Joy Cherian (File photo)

Washington - The U.S. Treasury Department on June 2 announced the appointment of Dr. Mahmoud El-Ga-mal to serve as its first Islamic Finance Scholar-in-Residence.

Dr. El-Gamal will serve as a principal adviser on Islamic finance to senior treasury officials and he will liaison with international organizations that are seeking to create standards for, and to monitor, Islamic finance, according to a Treasury Department press release.

He will interact with various U.S. government agencies to provide an overview of the recent developments on formulating new international regulatory standards and harmonizing current ones. He will also have an opportunity to conduct workshops on Islamic finance, including an overview of the industry, prudent supervision, regulation, accounting standards, governance practices and debt management.

John Taylor, Under Secretary for International Affairs, said: “We are delighted that Dr. El-Gamal is joining us as the first Scholar-In-Residence on Islamic Finance. With the recent growth of the Islamic finance industry, deeper understanding of Islamic finance is a priority for this administration. I have already learned much from Dr. El-Gamal’s research, and look forward to interacting with him on important policy issues.”

The purpose of the Islamic Finance Scholar-in-Residence program is to promote broader awareness of Islamic finance practices internationally and domestically for U.S. government policymakers, regulators, and the public at large. While mainly practiced in the Middle East and Asia, the Islamic finance industry is growing in Europe and in North America. Dr. El-Gamal –– with his extensive background in Islamic finance –– will play a critical role in advancing the importance of promoting good practices in risk management and transparency in this area.

Dr. El-Gamal is the chaired professor of Islamic economics, finance and management and professor of statistics and economics at Rice University in Houston, Texas.