At SFW we have covered Mufti Taqi Usmani extensively over the years. He has long been considered one of the most prominent and influential Shariah scholars in the world of Shariah Compliant Finance.

Mufti Taqi Usmani (Yes, those are his REAL teeth, not part of a Halloween costume)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to many observers, critics and market participants alike, Usmani is the Shariah finance world’s most prolific scholar…he’s also a hateful Jihadist.

Before cashing in with the private sector, Usmani was a Shariah judge on the Supreme Court of Pakistan for 20 years.

In September 2001, Usmani was part of a small delegation of clerics known to be sympathetic to the Taliban in Afghanistan and travelled there to ostensibly convince Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, to turn over Osama Bin Laden to the United States. Information leaked later by some of the clerics present at the meeting indicates that the delegation may have, in fact, tried to stiffen the Taliban’s will to resist.

Usmani is a prolific writer in Urdu, Arabic and English, having published dozens of books and countless articles.

Among his books available in English is a vitriolic attack on Christianity called “What is Christianity” and a broadside against the West and modernity called “Islam and Modernism.”

Here is one particularly revealing quote from “Islam and Modernism:”

“Killing is to continue until the unbelievers pay jizyah (subjugation tax) after they are humbled or overpowered.”

Usmani is well-known for his uncompromising views on the mandatory nature of conducting offensive jihad against non-Muslims “in order to establish the supremacy of Islam” worldwide.

Usmani also complained bitterly at the lack of martyrs to combat American forces in Iraq:

“No one is found having any desire of Shahadah (martyrdom). How many mothers are there who want to sacrifice their sons for the cause of Islam? How many sisters are there who want to say goodbye to their brothers departing to wage jihad against non-believers?”

Usmani referred to Americans in Iraq as “stinking atheists” and “the worst ever butchers and vultures of the world” who are “clawing off the flesh of bodies of innocent Iraqi Muslims.”

According to what Usmani has said and written, aggressive jihad against unbelievers is an Islamic obligation and, as such, does not need any justification.

“For a non-Muslim state to have more pomp and glory than a Muslim state itself is an obstacle, therefore to shatter this grandeur is among the greater objectives of jihad.”

For Taqi Usmani, offensive jihad can be postponed for a time only in cases when the Muslims in question are not strong enough to battle or otherwise challenge the infidels. And so, he advises the Muslims to live peacefully in countries like Britain, for instance, but only until they gain enough power to carry out jihad.

Under Pakistani dictator General Zia al-Haq (1977-1988), himself a zealous advocate of Shariah, Usmani played a key role in the introduction of the Shariah-based punishment code known as the Huddud Ordinance, as well as blasphemy laws and other Shariah injunctions, to the huge detriment of Pakistani justice and civil liberties.

Despite his ties to Jihad, Usmani has served on the Shariah advisory boards of several major Western financial institutions, including HSBC and Dow Jones.

The fact that Usmani has managed to rise to such prominence with so many sophisticated financial institutions is perhaps just as alarming in view of the crazy, paranoid, conspiracy theory-ridden rant posted on the excellent YouTube channel, “ZakatWatch:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xdYumZNDNU&feature=player_embedded

In this two and a half minute video, Usmani blames speculation in the commodities markets for the global recession. And, of course, because “speculation” is not Shariah compliant, the answer to what ails the world, in Usmani’s twisted logic, lies in none other than Shariah.

This of course demonstrates a profound lack of basic knowledge of the commodities futures and options markets. Futures and options don’t create risk, they are a means of transferring risk that is inherent in commodities to those speculators who choose to take on those risks for the possibility of profit.

In other words, the futures markets are a microcosm of capitalism. Since Shariah-Compliant Finance is NOT a form of capitalism and in fact seeks to replace capitalism as the world’s foremost economic system, Usmani has no appreciation for futures trading.

Given all this, why are otherwise educated and sophisticated financial professionals willing to pay kooks like Usmani large amounts of money to exercise a great deal of control over investment policies by banks, funds and other institutions?

 

 

 

 

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