Saturday, April 19, 2008
Investor's Business Daily editorializes on the biggest bribery scam in US history:
...Over the past few years, Harvard University has received millions in endowments from rich Saudi and Emirate sheiks. Now it's returning the favor by Islamizing its campus and promoting the Shariah agenda of its new Arab masters...
...this weekend it hosted a $400-per-person conference on Shariah finance led by officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The goal of the forum -- sponsored by Harvard's Islamic Finance Project -- is to "integrate" Islamic finance into the mainstream economy.
That's a tough fit, because Islamic, or Shariah, finance forbids investment in major Western industries, including those that derive substantial income from interest.
Banking and insurance, as well as alcohol, tobacco or pork-related industries, are not considered "halal," or allowable, under Islam. Entertainment is also unlawful.
Shariah-compliant investments are monitored by paid Shariah law advisers who must "purify" certain returns by donating them to Islamic charities -- including some that promote jihad and support suicide bombings.
With $800 billion already in Shariah assets -- and $1 trillion to $2 trillion in Arab petrodollars annually looking for an investment home -- the potential for billions being siphoned off for terrorism is real...
...One prominent Shariah adviser is Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi [Qaradhawi]. He's a paid adviser to Arcapita (formerly Crescent Capital), which happens to sponsor Harvard's Islamic Finance Project along with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
Al-Qaradawi is an Egyptian who has advocated suicide bombings and described Shariah finance as nothing less than "jihad with money."
He heads the Islamic American University and is a proposed trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston. The director of Harvard's Islamic Finance Project, S. Nazim Ali, is active in both the university and the Islamic Society. Ali is neither an economist nor a scholar. His background is in computers...
Oh yeah, I love the idea of Qaradhawi deciding where it's OK to put your cash. The entire concept is only decades old. The Center for Security Policy -- the only group that seems to be focussed on this issue -- held a press conference on Thursday. Miss Kelly has a post with some of the info on that, here.
With trillions of dollars in play, men will find ways of normalizing the unthinkable. And once it's here, there won't be any way to get rid of it without massive damage to ourselves. It's bad enough our economy is so on the hook to Red China that we excuse away almost everything and grant them all sorts of special favors, now we'll have this thing out there hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles. We'll never be able to extricate ourselves.
This is partly our own fault.
We have sacrificed our nation's greatest asset - our creativity - and largely become a nation of consumers.
We seem to exist to buy stuff.
Maybe we need to refocus?
This is partly our fault because our politicians and bankers have relied on Gulf state sponsors of terrorism to buy stuff from us, regulate oil prices, and apply their "moderate" influence to the middle East.
Gulf states are currently experiencing tulipmania. But high oil prices and global speculation have generated food shortages that are threatening corrupt and shaky regimes all over the world. If those shortages begin to affect the millions of workers in the Gulf states, our gulf allies will probably be forced to increase oil production to bring down prices. When they do that, their profits will go down and their 'boom' economies will begin to collapse. They'll go down the drain, and they'll take us with them.
The only positive effect - since Gulf states are the primary sponsors of terrorism, funds for groups like al Qaeda and Hamas may dry up. Without our wonderful Gulf allies, Israel may finally get some peace.
First lets keep the terrorism thing away.
islamic finance prooved its immune agianst the problems faced be conventional banks that take usury in and go into high risk areas.
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so
this is interesting because islamic banks thrived amid the current turmoil caused mainly by the current banking establishments that have gone far away in usury and risk taking and invented more complicated tools that are baseless.
so its a thing good for looking into.....
an artical
The financial turmoil has made few winners and many losers; but some of the winners are institutions which provide Islamic banking, as demand for Shariah-compliant finance is expected to surge over the next few months.
As wary investors seek a more conservative approach to banking, and increasingly favour institutions without exposure to risky credit, so Islamic finance will grow in popularity, according to a senior accountant.
Also Islamic banks still have plenty of capital available to finance wealthy individuals and corporates, unlike their western banking counterparts, who will only continue to constrict their lending policies in light of the current economic crisis.
Dan Taylor, head of banking at UK accountant BDO Stoy Hayward, says: “As the risk profile of Islamic banks is generally lower than conventional western banks, this presents a more solid option for both retail and institutional investors and suggests that dealings with Islamic financial institutions will grow dramatically as people switch to more secure products in this environment.”
http://www.wealth-bulletin.com/wealth-business/private-banking/content/2451977360/
""""(17) Nay, We hurl the Truth against falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold falsehood doth perish! Ah! woe be to you for the (false) things ye ascribe (to Us). """
"""(275) Allâh will destroy Ribâ (usury) and will give increase for Sadaqât (deeds of charity, alms, etc.) And Allâh likes not the disbelievers, sinners. ))"""