First CSR-Oriented Islamic Finance Survey

A first-of-its-kind Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) survey on Islamic finance institutions is currently being undertaken by two leading Islamic finance industry service providers, DinarStandard and Dar Al Istithmar.

The objective of the Survey is to benchmark Islamic finance institutions on their efforts in social responsibility. The result will be an Islamic Finance CSR Trends Report to be released publicly on 31 August 2009. Each institution submitting the survey will also receive a confidential benchmark report that will highlight its performance compared to its peers in aggregate. Maqasid Al-Shari’a CSR Awards will also recognize major CSR accomplishments in the industry as a whole.

Senior Consultant at Dar Al-Istithmar, Sayd Farook, was quoted as saying:

As the Islamic Finance industry transitions to a CSR-oriented approach, tools such as ours will become increasingly important.

Rafi-uddin Shikoh, Managing Director of Dinar Standard™, commented:

It’s ironic that an industry whose fundamentals are in social responsibility does not have any gauge to benchmark this important aspect. We hope this survey will contribute to support the CSR efforts of IF institutions and further highlight the industry’s relevance in a time of global economic crisis.

The survey’s structure is based on the recently released CSR standards by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institution (AAOIFI), the international standard-setting organization for Islamic finance. AAOIFI is also an Official Supporter of the survey.

Questionnaires are currently being sent to several hundred executives of Islamic financial institutions. Institutions are invited to complete the survey on-line, as well. Deadline for survey completion is 21 July 2009. The survey and background information can be accessed here.◊