Islam-o-finance

Dinah used to work at 7 WTC and has many fond memories of the WTC

The bankers of the world fall all over themselves to sell the us down the Islam-o-river...

It's like 9/11 and the Islamist's attack on the capital markets of the world never even happened.

The SEC's willful blindness = Terror Financing & Fraud.

Then again, like many other "innovative" products, the "ethical" and "socially responsible" Middle East and Islamic banking and investment market present many new risks not currently addressed either by their proponents or by regulatory agencies, much less due diligence services now available.

These markets and products lack transparency and Western accounting. Frequently, their documentation and offering statements do not disclose information required by federal laws and banking regulations. Furthermore, this market is increasingly governed by radical Islamic clerics whose provenance is unknown to the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. and international equities and bond ratings agencies, index providers and other insufficiently educated market participants and facilitators.

And that giant, sucking sound you hear? Why, that is the sound of Wall Street sucking up to the almighty petrodollar. Dow Jones Indexes wins Best Islamic Index provider award.

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced it was named the "Best Islamic Index Provider" by Islamic Finance News. The selection was made by a record 1,502 Islamic finance professionals worldwide.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes were the first to measure the performance of stocks and bonds that comply with Islamic investment principles, and we remain committed to further developments in this area," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes. "The award also recognizes Rushdi Siddiqui, our director of business development for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes. Over the past nine years, he has truly pioneered our efforts to elevate the Dow Jones Islamic Market indexes into the widely accepted and successful benchmarks for Islamic portfolios that they are today."

A six-member supervisory board of Islamic scholars also counsels Dow Jones Indexes on the Shari'ah compliance of eligible stocks for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes.

Standard & Poors voted best Islamic Rating Agency

Standard & Poor’s, the leading provider of financial market intelligence to customers in the Middle East’s credit risk and wealth management markets, today announced it has been voted Best Islamic Rating Agency by readers of Islamic Finance News, the world’s leading capital markets focused Islamic finance publication.

The accolade was bestowed on Standard & Poor’s following the publication’s annual reader survey and recognises Standard & Poor’s commitment to fostering the development of Islamic capital markets and their integration with global markets through its credit research and ratings on Islamic banks, takaful insurers and sukuk. In other award categories, Standard & Poor’s was recognised for its work assigning ratings on sukuk issues by DIFC Investments and the Jebel Ali Free Zone, which were named Deal Of The Year and Best Sukuk, respectively.

London aims to become key Islamic Finance center
With three fold growth of the global market for Islamic financial services over the past decade to a whopping US $ 531 billion up to 2006, the British capital is seeking to become the key Western centre in this regard.

...London is represented by 23 banks, nine fund managers and a number of international law firms offering Islamic service while there is a secondary market in Sukuk valued at US $2 billion a month and a growing market for retail mortgage business. ...Daily trading in commodity-based agreements through the London Metal Exchange is a key mechanism for the management of assets and liabilities by Islamic financial institutions and the 23 UK banks outnumber more than four times those of any other country in Western Europe...The UK is also ahead of the rest of Western Europe in establishing fully Sharia compliant banks with three of the 23 UK banks having set up there since 2004. These are The Islamic Bank of Britain, The European Islamic Investment Bank and The Bank of London and The Middle East.

Japan's megabanks tap into Islamic Finance

Japanese megabanks are trying to increase their presence in the Islamic finance industry, Japanese media said Tuesday. With the continuing surge in oil prices, the Islamic finance industry is expected to double by 2010 to US$1 trillion...Tsang said the city's financial institutions had already begun work on making sure the legal and taxation systems will allow products compatible with Muslim laws. He added some banks had already started creating products to try and secure part of the worldwide market, which has swelled in recent years to between 700 billion and a trillion US dollars on the back of high oil prices.

Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang announced in his policy address last year that developing Islamic banking would be a priority for the territory. He will make a trip to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to try and drum up business.

Malaysia: Islamic Finance from faith to Global Empire

Six years ago, Malaysia launched a US$600 million bond and sold it to the world. It was more than two times oversubscribed, and attention would have passed if not for a difference -- it was the world's first sovereign sukuk or bond issued according to the tenets of Islam.

Bank Negara Malaysia's governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz remembers the overwhelming response at the first roadshow in Hong Kong and ultimately, a third of the investors came from this region.

"Six years on, the Islamic financial landscape has been dramatically transformed into a vibrant, dynamic and competitive global intermediation mechanism that is supported by more than 300 Islamic financial institutions in more than 75 countries," she said at an Islamic finance seminar in Hong Kong this week.

These days, "tremendous" is the word to describe the demand for sukuk, evidenced by oversubscriptions of between two and 13 times by both Islamic and conventional investors.

Islamic finance has become the fastest growing sector in the financial services industry. It has been dubbed the new "Silk Road", the new link between Asia and the rest of the world.

Thanking God! It looks like someone is finally paying attention on Capitol Hill! Rep. Paul Broun of GA held a Sharia/Islamic Finance briefing this past Thursday. (h/t from my separated-at-birth secret twin, You heard it here... Nuggets of News the MSM won't report)

Congressman Paul Broun Hosts Sharia/Islamic Finance Briefing

Broun: “We, as Members of Congress, have an obligation to investigate vulnerabilities in our system that could be exploited by enablers of extremism and terrorism.” January 17, 2008

Washington D.C.- Congressman Paul Broun announced that a Sharia/Islamic Finance briefing is set for Thursday, January 17 for Congressional members and their staff. Broun said addressing the issue of Sharia or Islamic finance is important, and he is glad to see the meeting is gaining media attention because it raises public awareness about Sharia finance and its significant legal implications for the industry.

Alex Alexiev spoke and advised that many of the Shariah Advisors overseeing these funds have direct connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Wahabi/Salafi/Deobandi crowd. Please join me in contacting Rep Broun at his website to thank him for bringing this situation to Congress's attention. (ed. note: plug in zip 30577 to use the auto contact form.)

Hop over to YHIH...and read You Heard it Here... Nuggets of news the MSM won't report!!!: CAIR; Head of Racist Group to Bash Islam at Congressional Briefing- especially the part about CAIR trying to queer the proceedings with their PR Newswire whinefest.

Ed. note: More to follow on this hot potato.