Sharia banking:  part of economic jihad, designed to collapse the financial system of the West.

This latest outrage  just shows how wrong it is to discriminate in favour Muslims, why should Muslims get tax breaks not available to non-Muslims? In other words, why should non-Muslims have to pretend to be Muslim to get the same tax breaks? This is how sharia finance helps da’awa and the Islamic goal of a global caliphate.

• US: Pawlenty shuts down Sharia-mortgage program: “The United States should be governed by the U.S. Constitution, not religious laws,”

U.K.: Home buyers posing as Muslims to avoid stamp tax under Sharia

The convoluted, Rube Goldberg-worthy process described below, which affords preferential treatment to those who invoke Sharia, lends itself to any number of foreseeable abuses. Here is one. “Islamic law used to dodge stamp duty,” from the Daily Express, March 21 (thanks to JW):

Related links:

• Mehdi Hasan is full of praise: “Islamic finance marries the freedom of the market economy to the fairness of social democracy”  (‘social justice’ is code for redistribution of wealth)
• Is this the death of sharia finance? — WoJ
• The Great Big Sharia Finance Flop —

Sharia law is being used by house buyers posing as Muslims to dodge stamp duty, it was revealed yesterday.

A scheme, brought in by Labour in 2005, allows followers of Islam to buy property without paying the tax.

Paying interest is banned under Sharia law, so Muslims are allowed to buy a house and then sell it on to an offshore financial company.

They then lease the house from the company instead of taking out a mortgage, which would include interest payments. Stamp duty, which is applicable to all properties worth £125,000 and over, does not have to be paid on properties which are immediately sold on.

But the loophole, which costs the Treasury £40million a year, is now being used by some who pretend to be Muslim.

Sultan Choudhury, from the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat, said: “It was certainly not envisaged that some tax advisers would manipulate the legislation on behalf of their clients to avoid paying stamp duty at all.”

Gulf News

Qatar’s central bank has ordered commercial banks to close Islamic banking operations by the end of 2011.

Australian Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry must be heartbroken…..

Qatar’s central bank has ordered commercial banks to close Islamic banking operations by the end of 2011. The central bank reportedly issued a circular on February 1, saying “it has been decided to terminate the activities of the Islamic finance services” offered by conventional banks. The order is effective immediately but provided lenders with a grace period until December 31 to shut Islamic banking operations.

Banks affected by the directive include Qatar National Bank, HSBC, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Al Ahli Commercial Bank and International Bank of Qatar.

Related:

• Sharia Finance is Jihad Finance —
• National Australia Bank To Offer Sharia Loans… —
• Suckers for Sharia Finance —
• The Great Big Sharia Finance Flop —
• Sharia Finance Madness —
• Cory Bernardi: “Sharia or Islamic law is incompatible with …
• Islam: Advocating Sharia is an Act of Sedition —

Ban on conventional banks offering Islamic banking services sets wrong precedent, they say

Dubai: Qatar’s decision to ban conventional banks from offering Islamic banking services has shocked banks in the UAE.

Although many bankers said they do not expect a similar action in the UAE, many said it is setting a wrong precedent and the decision has created uncertainty in banking business in the region.

Qatar’s central bank has ordered commercial banks to close Islamic banking operations by the end of 2011. The central bank reportedly issued a circular on February 1, saying “it has been decided to terminate the activities of the Islamic finance services” offered by conventional banks. The order is effective immediately but provided lenders with a grace period until December 31 to shut Islamic banking operations.

Banks affected by the directive include Qatar National Bank, HSBC, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Al Ahli Commercial Bank and International Bank of Qatar.

Clarification

“We are communicating with the Qatar Central Bank to seek clarification on this issue,” HSBC said in a statement.

Many bankers said they are intrigued by the development as barely seven months ago the QCB Governor, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al Thani, inaugurated HSBC’s Islamic bank branch in Doha.

Conventional banks such as Standard Chartered and Mashreq that have Islamic banking divisions in the UAE did not comment on the development in Qatar. However, many bankers said such decisions will have far reaching consequences on international participation in Islamic banking business in the region. “It will have an adverse impact on the confidence level in the banking industry and restrain asset growth and innovation in the sector,” said a senior banker.

The decision would mean all conventional banks in Qatar that have Islamic assets on their balance sheets will have to wind them down by December 31, 2011. It is unclear if there is any plan to compensate banks that have been affected by the decision.

Analysts said the decision has huge cost implications for affected banks, many of them have built physical infrastructure and human resources over the past few years which will now be made redundant.

Currently there are 16 Islamic banking branches of commercial banks in the country.

By Babu Das Augustine, Deputy Business Editor

Three men charged in Islamic-based Ponzi scheme

Sharia banking fails again. So should the perps be sentenced under Islamic law?  But wait: doesn’t their “Religion” permit them to lie, cheat, and commit fraud, as long as the victim isn’t of their faith?  Questions, questions…. so what if most of their victims are Muslims? In that case, should the perps be stoned, hanged, quartered or beheaded?

Most important, what would Muhammad do?

(Chacago Business)

Three owners of a Chicago-based real estate development firm have been charged with fraud for allegedly cheating investors out of $43 million while claiming to be compliant with Islamic law.

A federal grand jury returned a 14-count indictment against the owners of Sunrise Equities on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a Wednesday statement. Federal officials said Salman Ibrahim, the majority owner and president of the now-bankrupt firm, and Mohammad Akbar Zahid, senior vice president of investor relations and a 10-percent owner, told clients that their investments would comply with Shariah law.

Islamic law prohibits interest, so Ibrahim and Zahid told investors they would receive monthly pay-outs of profits from real estate development. According to Fitzgerald’s office, the men promised annual returns of between 15 and 30 percent.

Federal officials said the three owners actually operated a Ponzi scheme between January 2003 and September 2008, selling promissory notes and using the proceeds to make fake profit payments to earlier investors. The men are accused of cheating hundreds of individual investors as well as making false statements to get loans from Mutual Bank, Cole Taylor Bank and Devon Bank. They allegedly misused investors’ funds, operating projects unrelated to real estate that were not disclosed to clients, and spending money on themselves.

Robert Grant, special agent-in-charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Chicago office, said this case marks the first time in the city “that an alleged fraud scheme has been uncovered that used a pillar of Islam” as a lure.

“A key element in securing the charges was the extraordinary cooperation provided by members of Chicago’s Pakistani community, who were the primary victims of this alleged fraud scheme,” Grant said in a statement.

Federal officials said 37-year-old Ibrahim, a Pakistani national, and 59-year-old Zahid, a U.S. citizen, are believed to have left the country after Sunrise went into bankruptcy. Their whereabouts are unknown. The third owner, 47-year-old Amjed Mahmood of Des Plaines, will be arraigned at a later date. Mahmood was a 10-percent owner and senior vice president of Sunrise.

Islamic court would be needed for rulings on Sharia finance

Australian Conservative/thanks to Mullah

The political correctness (PC) police must be reeling. After months of personal attacks on me for daring to state my security concerns about the burqa, one of the left’s political pin-ups, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has stated that banning the burqa has merit.

Now Ms Clinton and I probably don’t agree on that much but somehow I feel that the journalists and taxpayer-funded radio commentators won’t be launching the same salvo against her as they did me.

Not that I care too much for what these self-styled opinion-makers write. Their track record of accurately reflecting community concerns is less than stellar.

Related links:

• Cory Bernardi: “Sharia or Islamic law is incompatible with Australia’s Western values”
• Islamic bank products a ‘huge flop’

I faced another attack by the PC police this week for daring to question why we would be amending our laws and regulations to facilitate the introduction of Sharia law for financial products.

Sharia finance is a method of conducting financial transactions so they comply with Islamic religious law. It features a number of key elements including the prohibition of interest and a requirement that a percentage of each transaction is given to an Islamic charity.

My position has been that if people want to enter into such contracts they can do so, as long as they comply with our existing legal and regulatory framework.

However, the government has appointed a task force that is investigating ways in which our laws can be changed to facilitate Sharia finance contracts. Their representative maintains that they are not proposing to introduce any new laws but simply to ‘tinker’ with the existing ones!

This claim is not supported by documentation produced by the advocates for Sharia finance which was launched by the then minister Nick Sherry.

The booklet Demystifying Islamic Finance states that Islamic finance “requires alignment with and support from the whole legal and regulatory framework.”

“This means, while it is important for the banking and financial laws of a country to recognise and accommodate Islamic finance, for example, through a specific legislation, this is far from sufficient in ensuring that the Islamic financial contracts will be effectively enforceable.”

The booklet continues to detail that “at the minimum” tax laws, property laws, insolvency laws and securities laws will all require changes to accommodate Islamic finance. There would also need to be negotiation of our international agreements determining reciprocal enforcement of foreign judgements for international transactions.

Hardly a ‘tinkering’ as the government representatives would suggest.

Sharia finance would also give rise to a compliance body that would determine if the source of funds, transaction and terms comply with Islamic law. This is effectively an Islamic court that would operate alongside our existing legal system.

There are many other issues surrounding Sharia finance that many public commentators are seemingly unaware of, yet should concern many Australians.

The fact that there is an apparent inability to raise these legitimate concerns in public without being attacked by the PC police suggests there is another issue we should be concerned about – freedom of speech.

Cory Bernardi is a South Australian Liberal senator. His columns and essays are available at his website.

Australians have a habit of betting on two flies crawling up a wall. Aussie banks have a long, nasty record of squeezing their captive clientele with exorbitant interest rates, fees and charges,  and then squandering  the ill gotten gains on idiotic scams abroad.

Some Aussies are really obsessed with being  GLOBAL PLAYERS, ask Kevin Rudd!

Written by Oliver Wagg /Ethical Investor

Sharia financier Bloomberg with Islamic headbanger

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has launched what it claims to be Australia’s first Islamic financing tool for institutions, designed to facilitate commodities trade for Middle Eastern and Malaysian investors. The bank’s  institutional bankers have developed a Special Interbank Placement for Islamic institutions, allowing Islamic investors to buy iron ore and other commodities forward using Westpac’s strong balance sheet without the counterparty risks of a doing a direct deal with a supplier. Ethical Investor will be publishing a special edition on Islamic finance in April. For further details contact the editor.

Previous posts:

• Suckers for Sharia Finance (Sharia-compliant banking products a ‘huge flop’ in Britain)
• Don’t Buy Islamic Government Bonds! (You can’t make chicken salad with chicken shit.)
• Sharia Finance Helps To Finance Islamic Terrorism (That’s what its all about…)

Under Westpac’s new Islamic product, the bank buys commodities on behalf of investors, holds them on its books for a short time and then, once they are sold, splits the profit with the investor. The time period and profit share are pre-agreed.

Sharia law dictates that transactions involve physical assets, so commodities are often the asset of choice because they are more liquid than other real assets, such as property.

The Australian government is backing a larger role in Islamic finance for Australia.

“Islamic financing is a crucial plank in the government’s strategy to make Australia a financial hub in the Asia Pacific,” Simon Crean, trade minister, said.

A recent government study recommends the removal of regulatory barriers and some tax reforms.

At the launch of the government’s booklet, Islamic Finance, Crean said Australia is well positioned to cater for the Islamic financing market, which has grown at 10 per cent per annum for a decade.

“Islamic financing is a booming sector and Australia should be part of the action,” Crean said.

“The continued growth in major Asian economies will create a need for resources-related services and infrastructure, which are ideal assets for forms of Islamic financing,” said Crean.

The Johnson Review (reported here) found some 365,000 Muslims live in Australia and would use Islamic financial services if they were more accessible.

Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry:

“… misinformed  members of our community are  putting forward negative views about Islamic finance. These have been small in number but they have come in and they are of concern…”

(Read his full speech is on his website):

Pass it on to Australian federal minister Nick Sherry, who is totally befuddled with sharia finance, as you can see here and here. The Australian Dimwit Monitor bestowed Nick Sherry & his fellow traveler Simon Crean with the Aussie Dhimwit of the Month award (April 2010) for their  brainless support of  jihad finance, which, in a more enlightened society, would have every reporter in the land lick his chops and go in for the kill.

ISLAMIC bank accounts and other financial products have failed to take off in Britain, according to industry insiders.

Simon sez  ’We could become just like the UK…..’

(You are a true visionary, Simon. We can’t wait to be ‘just like the UK..”)

The Australian

This pig will never fly, no matter how much lipstick they put on it:

Sharia-compliant banking products a ‘huge flop’ in Britain

Junaid Bhatti, part of the team that set up Islamic Bank of Britain, the first Sharia-compliant bank approved by the Financial Services Authority, says that the sector has been a big disappointment.

“As we now approach the sixth anniversary of IBB’s launch, I’m sad to finally have to admit that Islamic finance in the UK has been a huge flop,” he said. “IBB may still be limping on as probably the last bastion of the cause, but it’s difficult to imagine it holding out for much longer.”    The Wall Street Journal has the story>>>

Sharia finance and Australia

Australian Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry

Australian official promises “steps to ensure Islamic finance is enabled”

by Bill Muehlenberg/Quadrant Online

June 10, 2010

All over the Western world governments are bending over backwards to accommodate sharia finance. This is an interest-free (?) banking and finance system which Muslims want to have run in Western nations as a parallel economic stream.

The UK leads the world in this, but Australia and other nations are seeking to get their share of the action. Consider a speech made by Australian Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry on April 27 in Doha, Qatar. He told his Muslim audience how keen Australia is to embrace sharia finance.

Let me quote a portion of Sherry’s speech:

On 15 January this year, the Government released the final report of this process, known as the Australia as a Financial Centre (or the Johnson Report). The report concluded that Australia has arguably the most efficient and competitive financial sector in the Asia-Pacific region, but there are further opportunities to expand our exports and imports of financial services.

• Sherry launches Islamic finance booklet to dispel misconceptions

And it made a range of important recommendations, including specific steps to ensure Islamic finance is enabled in Australia. And that’s exactly what I now want to address. The competitiveness of Australia’s financial services sector offers great opportunities for Islamic banks and financial institutions to do business in our country, or to export their products to Asia from a strong, stable and extremely well regulated regional base.

It, of course, also presents opportunities for Australian-based banks and financial institutions to develop Islamic or Shariah-compliant finance products for domestic and international markets. Australia is well aware of the potential for Islamic finance in developing our nation as a financial services centre. The Financial Centre Report I just mentioned includes two specific recommendations on Islamic finance.

• Exclusive: Are We Financing Our Own Demise?

First, the Report recommends the removal of regulatory barriers to the development of Islamic finance products in Australia. Secondly, the Report calls for an inquiry by the Board of Taxation into whether Australian tax law needs to be amended to ensure that Islamic financial products have parity of treatment with conventional products.

It is with great pleasure I can confirm today here in Qatar that as the first major instalment in the Government’s response to this landmark Report, I have directed the Board of Taxation to undertake a comprehensive review of Australia’s tax laws to ensure that, wherever possible, they do not inhibit the expansion of Islamic finance, banking and insurance products.

Australia’s decision means we will be among the first OECD countries to conduct this kind of system-wide review and it will mean we are among the very first to get all the tax settings right. I know the United Kingdom has acted on a few discrete areas, but the review I am announcing is thoroughly comprehensive.

Islamic finance is a rapidly growing part of the global financial system and Australia is in an excellent position to capitalise on that growth, but we have to ensure our tax system doesn’t unnecessarily prevent that from happening. Today’s announcement is major step in ensuring that we get the settings right.”

-

Unenlightened Rubbish from Rushdi Siddiqui, Gulf News:

Enlightened Islamic bankers and scholars have been commenting for nearly a generation on the need to delink from the interest based economies and its reference rates. (Siddiqui tries to sell IF  as a replacement ideology …../ed)

Australia like other Western nations wants to gain financially from such moves, but it seems unaware that it is in fact cutting its own throat. Sharia-compliant finance is simply part of the wider move to set up sharia law in the West, which in turn is part of the larger goal of global Islamic domination.

Indeed, the push for sharia finance is a fairly recent development of the Islamic community, primarily promoted by radical Islamists. As former Muslim Patrick Sookhdeo says in his important book, Understanding Sharia Finance (Isaac Publishing, 2008), it was a militant Pakistani Islamist who initiated this drive.

Says Sookhdeo, “The concept of an Islamic economy was integrated into the discourse of the Islamist struggle to weaken the West in preparation for the ultimate phase of establishing Muslim political hegemony in the world.”

A separate Islamic economic system in Western nations is part of the push for a separate political and legal system. Committed Muslims see sharia law as the only true law, and consider Western, non-Islamic laws to be heretical. Thus the push for separate spheres of Islamic sovereignty.

Of course no nation can survive long with a two-tiered legal system, financial system, and so on. If immigrants seeking to come to Australia refuse to integrate into the Australian way of life, including its economic and financial system, then social cohesion is doomed from the start.

Indeed, many Muslims coming to the West have made it clear that they do not intend to integrate with the host nation, but to set up separate Islamic enclaves within it. And as the number of Muslims increase, the final goal of the complete Islamisation of society can take place.

As Sookhdeo notes, “Islamic economics became an efficient weapon in the hands of Islamists planning for Islam’s domination of the world-system in all fields: political, military, economic and cultural. For them, the establishment of a worldwide universal Islamic state under sharia is God’s command to Muslims of all generations and the real aim of jihad.”

Speaking of jihad, another major concern is how Islamic banking and finance are a major means of funding international Islamic terrorism. Islamists seek to redistribute wealth in sharia finance based on the zakat, the obligatory donation all Muslims are supposed to pay.

This 2.5 per cent tax is in effect a type of income tax, and according to traditional Islamic teaching, the zakat is to be used in the funding of jihad. Says Sookhdeo, “According to Qur’an and sunna, God commands Muslims to devote their wealth and their lives to jihad.”

He continues, sharia finance “is part of a wider agenda of jihad, in accordance with the vision of Islamist ideologists of the overthrow of non-Islamic systems and the establishment of a pan-Islamic Caliphate that will rule the earth.” And he offers this sober warning:
Western governments and institutions now gladly cashing in on the Islamic market are falling into the same trap into which Western governments fell when they supported Islamist radicals in fighting the Soviet Union. They are supporting the rise of a powerful system they cannot control and that might turn against them.
Indeed, in the very same way Western governments last century were happy to prop up Communist dictatorships which were dedicated to overthrowing the West. Lenin once quipped that “the Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them”.

That is happening again today. A new enemy of the free West has arisen, and foolish, naive and short-sighted Western leaders are more than happy to aid and abet the Islamists as they seek the ultimate overthrow of all non-Islamic nations.

Write to  Senator Nick Sherry and tell him what you think:

Assistant Treasurer

Party: Australian Labor Party

Parliament Contact:
Phone:	(02) 6277 7360
Fax:	(02) 6273 4125

Email: senator.sherry@aph.gov.au

Related links:

U.S. Marine fires back over Shariah loans:

A U.S. Marine who served in Iraq is suing the federalgovernment for distributing billions of dollars in taxpayerfunds to the Shariah-supporting American International Group. (Must read. Good luck to him!) WND

Islamic finance seeks young scholars to lead growth

With Islamic finance a US$1 trillion (S$1.41 trillion) industry globally and expected by ratings agency Moody’s to reach US$5 trillion in time, students of sharia have more opportunities than before to take their skills beyond the mosque doors and into the boardroom.

Islamic Mortgages and Why They’re Not Just for Muslims

UAE set to issue Sharia deposit certificates

Is the United States flat-out broke?

On 27 May, 2010 the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, delivered a disturbing speech on the implementation of Islamic Finance in Australia. It was given at the launch of a Malaysian law firm’s propaganda statement on the sector and should be of concern to every Australian. Most sadly it is now apparent that the Australian Government is not only wilfully blind to the dangers of Islamic Finance but are actively encouraging Shariah law in Australia.

Below is the relevant extract from the speech (the full speech is on his website):

Unfortunately, since the Government’s announcements of our work in this area, and the publication of my Middle East speeches on my Parliamentary website, I have been confronted with a number of emails and letters from unhappy, and I must say misinformed, members of our community putting forward negative views about Islamic finance. These have been small in number but they have come in and they are of concern.

Senator Sherry, it is yourself who is misinformed. You are listening solely to those who stand to profit from Islamic Finance and have chosen to ignore objective arguments and facts. As an elected member of Parliament it is your job to listen to Australian citizens not the commercial interests of foreign banks and law firms.

Shariah Financing-Wall Street-selling our souls for $$$

Perhaps you would like me to be more ‘positive’ about terrorist funding and the imposition of Shariah law in Australia? We are only small in number now because this is a new and technical field, a point your Islamist mates take advantage of.

So what is your concern? That people have a different view to the Islamists? That your little pet project may not be as good for the country as you would like us to think it is?

Some of the issues of concern include open claims that Islamic finance is used to spread terrorism, that it is a vehicle to promote the world domination of Islam over other faiths, or that it is designed to replace conventional financing.

Correct.

So we have a challenge in front of us – and that is to continue the community dialogue, to increase awareness of the truth and to highlight the facts.

As your Islamist mates would say “let the taqiyya begin!” Remember Senator Sherry, dialogue is a two way street, are you prepared to listen to us, to become aware of the truth and the facts, none of which have been proven wrong yet.

In April I politely wrote to you (and I am certain you read it and that I am one of the ‘unhappy’) asking for “30 minutes of your time to confidentially discuss these issues. This 30 minutes may go a long way to settling the fears of many thousands of Australians.” You did not respond despite this being clearly in the spirit of courteous and open dialogue. You are not interested in dialogue, you are interested in bulldozing this through without consultation, democratic processes and an unbiased risk assessment.

I was particularly pleased to read that your comprehensive and balanced booklet dismantles such arguments one by one.

Senator Sherry, please google the word “taqiyya”. Please also understand that this law firm has a vested commercial interest in the sector. It is extremely amateur of you to base your opinions on the views of those with such interests.

I think that the view that Islamic finance is “terrorism finance” is particularly egregious.

Terrorist funding through Islamic Finance has been proven in the United States. Please educate yourself on this and the dealings particularly of a Mr. al Qaradawi.

Of course not all profits from Islamic finance go to terrorist funding but it happens. If 1% goes to terrorists then that’s enough to be ‘unhappy’ in my view. Why are you ignoring the fact that terrorism does get funded by Islamic Finance? I urge you to review the website  Shariah Finance Watch.  This is an extremely credible and reliable U.S. based source for analysing Islamic Finance terror funding.

Please read it all; from the excellent  Australian Islamist Monitor

More banking-savvy clerics needed: Maybank Islamic

“Nobody understands it” – Failure to understand system’s dynamics an inherent risk that needs to be addressed… Gulfnews

Islamic finance ‘in double digit growth’ – BBC News

Don’t hold your breath. Before you know it its in free-fall….

US asks Paraguay to extradite suspected Hizballah money man, formerly of Brooklyn and New Jersey

One wonders what he was up to when he lived in Brooklyn and New Jersey. “US asks Paraguay to extradite suspected Hezbollah financier,” from AFP, June 16 (thanks toFausta, who notes that Hamdan used to live in Brooklyn and New Jersey:  Jihad Watch

Deutsche Bank Jumps on the Financial Jihad Bandwagon with Online Zakat Settlement

Shariah mandates that Muslims donate zakat to charities and it also mandates that a portion of those zakat donations go to Jihad.  Sharia Finance Watch

Hey, Dubai, how’s that shariah compliant finance going? Dubai World restructures $23.5 billion in debt

The shell game that is shariah compliant finance is coming to an end, “Dubai World reaches $23.5b debt deal with banks“:

Government-owned conglomerate Dubai World said on Thursday “headline economic terms” have been agreed in principle with its financial creditors on the restructuring of $23.5 billion of liabilities.The agreement was reached between the Coordinating Committee (CoCom) representing 60 per cent of Dubai World’s creditors and the Government of Dubai.

Since Dubai World presented its restructuring proposal on March 24, the company has refined the proposal to “modestly enhance” one component of the repayment package, it said in a statement.

Dubai World is the group that tried to take over six US ports in 2006 and is the developer of the Palm Islands project.

• Does anybody care what happens in Dubai? Islamic (Shariah) Law: 17 Young Sikhs on Death row in Dubai

Save us from our saviors:

Sharia finance & the ‘global worming’ scam are still breathing:

Pleased with KRudd:   Aubrey Joachim, the “global” president

The Australian/Hat tip Mullah

“Australia has a chance to lead in Islamic finance”

Aubrey Joachim is (still) selling the snake oil that works so well for Arabia. But its not as if he doesn’t have a dog in this fight: scroll down to the bottom of this page to see what he really does.

IT is heartening to learn that the Rudd government is waking up to the benefits of developing the Islamic finance sector — and not before time. Australia is ideally positioned to challenge Malaysia and Indonesia as a financial hub for this burgeoning industry but it will have to act quickly.

Stimulus, anyone?

Islamic finance is characterised by a system under which an overriding ethical fairness and a sharing of risk must be present. Profit is a vital element of Islamic business dealing but it must be derived from trading activity. Profits derived from uncertainty are off limits. Therefore, it could be argued, the toxic debt of the kind that triggered the global credit crunch simply could not occur within the Islamic system.

But there is currently a major drawback for both customers and providers. Few individuals have the skills necessary to understand the requirements for Shariah compliance, the complexities of Islamic commercial law or the technical Arabic terminology which is unique to this financial sector.

Establishing Islamic finance products also requires ratification from Muslim scholars at the highest level and the ultimate issuance of a fatwa to that effect.

Outside Kuala Lumpur, London is currently leading the way as an innovative global hub of Islamic financial expertise. A number of institutions including HSBC Amanah and Islamic Bank of Britain are involved and the British government has been offering substantial support. But demand for professional skills is almost certain to outstrip their availability as the market grows.

Products available include home loans, Takaful (insurance), current accounts and commercial investment structures, for example, investment loans for residential property. Soon, it is expected that the British government will be the first in the West to provide Sukuk (bonds).

As the market continues to grow, there is a real opportunity for Australia to position itself as the Islamic finance hub for the Asia Pacific region. The government should ensure that the right educational environment is put in place to create a pipeline of finance professionals with the necessary specialist skills to enable this new market to put down strong, sustainable roots.

Aubrey Joachim is global president of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (Cima). The institute is the first professional chartered accounting body to offer a certificate in Islamic finance.

• Ban Muslims from bank jobs – seminary Adelaide Now, 9 days ago
• Koran caution for Aussie tax laws Daily Telegraph,26 Apr 2010
• Canada launches first Muslim credit card The Australian, 13 Apr 2010
• Islamic finance a ‘trillion-dollar market’ Daily Telegraph, 7 Apr 2010
• Islamic finance gets the nod The Australian, 26 Mar 2010

“PIGS’ stands for Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain.

These countries are in deep doodoo.

Financially, that is. Desperation makes strange bedfellows.

The sooner the EUrabian utopia and the Brussels circus collapses, the better.  The hangover will be painful, and the measures to reverse the idiotic megastate  allures of the Brussels bureaucrats  will cost dearly, but it will happen.

For now, however, HOPE still beats  reality, and Spain, one of the PIGS states, is trying a new trick that will only exacerbate the disaster. We only need to look towards the US to see how all that hopenchangin’ is working out. Sharia finance cannot work and will not work. The concept  doesn’t even work in Arabia. It is unworkable. But Western politicians, most of whom never held a job and couldn’t run a coffee shop, are selling the future of our kids down the gurgler. Signs of things to come:

Spain to be hub of Islamic finance – Examiner

Richard Shulman

Spain is close to the Islamic world, a gateway to Europe, and a connection with Latin America.  Saudi Arabian businessmen plan to establish Spain as a hub of global Islamic finance (IMRA, 4/27/10).

Islamic rules of finance are laid down by Sharia, Islamic law.  As I have reported, a speaker at a rally in New York explained that Sharia requires Muslim business to donate to charity, but these charities often are terrorist fronts.  Does the Spanish government realize this?  Does Spain know that Islamic doctrine holds that areas formerly conquered by Islam, including Spain, must be returned to Islam?  The same goes for Israel, but the Spanish king, Barry Chamish points out, has been traveling all over for years, on missions to assist Muslim claims to Israel.  He would be better advised to work with Israel to preserve his own country.  His country faces not just a simple change of religion, as it would be for, say, leaving Catholicism and entering Protestantism, but a loss of freedom and all sorts of cultural restrictions.

Meltdown:

You can’t make chicken salad with chicken shit. You cannot turn Arab quicksand into gold.  Where is the substance? Where is the knowhow, where is the innovation, the science, the creative minds, the technology, the brilliant minds to drive this Fata Morgana in Arabia?

Unlike Israel, which has a pool of educated, innovative and productive people, the Arabs rely entirely on Western knowhow and third world slave labour.  The Arabs themselves do next to nothing.

Where are the people, the tourists, the masses of rich retirees, the businessmen,  the buyers, where is the society of the future in this mad construction frenzy?

You will lose your money. We, our banks, those who jumped on this Arab carrousel, will be fleeced. And once again the nutroots, the Obama-bastards and their commie-vassals will blame the failure of the Capitalist system in order to destroy us  in order to bring about their One World Utopia, with ‘Global Worming’ thrown in for free.

Moody’s Downgrades Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to A1/D+

thanks to Dhumme Dhimmi. Here’s the countdown meltdown:

No matter which way you cut it, or where the information comes from, it is getting worse:

http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=978659

Dead-cat bounce:

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/uae-can-overcome-dubai-debt-challenges-20091203-k6t4.html

A little wiggle side-ways:

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/uae-stock-markets-continue-to-tumble-20091208-khc4.html

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/dubai-to-pay-debt-with-10-billion-aid-from-abu-dhabi-20091214-ks1a.html

A balanced view:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/abu-dhabi-pumps-10bn-to-ease-financial-crisis-at-dubai-world-nakheel/story-e6frg90o-1225810292742

The sheik is sheikin’! The World is panicking!

…”While Dubai Holding is not government-owned, it is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and controls his personal assets.”…

…”Analysts say the sudden surge in concern about DHCOG may reflect a more general retreat in appetite for risk among global investors. With the end of the year approaching, many market participants are already on holiday and others are unwinding positions to close out their books for the year.
But the moves also come amid a growing realisation that Dubai is preparing to force its creditors to share some of the losses it has suffered in the wake of the financial crisis.”…

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091228/BUSINESS/712289922/1005

The most telling sentences in the whole story:

..”The seven bourses added around 80 billion dollars to their capitalisation which ended the year at 680 billion dollars from 600 billion dollars at the end of 2008.

That is still far below their end-2007 value of 1.116 trillion dollars, however.”…

N.B. ‘billion’ in the first…and ‘trillion’ in the second. Whooaaaahhhh!!!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h3S42mvhjnN0aMmS9fG27kKcW9sg

then…

The extent of the damage is becoming public and official:-

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/139446000

Damn that wonderful ‘Sharia Finance”! A capital investment!

The trickle before the Global Tsunami. Mark my words!

‘Moody’s Downgrades ADCB to A1′
http://www.kippreport.com/2009/12/moody%E2%80%99s-downgrades-adcb-to-a1/

and…

Calm before the Tsunami=  Dead Cat!

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=CM&artid=172572

The Saudis are going broke bailing out Dubai, if they’ve bought into this bond scheme. Not that I care, though:

Joint UAE-Saudi bond market advised to tap domestic investments Disc

Gulf Base/thanks to Kafir Canuck

The UAE should join Saudi Arabia in creating a bond market to ensure sufficient funding for projects and offset liquidity shortages caused by the global bank credit tightness, according to a key Saudi bank.

The Saudi American Bank Group (Samba), one of the largest banks in the Middle East, was commenting on plans by the UAE to set up a bond market to create a cheaper funding vehicle and tap domestic investments.

“There has been little new information on government proposals to develop local currency bond markets, nor on plans to offer federal guarantees for bonds and medium-term notes issued by local banks,” said the bank in a study.

“In the medium-term, it would certainly be advantageous to move in this direction. The need for long-term financing in the UAE is large and an active local bond market – both conventional and sukuk – would help reduce reliance on bank credit and external finance, as well as offering an alternative to the IPO market.”

Samba said developing such a market requires establishing liquid secondary markets, greater institutional demand from the likes of pension funds, insurance companies and mutual funds, and the development of a strong ratings culture, supported by government benchmarks. “These will all take time,” it said.

The study noted that creation of a bond market should be prompted by a recent wave of bond issues by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well as other semi-official and private entities in the country.

In Abu Dhabi alone, total issuance so far this year is around $12 billion (Dh44bn), with more to come, according to the report.

It also cited a recent decision by the government-controlled Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to issue $1bn in five-year bonds at 262.5 basis points above similar US Treasuries. This follows National Bank of Abu Dhabis recent $850 million issuance with an initial spread of 228bps, which was the first from a financial institution in the Gulf Co-operation Council since 2007.

“Increasing access to international capital markets will help support the UAEs bank balance sheets with positive implications for lending,” said Samba. “In addition, having issued $1bn in conventional bonds in June, Abu Dhabis Tourism Development and Investment Company is reported to have finalised a new $1bn five-year sukuk, while the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) issued $1.5bn in bonds in September with a spread of 250bps for five years and 287 bps for 10 years.”