More Propaganda from the Shariah Finance Industry
posted by Christopher W. Holton Bloomberg, one of the biggest financial news conglomerates in the world, has published a story about a report out of Australia by Melbourne’s Deakin Business School, which essentially calls for all investors to consider Shariah Compliant Financial products as safe havens during times of crisis. This is a tired old, […]
Toxic Propaganda from the Financial Jihadists on Shariah Finance
By Christopher W. Holton Periodically we see articles and marketing pieces come out promoting Shariah-compliant finance as somehow more “ethical” than conventional finance. In fact, Shariah finance is often promoted as the ethical substitute to conventional finance and promoters of Shariah finance, notably Sheikh Youssef De Lorenzo, who has written that Shariah finance should be […]
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 […]
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 […]
“Ethical Investing” from Countries Overrun With Corruption?
Transparency.org has publishes a Corruption Perceptions Index that rates the level of corruption in the world’s nations. The most recent year for which there is data is 2011. The results are instructive for observers of Shariah Compliant Finance. Shariah-Compliant Finance is often touted by the financial jihadists as “ethical” investment. There are a variety of […]
Here we go again: Financial Times continues spread of the myth of “ethical” Shariah Finance
The financial jihadists have many enablers and useful idiots in the West who help them with their dawa’h mission to spread Shariah through economic imperialism. One surfaced today in the Financial Times. Like many in the financial media, the Financial Times has acted more like a cheerleader for Shariah Finance than as a responsible journalistic organization. […]
Shariah Finance Watch editor briefs Congressional staffers on Shariah-Compliant Finance
Recently we had the opportunity to brief staff members from 10 Congressional offices on the threat of Shariah Finance. The briefing was recorded and we have posted the full 1-hour briefing here for SFW viewers… Shariah Compliant Finance and Financial Jihad
Irish Attorney: “Financial shock would never have happened under shariah”
Every once in a while we come across a story that is really outrageous. Some or outrageous because they are inaccurate. Others are outrageous because they are simply offensive. Today we bring to you an article from John King, an attorney with one of Ireland’s most prominent law firms, in which he makes the case […]
We have covered HSBC frequently here on SFW, but Forbes and Reuters have just broken a story that paints a picture of HSBC as a financial institution out of control when it comes to vigilance against money laundering. We first reported on HSBC’s deplorable money laundering policies almost a year ago when it was announced […]
A firm called Ethical Asset Management in the UK is launching a Sukuk fund for individual investors. This is fairly unremarkable, but the designation “ethical” is worth commenting on. Ethical is a subjective term. To most Westerners, there is little or nothing ethical about Shariah. On the contrary, many of the tenets of Shariah are […]
Australia is about to get their first Shariah-compliant equity fund and the fund distributor is already busy touting the fund to capture money from non-Muslims by fraudulently claiming that his fund is “socially responsible.” We’ve covered much of this before on SFW, but it never hurts to refresh ourselves to debunk the notion that Shariah-Compliant […]
An Iranian businessman, Amir-Mansour Aria, has been accused of defrauding the world’s second largest Shariah-compliant bank out of $2.6 billion. SFW readers may recall us mentioning the bank, Bank Saderat, from time to time: https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2009/08/12/shariah-compliant-finance-helps-terrorist-banks-in-iran/ Bank Saderat is second only to Iran’s Bank Melli on the list of largest Shariah-compliant financial institutions in the world. Iranian […]
One concern about Shariah Finance is the whole shadowy practice of “purification,” in which “ill-gotten gain” is donated to Muslim charities selected by Shariah advisors to literally “purify” a fund or financial institution that may have garnered income or gains from some haram (forbidden) source. There is obviously a moral hazard here with the potential […]
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 […]
Unfortunately, the British continue to invite the financial jihadists into their investment houses and banks, determined that this will attract shiploads of petrodollars without impacting British culture, society and security. Before dismissing the notion that Shariah finance could introduce nefarious elements into a Western host nation, readers should remind themselves that the whole purpose of […]
Chicago seems to be famous for two things these days: the presence of disturbing Jihadists and corruption. The story linked below combines those two elements. It seems three Muslim men, Salman Ibrahim, Mohammad Akbar Zahid and Amjed Mahmood, put together an investment swindle to illegally borrow money from Chicago banks and bilk investors out of […]
Hyperion Asset Management, a Brisbane, Australia-based money management firm is the responsible party for allowing the camel’s nose to get under the tent in Australia. “We are delighted to welcome the Hyperion Australian Equity Islamic Fund to Bahrain,” said Economic Development Board chief executive officer Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa. “This reflects the growing […]
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 […]
Yesterday, SFW posted a disturbing article detailing Sheikh Yusuf al-Qardawi’s instructions on zakat (Islamic alms giving): https://shariahfinancewatch.org/2010/05/07/more-definitive-proof-of-zakat-funding-jihad/ Some readers may be skeptical that the views of a man living in Qatar, as expressed to another man living in Egypt, would be relevant in the United States. Not only are Qaradawi’s views relevant because he is […]
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 […]
For those who ignore the issue of zakat in Shariah-Compliant Finance, the photograph below should be a revelation. It shows an executive with a Malaysian Islamic Bank handing over a zakat payment to a zakat official with the Malaysian government. At this point we don’t know if a portion of that money will end up […]
Shariah Banking Takes Aim At India
As we have mentioned from time to time on SFW, the financial jihadists have their sights set squarely on India–and many in India are resisting. The article linked below is a prime example of the misinformation and deception often characteristic of the Shariah Finance industry. When taking a close look at the article, notice three […]
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
Dow Jones has been shilling for Shariah-Compliant Finance for some time now. After all, the Dow Jones Islamic Index employed the Jihadist Shariah scholar Taqi Usmani as chair of its Shariah advisory board for a long time before rival Investors Business Daily exposed them. Now the flagship Wall Street Journal has published a piece on […]
Sales of bonds that comply with Islamic laws will remain “weaker” this year as investors shun riskier, higher-yielding assets on concern governments will struggle to repay debt. Sales of the bonds known as sukuk have totalled $564 million so far this year, compared with $2.5 billion for the first quarter last year, according to data […]
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the Corporate Family (CFR) and Probability of Default Ratings (PDR) of Kuwait-based National Industries Group Holding S.A.K. (NIG) and the debt ratings on the USD 475 million sukuk issued by NIG Sukuk Limited to B1 from Ba3. These sukuk are basically “junk Islamic bonds.” So much for the idea that […]
As we reported here on October 27th and November 2nd of 2009, the first Shariah-Compliant bank will soon open in Germany. https://shariahfinancewatch.org/category/germany/ Germany’s first Islamic bank, a unit of Kuveyt Turk Bank of Turkey, is to open its doors in early 2010 in the southern city of Mannheim by the end of March. Germany has […]
From time to time, readers will email us asking for a list of Shariah-Compliant companies. A complete version of such a list is extremely difficult to come by. Some of the better sources for such a listing would be the annual and semi-annual reports of the various Shariah-Compliant investment funds. These reports usually include portfolio […]
BBC: Islamic Finance is a Dishonest Business Run by Dishonest People
The BBC has published an article by Mr. John Foster, who used to be editor of “Islamic Business & Finance” magazine. The topic of the article is described by its title: “How Sharia-Compliant is Islamic Banking?” But it is not really the topic which makes the article interesting. It is the details which make it […]
Dubai’s golden sands lose their luster
“Investors trapped by the financial storm in the United Arab Emirates are in unknown legal territory as they try to protect their billions.” (The Times, 10 December 2009) The Dubai default debacle demonstrates in stark detail how the lack of transparency and failure to disclose relevant facts make Shariah Finance risky. Long ago–decades ago–the rest […]
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