BUSINESS HARMONY: James Lasry, Shaykh Haytham Tamim and Saadat Khan at Credit Suisse’s offices yesterday.

Standing room only, Credit Suisse hosted an unusual seminar yesterday that could well be the platform for a fast growing and important new area of financial business for Gibraltar.

Unusually the main contribution by Shaykh Haytham Tamim opened with a blessing in Arabic and a crash course on the intricate relationship between the text of the Koran and Islamic business.

Typically Gibraltar, the seminar was opened by a leading Jewish financial expert James Lasry, Hassans, who chairs the Gibraltar Funds and Investments Association. He described the flexibility Shariah funds and their facility for voluntary restrictions as well as providing a sketch of attitudes to usury – banned by Islam - over the centuries.

Mr Lasry introduced the renowned academic Shaykh Haytham Tamim, Director at Shariah Solutions Ltd, Chairman of Utrujj Foundation and a consultant in Islamic Finance, referring to Gibraltar’s wide religious diversity and harmony .

This he said was a platform for Shariah business.

The concept that drives business in the Islamic world is, in very simplified terms, the total rejection of interest, ie: of treating money as a commodity and, instead, involves business partnerships where risk is shared and where the ground rules are established under Shariah approval at the start-up point and then regularly audited.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim took the audience through the areas of the Koran which are applied to business, emphasising its growth in financial terms as well as increased subscription to its principles in the Middle East and globally.

He highlighted how Shariah business had been largely insulated form the credit crunch because of its controls and prohibitions and described standard western financial activities as essentially gambling. Shariah law instead, he said was already steeped in transparency focusing as it does on real services and assets.

The project to bring the opportunity of Shariah business to Gibraltar is largely driven by the enthusiasm of of Saadat Khan of CL Global Fund PCC - a property investment company - who has been working with Joey Garcia, Isolas, and a team on what has been the Rock’s first ever Shariah fund.

Mr Khan was effusive about the reception his project has had in Gibraltar, from Government through to industry, and highlighted the traditional benefits like favourable tax rates as well as the proximity to English law, global standard regulation and professional services.

“Setting up was simple and straight forward,” he explained. He hopes that his move will signal the start of much greater use of the Rock for Shariah funds and business.