The Philippines’ state-owned Al -Amanah Islamic Bank may sell the nation’s first Shariah- compliant bonds to finance development in Muslim Mindanao the poorest region and base of Abu Sayyaf separatist militants.
Global sales of debt that conform to Shariah law fell 29 percent to $6.65 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mindanao is a base of the Abu Sayyaf, which is linked to al-Qaeda. The introduction of Shariah-Compliant bonds into the region should be cause for concern since the government in Manila very nearly entered into an agreement with Islamic Jihadist terrorists two years to allow them to rule large areas of Mindanao by Shariah law. Only the country’s supreme court ruling striking down the truce prevented Shariah from being established. Tens of thousands of non-Muslims lived in the area that was to be fed to Shariah.
Now Shariah appears to be creeping in through the financial back door…
Yikes, have we reached the point of no return in the Philippines?