©2020 Palestine Islamic Bank
العربية
Back
Sharia Supervisory Board Members
Dr. Ali Al Sartawi
Head of the Shari'a Supervisory Board

• Holds a doctorate from the University of Jordan with a comparative study on the principle of legality. • Served as minister of justice in the National Unity Government and held the position of dean of the Faculty of Law and Sharia at the Al-Najah University, and the head of the Department of Jurisprudence and Legislation). • Currently an associate professor of civil law at the Faculty of Law at the Al-Najah University, head of the Supervisory Authority at Takaful Insurance Company and head of the Shari'a Supervisory Board of the Palestinian Ijarah Company. He is a member of the Governance Board of the Palestine Islamic Bank and a member of the Ethics and Governance Council of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions.

Prof. Hussam El-Din Afaneh
Member of the Shari'a Supervisory Board

• One of the scholars specialized in the field of jurisprudence, especially the jurisprudence of financial transactions. • Professor of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals with a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Fundamentals, from the College of Sharia, Umm Al-Qura University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. • Professor of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals at Al-Quds University. • Chairman of the Shari'a Supervisory Board of Tamkeen Insurance Company. • He has published 72 books and researches, supervised 58 master’s and doctoral theses, and participated in the discussion of 42 master’s and doctoral theses. • Has worked and written in the field of Islamic financial transactions since 1994. • Author of the published series "Yas'aloonk.

Prof. Maher Hamed Al Houli
Member of the Shari'a Supervisory board

• Professor in the field of Jurisprudence and its Fundamentals. Serves as the dean of the College of Sharia and Law at the Islamic University, Gaza, the head of the Sharia Fatwa Department at the Association of Palestine Scholars, the chairman of the Fatwa board at the Islamic University, Gaza, the president of Al Quds Association for Research and Islamic Studies, and the dean of Student Affairs. He has also carried out Sharia and financial arbitration. • Supervises master's and doctoral theses and holds a scientific research award - the Islamic Studies Series for the year 2008. • Has published many books and scientific literature which are used at universities for undergraduate and master's degree studies and has published many varied and published scientific research papers.

Sharia Supervisory Board and Sharia Auditing
Sharia Supervisory board

A specialized board of Sharia scholars which is elected by the Bank's general body. Sharia supervision is a prominent and distinctive feature of the Palestine Islamic Bank’s activities controlling and developing the Bank’s business in accordance with Sharia’s provisions and ensuring that the Bank's business and activities are carried out in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia. The Sharia Supervisory board’s decisions are binding.

Sharia Supervisory board References:
  • The decisions, directives and circulars approved and issued by it.
  • The standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions in Bahrain.
  • Decisions, fatwas, and recommendations of seminars, councils and juristic forums are considered and approved by the Bank's Sharia Supervisory Board in relation to the Bank’s operations.
Scope of the Sharia Supervisory board:

The Board has the right to fully access, without restrictions, all records, transactions and information, including those of the Bank’s employees and consultants. The board relies on the instructions of the Palestinian Monetary Authority according to banking law and sharia standards and the rules and best practices for the governance of banks in Palestine issued by the Palestinian Monetary Authority. The decisions taken by the Board are binding to the Bank, which means that all decisions issued by it regarding its transactions and activities are enforceable.

Tasks of the Sharia Supervisory Board:
  • Directing, monitoring and supervising the Bank’s business and activities to ensure compliance with Islamic Sharia.
  • Ensuring that there is a sound and effective internal Shari'a supervisory system that ensures the application of Islamic Sharia.
  • Examining the Bank’s compliance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia in all its activities.
  • Providing guidance and training to the Bank's employees on compliance with Islamic Sharia.
  • Expressing opinions on the extent of the Bank’s commitment to the provisions of Islamic Sharia and publishing them before the Bank’s general assembly and in its annual report.
Working mechanism of the Sharia Supervisory president:
  • The Board meets at the invitation of its chairman or at the invitation of the Bank management when necessary.
  • The Board holds twelve regular meetings a year, one meeting each month.
  • The Board receives enquiries from the executive management and from the Bank’s branches through the Bank’s Sharia Auditing Department, and it duly responds to them.
Sharia Auditing

The Shari'a Auditing department is one of the Bank's important supervisory departments, and it follows the work of the Shari'a Supervisory Board appointed by the Bank’s general authority. It is independent from the executive management in performing its work and has the right to view all documents, contracts, agreements, models and policies of the Bank with full support from the Board of Directors, executive management, and the Sharia Supervisory Board in order to achieve the Bank's goals and avoid risks in accordance with the Sharia and approved governance standards.

Main objectives of the Sharia Auditing Department:
  • Verifying that the Bank’s management has fulfilled its responsibilities towards implementing the provisions and principles of Islamic Sharia in accordance with the approved Sharia standards.
  • Verifying the suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness of the internal Sharia control system.
  • Verifying that any activity, product, service, or contract carried out by the Bank is authorized by the Sharia Supervisory Board.
  • Achieving the integrative supervisory role with other supervisory departments with the aim of achieving an effective regulatory system.
Tasks of the Sharia Auditing Department:
  • Reviewing the instructions and work procedures issued by the Bank’s management in light of the Sharia’s Supervisory Board decisions.
  • Preparing for the regular meetings of the Board and following up the implementation of its decisions and recommendations.
  • Carrying out field Sharia audit tours on a regular basis and submitting audit reports to the Sharia Supervisory Board.
  • Participating with the Board in scientific meetings and seminars and communicating with the public effectively.
  • Preparing the Department's business plan annually, revising work instructions and procedures and seeking approval of them by the Sharia Supervisory Board, which in turn evaluates the performance of the Department and its employees within the approved annual plan.
Sharia Supervisory Board Report for the year 2019

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Sharia Supervisory board Report on the Bank's Business for 2019

to the shareholders of the Palestine Islamic Bank

Peace, mercy and blessings of God

Dear Shareholders,

The Sharia Supervisory Board supervised the principles used in transactions and applications offered by the Bank during the financial period January 1 to December 31, 2019.

The Board has examined whether the Bank has been compliant with the regulations and principles of Islamic Sharia, and to what extent it has observed Fatwas (Sharia decisions) and the defined resolutions and directions issued by the Board.

Our supervision included the inspection of documentation and procedures followed by the Bank, on the basis of testing each type of operation, making observations on it, and ensuring consistency with the approved Sharia principles.

We have planned and executed supervision to obtain all information and explanations deemed necessary to provide us with enough evidence to give reasonable confirmation that the Bank did not intend to violate the regulations and principles of the Islamic Sharia.

The management is responsible for the execution of the Bank's activities in accordance with Islamic Sharia. Our responsibility is limited to providing independent opinion based upon our supervision of the Bank's operations and preparing a report for you.

  1. The Board reviewed the transactions carried out from 1/1/2019 to 31/12/2019.
  2. The Board responded to enquiries it received from the Bank's management during the mentioned period.
  3. The Board added its observations and corrections to the transactions submitted thereto.
  4. The Board reviewed and discussed Sharia audit reports for branches and offices provided by the Sharia Audit Department, and submitted its recommendations and observations, noting that there are a number of repeated observations regarding financing activities in some branches. The Board also recommended measures to avoid repeating these observations in the future.
  5. The board approved and reviewed a set of sponsorship and cooperation agreements with companies and various institutions, including:
  • The Board approved several cooperation and Musawamah sale agreements.
  • The Board approved the policy of granting and issuing the Tayseer card and the gold forward discount card.
  • The Board approved the amendment of the non-sharia gain fund policy (i.e. prohibited income).
  • The Board approved the Sharia Audit Department structure for the current year 2019 and the annual plan for field auditing of branches.
  • The Board approved financing of payments for property evacuation directly to the owner.
  • The Board approved a cooperation agreement for the Palestine Islamic Bank's Award for Scientific Research.
  • The Board approved the approval of the electronic payment agreement.
  • The Board approved the insurance mediation agreement.
  • The Board followed up and resolved complaints by the Bank's customers.
  • The Board approved agreements to finance education benefits for undergraduates and graduates.
  • The Board approved the supply contract agreement.
  • The Board discussed the Sharia audit reports of the Bank’s departments and branches during 2019.

6. The Board carried out a number of activities and events during the aforementioned period, holding several workshops for employees, in the Bank's deployment areas of Gaza and the West Bank.

  • The Board also carried out several activities related to Banking awareness and to spread the idea of Islamic banking outside the Bank and held meetings with academics and students in several Palestinian universities.

In our opinion:

a) Having reviewed the contracts submitted and made the necessary adjustments thereto, the contracts, operations and transactions concluded by the Bank during the year ended in 2019, which we reviewed, were carried out in accordance with the provisions and principles of Islamic Sharia.

b) Having examined the balance sheet, profit and loss statements, dividends distribution and loss incurred on investment accounts, we confirm that it conforms to the principle approved by us, in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Islamic Sharia

c) All gains made from sources or methods prohibited by Islamic Sharia or in which the Board found a violation of Sharia standards, Fatwas and Sharia provisions, were assigned to charitable funds and disbursed according to the recommendations of the Sharia Supervisory Board.

d) The Bank is abiding by the decisions issued by the Supreme Sharia Supervisory Board.

e) From a Sharia perspective, there is no legal objection to the Bank’s decision to allow each shareholder to pay the Zakat individually. The Zakat percentage due on shares has been calculated at $0.0497 per share and shareholders will be notified of their responsibility to pay the Zakat themselves.

The Sharia Supervisory Board would like to thank its customers and the shareholders for their confidence. The Board would also like to thank the Bank management and its employees for their cooperation.

May Allah bestow his good reward upon everyone.

Best regards,

Ramallah - Rajab 08, 1441 AH, corresponding to 03/03/2020

Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sartawi (Chairman)
Prof. Dr. Hossam El-Din Afaneh (Member)
Prof. Dr. Maher Hamed AlHouli (Member)