THE ATLANTIC: While Tunisia's Islamist party tries to downplay the role of Islamic finance, Hong Kong welcomes it with open arms. Why?
Tunisia's newly elected Islamist government said this week that it will preserve the nation's pre-revolutionary secular constitution and financial structures. Far away, in secular and wealthy Hong Kong, the local government is pushing to establish a platform for Islamic finance in hopes of becoming the Dubai of the Far East. What's going on here?
Witness the power of marketing. Tunisia's main source of tourism and exports is Europe, where perennial outcries against Muslim immigrants and sharia have incited violence among Europe's anti-Islamic extremists in recent years. Hong Kong, together with the Greater China Region, is courting the Muslim business world to quench its thirst for natural fuels. As a result, we have an odd juxtaposition: An Islamist regime rejecting Islamic finance while a secular capitalist juggernaut claims to welcome it. » | Massoud Hayoun | Friday, March 30, 2012
