JEDDAH —The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a leading multilateral financial institution operating in accordance with the principles of Islamic banking and finance, announced the launch of its new Fatawa book application in Arabic for iOS and Android mobile devices.

The launch of this this app underscores the institution’s commitment towards promoting Islamic finance via user-friendly and easy to access online tools and technological services.

With 54-member countries, ICD provides a combination of investment and advisory solutions, partnering with broader stakeholders to develop and unleash the power of the private sector in its member countries.

In line with its internal policies, all operations of ICD are required to be Shariah-compliant and approved by a Shariah Board composed of reputable and respectable scholars from different member countries of ICD.

Decisions of the Shariah Board, referred to as Fatawa, are periodically organized and compiled in the form of a book for easy reference, and the maiden version of this book, the ICD Fatawa Book, was launched in 2017.

The application is launched in the Arabic language and further languages will be added soon with the newer versions of the book.

Speaking on the launch of the New Application, ICD CEO Ayman Sejiny, observed that “The Maiden Fatawa Book of ICD, contains very rich Islamic jurisprudence which reflects to a large extent the complex Shariah issues that ICD is confronted with in its operations and the dynamism that has fueled the growth of Islamic Finance in the past two decades.”

He observed that, the new app was designed with a view to making the Fatawa Book user friendly as it is a “a better and more simplified way of going through the book, and will allow users to understand each Fatwa easily by reference to the structure of the relevant transaction and the particular subject or issue that was referred to the Shariah Committee."

Innovative features on ICD’s Fatwa Book mobile application include:

• A wide range of topics in Islamic finance

• Improved user interface

• Easy and fast access to questions and topics

• Advanced search

• Bookmarks

• Instant sharing

• PDF book download

This best-in-class mobile app illustrates ICD’s new strategy of using new technologies in promoting its mandates, showcasing its products and services, disseminating Islamic finance knowledge, and improving efficiency in its operations. — SG