report takaful
Takaful articles
t a k a f u l
Number 1: August 2005
Takaful in the new millennium
Where are we now? Where do we go from here?
Dawood
Yousef Taylor
Assistant General
Manager, Head of
Takaful Ta’awuni
(Saudi Arabia)
www.baj.com.sa/takaful
Takaful, or Islamic insurance is a relatively new industry. Although the origin of takaful can be traced back to Islamic practices 14 centuries ago, the development of takaful in modern times was initially undertaken in Sudan in 1979 and Malaysia in 1984. The culmination of this initial development was encapsulated within the 1985 Fiqh Academy ruling declaring that conventional commercial insurance was haram (forbidden) and insurance based on the application of cooperative principles, sharia compliance and charitable donations was halal (acceptable).
During the past two decades we have seen takaful operations opening up in many countries throughout the world, primarily in Islamic countries and countries with a large Muslim community. In the Far East, Malaysia has been at the forefront of takaful development with Bank Negara taking the lead with the introduction of separate takaful regulations allowing the takaful business to flourish in that country. Singapore,
Indonesia, Brunei have all followed with the development of takaful operations.
In the Middle East, takaful operations have developed in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran,
Qatar and Iran with new operations opening up in Egypt, UAE and Kuwait in recent years. It is fair to say that the Far East and Middle East regions lead the way in takaful development but other countries are also moving in this direction i.e. Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka.
Outside these two primary regions, takaful has also been introduced into Europe and the USA but, as yet, development of takaful in the western world has not met with any major degree of success. There is no doubt that there is a tremendous opportunity for takaful to develop in these regions, with large
t a k a f u l
Number 1: August 2005
Takaful in the new millennium
Where are we now? Where do we go from here?
Dawood
Yousef Taylor
Assistant General
Manager, Head of
Takaful Ta’awuni
(Saudi Arabia)
www.baj.com.sa/takaful
Takaful, or Islamic insurance is a relatively new industry. Although the origin of takaful can be traced back to Islamic practices 14 centuries ago, the development of takaful in modern times was initially undertaken in Sudan in 1979 and Malaysia in 1984. The culmination of this initial development was encapsulated within the 1985 Fiqh Academy ruling declaring that conventional commercial insurance was haram (forbidden) and insurance based on the application of cooperative principles, sharia compliance and charitable donations was halal (acceptable).
During the past two decades we have seen takaful operations opening up in many countries throughout the world, primarily in Islamic countries and countries with a large Muslim community. In the Far East, Malaysia has been at the forefront of takaful development with Bank Negara taking the lead with the introduction of separate takaful regulations allowing the takaful business to flourish in that country. Singapore,
Indonesia, Brunei have all followed with the development of takaful operations.
In the Middle East, takaful operations have developed in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran,
Qatar and Iran with new operations opening up in Egypt, UAE and Kuwait in recent years. It is fair to say that the Far East and Middle East regions lead the way in takaful development but other countries are also moving in this direction i.e. Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka.
Outside these two primary regions, takaful has also been introduced into Europe and the USA but, as yet, development of takaful in the western world has not met with any major degree of success. There is no doubt that there is a tremendous opportunity for takaful to develop in these regions, with large