For the sixth consecutive year, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) will be leading an international delegation of Muslim professionals to the 6th World Islamic Economic Form (WIEF) to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 18 to 20 May 2010.

Around 60 delegates comprising entrepreneurs and professionals drawn from the fields of accountancy, banking and law have been brought together by the MCB's committees for Business & Economics and European & International Affairs. For the first time, a delegation of 17 professionals from the United States will be attending the WIEF as part of the MCB delegation.

The MCB Secretary General, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari said "the potential offered by this year's delegation and its meeting of intelligent minds and broad experiences gives one hope for the next generation of Muslim professionals. These are people who have excelled in their respective professions in Europe and North America but have not forgotten about the rest of the world. I look forward to the increased trade and synergy for collaboration that they will create between their countries and Muslim majority states."

The delegation is led by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former Secretary General of the MCB and a member of the WIEF's International Advisory Panel. Speaking on the delegation to the 6th WIEF, Sir Iqbal said "We are particularly keen to learn from the experiences of Malaysia in developing and promoting Islamic finance - a system we believe offers a genuine alternative to the problems and upheavals we have seen with our current economic system. We also wish to share our experiences with other international delegates to ensure that the world at large, and the vulnerable in particular, benefit from best practices in ethical trade and finance in the global economy."

In addition to participating in the WIEF, the delegation will host workshops and participate in meetings with a number of local institutions. These include meetings with the International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia, Securities Commission Malaysia, Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation and the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation.

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Notes to Editors:

1. The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with around 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.

2. The WIEF is a platform where world leaders in government and business converge to discuss trade and economic issues affecting the globe. The 6th WIEF is expected to attract an estimated 2000 participants based on the past record of 1728 participants at the 5th WIEF in Jakarta in March 2009. For further information on WIEF and the 6th WIEF visit www.6thwief.org

3. The MCB publishes a brochure for each WIEF profiling the delegates attending and containing creative thinking in the fields of Islamic finance and thought leadership. This year's brochure is available from: Here

4. The MCB Delegation brochure has been sponsored by Barclays Capital, European Islamic Investment Bank, the Islam Channel, the Islamic Finance Council, Islamic Relief, the Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre, Muslim Aid, PricewaterhouseCoopers and UM Financial. ¬