 by Daniel Atzori Islamic finance and Islamic banking, which are among the fastest growing financial industries in the world, are best understood in their political and cultural contexts, and by what formed their theoretical origins. To begin with, Islamic banks are based on a corpus of doctrines called “Islamic economics,” which claims to be based on the Quran, but is actually the creation of the Islamist thinker Abu’l-A’la Mawdudi (1903-1979). Mawdudi is both the father of Islamic economics and (together with Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) the father of modern political Islam. His crucial contribution to the development of Islamism has been highlighted by Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr in “Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Revivalism,” while his role in the birth of Islamic economics has been studied by Timur Kuran in “The Genesis of Islamic Economics.” Mawdudi, the founder in 1941 of the Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, in Pakistan, was persuaded that it was necessary for Muslims to bring all aspects of life into the practice of “Islam” and submission to the will of Allah. Therefore, both the spheres of politics and economics could not be autonomous from the Quranic revelation and the Islamic tradition (sunna). In the political field, Mawdudi asserted the need for the establishment of an Islam in which all sovereignty belongs only to Allah; thus, popular sovereignty would a usurpation of his rights. According to Mawdudi, the proclamation of faith, in which the Muslim believer affirms that “there is no God but Allah,” implies that “one should recognise no sovereign, nor accept any government, nor yet obey any law, or that one should refuse to accept the jurisdiction of any court and to carry out the command of anyone” except from Allah. For Mawdudi, the duty of his party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, was to form an army of “Allah’s troopers,” with the goal of establishing an Islamic state where shari’a (Islamic law) could be enforced. The creation of an Islamic state was, however, just the first step: he writes, “Islam does not want to bring about this revolution in one country or a few countries. It wants to spread it to the entire world. Although it is the duty of the ‘Muslim party’ to bring this revolution first to its own nation, its ultimate goal is world revolution.” Mawdudi, studying the French, Russian and National Socialist revolutions, was of the opinion that Islamic revolutions should have learned from them. Like Lenin, Mawdudi affirms the need for a vanguard of Allah’s army; like Trotsky, he calls for exporting the revolution worldwide. The spread of the Islamic revolution also had to follow the example set by the Prophet Muhammad. Mawdudi affirms that: “When every method of persuasion had failed, the Prophet took to the sword. That sword removed evil mischief, the impurities of evil and the filth of the soul. The sword did something more – it removed their blindness so that they could see the light of truth, and also cured them of their arrogance; arrogance which prevents people from accepting the truth, stiff necks and proud heads bowed with humility. As in Arabia and other countries, Islam’s expansion was so fast that within a century a quarter of the world accepted it. This conversion took place because the sword of Islam tore away the veils which had covered men’s hearts.” To purify society from non Islamic influences (“the veils which cover our hearts”), Mawdudi also advocated the restoration of a classic tenet of Islam: the death penalty for apostasy (ridda). Mawdudi further states that such a punishment should not just be reserved for those who consciously refuse Islam, but also for all the non-practising Muslims: “Whenever the death penalty for apostasy is enforced in a new Islamic state, then Muslims are kept within Islam’s fold. But there is a danger that a large number of hypocrites will live alongside them. They will always pose a danger of treason. My solution to the problem is this. That whenever an Islamic revolution takes place, all non-practising Muslims should, within one year, declare their turning away from Islam and get out of Muslim society. After one year all born Muslims will be considered Muslim. All Islamic laws will be enforced upon them. They will be forced to practice all the fara’id and wajibat [duties and obligations] of their religion and, if anyone then wishes to leave Islam, he will be executed.” Advocating the necessity of emancipating knowledge from the influence of the West to give birth to a true Islamic polity, Mawdudi goes on to state: “Islam is the very antithesis of secular Western democracy.” Not only does society have to be purged from non- Islamic contaminations, but also science and knowledge. Islamic society and Islamic culture have to be pure: More at Hudson New York 
 David Yerushalmi charts one aspect of "the baneful work of...Western imams and their infidel advisers in business suits." "Shariah finance: The deadly Jihadist weapon with a dollar sign," by David Yerushalmi in the Washington Examiner, December 30: News of the recent financial meltdown of Dubai World -- a quasi-sovereign global concern that owns 77 percent of the international port manager DP World and the single largest real estate developer in Dubai known for its palm-tree shaped luxury residential developments -- raced from the business pages to the headlines of the front pages in a matter of days. Since the first reports on Thanksgiving, the Wall Street Journal and just about every other major media outlet reported extensively on the worldwide implications of this latest financial shock wave. What makes this story more than simply one of a massive real estate investment company gone bad is the double-edged sword so prevalent in the chase for oil-based Middle East wealth: Sovereign wealth funds and Shariah-compliant finance. Beginning in the 1970s with the Carter-era oil embargo and accelerating during the post-9/11 $100+ oil price spikes, Persian Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' wealthiest city-state of Abu Dhabi have been awash in liquidity. And, these trillion-dollar cash reserves are controlled in every case by the respective royal families, typically in sovereign or quasi-sovereign wealth funds. Another phenomenon that followed the great oil rush of the post-9/11 era was the promotion and aggressive exportation of the Muslim Brotherhood doctrine of SCF. The concept of SCF was articulated by men like Sayyid Qutb of Egypt and Abul Ala Maududi of Pakistan in the mid-20th century, both of whom argued for a Jihad against Westernization, and the creation of Islamic polities that would ultimately join in a hegemonic worldwide caliphate.
The goal was that of establishing Shariah not merely as the supreme law of the land, but as the supreme law of the world. In the post-9/11 era, Western imams and their infidel advisers in business suits speaking the queen's English have understood that given the global Jihad's reliance on the dictates of Shariah to murder apostates and to terrorize the infidels into submission, SCF must be attired in a kind of progressive Western garb to attract the attention of the financial centers in London, Hong Kong and New York. So it was that SCF became known as "ethical investing" and Western and Muslim financiers began lecturing the world that the fraud and abuse of the financial markets, such as the Enron debacle and more recently the subprime securitization meltdown, were all driven by the desire for forbidden gain through interest and gambling. They told us that SCF was based not on forbidden interest and speculative paper assets, but profits through equity participation and sound investing in real assets. Dubai World, a company wholly owned by the Dubai sovereign has funded itself through debt to the tune of $60 billion. The Dubai debt now in default just happens to be SCF bonds, or "sukuk." These bonds pay interest just like their forbidden cousins in the Western markets, but the interest is put into a black box of Shariah-created fictions and "special purpose vehicles" to keep the forbidden interest off the books. What we now see as a real estate bubble collapse in Dubai is no different and no more or less ethical than any other financial failure. But, what makes this collapse so problematic is precisely what makes SCF and sovereign wealth funds so dangerous.... Read it all. With thanks to JihadWatch
 Germany's first Islamic bank, a unit of Kuveyt Turk Bank of Turkey, is to open its doors in early 2010 in the southern city of Mannheim, an executive confirmed Tuesday. Under Islamic banking principles, interest on loans is forbidden and money cannot be lent to enterprises that flout Sharia law. Instead, borrowers must offer collateral and lenders receive a share of business profits. The unit will open by March at the latest in Mannheim, a factory city with a large ethnic Turkish population, Istanbul-based Kuveyt Turk Bank said. It would seek a full local banking licence for Germany later. An area newspaper, Rhein Neckar Zeitung, broke the news. The bank executive, who asked not to be named, said Kuveyt Turk Bank intended to establish further branches in Germany, then in other European nations. 9...) The Central Council of Muslims, an Islamic group, says its data show three quarters of them feel a strong bond to Islamic tradition and at least one fifth are interested in Islamic-approved investing. The council said it was only a matter of time before German banks also realized there was a domestic retail market for Islamic banking investments, which are usually certified by Islamic scholars who review how they work to ensure they conform with Sharia.
( more) Source: EarthTimes (English)
 From time to time, readers will email us asking for a list of Shariah-Compliant companies. A complete version of such a list is extremely difficult to come by. Some of the better sources for such a listing would be the annual and semi-annual reports of the various Shariah-Compliant investment funds. These reports usually include portfolio listings, i.e. the companies in which the fund invests. Nevertheless, as a subject for this posting, we have decided to post some of these companies. We came across this listing on the Javelin Shariah Compliant Exchange Traded Fund web site.
The proper name for this fund is the JETS Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund. It is “an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that seeks performance results which, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of Shari’ah compliant securities.” Long time readers of SFW may recall that the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index has a checkered past. For years Dow Jones employed the Jihadist Mufti Taqi Usmani as the chair of the Shariah Advisory Board to the Index, despite the fact that they knew of his ties to militants and extremists. It wasn’t until rival Investor’s Business Daily started publishing details that they quietly severed relations with Usmani, who can only be described as a horrible person. But this wasn’t all. The advisor to the fund was the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), which also owns title to a large percentage of the mosques in the USA. The problem for Dow Jones became two-fold. NAIT was unmasked as a Muslim Brotherhood front group in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial and was also named an unindicted co-conspirator in that trial. It was only in the face of adverse publicity that Dow Jones decided to sever relations with NAIT. Nevertheless, despite its suspicious past, the fund has survived, in a new form. For our readers who have asked, here are some of the largest holdings in its portfolio: TOTAL SA SIEMENS AG BP PLC NOVARTIS AG BHP BILLITON LIMITED ROCHE HOLDING GLAXOSMITHKLINE PLC TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SAMSUNG ELECT Followers of terror-free investing may recognize the top two names on this list: Total SA and Siemens. These are simply two of the worst companies on the planet and have made themselves infamous for their billions of dollars in operations which give corporate life support to the terrorist-sponsoring, genocidal maniacs in Iran. Readers of SFW may wish to consider the activities and policies of these companies which make them Shariah Compliant when making your own investment decisions. Thanks to Sharia Finance Watch
 by Daniel Atzori Islamic finance and Islamic banking, which are among the fastest growing financial industries in the world, are best understood in their political and cultural contexts, and by what formed their theoretical origins.
To begin with, Islamic banks are based on a corpus of doctrines called “Islamic economics,” which claims to be based on the Quran, but is actually the creation of the Islamist thinker Abu’l-A’la Mawdudi (1903-1979).
Mawdudi is both the father of Islamic economics and (together with Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) the father of modern political Islam.
 DUBAI World says it is in talks with banks to restructure about $US26 billion ($28bn) in debt, easing concerns that the government-owned investment arm will default on all of its $US60 billion in total liabilities. The restructuring will comprise several phases, and Dubai World says it is considering alternatives to its debt obligations. About $US6bn of the restructuring is related to its property unit, Nakheel World. Dubai World, a conglomerate spanning real estate, ports and leisure interests, was seeking a debt standstill, a move that weighed heavily on investor confidence worldwide. "Following a detailed review of the group's liquidity and capital structure, Dubai World has concluded that it should immediately consider alternatives in respect of the debt obligations of certain entities within the group," it said. "The proposed restructuring process will only relate to Dubai World and certain of its subsidiaries, including Nakheel World and Limitless World." Global jitters about a potential default caused stocks to plunge late last week on concerns about a potential new phase of the financial crisis. The announcement that banks are in talks about restructuring triggered a rally in US markets just ahead of the close. Investors were rattled earlier in the session after the Dubai government said it would not automatically rescue the investment vehicle. Moelis & Co has been appointed to advise on the restructuring, and Rothschild will remain a financial adviser. Dubai World says the restructuring will relate to only some of its subsidiaries, including Nakheel and Limitless World. The process will not include Infinity World Holding, Istithmar World, and Ports & Free Zone World, all of which are on "a stable financial footing," according to Dubai World. Separately, law firm Ashurst says it is representing a group of creditors, who account for about a quarter of the nominal value of a $US3.5bn Islamic bond due next month, issued by Dubai World's Nakheel property unit. The Australian
 NAKHEEL, Dubai's leading property company and owner of the Palm development, offshore of the Gulf city, is in talks with Dubai World, its heavily indebted parent, over the repayment of a $US3.5 billion ($3.76 billion) Islamic bond. Dubai World, which also owns DP World, the world's third biggest port operator, is guarantor of the Nakheel bond, which is being watched closely by Islamic investors as a bellwether for the shaky finances of the city-state and the health of Islamic finance, generally.
Dubai World is the investment holding company of a clutch of emirate-related businesses that have huge debts. Dubai has to refinance $US50 billion of maturing borrowings by 2013. Dubai World is believed to owe $US60 billion. In an effort to keep the State's business ventures afloat, the Dubai Government this year raised an emergency $US10billion loan from the central bank of the United Arab Emirates. Talks over Nakheel's sukuk, an Islamic financial bond, which matures next month, are taking place as Dubai's ruler castigates the Emirate's critics. They point to strained relations with Abu Dhabi, its richer, but more conservative, neighbour, which has been forced to step in, using its vast oil wealth to guarantee Dubai's huge property debts. Dubai's bubble economy of property and hotels came a cropper in last year's financial crash. Speculators and migrant workers fled the emirate, many abandoning cars, flats and credit card debts in a rush to escape punitive bankruptcy laws. In November last year, the United Arab Emirates Government, backed by the oil wealth of Abu Dhabi, stepped into the breach, promising to stand behind Dubai's borrowings that exceed the state's GDP.
In the wake of the financial crash, concern is now mounting over the region's trillion-dollar market in Islamic bonds. Troubled investments and a series of defaults, including Saad Group and Investment Dar, a Kuwaiti Islamic investment fund, in April, have focused attention on the obscure and untested legal structure of Islamic bonds. The Gulf's oil, property and finance boom helped to launch the market in sukuk, a form of bond that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) strictures that prohibit the payment of interest on money. Islamic financial institutions have devised a variety of structures using techniques, such as sale-and-leaseback, to get round the prohibition.
Typically, Islamic banking seeks to structure interest as a profit-sharing venture but, according to Neale Downes, a partner at Trowers & Hamlin, the law firm, in Bahrain, there is confusion over the legal protection offered to holders of sukuk.
In some cases where sukuk issuers have become insolvent, Mr Downes said that "investors have found themselves unexpectedly competing with the general body of creditors, rather than simply enforcing against or taking possession of assets supporting their sukuk". The outcome of negotiations over the Nakheel sukuk will be key to the future of the Islamic bond market, which has been rocked by a series of defaults. Investment Dar, which owns half of Aston Martin, the British luxury car company, failed to make an interest payment in April on a $US100million sukuk issue. Investment Dar's default followed one at Global Investment House, another Kuwaiti investor. In June, $US650million of Islamic bonds issued by Saad Group, the investment company controlled by Maan al-Sanea, which owns a stake in HSBC, were downgraded to default status. Source: The Australian
 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the US to choose between Israel and Iran on Tuesday night, according to Iranian state media. Ahmadinejad said that for a real change in relations to take place, a choice must be made. Speaking in Istanbul at the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Iranian president said that it was up to US President Barack Obama to illustrate his motto of "Change." "The support of both Israel and Iran can't go hand in hand," he was quoted as saying by IRNA. "No change is made unless great choices are made." "We would welcome the changes, and wait for big and correct decisions to be made… We will clasp any hand that is extended sincerely toward us, but changes should be made in practice." Addressing the same conference a day earlier, Ahmadinejad said that capitalist excesses caused the global economic meltdown and are un-Islamic, as leaders at a Muslim forum touted their religion's banking system a way to revive battered economies. He also slammed investments that pay interest, deemed usury by Muslims, and said they had contributed to financial and social problems such as homelessness. "Usury, which is entrenched in the capitalist system, is perhaps the main reason why the system has gone bankrupt," Ahmadinejad said. "It is a way of accumulating capital without working. Usury, according to the Koran, is fighting with Allah." Ahmadinejad did not mention Iran's struggling economy, nor did he refer to its dispute with the West over its nuclear activities. The Islamic forum held its meeting in a plush hotel on the banks of the Bosporus Strait that divides
Istanbul between the Asian and European continents. Syrian President Bashar Assad and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan were also in attendance. Source: JPost
 Earlier today, we posted a link to an article which mentioned that Kuwait Islamic Bank had entered into a joint venture with Colorado-based real estate company UDR: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2009/08/17/shariah-compliant-sovereign-wealth-funds-resume-investing-in-west/ We were curious as to what, if any, restrictions were to be imposed on the real estate properties in which Kuwait Islamic Bank invested here in the United States, so we made an inquiry via UDR’s “contact us” form on the company’s web site. The company was quick to reply as, within minutes, we received a phone call from Dave Messenger, CFO of UDR. I asked Mr. Messenger two questions: 1. What, if any, special restrictions or qualifications relating to Shariah were required in the deal with Kuwait Islamic Bank? 2. Are zakat payments to be made as part of this venture? Mr. Messenger did not attempt to address question number 2, but referred me to Kuwait Finance House to get an answer to that question. Mr. Messenger was also quite insistent that UDR’s agreement was in fact with Kuwait Finance House and not with Kuwait Islamic Bank. We regard this as a distinction without a difference, since Kuwait Finance House is an arm of Kuwait Islamic Bank. In all the media being devoted to this new deal, the entity identified is in fact Kuwait Islamic Bank. Mr. Messenger was able to provide much more information in response to question number 1. His answer was troubling, right from the outset. First of all, he mispronounced “shariah.” Shariah is pronounced shu-ree-uh. Messenger pronounced it shu-rye-uh. It does not inspire a great deal of confidence in terms of due diligence when the CFO of the American entity which entered into the agreement with an Islamic bank cannot even correctly pronounce the name of the underlying doctrine which governs their joint venture partner. Messenger was not bashful at all about the issue of shariah-compliance. He declared that the entire agreement was written to be shariah-compliant to make sure that the joint venture properties fit in with their partners’ religion. When asked about specific provisions which he knew about to establish and maintain shariah compliance, Messenger named two: “cinematography and food served on the property.” I asked what he meant by cinematography and he explained that some of their properties include movie theaters. Evidently, Kuwait Finance House/Kuwait Islamic Bank wants to make sure that no offensive movies are shown on properties in which they invest. In terms of “food served on property” Messenger explained that no pork would be served on the property at functions put on by UDR. I asked him if any of the properties leased to sandwich shops or delis or such. He said that 8 of their 160 properties did have such tenants. Again, evidently, those businesses would be prohibited from serving pork to prevent any conflict with shariah or the religion of UDR’s venture partners. Messenger explained that potential conflicts with shariah were addressed up front with the JV partners and would continue to be addressed up front to prevent conflicts. What has clearly happened here is that Kuwait Islamic Bank has been able to impose shariah here in the United States by using its financial leverage over UDR. This is the essence of Shariah-Compliant Finance. Source: Sharia Finance Watch
by Daniel Pipes
June 16 Islamic banks have been crowing of late how well they weathered the financial tumult of the past year but that should not blind investors to the risks associated with these houses. The trouble was already apparent in the 1990s, as Clement M. Henry and Rodney Wilson tell what happened in their book The Politics of Islamic Finance, p. 34: 
These problems continue today, as the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Fidler explains in "Defaults Pose Latest Snag In Islamic-Bond Market": The once-booming market for Islamic-friendly bonds, having suffered a contraction amid the credit crisis, now faces a new challenge: default. The fledgling market in recent months experienced its first two defaults, and they aren't expected to be the last as issuers like Saad Group hit financial difficulties. This is taking investors and courts into uncharted territory as they seek to apply Western laws to bonds that were designed to comply with Islamic law, or Shariah. … In October, East Cameron Gas Co. filed for bankruptcy protection after its offshore Louisiana oil and gas wells failed to yield the expected returns, partly because of hurricane damage. Some $167.8 million of sukuk bonds were affected. And last month, Investment Dar Co., a Kuwaiti investment company that owns a 50% stake in luxury-car maker Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., missed a payment on a $100 million sukuk, becoming the first company from the Middle East to default on Islamic bonds. … In what could prove to be a test case, a bankruptcy judge in Louisiana is deciding the fate of holders of bonds tied to bankrupt energy firm East Cameron Partners LP, which in 2006 became the first U.S. company to issue the most popular type of Islamic-friendly instrument, known as a sukuk. One question: whether the bondholders actually own a portion of the company's oil and gas. As such cases work their way through courts, or are resolved without court intervention, "they may give some guidance to investors on the default of sukuk and how this would be resolved," says Mohamed Damak, an analyst with ratings firm Standard & Poor's in Paris. Source: Daniel Pipes
 Mirna Sleiman | March 10
DUBAI'S public prosecutor has indicted several businessmen and former bank executives on charges of bribery and fraud, alleging they defrauded Dubai Islamic Bank of more than 1.84 billion UAE dirhams ($791 million), an official bill of indictment shows.
Amid several government probes in the city-state, a handful of executives at some of Dubai's leading real-estate and financial firms have been detained for questioning.
In the past several years, analysts say, regulation in Dubai has failed to keep up with the pace of growth. In the good times, investors didn't fret much about such shortcomings. Now, as the economy slows, regulators are trying to rein in the offshore boomtown.
The bill of indictment is the latest event in a months-long investigation at DIB. The largest traded Islamic lender in the United Arab Emirates, DIB is a major force in Islamic banking in the Middle East.
The prosecution's bill of indictment - which formally notifies suspects that charges have been brought against them - names seven suspects in the case, two of whom have fled the country, according to the bill of indictment seen by Zawya Dow Jones.
According to the bill of indictment, British businessmen Charles Ridley and Ryan Cornelius, along with Turkish businessman Erin Nil, embezzled $US501 million from DIB through forged invoices and fake deals. The alleged deals were done between 2004 and 2007, according to the bill of indictment.
Former DIB employees Omair Mooraj and Rifat Usmani, both holders of Pakistani passports, are accused of receiving a total of $US1.7 million in alleged bribes to facilitate the financing of the deals, according to the bill of indictment. Zia Usmani, identified as a US businessman, is also accused in the bill of defrauding the bank of $US2 million.
Zia Usmani and Mr Nil have left Dubai, according to the bill of indictment. Zawya Dow Jones was unable to make contact with either man or their representatives. The other men have been detained by Dubai police, according to the bill of indictment.
Dubai police also are holding Arthur Fitzwilliam, the British owner of Dubai-based real-estate developer Plantation Holdings, in connection with the case, according to the bill of indictment.
Habib Al Mulla, a Dubai-based lawyer representing Mr Mooraj, told Zawya Dow Jones on Monday that he will "defend his client in court rigorously by all legal means."
"We believe he has not violated any applicable laws in the country," Mr. Al Mulla said. Mr. Al Mulla confirmed that the case has now been referred to court.
Dubai Public Prosecution officials couldn't be reached for comment. Dubai Islamic Bank officials weren't available for further comment on the case.
DIB shares fell 0.9 per cent on Monday to 2.29 dirhams on the Dubai Financial Market. The stock is down about 75 per cent since the beginning of June. Source: The Australian
By Supna Zaidi On November 6, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department hosted a seminar on Islamic banking to train government employees on Sharia-compliant finance (SCF). According to a press release, it was “designed to help inform the policy community about Islamic financial services, which are an increasingly important part of the global financial industry.” It is interesting to note that while many in the West deride parallel societies, the lack of integration, and overall “foreign-ness” of its Muslim populations, they have no problem embracing Islamic banking. Maybe because this is the one area of religious “encroachment” that allows the West to make money, and lots of it. Read more ...Source: Pajamas MediaU.S. Government
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award
Md. Rasooldeen | Arab News
RIYADH: The US government is currently studying the salient features of Islamic banking to ascertain how far it could be useful in fighting the ongoing world economic crisis, Robert M. Kimmitt, US deputy secretary of the Treasury, said at a press conference held at the US Embassy here yesterday.
Kimmitt, who is on an official visit to the Kingdom, also held discussions with Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. Today, he is scheduled to meet Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Gov. Hamad Al-Sayari, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Gov. Amr Al-Dabbagh, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, and Saudi investors and bankers. He said that the agenda for the G-20 summit to be held in Washington on Nov. 15, has to be carefully prepared since important topics are to be discussed in just one day. “I am not sure that Islamic banking will also be itemized in the agenda, but it is a subject that is often dwelt in the public and private sectors,” he noted. He said that experts in the US Treasury Department are currently learning the important features of Islamic banking.
However, he added that his country is focusing on activities of various governments and central banks in tackling the economic issues. He pointed out that the member countries in the G-20 also includes Islamic countries such as Indonesia and Turkey, besides the Kingdom which has been a member for the past 10 years. Representatives from these countries could present their experiences of Islamic banking in the light of the prevailing situation.
He hoped the G-20 summit will provide an effective platform for the member countries to exchange their views on the current economic problem and lay out a plan for the countries to draw out their respective national plans to ease the situation.
Commenting on his meeting with Al-Assaf, Kimmitt said the items that could be included in the agenda were also discussed. “The geographical representation from member countries would provide a broader view of the crisis and would also benefit the non-member countries through their experiments,” he added.
The G-20 summit, said Kimmitt, was proposed by Europeans which was readily accepted by President George W. Bush, who is seeking a common response to the global crisis.
Spelling out the purpose of his visit to Saudi Arabia, Kimmitt said that he has been associating with the Kingdom for more than two decades, but this is a significant visit since he was coming to the Kingdom at a time when there is a threat to the global financial market. “It’s an opportunity for me to present the US perspective ... and hear from the Saudi leadership on the current situation in the Kingdom and in the region,” he said, adding that even at a time of crisis, US wants to stress its commitment to tell the countries in the region of the US open investment policies.
Pointing out that a good number of American investors are coming to the Kingdom, Kimmitt said the US government expects reciprocation in the same manner. The deputy secretary is slated to visit the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq where he would meet the leadership and investors on similar lines. Source: Arab News
Classes are teaching financing methods that conform to holy laws as field expands into a global industryBy Deborah Horan
Amir Davoodi had read about the meteoric rise of Islamic banking, but the senior finance major at DePaul University didn't realize how intrigued he would become with the idea of mixing Islam and market finance until he took a course on the subject last fall.
Now Davoodi has accepted an internship with a local Islamic real estate company, Sunrise Equities, and might pursue the banking niche after graduation. Source: Chicago TribuneH/T: Dhimmi WatchDePaul University
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award
By Tarek Fatah It seems only yesterday that Premier Dalton McGuinty declared: "There will be no sharia law in Ontario." Many of us, who witnessed the medieval nature of manmade sharia laws in our countries of birth, heaved a sigh of relief back in September of 2005. We thought this was the end of the attempt by Islamists to sneak sharia into a Western jurisdiction. We were wrong. The campaign to introduce sharia is back. Last time, the campaign took a populist approach, invoking multiculturalism. This time, the pro-sharia lobby is dangling the carrot of new niche markets and has the backing of Canada's major banks. Such icons of the corporate world as Citibank NA, HSBC Holdings PLC, and Barclays PLC have endorsed sharia banking and have started offering Islamic financing products to a vulnerable Muslim population. Read more ...Source: Globe and MailH/T: Atlas
By Patrick Wood The Bible warns that "... the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil" (1 Ti. 6:10) So, just when you think you have just about seen it all, something even more shocking turns up. Like this… Either global bankers are seducing Islamic dictators, or vice versa. Even if they are seducing each other at the same time, the result will be the same: Islamic/Shari’a banking is coming to the United States and other western nations, thanks to global banks such as Citigroup, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. With Great Britain now pledging to become the Islamic banking center of the world, the stampede by all global banks to enter the world of Islamic banking is well underway. Western banking met Islam many decades ago, but only began to sleep with her a few years ago. Since then, it is has become a wanton and open affair. The implications for the west, and especially for the United States, are staggering. Because all Islamic banking products must be created and offered according to strict Shari'a law, global banks are doing for Islam what it could never do on its own: give legitimacy to Shari'a and infiltrate it into the fabric of western society. Read more ...Source: Canada Free PressH/T: The Intelligence Summit
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by Daniel Atzori
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