The nominees for The Royal Award 2014 come from various regions across the world:
- Africa (2%)
- Europe (19%)
- Middle East (33%)
- North America (7%)
- South Asia (10%)
- Southeast Asia (29%)
An independent seven-member international jury panel chaired by former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation, Tun Musa Hitam, will select the deserving individual for the award. The jury panel comprises distinguished thought leaders and industry experts in Islamic finance who represent various geographical locations across Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States of America.
The selection process of The Royal Award is robust, objective and independent. The selection criteria encompass both qualitative and quantitative aspects of each nominee’s exceptional contribution towards Islamic finance globally. These include financial innovation and pioneering work, exceptional leadership, adoption and acknowledgement within the industry and inspiration and influence towards future progress and development of Islamic finance.
The recipient of The Royal Award will receive a medallion, a certificate of recognition and US$250,000 in cash. The recipient will embark on a journey to educate the community on the role of Islamic finance in the global economy through industry and public lectures, seminars and conferences.
Previous award recipients recognised for their efforts in advancing Islamic finance were Iqbal Khan in 2012 and Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel in 2010. The Royal Award in 2010 also recognised the late Dr. Ahmad El-Naggar with a posthumous honourable mention. Often referred to as ‘Father of Modern Islamic Banking’, Dr. El-Naggar spearheaded the first modern experiment with Islamic banking by creating a savings bank based on profit sharing.
Iqbal Khan, who will be speaking at GIFF 2014 during the session “Developing the Marketplace for Global Linkages”, was instrumental in the development of the world’s first global sovereign sukuk issued by the Government of Malaysia. He motivated the push for a global sovereign sukuk and led the Shariah thought process towards greater understanding of the concept of foreign currency global sukuk. He played a key role in establishing a number of institutions and initiatives in the Islamic finance industry, including Citi Islamic Investment Bank, the Islamic Finance Project at Harvard University, Meezan Bank, HSBC Amanah and, most recently, Fajr Capital, of which he is Founding Board Member and Chief Executive Officer.
Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel pioneered the adoption of Shariah-compliant principles in banking and business and was one of the first individuals to devise Islamic contracts for use in the 1960s. He founded a group of companies which provides Shariah-compliant retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services as well as the Islamic Arab Insurance Company, a pioneering takaful (Islamic insurance) company. To inspire and develop future talent and innovation, he established the Islamic Economics Research Centre, King Abdulaziz University and Jeddah Center for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. He also founded the Saleh Kamel Centre for Islamic Economy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo and Saleh Kamel Center for Banking Studies and Research, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
For more information, please visit the website http://www.theroyalaward.com
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