CNN has a pretty good article that summarizes just where Al Qaeda is getting its money. Regular readers of Shariah Finance Watch will not be surprised by what CNN points out. CNN’s article identifies 4 primary sources of funding for Al Qaeda: “…wealthy individual patrons, infiltrated charities, criminal activities and legitimate businesses.” They are incorrect […]
Meezan Bank, which was named the “Best Islamic Bank in Pakistan” in 2010, recently held the 17th annual meeting of its Shariah Supervisory Board. That board is chaired by Mufti Taqi Usmani. We’ve decided to commemorate this event with a repeat of our dossier on Usmani, who, keep in mind, is the Shariah finance world’s […]
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 […]
Qatar Moves to Shut Down Shariah-Compliant Divisions of International Banks
Hat tip to Creeping Sharia for this find… For years now SFW has warned big Western banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays about the perils of dabbling in Shariah-Compliant Finance. Each of these banks, but HSBC in particular, has happily jumped in bed with the financial jihadists to get their piece of the Shariah-Compliant […]
Afghanistan’s central bank expects an Islamic banking law to be enacted by September. The central bank’s sharia board will meet Sunday to finalize the law, said Muhammed Qaseem Rahimi, director general of the central bank’s Financial Supervision Department. It will then go to the Justice Ministry and parliament for approval. “Most of the people who […]
Bankers in Islamic finance are increasingly outsourcing sharia supervision due to a lack of scholars in the industry, but critics say this is making the sector even less transparent and slowing its development. Instead of maintaining their own costly sharia boards with prominent scholars, bankers are increasingly using consultancy firms that directly deal with the […]
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 […]
The Shariah finance standard-setting body AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) said it would overhaul rules governing Islamic finance scholars whose role and potential conflicts of interest have come under increased scrutiny. Most Shariah-Compliant financial institutions are vying to attract the same small number of influential scholars to their boards, and some of […]
Civil law and Shariah continue to butt up against each other, this time in Malaysia, where lawyers, bankers and Shariah scholars have had to assess the Shariah Finance industry where Sukuk holders rank in priority of payment when default occurs. A near-default in December of the dollar-denominated Sukuk from Dubai property developer Nakheel created fears […]
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 […]
The link below will send you to an interview of an insurance executive in Pakistan. Much of the interview makes Takaful seem like just another form of insurance. But there is a stark warning sign in the preface to the Q&A which should put you on guard: “An independent Shari’ah Advisory Board chaired by Mufti […]
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 […]
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 […]
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), unveiled its new brand identity in line with its vision to become a top tier global Islamic financial services group and to deliver on its mission of providing “Islamic financial solutions for the Global community”. ADIB also introduces a new slogan that captures its commitment to provide world-class, ethical banking […]
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 […]
We are very pleased to bring to SFW readers a submission from a financial insider who has seen the world of Shariah-Compliant Finance up close and personal, David Clark. David has spent several years structuring Shariah compliant finance deals. In this time he had access to the leading Islamic scholars and Shariah boards and learned just what a joke “Islamic finance” […]
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
Saudi Zakat for Jihadist Terrorists
Regular readers of SFW know that one of the chief concerns that never seems to get addressed by the financial media or Western promoters of Shariah-Compliant Finance is the issue of money finding its way into the hands of Jihadist terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda, HAMAS, Lashkar-e-Taiba and others. Shariah-Compliant financial institutions must donate […]
Islamic finance needs regulation: experts
Linked below is an article from Reuters which is covering a Reuters-sponsored event promoting Shariah-Compliant Finance. On its face, it appears to be calling for something good and positive: regulation of Shariah Finance to prevent another Dubai debacle. But a closer inspection of the facts reveals that this is simply a call for more foxes […]
More on AAOIFI’s moves to seize control of 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. https://shariahfinancewatch.org/category/aaoifi/ AAOIFI employs notoriously hateful Shariah scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani and counts representatives of the central banks of known terrorist sponsors Iran, Sudan […]
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 […]
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