This week in Oman, the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) will hold a workshop covering “Standards on Risk Management, Corporate and Shariah Governance for Institutions offering Islamic Financial Services.” This event isn’t particularly noteworthy but it does provide a teaching moment for those who have doubts that Shariah-Compliant Finance’s first and foremost purpose is to […]
Due to the lack of Shariah scholars in the Islamic world–even in Saudi Arabia–Islamic financial institutions are literally “outsourcing” the Shariah advisory function. In Saudi Arabia, one manifestation of that is the “Shariah Review Bureau,” a separate entity that provides Shariah advisory services to a variety of Islamic financial institutions. But already Western observers will […]
The article linked below is pro-Shariah Finance, but it brings up a good point. It doesn’t get to that point until the second half of the article, but it does eventually get to an interesting point. The article points out that the Shariah Finance industry is overly dependent on a few Shariah scholars, which is […]
Shariah Finance Watch hears from Mr. Oliver Agha, a Shariah Compliant Lawyer
Recently, Shariah Finance Watch received the letter below in response to a posting we published on 31 January. (https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2012/01/31/is-shariah-compliant-finance-a-failure-a-self-serving-answer-from-the-financial-jihadis/) To Whom It May Concern: I write to clarify certain facts and set the record straight in relation to an article published on-line and displayed on the website “Shariah Finance Watch” on January 31, 2012 […]
The intrepid and illustrious Joy Brighton weighs in on Goldman Sachs’ ridiculous foray into the world of Shariah-Compliant Finance. This is an excellent article that regretfully we previously overlooked… Excerpt and LINK: In September 2011, Goldman Sachs announced it would issue a $2 billion Shariah Compliant Islamic Bond derivative known as a “Sukuk” to finance […]
Shariah Finance Certification Tied to Jihadist-led Organization
A UAE-based firm named Ethica has become the industry leader “for accredited training and certification in Islamic finance.” Experts say that what probably sets Ethica apart is that their 4-month Certified Islamic Finance Executive™(CIFE™) certification is the only 100% AAOIFI-compliant, 100% online Islamic finance program in the market today. AAOIFI stands for the Accounting and […]
Nearly two years ago, SFW published an article in which we uncovered that a Kuwaiti real estate investment concern had successfully imposed Shariah on tenants of its facilities in Colorado by refusing to allow certain types of businesses to operate and activities to take place on their property: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2009/08/17/kuwait-islamic-bank-successfully-imposes-shariah-in-the-usa-courtesy-of-udr/ The article didn’t get any particular […]
Accountants play a vital role in the world of finance. They are supposed to be the unbiased analysts and observers of data who help keep the rest of us from making egregious mistakes either based on emotion or because we simply lack the sophistication to decipher the numbers to fully understand a financial arrangement. Unfortunately, […]
Gulf states are working towards the creation of a single Sharia board for the region’s Islamic financial institutions, said Hussain Hamed Hassan, head of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC’s Sharia committee and chairman of the Sharia Coordination Committee of the Islamic Financial Institutions in the UAE. Speaking at the launch of Hawkamah Institute’s policy brief on […]
The Shariah Scholar Shortage Problem
Both opponents and proponents of Shariah finance recognize that there are relatively few Shariah scholars available to serve as advisers to financial institutions. Proponents of Shariah finance see this as a problem in that it could inhibit the global growth of the industry. Opponents see the shortage from a different perspective. First of all, several […]
Many thanks to the intrepid Janet Levy for this translation of an article from a German blog dated 18 March… The Kraken [ed. a type of giant squid – making reference to the tentacles] of Islamic Banking. A hand full of Sharia-Mullahs watch over the Islamic banking institution. Men like Mohammed Elgari from Saudi Arabia, Abdul […]
Euromoney.com is once again giving out awards for compliance to the financial wing of the barbaric, medieval doctrine known as Shariah. They have a whole host of awards to dole out (no fewer than 19 awards in the field of “Islamic” finance), which probably indicates that these awards are a convoluted effort to drum up […]
Qatar Islamic Bank, the leading Shariah-compliant financial institution in Qatar and owner of the largest Shariah-compliant banking network in the world, has been chosen as the Bank of the Year by the Arabian Business Awards. We at SFW are certainly not celebrating this occasion, but we bring it up for a very good reason. Though […]
But Who Will “Police” the Shariah Scholars?
We came across this typically ridiculous article about the role of Shariah scholars in “policing” or “guiding” Shariah-Compliant Finance and decided to use it to illustrate the complete disconnect between the concept of responsible financial regulation in the Western world and that in the Shariah-dominated world. Dr Rusni Hassan, a shariah adviser to HSBC Amanah […]
Spanish-based Allfunds bank has signed on to the financial jihad with their announcement that it has launched an “Islamic Services Unit.” The bank offers 80 Shariah-compliant funds to investors in Spain, Italy, Chile, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and 17 other countries. Allfunds’ Islamic Services Unit was created with a fatwa issued by a Shariah advisory […]
Under the guide of “standardization” of practices, the Taqi Usmani-controlled Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is continuing its campaign to gain control of the Shariah Finance industry. We’ve covered this emerging development for several months here on SFW and it’s worth a review: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/category/aaoifi/ The latest development in this regard is […]
A number of Islamic scholars and economic experts have underscored the need for an overhaul in the Kingdom’s zakat system in a way that would make it more effective and help realize the actual spirit and purpose of zakat in Islam. Of course, this is not altogether good news for the non-Muslim world and non-Jihadist […]
Investor’s Business Daily has a great editorial worth reading. It seems that Obama administration officials are holding summit meetings with lobbyists at Caribou Coffee across from the White House. Caribou Coffee is a Shariah-Compliant business owned by a bank in Bahrain whose Shariah advisory board chair is the Jihadist Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (banned from travel […]
The web site Favstocks.com has published what amounts to propaganda for the financial jihadists. In an online article published on July 1st, the site “explained” “Islamic investing,” touting it as “socially responsible.” This affords us a teaching moment. We will go through the various aspects of the article and deconstruct the propaganda: ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• “Islamic fund […]
More evidence that Usmani-controlled AAOIFI is making a play for control of the entire Shariah Finance industry… Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has adopted three new Shariah standards. This includes a ruling on standards for the disposal of rights, bankruptcy and the management of liquidity, collection and use. http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=BANK&artid=181850
Maybank Islamic, Asia-Pacific’s largest shariah bank, forecast strong financing and deposit growth on Monday but said the lack of business-savvy religious scholars was a challenge to expansion. This fits in with the growing movement to establish a centralized Shariah governing body, which would be outrageously powerful and probably also opaque… http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE65D0C120100614
The central banks of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have called for “reform” of Shariah-Compliant Finance. But their idea of reform simply means more coordination and industry-wide standards by Shariah scholars (men like Sheikh al-Qaradawi and Mufti Usmani), not true reform. No where in their call for reform will you find increased transparency and […]
Andrew Cunningham of the Financial Times recently penned an column that would make any dhimmi proud. He actually sees the solution to Shariah Finance’s woes to be an expanded role “in the boardroom” for Shariah scholars. Worse yet, the context in which he made this proposal was in response to a Kuwaiti Shariah-Compliant company trying […]
The link below contains a strong indictment of how Shariah Finance is practiced by many of the Shariah-Compliant firms in the world. Many, if not most, Shariah firms hire Shariah scholars to form boards to advise them on Shariah and make sure that their products and activities are Shariah-Compliant. This surprising source indicates that this […]
Oxford Analytica Continues to Shill for Shariah
The economic consultancy Oxford Analytica has frequently used its space on Forbes.com to promote Shariah-Compliant Finance. We have pointed this out on SFW in the past: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/?s=Oxford+Analytica Oxford Analytica has taken yet another step to promote financial jihad with an article on Forbes.com. This new article is so overrun with troubling and disturbing aspects that […]
Reader Tim alerted us over the weekend to the fact that Muft Taqi Usmani is no longer listed as chief of HSBC’s Shariah Advisory Board. http://www.hsbcamanah.com/amanah/about-amanah/islamic-banking/shariah-supervision Note, however, that Usmani’s son is now listed as a member of this body. The younger Usmani is considered antiseptic enough for Western financial institutions and has no known […]
Here on SFW, we have profiled a particularly evil Shariah scholar named Taqi Usmani: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2009/05/06/who-controls-shariah-compliant-finance-the-shariah-scholars-of-course/ Among many other things, Usmani is the chief of the Shariah advisory board for HSBC: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2009/02/27/hsbcs-shariah-man/ Usmani is a bad man, an enemy of the West, a Jihadist to the core. In fact, now that his Jihadist philosophy is becoming […]
Are We Financing Our Own Demise?
Gadi Adelman and the intrepid Joy Brighton have just published an outstanding analysis of Shariah-Compliant Finance over on the Financial Security Matters site. Please take the time to read it and pass it on to your friends and associates: http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.5632/pub_detail.asp
AAOIFI moves to seize control of Shariah Finance
In a move that is being hailed by the Western financial media as a positive development, the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has issued a series of standards and procedures for Shariah-Compliance. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE60J0WF20100120?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews&rpc=401 It is hoped that the AAOIFI will “harmonize” standards across the industry. If only Western journalists had bothered […]
Westlaw Joins the Financial Jihad
Westlaw Business, part of Thomson Reuters, and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) today announced their agreement to provide current standards and other Islamic finance industry information for global business law professionals within the Westlaw Business Islamic Finance Center. Does Westlaw know who they are getting in bed with? Are they […]
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