Program details :

• 1 day seminar, 8 hours.
• The seminar attendees will be given a Certificate of Attendance at the end.
• All lecturers are experts on their respected fields.
• Fee is $120, lunch included.
• Registration and full payment must be made by June 9^th 2010. Fee, after 9^th of June is $150.
• Groups of 6 or more get 20% discount
• Parking spots are available for free

Scdehule:

• 9.00-10.30  Sharia’h & Finance by Karen Hunt Ahmed (Assistant Professor of Islamic Finance at DePaul/BIBF)

Presentation will be introducing the subject of how Sharia’h treats financial transactions according to the Qur’an. Quoting verses from the Qur’an that refer to financial transaction in business dealing and general treatment of one’s wealth.

• 10.30-11.00 Break; Hot/cold beverages and cookies will be served
• 11.00-12.30  Investing the Sharia’h way by Monem Salam (Director and Vice President of Islamic Investing and Amana’s deputy portfolio manager)

The Qur’an’s treatment of Finance and some verses related to the management of wealth. Presentation covers the variety ways for investing in compliance with Sharia’h. Examples of the many products available in the U.S. and abroad will be given.

• 12.30-1.00 Break; Lunch will be served
• 1.00-2.30  Borrowing/Lending in accordance to Sharia’h by Amjad Quadri (Vice President, University Bank)

Presentation will cover the various ways of borrowing/lending  in a Sharia’h compliant way. Examples of the variety of products available to the consumer and business person whether in the U.S. or abroad will be presented.

• 2.30-3.00 Break; Hot/cold beverages and cookies will be served
• 3.00-4.30  Wrap up by Talat Othman (President of Grove Financial, Inc., an international investment management firm, specializing in managing Private investment funds and U.S.-Middle East business. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Amana Mutual Funds, Bellingham, Washington.)

Karen Hunt Ahmed

Bio: Assistant Professor of Finance and Management at DePaul University.  Before receiving her Ph.D. from The University of Chicago, she worked in the banking sector in Chicago and in private equity in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Her research interests include Islamic finance, microfinance, globalization, ethical investing and the sociocultural implications of business practice. She is working on a book entitled:  The “Business” of Culture:  Morality and Practice in Islamic Finance.  She is currently teaching Islamic Finance, Microfinance and Business Ethics at DePaul University’s College of Commerce.  She is on the advisory committee of DePaul’s Center for Financial Services.  She is also the President of Chicago Islamic Microfinance Project, a not for profit economic development organization.

Dr. Hunt Ahmed received a BA and MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She lived in Dubai for many years and has traveled extensively in the Middle East, Pakistan, Africa and Europe.

Monem Salam

Bio: Director and Vice President of Islamic Investing and Amana’s deputy portfolio manager, was born in Pakistan in 1972. Raised in Texas, Mr. Salam received his degrees from the University of Texas: BA (Austin) and MBA (Dallas). He worked as Chief Investment Officer for ITG & Associates (Dallas) until 1999, then as a representative with Morgan Stanley (suburban Dallas) until joining Saturna Capital in June 2003. Monem manages many of Saturna’s Islamic private accounts. Mr. Salam is active with the Muslim community in North America and chairman of Peaceful Communications, a non-profit supporting documentaries about Muslims in America. Mr. Salam speaks at Islamic finance/investment conferences worldwide, and in U.S. Islamic communities about spirituality, Sharia, and Islamic investing. He is a licensed private pilot, an achievement that is the subject of a PBS documentary.

Amjad M. Quadri

Bio: Currently the Vice President of Business Development and New Markets at University Islamic Financial.  Before moving into his current role at University Islamic Financial Corp., Mr. Quadri helped form advisory councils of local imams and community leaders in three states and started two new offices, the latter which he currently supervises.  Mr. Quadri graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree from the college of Business in Information Decision Sciences.  Before entering the world of Islamic finance, he worked in the information technology industry.  He worked on Y2K conversion projects for several large corporations, including IBM, McKinsey & Company, and CNA.  He then spent three years as a release engineer/project manager for Cyborg Systems, now owned by Hewitt Associates.  Amjad’s first foray into Islamic finance was as a field sales consultant for Guidance Financial Group.  In his spare time, among other things, he has served as Vice President of one of the largest Mosques in the US.

Amjad M. Quadri is currently the Vice President of Business Development and New Markets at University Islamic Financial.  Before moving into his current role at University Islamic Financial Corp., Mr. Quadri helped form advisory councils of local imams and community leaders in three states and started two new offices, the latter which he currently supervises.  Mr. Quadri graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree from the college of Business in Information Decision Sciences.  Before entering the world of Islamic finance, he worked in the information technology industry.  He worked on Y2K conversion projects for several large corporations, including IBM, McKinsey & Company, and CNA.  He then spent three years as a release engineer/project manager for Cyborg Systems, now owned by Hewitt Associates.  Amjad’s first foray into Islamic finance was as a field sales consultant for Guidance Financial Group.  In his spare time, among other things, he has served as Vice President of one of the largest Mosques in the US.

Talat M. Othman

Bio: President of Grove Financial, Inc., an international investment management firm located in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in managing Private investment funds and U.S.-Middle East business. Mr. Othman is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Amana Mutual Funds, Bellingham, Washington.

From 1983 to 1995, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dearborn Financial Inc., Arlington Heights, Illinois.

From 1978 to 1983, Mr. Othman was General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Arab Finance Corporation, Luxembourg, and General Manager of the Saudi Investment Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, including its  merchant bank branches headquartered in Paris, France.

From 1956 to 1977, Mr. Othman was associated with the Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, Illinois, as Vice President and Division Administrator of the International Money Management Division, including the International Economic Research Unit.

Mr. Othman previously served as Chairman of the Board of Dansk International Design, Ltd., Mt. Kisco, New York; Chairman, Goodson Polymer Corp. Dayton, Ohio; and on several corporate boards, including Bank One Wisconsin Corporation, Milwaukee; Hartmarx Corporation, Chicago: Tejas Power Corporation, Houston; E Z Serve Corporation, Houston, Harken Energy Corporation, Dallas; Pathogenesis, Skokie, Illinois and  a member of the Advisory Board of Ovation pharmaceuticals, Deerfield, IL.

Mr. Othman has been involved in many civic and professional organizations. He served as President of the Arab Bankers Association of North America in New York, 1985-1987 and was the founding President of the Mid-America Arab Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, Illinois in 1974.  In 1973, he founded the Midwest Chapter of the Forex Association of North America. He is an Honorary Member of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, member of the advisory board of the Catholic Theological Union, Cardinal Bernardin Center, Chicago, and the Hashemite Association for International Economic Co-operation, Amman, Jordan, a past  member of the board of the Industrial Areas Foundation, Chicago – a national community organizer that founded United Power for Action and Justice. In 1991 he founded the Arab-American Business & Professional Association, Illinois and continues to serve as President.

Mr. Othman served on the Dean’s Council of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the  Advisory Board of the Greater Middle East Studies Center at RAND , California, the Board of Trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education, Washington D.C. and the Board of Directors of the Kahlil Gibran Centennial Foundation, Washington, D.C. Additionally, Othman.  served on the boards of Trustees for the Illinois State Universities Retirement System.

Othman  was a member of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Policy Council, Washington, D.C.  and is a member of the President’s Circle of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He also serves on the Board of Governors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALSAC, the hospital’s fund-raising arm.

In 2003, he co-founded the “Chicago Ten” a group of high profile individuals representing the three Abrahamic religions to promote peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and assist in economic development in Gaza and the West Bank.

Mr. Othman received many honors including a Tribute on the floor of the House of Representatives on November 25, 1994 by Congressman Nick J. Rahall,  In 1997, Jim Edgar, Governor of Illinois, issued a proclamation declaring November 1, 1997 as Talat M. Othman Day in Illinois. On May 19, 2005, he was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the Catholic Theological Union.

Mr. Othman has frequently written and spoken on the international monetary system, international money markets, and international economic issues.  In addition, he contributed the first chapter of The Techniques of Foreign Exchange Trading.

Mr. Othman has three sons, one daughter and ten grandchildren.  His personal interests include tennis, reading and traveling.