Dubai, UAE, January 27, 2019:  The Higher Sharia Authority (HSA) for financial and banking activities in the UAE held its first meeting for the year 2019 on 13-14 January 2019. The meeting was chaired by His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Al Haddad, the Chairman of the HSA, and attended by Their Eminences the members of the HSA: 

Sheikh Prof. Dr. Jasim Ali Al Shamsi, 
Sheikh Esam Muhamad Ishaq,
Sheikh Dr. Aznan Hasan, and
Sheikh Dr. Osaid Muhammad Adeeb Al Kailani.

His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Abdul-Aziz Al-Haddad started the meeting by highlighting the achievements of the HSA in 2018 particularly the adoption of the Sharia standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the adoption of best practices in the Islamic Sharia governance for Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs). He also added that the HSA adopted best practices that enhance compliance with Sharia and the governance in the Islamic financial services industry. His Eminence emphasized the importance of these milestones in strengthening the stability of Islamic finance and positioning the United Arab Emirates as a leading hub for Islamic finance.

The HSA reviewed the work plan for the year 2019 and agreed to adopt a number of procedures to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in dealing with the various requests submitted by the Central Bank and Islamic financial institutions. 

The HSA also discussed a number of areas related to drafts of prudential standards and guidelines, and issued resolutions and directives concerning the Sharia aspects of these drafts.

Having looked at the Sharia Examination Plan for 2019, the HSA issued its directives regarding the examination scope and mechanisms.

The HSA has also addressed requests to outsource some of the internal Sharia control functions to external companies and passed a resolution on the essential Sharia governance related functions that can be outsourced and other functions that IFIs must establish internally.

The HSA issued resolutions and guidance relating to the adoption of new Islamic financial products that are going to be offered to the public by some IFIs, taking into account consumer protection principles and transparency requirements in Islamic financial products.