SAUDI GAZETTE JEDDAH — The majority of markets in the Muslim countries deal in fraud and exaggerated prices, said Saleh Kamel, the chairman of Dallah Al-Baraka Group, adding that they hope to present the real concept of Islamic finance. He called on capital owners to invest in developing the land and providing jobs. "Unemployment is the basis for every evil in our societies. Without it, terrorism would not have occurred," he noted. Speaking at Al-Baraka 38th Annual Symposium held at Jeddah Hilton on June 3-4, 2017 he said the current concepts such as sustainable development are present in Islam and added "there are many concepts in Quran that we have not yet explored. Previous scholars have made juristic deductions, but we need to follow their steps and pay more efforts to teach Quran and its sciences." Kamel highlighted that the if investors are to pay the required percentage of Zakat which is 2.5% regularly, then there would be no need to pay any taxes. "Islam has protected the rights of everyone, but unfortunately, we have not done the required task," he remarked. Adnan Yousuf, the CEO of Dallah Al-Baraka, noted that there is an international interest in Islamic finance and added that the International Monetary Fund have increased its interest in studying the stability features that the Islamic finance enjoys. This interest, he added, is attributed to the increasing worry about the drop in international economic growth. Yousuf noted the growth of Dallah Al-Baraka which follows the Islamic model, noted that the assets have increased from $4.1 billion in 2003 to $23.4 billion in 2017. The investment and financing have increased by 15% in the same period. The number of employees has increased from 3,233 in 2003 to 12,593 in 2017. The group now has 702 branches. Abdul Sattar Abu Gada, the head of the unified legal commission at Dallah Al-Baraka, said they organize this symposium each Ramadan and added that they invite those interested in Islamic finance to discuss different issues. The sessions result in different discussions and number of fatwas regarding the fiqh of Islamic finance.
