Central Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh (CSBIB) has drawn up principle to solve foreign bill purchase (FBP) and inland bill purchase (IBP) related issues in the banking sector through Musharaka (partnership) mode for Islamic banking operation through an innovative derivative of Musharaka mode. A day-long training workshop was recently organized by the CSBIB in a local hotel in Dhaka with a view to discussing the principles, policies and workflows behind the solution so that shariah inspectors behind the bank can smoothly implement the new product in their respective banks. It was attended by the Shariah inspectors and Muraqibs of various banks.

The workshop was inaugurated by the CSBIB Chairman Mufti Abdur Rahman. Moderated by the secretary general Md. Mukhlesur Rahman the workshop was addressed by M Azizul Huq an eminent Islamic banking consultant, Md. Shamsul Huda, EVP of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, SVP Khondokar Munirul Alam-al_Mamun, VP Md. Shamsuddoha of the same and Mahmud Hossain, Managing Director and CEO of Millennium Information Solution Limited.

In the inaugural speech, Mufti Abdur Rahman termed the Shariah Inspectors as the souls of Islamic banks and said: Muraqibs have a great role in the fields of Shariah compliance, supervision and instruction in Islamic banks. They will have to take challenges for this responsibility. They will have to carry out further study. They will have to make Islamic banking sector more dynamic by charging their responsibilities properly through making themselves more capable. Otherwise, they will severely be accounted in the Almighty's court. He urged upon Islamic banks to take part actively in Mudaraba and Musharaka as ideal investment modes.

Mentioning that interest has been prohibited in Islamic Shariah M Azizul Huq said, Transactions are of two kinds, financial transaction and real transaction, If any increase or decrease is made in the financial transaction it will bear an interest, it cannot be done. On the other hand, if any increase or decrease is made in the real transaction it will not bear any interest; rather, it will be profit or loss. Therefore, we have to take up the real transaction instead of financial transaction if we are interested in the pure Islamic transaction.

Mahmud Hossain thanked CSBIB for drawing up principles to solve FBP and IBP issue through Musharaka mode. He said we have been serving Islamic banking through ABABIL software for long. We don't cooperate with any interest-based institution. He added, Millennium is ready to extend all-out support to Islamic banks in the field of application of FBP and IBP in new modes. He also discussed the feasibility of incorporation of this new innovative product with their software solution- Ababil.

The other discussants explained the background of inventing new modes in the fields of FBP and IBP, their merits and demerits and replayed to the queries from the participants of the workshop.

Some 40 executives and officers from Sonali Bank, Agrani Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Exim Bank, ICB Islamic Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Prime Bank, Dhaka Bank, Jamuna Bank, City Bank, AB Bank, Trust Bank, HSBC, Islamic Finance and Investment Limited, Millennium Information Solution Limited, Center for Islamic Economics Bashundhara and Central Shariah Board participated in the workshop held on December 28, 2011 under the auspices of Millennium Information Solution Limited.

Earlier, CSBIB formed a technical committee to solve FBP and IBP related issues more Islamically and Shariah compliant. The committee held 12 meetings and finalized more than one recommendation. From that CSBIB approved a resolution to solve it though Musharaka (partnership) mode.

It may be mentioned that since conventional FBP and IBP are not permissible by Shariah and Islamic law. So, Islamic banks have been carrying out these operations through foreign bill negotiation (FBN), inland bill negotiation (IBN), Musharaka documentary bill (MDB), Bai as-Sarf etc. modes. Now bankers, Islamic jurisprudents and Shariah experts think that the new mode innovated by CSBIB in this issue is more Shariah compliant.