AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development and Mezon Kengashi sign agreement to translate the AAOIFI Shari’ah standards into Uzbek

PR/-/2026

10 June 2026

The AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development and Mezon Kengashi LLC, the leading Shari'ah-based financial advisory body in the Republic of Uzbekistan, have signed an agreement to produce the official Uzbek-language translation of the AAOIFI Shari'ah Standards. Signed on 17 May 2026, the project covers the latest official Arabic edition of the standards - 61 issued Shari'ah standards across approximately 1,200 pages - translated directly from Arabic into Uzbek.

The agreement builds on the strategic partnership established between AAOIFI and Mezon Kengashi on 26 December 2025, under which the two institutions cooperate on training, professional certification, regulatory standardisation and knowledge dissemination. The translation will be carried out in coordination with AAOIFI and in accordance with its authorisation and quality-review procedures.

The initiative comes at a pivotal moment for Uzbekistan's financial sector. On 27 March 2026, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed Law No. O'RQ-1126 "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aimed at Introducing Islamic Banking", which establishes a formal regulatory and licensing framework for Shari'ah-compliant operations and enters into force on 29 June 2026. The availability of authoritative AAOIFI standards in Uzbek is essential to the effective and consistent implementation of this framework.

An authoritative Uzbek edition will give regulators, the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, commercial banks, legal professionals, educators and finance specialists direct access to the global reference framework that governs Islamic financial products. It will support the consistent application of Shari'ah standards across the national market, their incorporation into regulatory and supervisory practice, alignment with internationally recognised benchmarks, and the development of local expertise - including the opportunity for Uzbek specialists to pursue internationally recognised AAOIFI professional certifications in their own language.

The translation will be delivered over approximately six months by a multidisciplinary team of Shari'ah scholars, professional translators, editors and legal and financial reviewers, several of whom hold AAOIFI professional qualifications (CSAA, CPSS, CIPA). The work extends beyond linguistic translation to include Shari'ah terminology harmonisation, legal and regulatory review, structured editorial review and quality assurance, ensuring fidelity to the original Arabic text and consistency of terminology throughout.

"The AAOIFI Shari'ah standards are the foundation of trust in Islamic finance. Making them available in Uzbek removes one of the last structural barriers to building a credible Islamic finance ecosystem in our country, and equips our regulators, banks and specialists with an authoritative reference as the new legislation takes effect," said Muzaffar Khusnidinov, Chief Executive Officer of Mezon Kengashi LLC.

"This agreement reflects the Centre's mission to support the adoption and localisation of AAOIFI standards across the CIS and Central Asia. Uzbekistan is one of the region's most promising markets for Islamic finance, and an authoritative Uzbek edition of the standards is an important step toward its sustainable, well-regulated development," said Amier Al Moussa, director, AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development.

About Mezon Kengashi LLC

Mezon Kengashi LLC is the leading Shari'ah-based financial advisory body in the Republic of Uzbekistan and an institutional bridge between national stakeholders and international standard-setting organisations. Its mission is to advance Islamic finance in Uzbekistan and the wider Central Asian region through Shari'ah governance, capacity building, regulatory engagement and knowledge dissemination. Web: www.mezonkengashi.uz

About AAOIFI and the AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development

The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is the leading international, not-for-profit standard-setting body for the global Islamic finance industry, established in 1991 and headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Its standards in the areas of Shari'ah, accounting, auditing, ethics and governance are adopted or recognised by regulatory authorities and institutions across more than 45 countries. The AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development, based in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, is AAOIFI's regional centre supporting the adoption, consistent application and localisation of AAOIFI standards across the Russian Federation, the CIS and the wider region. Web: cis.aaoifi.com

Media contacts

AAOIFI Centre for Islamic Finance Development - [email protected] · +7 (843) 598-40-21

Mezon Kengashi LLC - [email protected] · +998-50-700-7799