Ethica Trains 100 American Imams in Islamic Finance

DUBAI, UAE, July 18, 2011 -

Two Months of Rigorous, First Ever Islamic Finance Training
Successfully Completed

What does it take to bring 7 million American Muslims Islamic
finance? Maybe training only 100 prominent religious leaders as a
small first step. That is what the founding members of the American
Islamic Finance (AIF) Project have now successfully accomplished.
Jointly founded by Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, Guidance
Financial, and the Islamic Society of North America, the AIF
Project seeks to promote standards-based Islamic finance among
Muslim communities in North America.

The training program began with an inaugural address by Mufti
Taqi Usmani, chairman of AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing
Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions), the world’s
leading standard-setting body. Ethica’s spokesperson said, “Muslims
in America rely on their imams for all kinds of information. By
giving these community leaders direct training in the practical
application of Islamic finance, Ethica now equips them with an
understanding of global standards.”

Ethica’s two-month imam training program looks to become an
annual event. The program was successfully completed this month
after Ethica delivered a rigorous blend of e-learning, including
case studies, exercises, and exams, in addition to intensive
classroom instruction. With fewer banks and universities opting for
face-to-face training, and more institutions adopting the
increasingly popular e-learning option, Islamic finance is set to
become more accessible to countries outside of the Gulf.

Ethica Institute of Islamic
Finance

With over 20,000 paid users in more than 40 countries in 2011,
Ethica ( href="www.EthicaInstitute.com">www.EthicaInstitute.com) is
the world’s leading accredited Islamic finance training and
certification institute, with more learners than any other Islamic
finance organization in the world. Ethica remains the only
institute in the world to deliver standardized certification based
entirely on the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic
Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the leading standard-setting body
in the industry.

Guidance Residential

Guidance is the leading US provider of Sharia-compliant home
financing with over $2 billion in home financings. It is a
subsidiary of Guidance Financial Group, an international company
dedicated to serving the market for Sharia-compliant financial
products and services. Guidance Financial Group offers unique
investment products to institutional investors and financial
intermediaries worldwide, and provides financial services to its
retail customer base in the United States.

Islamic Society of North America

ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals
that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting
Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach
programs and fostering good relations with other religious
communities, and civic and service organizations.

For more information about this article, or to schedule an
interview with Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, please e-mail
href="mailto:contact@EthicaInstitute.com">contact@EthicaInstitute.com.

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