The Shariah-Compliant Finance sector has been affected by the downturn in the global economy. Asset growth slowed in 2009 according to the Islamic finance report from International Financial Services London (IFSL), an independent organization. http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/hedge-funds-review/news/1588694/islamic-finance-market-growth-faced-slow-2009? This is more evidence that runs counter to the propaganda from the Shariah Finance industry claiming immunity from the economic [...]
More on AAOIFI’s moves to seize control of Shariah Finance
On January 27, 2010 · In AAOIFI, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Sharia Compliant, Shariah Boards, Shariah Finance
SFW has published a half dozen articles on the shadowy financial jihadist organization AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions) and its growing influence in the world of Shariah Finance. http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/category/aaoifi/ AAOIFI employs notoriously hateful Shariah scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani and counts representatives of the central banks of known terrorist sponsors Iran, Sudan [...]
Dubai Debts Prompt Review of Shariah Finance
On January 14, 2010 · In Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Economic Crisis, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
SFW has long maintained–and pointed out–that Shariah-Compliant Finance is in now way immune to market and economic forces and thus cannot provide a safe haven in the event of economic or financial crisis. We point this out because so many financial jihadists routinely commit fraud by claiming that Shariah Finance is protected by the principles [...]
Islamic Finance and Women
On January 14, 2010 · In Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, Women's Rights Under Shariah Law
The article linked below is so incredibly preposterous that we hardly know where to begin to comment on it. It begins by stating that “Islam honors women…enhancing their standing [in society] and granting them their full unabridged rights.” The authors must be talking about some version of Islam practiced on the planet Venus. Nevertheless, the [...]
Money Fleeing Malaysia
On January 12, 2010 · In Defaults, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
Here on Shariah Finance Watch we have documented that Malaysia is ground zero in the Pacific Rim for Shariah Finance: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/category/malaysia/ Almost all of the financial news out of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur over the past year has been centered around “Islamic” finance and banking. The country’s prime minister and other cabinet members [...]
Another Kuwaiti bank converts to Shariah compliance
On January 12, 2010 · In Islamic Banking, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Kuwait, Sharia Compliant, Shariah Banking, Shariah Finance
Bank of Kuwait and Middle East (BKME) is undergoing a change to become fully Shariah-compliant. The bank’s chairman Hamad Al Marzouq says that the bank will formally go Shariah-compliant starting from the second quarter of 2010 and that to signify the transformation to Shariah compliance BKME will be renamed as Al Ahli Al Muttahad. BKME [...]
No nation in the world is more active in promoting and exporting Shariah Finance than the nation of Malaysia. Illustrating that is the fact that there are more entries for Malaysia on this blog than for any other country name, except for Iran and Saudi Arabia. http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/category/malaysia/ Also, a Malaysian bank, CIMB Islamic, just received [...]
Islamists in Kuwait debate loans and interest
On January 5, 2010 · In Interest, Islam, Islamic Economics, Islamic Law, Kuwait, Salafism, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Compliant, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, Usury
We found an interesting article on Kuwait Times this morning. It seems that the Kuwaiti parliament is debating whether or not to “write” off interest on government loans to its citizens. It has been claimed for decades that interest is forbidden in Islam–either charging it or paying it. As a result of that portion of [...]
Oxford professor calls for “branding” of Islam
On January 5, 2010 · In Britain, Islam, Islamic Economics, Islamic Law, Islamization, Shariah Law, Taqiyya, United Kingdom
Ample business and market opportunities await Islamic companies in Muslim and non-Muslim countries if they can execute effective branding strategy, according to a branding expert from Oxford University. Dr Paul Temporal, associate fellow at the British university’s business school, said the Islamic values like honesty and cleanliness could provide strong fundamentals for companies to build [...]
Shariah finance: The deadly Jihadist weapon with a dollar sign
On December 31, 2009 · In Abul-Ala Mawdudi, AIG, Center for Security Policy, Citigroup, Creeping Shariah, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Heros against Shariah, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic charities, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Islamization, Jihad, Markets and Trends, Muslim Brotherhood, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Sovereign Wealth Funds, stealth jihad, SUKUK, Takaful, Terror Funding, Zakat
It is highly appropriate that SFW end 2009 by sharing the latest work from one of the true heroes of the Western world in the fight against Shariah: David Yerushalmi. Mr. Yerushalmi’s essay in the Washington Examiner provides both a primer for those unfamiliar with the issue of Shariah Finance, as well as an update [...]
A New Blog Worth Checking Out
On December 18, 2009 · In Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Jihad, Shariah Finance, Terror Funding
Recently, a blog has caught our eye and we’ve been impressed with the perspectives published there. We encourage our readers to check it out…It’s called “Money Jihad.” http://moneyjihad.wordpress.com/
Dubai’s golden sands lose their luster
On December 12, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Abu Dhabi, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Investment Scams, Investment Swindles, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Jurisprudence, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Courts, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, SUKUK, UAE
“Investors trapped by the financial storm in the United Arab Emirates are in unknown legal territory as they try to protect their billions.” (The Times, 10 December 2009) The Dubai default debacle demonstrates in stark detail how the lack of transparency and failure to disclose relevant facts make Shariah Finance risky. Long ago–decades ago–the rest [...]
A Shameless, Shallow Advertorial for Shariah Finance from Oxford Analytica and Forbes.com
On December 12, 2009 · In Abu Dhabi, Credit Dirivatives, Debt Bonds, Defaults, Derivatives, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Financial Institution, Hezbollah, HSBC, Investments, Iran, Islam, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qaradawi, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Shariah Law, SUKUK, Takaful, Taliban, Usmani
Malcom Forbes must be spinning in his grave. His namesake publication’s web site has published an article which basically promotes a financial and economic system which by its very nature seeks to replace capitalism and our free enterprise system: http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/10/islamic-finance-after-dubai-business-oxford-analytica-islamic-finance.html?feed=rss_business In fact, the article reads less like journalism and more like a press release from [...]
Some in the financial world are being forced to admit that Shariah compliance offers no increased protection against crisis than any other method. Some are even admitting things like the fact that the legal systems in Islamic countries are not mature enough to support sophisticated financial derivatives, such as Sukuk (Islamic bonds). Still, in reading [...]
David Yerushalmi is one of America’s foremost experts on Shariah and Shariah-Compliant Finance. Anyone with an interest in this topic should read anything and everything Mr. Yerushalmi has written on the subject. This morning SFW provides a link to his latest work as published by National Review…an especially timely piece which puts the Dubai debacle [...]
What Islam could not achieve in centuries through military aggression, terrorism and political hardball, will now be accomplished by the global banking community that is stampeding to dominate Islamic banking ruled by totalitarian and brutal Shari’a law. Indeed, this brand of Islamic banking is the mother of all Trojan horses. Every citizen of every non-Islamic [...]
Dubai Sheikh Calls International Investors A Bunch Of Suckers
On December 2, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, SUKUK
After bilking international investors out of billions of dollars, Mohammed al-Maktoum blames the investors for Dubai’s financial troubles! In a way he is right. Many Western investors have been suckered in by Shariah Finance… http://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-sheikh-calls-international-investors-a-suckers-2009-12
Shariah Standing in the Way of Creditors Getting Paid in Dubai
On December 2, 2009 · In Debt Bonds, Defaults, Dubai, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Islamic Bank, Economic Crisis, Emirates, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Law, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, SUKUK
Wealthy investors flocked to the “miracle” of Dubai in recent years. Some invested in Islamic bonds, better known as Sukuk. Sukuk are investments concocted to comply with Shariah law (though there is some debate even about that). Now, the very Shariah law under which Sukuk were designed could end up swindling creditors out of a [...]
IFSB to the Rescue!
On November 23, 2009 · In Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Financial Services Board, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Boards, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance
The Islamic Financial Services Board is taking action that is being hailed as a positive move to “enhance the stability” of the Shariah Finance industry. We are underwhelmed. Back on November 5th we posted about this so-called respected organization (the IFSB), but it deserves repeating here: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/category/islamic-financial-services-board/ If you like Jihad and terrorism, you’ll LOVE [...]
More on South Korea’s Slide to Shariah-Compliant Finance
On November 19, 2009 · In Center for Security Policy, Citigroup, Creeping Shariah, Debt Bonds, Divest Terror, Iran, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamization, Salafism, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Compliant, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah Law, South Korea, SUKUK
Linked below is an article which provides a few more details on a subject we have reported on a few times in recent months: the creeping of Shariah finance into South Korea. Before you read this article, we would like to point out a couple of things: 1. Hyundai’s name being mentioned prominently in this [...]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasts free market capitalism at OIC economic conference
On November 12, 2009 · In "Ethical Investment", Ahmadinejad, Investors Business Daily, Iran, Islam, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, OIC, Sharia Compliant, Shariah Finance, Terror Funding, Turkey, Uncategorized
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a featured speaker at the Organization of the Islamic Conference economic summit about which we reported on 9 November: http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2009/11/09/islamic-state-leaders-converge-in-istanbul-for-economic-summit/ In his address to the summit, which some so-called US “allies,” Ahmadinejad called for a replacement of capitalism by an Islamic system of economics. This makes sense since Iran has [...]
Leaders from Islamic states under the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have converged in Istanbul to attend the economy summit of OIC’s Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation. They include Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Kyrgyzstan President Murmanbek Bakiev, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Syrian President [...]
It seems Shariah didn’t protect the OIC after all… http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/05/content_12394241.htm?
Islamic finance board to set liquidity standards (an admission of trouble)
On November 5, 2009 · In Economic Crisis, IFSB, Iran, Islamic Banking, Islamic Economics, Islamic Finance, Islamic Financial Services Board, Islamization, Regulation, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Boards, Shariah Councils, Shariah Finance, Sudan, Syria, Terror, Terror Funding, terrorism
The Islamic Financial Services Board plans create guidelines for shariah-compliant banks to manage liquidity risks as the industry looks to beef up regulation after the financial crisis. Shariah-compliant banking has been hit by sukuk (Islamic bond) defaults and the now-deflated Dubai real estate bubble, though numerous industry spokesmen have spread the lie that Shariah Finance [...]
The Shariah Finance industry, estimated to have an asset value of over $800 billion currently, is forecast to quadruple in size over the next decade, according to the CEO of Qatar’s Doha Bank. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Business_News&subsection=Local+Business&month=November2009&file=Business_News2009110435310.xml
Warren Buffet once called financial derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction.” He also said he did not invest in them because he never invested in anything he did not understand and he didn’t think that ANYONE fully understood derivatives. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan also admitted that he did not fully understand the derivatives markets. [...]
State-controlled Kuwait News Agency has just published an article in which it flat out claims that “The global financial crisis has not hit Islamic finance industry thanks to its sound and strong systems.” This is a lie. They even have the temerity to cite asset levels within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as evidence, completely [...]
The fourth annual IslamicFinance Business Awards — which cite the role that Muslim businesses make to the development of the South African economy and the “upliftment of diverse communities” — were held last week. This is just another sign that Shariah Finance is being used to spread Shariah in nations well removed from historic Islamic [...]
The fast-growing Islamic financial sector needs strong regulation to ensure it never faces the damage suffered by the global system as a result of the financial crisis, Malaysia’s prime minister said yesterday. Najib Razak, whose government oversees one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive Islamic financial sectors, said it was “imperative for the industry [...]
Shariah Finance industry holds award dinner
On November 3, 2009 · In Bahrain, Islamic Banking, Islamic Bonds, Islamic Economics, Islamic Equity Funds, Islamic Finance, Islamic Index, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, murabaha, MURAHABA, Sharia Compliant, Sharia Products, Shariah Banking, Shariah Bonds, Shariah Finance, Shariah insurance, Shariah Mortgage, SUKUK, Takaful
Though it is not the main theme of the article linked below, a major awards dinner was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday night and we thought the listing of recipients was interesting in that it provides insight into the major players working to promote Shariah through its financial arm. It is always also [...]
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