamic processes and how these may open new markets or improve their operations.

Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, SHAPE is a leading knowledge resource for Islamic banking and finance. A member of Alshaya Group International, SHAPE has offices through Alshaya Group International in Kuwait and Jordan serving global markets.

SHAPE’s leadership in the Islamic finance knowledge sector grew directly from our work developing an Islamic banking platform for the USA. Our experience allows us to actively serve three key knowledge fields – consulting for banks with the residential mortgage alternative as our lead product; transaction structuring consultancy; and training.

In the US market, we have delivered mortgage alternatives linked to a profit sharing deposit via Sukuk, a securitization instrument, which is readily transferable to the capital markets. Similar plans have been made for other consumer finance products. Our banking products emphasize home acquisition, wealth preservation and income protection.