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 […]
OpEdNews Column: The Dark Side of Saudi Petrodollars
There is a nice column over on OpEdNews by a man named Brian Lynch touching on Saudi Arabia’s funding of Jihadist terrorism. The column doesn’t break any new ground, but it does provide links to other recent columns by other authors dealing with the same subject matter. It is also interesting in that the column […]
The effort by some in the United Kingdom to allow Shariah to infiltrate their legal system and culture through the financial back door continues apace. The latest push saw London’s deputy mayor travel to an “Islamic finance” conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to promote his hometown as a center for Shariah-compliant finance. From ArabianBusiness.com: Britain […]
A foreign subsidiary of United Technologies did work for the Paris branch of Iran’s Bank Melli (one of the largest Shariah-compliant banks in the world), despite US sanctions… http://www.courant.com/business/hc-united-technologies-iran-20130726,0,3896642.story
SFW readers may have noticed more than a few articles covering Oman in recent months. That’s because Oman has clearly been targeted by the financial jihadis to make its financial and banking systems Shariah-compliant. Oman, along with Morocco, is a comparative newcomer to Shariah compliance, but it is making up for it… Marking a milestone […]
At SFW we have said for a long time that Shariah-Compliant Finance and Shariah Banking are contrary to the principles of free enterprise. In fact, they are prime examples of centralized control of the economy. The latest proof comes from Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation on earth, where the central government is leading the […]
Shariah banking experts have called on the Central Bank of Egypt to tailor its policies regarding Shariah banking services to be more in line with those of Shariah banks themselves. The call came during the fourth annual conference of the Egyptian Islamic Finance Association, during which the association launched its index of shares compatible with […]
A Lebanese bank that laundered money from drugs and other operations for clients tied to Hezbollah terrorists agreed to pay US authorities $102 million to settle the charges. Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank was targeted in February 2011 for moving hundreds of millions of dollars for criminal groups and traffickers operating in Latin America, West Africa […]
America’s First Shariah-Compliant Bankruptcy
In New York, Judge Sean Lane approved Arcapita Bank’s $175 million bankruptcy loan from Goldman Sachs to pull the bankrupt Shariah-compliant entity out of receivership… There is some debate as to whether the arrangement is actually Shariah-compliant, but Arcapita’s Shariah advisory board have declared the arrangement Shariah-compliant so that’s all it takes. (Talk about a […]
The emergence of Shariah-compliant Finance in Tunisia is hardly surprising given the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist factions in the wake of the so-called “Arab spring.” According to Reuters, Shariah-compliant finance could gain as much as a 40% marketshare in Tunisia. A poll in Tunisia indicates that 54% of respondents would switch their […]
A British minister called for turning London into a global center for Shariah finance on the 69th anniversary of D-Day. “It’s about making Britain the preferred choice for the Muslim world to invest in and do business in,” senior Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi claimed in a speech to the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies. “It is […]
Turkey is fast becoming the “poster child” for Islamization and Shariah-Compliant Finance. This is no secret, in fact another post from earlier today pointed this out: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2013/05/31/shariah-banks-thrive-in-previously-secular-turkey/ We also came across another article about the emergence of sukuk, or Shariah-Compliant Bonds in Turkey. As we have pointed out on numerous occasions, sukuk are increasing the […]
Shariah-compliant finance is a key component of the Islamization process and no where is this more apparent than Turkey, which, until just over a decade ago, was a largely secular nation. Today Turkey is ruled by an Islamist regime, the Gulenist movement is taking over its security services and, predictably, Shariah banks are popping up […]
Arcapita, one of the most notorious Shariah-Compliant international conglomerates, with a major office in Atlanta, Georgia, is looking for money to it can complete a “Shariah-Compliant” bankruptcy, something that would be the first of its kind in the USA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is already providing Arcapita $350 million in bankruptcy exit financing, is now seeking […]
The article linked below contains a brief explanation of Shariah-Compliant mortgages here in the US… Shari’ah compliant mortgage financing has been available in the United States for over a decade. Research into how these mortgages are structured reveals the details behind this Islamic finance program and how it differs from the standard FNMA mortgage loan […]
Islamic Bank of Britain Promotes Zakat
One of the most troubling and controversial aspects of Shariah-Compliant Finance is the system of zakat that plays a key role for Shariah-compliance. Zakat is a system of tithing in Islam, except that it goes way beyond what Westerners think of as “tithing” or “alms giving.” While some in the Shariah Finance industry deny that […]
In a sure signal of the direction that the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to take Egypt, a Shariah Finance specialist has been appointed as the country’s Finance Minister… The new Finance Minister, Fayyad Abdel Moneim, a relative unknown with a PhD in economics from Al Azhar University, is Egypt’s 5th finance minister since the revolution. He […]
Despite the combined efforts of Islamist regimes in the Islamic world and the appeasing government in the United Kingdom, Shariah-Compliant Finance has yet to take off in Britain. In fact, it’s struggling and financial firms are abandoning it. One reason is that the weapon of choice in Shariah-Compliant Finance, sukuk, also known as Islamic bonds […]
Lawfare to Attack Terrorism Financiers
Many SFW readers are very aware that the Jihadists effectively use “lawfare” to suppress free speech in the West and to try to prevent any scrutiny of Islamic doctrine. Some of that lawfare has been directed against those who point out those who finance Jihad. The most notable example was the libel tourism lawsuit against […]
Shariah-Compliant Finance Continues its Creep into Egypt
As anticipated, Shariah-Compliant Finance is making headway into the Egyptian financial system and economy. The latest evidence comes from the announcement that the Egyptian Electricity Ministry has inked its first ever Shariah-compliant financing contract with the help of National Bank for Development (NBD) and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. The $110 million deal is the first […]
Oman was formerly one of the last holdouts in the Middle East to incorporating Shariah-Compliant Finance and Shariah banking in its economy. That has slowly been changing and now the first Shariah bank, Bank Nizwa, has opened its doors in Oman. http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-5918.aspx?
Money Jihad blog’s short list of Shariah banks that fund terrorism
Money Jihad blog is one of the most invaluable web sites in existence for anyone who is concerned with how Jihadist terrorism is supported and funded. That is why we link to it so frequently here on SFW. Money Jihad’s latest work is a prime example of why we like the blog so much: they have […]
Trouble in Shariah Finance Paradise?
As we have reported multiple times over the years, Iran dominates the world of Shariah-compliant finance. In fact, according to the UK-based publication The Banker, Iran has more Shariah-compliant assets under management and in Shariah-compliant financial institutions than any other nation on earth. Furthermore, the top Shariah-compliant financial institutions in the world are Iranian state-controlled banks. Iran […]
Note that this mechanism is essentially a convoluted construct to replicate interest payments, without calling them interest payments… The Islamic Bank of Britain has reported a 63% rise in take-up of its home financing products for the first three quarters of 2012. The growth in demand for the Sharia-compliant bank’s alternative to mortgages was fuelled […]
More on Samar Ali, Tennessee’s Shariah Finance Specialist
Over the summer, we reported on Samar Ali, an attorney specializing in Shariah Finance, who was appointed to an economic development position by the governor of Tennessee. https://shariahfinancewatch.org/?s=Samar+Ali&submit.x=13&submit.y=2 Recently, Arnold Ahlert published more details on Ali and her family background at FrontPageMag.com… http://frontpagemag.com/2012/arnold-ahlert/a-sharia-financier-in-the-tn-governors-office/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=949dbe3deb-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
Kuwaiti Turkish Banking Firm Aims to Become First Shariah Bank in Germany
Kuwait Finance House’s Turkish operation, Kuveyt Turk, has applied for a German banking licence and aims to become the first Shariah-compliant bank in Germany. The bank says that if their German venture is successful, they will expand to other European countries. Note that the bank aims to pursue non-Muslim depositors in Germany… Kuveyt Turk aims […]
Lawsuit Against Arab Bank in Sniper Attack Dismissed
A lawsuit filed by a man injured by a terrorist sniper in Israel against Arab Bank for its role in funding HAMAS has unfortunately been dismissed. Money Jihad blog has an excellent synopsis of Arab Bank’s activities, which we can’t possibly improve upon: The judge’s ruling can be paraphrased as: Well, Arab Bank may have […]
Bangladesh, Banking and Terrorism Financing
“Some linkages between Islamic Banking and terrorist organizations have now been brought into the open, but the networks have not been dismantled.” Bangladesh has a long history of weakness on money laundering and the use of banks to funnel money to Jihadist terrorist organizations. The country is now on the verge of being blacklisted for […]
In Nigeria, a bank offering “interest-free” loans to poor farmers back in 2009 in conjunction with a Shariah court judge, is now under investigation for fraud. Readers may want to take note that Nigeria is being wracked by a violent jihad these days: http://vinienco.com/2012/11/26/twelve-christian-pastors-killed-muslims-nigeria/ http://vinienco.com/2012/11/26/muslim-suicide-bombers-kill-eleven-christians-attending-sunday-church-service-nigeria/ As has so often been the case, violent jihad is […]
Singapore investors flock to Abu Dhabi Bank Sukuk Offer
Here we have more confirmation that sukuk (Shariah-compliant bonds) are the weapon of choice in spreading Shariah finance around the world. Investors in Singapore are not known for their appetite for Shariah-compliant investments, but they seem to have warmed up to a sukuk issued by a major bank in the UAE… http://www.asiaone.com/A1Business/General%2BNews/Story/Mega%2Bsukuk%2Bissue%2Bcreates%2Bripples%2Bhere.html
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