May 05, 2008

Subprime Crisis Slowing Investment – Dubai World

ARABIAN BUSINESS.COM: Dubai World, the investment firm of the Dubai government, said on Tuesday it is holding on to US real estate assets amid a subprime housing crisis that has slowed its investment decisions this year.



Dubai World, with a portfolio of over $200 billion, is still seeking investments in transport and logistics, financial services and for opportunistic deals in a battered real estate market after a credit crisis that has rattled global markets.



"I'm more cautious because I don't think there's total transparency on how bad the situation is. At the moment we don't know, and it means a lot for our investment planning," its chief investment officer Yu Lai Boon told newswire Reuters in an interview.

He said the concern is that the contagion, which has caused Western banks to write down billions of dollars and caused liquidity to dry up, could spread to Japan and China.



"If the world's top three economies are hit, then we have the makings of a worst case scenario. So we have to know," he said.



Dubai World, which invests via subsidiaries Nakheel and Istithmar, has a portfolio that ranges from British port operator P&O to New York retailer Barneys, and includes over $20 billion in real estate outside Dubai.



Yu said Dubai World had sold two buildings in New York near the market's peak in the first quarter of last year, and reinvested the gains in US markets that have seen corrections, but will retain its remaining US property assets. Subprime Crisis Slowing Investments >>> By Daryl Loo | April 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
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Buffett’s Confidence Lies in Euros and Pounds

BUSINESS TELEGRAPH: Warren Buffett has fuelled suspicions that he is set to turn his sights on British companies by declaring he is now particularly focused on buying European businesses.

While family-owned companies in mainland Europe are at the top of his list, the investor indicated that his business may also focus on groups whose main operations were in pounds or euros.



This weekend, at the annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Buffett said he was keen to diversify away from companies whose business was largely in dollars, since he expects the US currency to lose more value in the coming years.



He said: "We are happy to invest in businesses that earn their money in the euro, or in companies that derive their earnings in Germany, or from the sterling in the UK, because I don't have a feeling that those currencies are going to depreciate in a big way against the dollar.

I'm willing to bet the dollar will weaken against other currencies over the longer term, so I feel no need to hedge those currencies."

Mr Buffett is due to tour Europe later this month, visiting Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland and persuading business owners to deal directly with them when considering selling their companies. Warren Buffett Bets His Bottom Dollar on European Businesses >>> By Edmund Conway | May 5, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

May 04, 2008

Research Affirms Value of Islamic Economics

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KHALEEJ BUSINESS TIMES: JEDDAH — Islamic economics was in focus at the seventh Islamic Economic Conference, which opened at the King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) in Jeddah on Tuesday.

"We received 200 research papers from leading experts to present at the conference, out of which we selected 30. These papers are being distributed among delegates in book form, " explained Dr. Abdullah Turkistani, director of the Islamic Economic Research Centre at KAAU, the main organizer of the three-day event.

According to delegates attending the conference, research over the past 30 years has shown that Islamic economics is the panacea for many problems facing humanity and those Muslim governments should take the lead in introducing it in their countries.

"We are here to review what we have achieved so far in promoting Islamic economics and to discuss ways of tackling future challenges, "explained Prof. Khurshid Ahmad, chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies in Pakistan and winner of the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies.

He said that Islamic economics has been accepted as a discipline in its own right. What is needed is to apply it on a massive scale to solve the problems of Muslim societies as well as humanity at large." Research affirms value of Islamic economics >>> | April 5, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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Fillon, l'optimiste inquiet

LE JOURNAL DU DIMANCHE: La situation économique des Etats-Unis n'est pas prête de s'arranger. C'est ce que François Fillon retient de son voyage à Washington, où le Premier ministre français s'est rendu pour évoquer la crise financière internationale. Face à la presse, il n'a pu nier que la situation est inquiétante pour la croissance européenne, même s'il se veut un peu moins inquiet sur la situation de la France.

François Fillon ne cache plus son inquiétude. En visite à Washington pour évoquer la crise économique et financière internationale, le Premier ministre français n'a pu que se rendre à l'évidence: les difficultés rencontrées par les Etats-Unis ne sont pas prêtes de se résorber, et l'Europe pourrait bien en faire les frais. Il a toutefois tenu à se montrer un peu plus rassurant sur le cas de la France qui dispose de "facteurs de résistance nombreux". "Les Français ne doivent pas être plus inquiets que cela", conclut-il, optimiste. Fillon, l'optimiste inquiet >>> Par Benjamin Bonneau (avec Reuters) | Samedi 03 Mai 2008

LeJDD.fr:
Sarkozy: 62% des Français craignent une crise >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)
McKinsey-Studie: Der Wohlstand in Deutschland ist in Gefahr

WELT ONLINE: Der deutschen Mittelschicht droht ein empfindlicher Wohlstandsverlust. Bis zum Jahr 2020 werden zehn Millionen Menschen weniger zur Mitte zählen als noch Anfang der 90er-Jahre. Nur mit enormen Anstrengungen lässt sich einer aktuellen Studie zufolge das bisherige Wohlstandsniveau halten. Die Daten sind alamierend.

Die Kanzlerin ist zufrieden; ihr Finanzminister und der Chef der Wirtschaftsweisen sind es auch. Um 1,7 Prozent soll die deutsche Wirtschaft in diesem Jahr wachsen. Für Angela Merkel (CDU) und Peer Steinbrück (SPD) ist das Anlass, Angstszenarien wegzuwischen. Die Botschaft lautet: Deutschlands Unternehmen sind wettbewerbsfähig, die Konjunktur ist robust.

Angesichts der Turbulenzen an den Finanzmärkten und wachsender Rezessionsangst in den USA steht Deutschland tatsächlich relativ gut da. Doch auf längere Sicht seien 1,7 Prozent Wirtschaftswachstum ein Grund zur Sorge, so das Ergebnis einer Studie. Bei diesem Wachstumstempo drohe der Mittelschicht empfindlicher Wohlstandsverlust. Zu diesem Schluss kommt die Studie „Deutschland 2020“ der Unternehmensberatung McKinsey, die WELT ONLINE exklusiv vorliegt.

Bis 2020 würden zehn Millionen Menschen weniger zur Mitte zählen als noch Anfang der 90er-Jahre. Weniger als 50 Prozent der Deutschen bezögen dann ein Einkommen im mittleren Bereich – derzeit sind es 54 Prozent. Zur Einkommensmittelschicht gehören alle, die 70 bis 150 Prozent des Durchschnittseinkommens verdienen. 2006 entsprach dies einem Jahreseinkommen von 25.000 Euro. Der Wohlstand in Deutschland ist in Gefahr >>> | 4. Mai 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe)

May 03, 2008

Cuba Lifts Ban on Home Computers

BBC: The first legalised home computers have gone on sale in Cuba, but a ban remains on internet access.

This is the latest in a series of restrictions on daily life which President Raul Castro has lifted in recent weeks.

Crowds formed at the Carlos III shopping centre in Havana, though most had come just to look.

The desktop computers cost almost $800 (£400), in a country where the average wage is under $20 (£10) a month.

But some Cubans do have access to extra income, much of it from money sent by relatives living abroad.

Since taking over the presidency in February, Raul Castro has ended a range of restrictions and allowed Cubans access to previously banned consumer goods.

In recent weeks thousands of Cubans have snapped up mobile phones and DVD players.

But only now have the first computer stocks arrived.
Internet access remains restricted to certain workplaces, schools and universities on the island.

The government says it is unable to connect to the giant undersea fibre-optic cables because of the US trade embargo.

All online connections today are via satellite which has limited bandwidth and is expensive to use.

Cuba's anti-American ally, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, is laying a new cable under the Caribbean.

It remains unclear whether, once the connection is completed, the authorities will then allow unrestricted access to the world wide web. [Source: Cuba Lifts Ban on Home Computers >>> By Michael Voss, Havana | May 3, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
Finance Forum Set

GULF DAILY NEWS: MANAMA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders in Islamic finance from across the globe will address international delegates at the upcoming Leaders in Islamic Finance summit in Istanbul from May 26 to 29.

This is the first time that such a significant conference on Islamic finance is being held in Turkey.

The gathering of high-level government speakers as well as the most respected Sharia scholars, including Shaikh Nizam Yaquby, promises an agenda-setting conference that is sure to attract global attention.

Bahrain-based Unicorn Investment Bank will be leading an interactive workshop within the framework of the summit on Innovations in Structuring Sukuk.

The summit has been developed by the International Quality and Productivity Centre, the global providers of tailored, industry driven conferences, in collaboration with an elite international advisory board that includes senior representatives from the European Union Commission to the Turkish Parliament, Dow Jones, Al Salam Bank, Credit Suisse, Heritage Fiduciary Services, GMD Global Advisors and HSBC Amanah. [Source: Finance Forum Set]

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
L'euro a atteint un nouveau record historique à 1,5913 dollar

eMARRAKECH: Londres : L'euro a décroché jeudi un nouveau plus haut historique face au dollar à 1,5913 dollar vers 09H15 GMT, soutenue par les perspectives de maintien du taux directeur de la Banque centrale européenne et les craintes sur la croissance américaine, à la veille de la réunion des ministres des Finances du G7.

L'euro a ainsi battu son précédent sommet du 17 mars, qui était de 1,5905 dollar.

Le billet vert avait déjà subi mercredi un nouveau repli face à la monnaie européenne et à la devise japonaise, après la publication d'une prévision du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) tablant sur une "légère récession" aux Etats-Unis en 2008, ce qui renforce la probabilité de nouvelles baisses des taux dans ce pays.

La dégringolade du dollar se poursuit avec l'accord tacite des responsables américains, même s'ils se disent officiellement en faveur d'un "dollar fort".

En fait, la dépréciation de leur monnaie sert leurs intérêts en soutenant les exportations américaines. L'euro a atteint un nouveau record historique à 1,5913 dollar >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
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Islamic Banking Is Going Mainstream

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EMIRATES BUSINESS 24/7: Vince Cook, the CEO of The Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia) of Singapore, sees a strong Islamic finance industry in the region and works on bridging the gap between South East Asia and the GCC. For him, a key priority is to develop cross-border transactions within Asia and the Gulf with a view to securing a range of business, he told Emirates Business. 



What got you started in the Islamic financial services industry?

My first 24 years in banking were with Barclays, so I was basically associated with the British banking scene, so to say. Then they asked me if I was interested in looking at the overseas part of the business, and in 1987, I took my first Islamic banking project. That was my first exposure to the industry. 

At that time, the nature of the market was very different from what it is today. Since then, there has always been an element of Islamic banking with me. It was not a conscious decision but today it has become a very familiar field to me.

The elements of Islamic banking have always appealed to me. The social side of it, the business concern that underlines the use of money and the idea it is used for productive means are very important. Islamic finance has a close involvement with the community, which is remarkable. I strongly believe in all these things and enjoy them very much.



How would you describe the Islamic banking industry today, its atmosphere and current trends?

It's in the very early stages of development. A lot of players still question as to how we develop the business and how do we expand, as opposed to competing with each other head-on for market share. The game is about making the market bigger rather than fighting with each other for small percentages. 

In our case, based in Singapore, we are surrounded by huge potential markets with large Muslim populations. Investors are looking at different ways to structure the business. Islamic banks are a serious option for the very first time and if we look 20 years ahead and compare ourselves, we are very small today. Islamic Banking Is Going Mainstream >>> By Shuchita Kapur | April 29. 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

May 02, 2008

Islamic Banking: Legitimate Demand?

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ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Riyadh - The Islamic nation in all its stages has suffered under the weight of usury until recently since it had no other choice but to deal with the products of colonialism. Usury is a tool that was employed [by the occupational forces] to rob the nation of its resources and weaken its economy whilst creating a constant dependence on the capitalist system.

This was the case until a group of Muslims got together and with faith in the validity of Islamic Shariah and its suitability for situations regardless of time and place, took the responsibility upon themselves to find an alternative to the usury-reliant institutions. And thus, the Islamic banking system emerged and in the span of 30 years, such institutions recorded one success after the other and penetrated markets that had previously been impregnable.

And yet, there were some who viewed in this victory a defeat and attempted to sabotage the experiment. Under an economic pretext, they meticulously examined sources to find evidence to challenge and invalidate the legitimacy of Islamic banking – but came out empty-handed. All what they could argue, theoretically speaking, was that usury does not apply to paper currency because it cannot be valued against gold and silver.

Such people justified their claims by drawing on archaic and contemporary sources, in addition to some clerical opinions and the provisions of the monetary system – all of which were obsolete and could not be relied upon in this day and age. Meanwhile, prominent scholars and clerics have stated that paper currency could be valued against gold and silver.

According to the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the late Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Baz, "It is common knowledge among contemporary scholars that banknotes are valued against gold and silver [currency] since it [paper currency] gives commodities value and prices." Islamic Banking is a Legitimate Demand >>> By Lahem al Nasser | April 25, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Ethical Investing, Islamic Style

COMMODITY ONLINE: AHMEDABAD: Entry of Muslims into stock investments has been a point of worldwide debate for long. Though globally Islamic Banking and Finance and Sharia’s (according to Islamic rule) Investment has been growing at 10%, India lacked information on the religious sanction of such an investment.

Not to be left behind even the World Gold Council (WGC) together with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) launched fully Shariah-compliant Dubai Gold Shares with the intent to list them on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

Stock and commodity markets, mutual funds and other such investments were considered haram by the Muslims. The ‘haram’ income denotes the income, which comes from sources like alcohol, tobacco, porn related fields, pork, interest from exploitation, incomes from cheating, fraudulent and gambling. Make Use of Halal, Move Out of Haram >>> | May 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Can the World Survive US Downturn

TIME: Finding an empty table at a Starbucks in Hong Kong on a Sunday afternoon these days feels like winning the lottery. So does getting a reservation at a good dim sum restaurant or renting an affordable apartment. While the U.S. suffers the convulsions of an impending recession and massive wealth destruction, here the malls are stuffed full and the streets bumper-to-bumper with BMWs. The good times keep rolling, and not just in Hong Kong, but across much of emerging Asia, from Shanghai to Mumbai. Sure, the U.S. turmoil has had some impact — jittery investors have knocked back stock markets from last year's lofty heights — but in general, the story of America's economic woes has been confined to the morning newspapers.

Recession? What recession?

In the past, any downturn in the U.S. economy would send Asian policy makers, businessmen and workers into cold sweats. The reason is that Asia has been so dependent on exports to the U.S. that any slowdown in demand in the American economy inevitably dragged down Asian growth as well. In recent months, however, there has been a debate raging among economists over whether the forces of globalization have weaned the rest of the world off its heavy reliance on the U.S. The hope has been that the global economy can continue to grow quite nicely even if the U.S. fell into recession.

So far, that seems to be true, at least here in Asia. Though the exact extent of America's downturn is still uncertain, the early signs tell us that Asia isn't as reliant on the U.S. as it once was. "Economies in Asia will see potential to grow at reasonably fast rates" says Robert Horrocks, head of research at fund management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments. Nigel Richardson, chief investment officer for Asia at AXA Investment Managers says that "the U.S. is still the driving force of the world economy" but "Asia is probably far more resilient than it would have been in the past."

Why is that? One theory is that the region has enough centers of growth of its own — mainly, the roaring economies of China and India — that trade within Asia can drive the region's GDP onwards even if the U.S. economy wanes. The idea is called decoupling, as if the continent has just extricated itself from an unhappy relationship. By this reckoning, America just isn't as important to the region as it used to be.

But can that possibly be the case? Can the U.S. really become economically irrelevant? Can the World Survive US Downturn? >>> By Michael Schuman | April 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
The Silent Jihad Against the West

RIGHT SIDE NEWS: Anyone that cares to learn about what is going on in the world is familiar with active jihad, the "holy war", conducted with terrorism and directed at the modern world in general and western civilization more specifically. But there is also another form of jihad that is part of the deliberate effort to have Islam replace all concepts of morality and the values held dear by the rest of us.

The name of this silent "fifth column" effort is "Sharia Banking". Unfortunately, Sharia Banking is increasingly accepted by western banking institutions without any real understanding of what the Muslim goal is and what is at stake in the efforts by these institutions to attract more business, profits and money to bail them out of financial messes they brought upon themselves.

Islamic Sharia banking is coming to the United States and other western nations, thanks to global banks such as Citigroup, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Great Britain is now pledging to become the Islamic banking center of the world. Clearly the headlong rush by all global banks to enter the world of Islamic banking is well underway. Why do western banks seek to participate in Sharia banking; because it gives them a chance to enter the Islamic banking industry which has over $1.5 trillion available today and is growing at a steady and explosive rate of over 15% per year.

The implications for the west, and especially for the United States, are staggeringly destructive. Islamic banking working through global banks is doing for Islam what it could never do on its own: giving legitimacy to Sharia law and infiltrating it into the fabric of western society.

For those not familiar with Sharia Banking; it is a system which creates and sells services and products that are in strict accordance with Sharia law. Sometimes it is referred to in the Islamic culture as "Sharia finance". It dictates how the practices of banking, investment, bonds, loans, brokerage, etc, are to be conducted.

To insure compliance and to become "Sharia banking" compliant, banks must hire Sharia experts to review and approve each product and practice of the bank. This is known as "halal", which has been described as "the Muslim equivalent of kosher in Judaism." There is a shortage of such Sharia experts so there is competition among banks to find such experts to sit on their boards of directors. By having an "expert" involved in banking decisions, this provides the legitimacy to each banking decision because it is made at the director rather management level. However, most of these Sharia experts" are from the radical Wahhabi school of Islam in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and they hold views diametrically opposed to the basic values of Western civilization.

The Center for Security has identified some of the Sharia experts sitting on the boards of U.S. financial institutions. The top twenty "advisors" include many with conflicts of interests and anti-trust issues since they sit on boards of many Islamic banks at the same time. The Center for Security identifies a couple of advisors with ties to money-laundering and terrorism:

Yousuf Quaradawi who is prominent in the Muslim Brotherhood, owns two banks himself and has issued statements in support of Palestinian attacks on Israeli citizens and has issued rulings supporting Hamas and Hezbollah jihad attacks against Israel. The Silent Jihad Against the West >>> By Vincent Gioia | May 1, 2008

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The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
Euro Shows Signs of End to Bull Run

FINANCIAL TIMES: Speculation that the euro’s seven-year bull run was coming to an end intensified on Thursday as the single currency fell to five-week lows against the dollar and the pound.

Many economists are reaching the view that eurozone growth has slowed to the point where the European Central Bank will have to cut interest rates or risk stunting economic growth. Euro Shows Signs of End to Bull Run >>> By Peter Garnham in London | May 1, 2008

FINANCIAL TIMES:
Dollar Soars as Fed Shifts to Neutral >>> By Neil Dennis | May 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
View from the Top

View from the Top

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

May 01, 2008

A View on Islamic Banking Which Sees All the Benefits But None of the Dangers Inherent in Its Growth Here in the West

FINANCIAL TIMES: A new Islamic bank will be launched in London on Tuesday, reaffirming the City’s status as the leading western financial centre for this fast-growing sector.

Gatehouse Bank is the fifth Islamic bank to be awarded a licence in Britain, demonstrating the resilience of Sharia-compliant finance in spite of the credit crisis that has wiped billions off the balance sheets of conventional banks.

David Testa, chief executive at Gatehouse, said: “Islamic finance is a healthy and growing industry, stimulated primarily from the Gulf, but also from growing interest in south-east Asia, including new centres such as Indonesia.

“Investors in the Middle East are increasingly looking to diversify out of their region and they see London as a key marketplace to help them in this. One of the main reasons why London has become such an important centre for this kind of finance is due to the legislative changes pushed through by the government over the last five years.

“It has brought in new laws to level the playing field with conventional finance and make the City an attractive place to invest in a Sharia-compliant way. For London, what with the problems of Northern Rock and the crackdown on non-doms [non-domiciled foreigners], this really is one area where the City has got it right.”

Britain is the only country in the European Union to have licensed Islamic banks as the government has realised the potential of this market for the City as a financial centre. It has also seen the development of Islamic finance as a way of building bridges with the 2m Muslims who live in the UK.

The UK has also stolen a march on New York, the world’s other leading financial centre, as a hub for Islamic finance, partly because of its timezone and partly because of the antipathy towards this sector in the US following the September 2001 attacks. UK’s Fifth Islamic Bank to Tap Demand Growth >>> By David Oakley, Capital Markets Correspondent | April 21, 2008

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The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
Rewarding Failure


The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
Italy Posts Income Details on Web

BBC: There has been outrage in Italy after the outgoing government published every Italian's declared earnings and tax contributions on the internet.

The tax authority's website was inundated by people curious to know how much their neighbours, celebrities or sports stars were making.

The Italian treasury suspended the website after a formal complaint from the country's privacy watchdog.

The information was put on the site with no warning for nearly 24 hours. Italy Posts Income Details on Web >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
How Shari’a-Compliant Financing Curtails Your Economic Freedom

FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS: There has been much talk about Shari’a-compliant finance (SCF) in recent months, but many Americans are still in the dark about exactly what it is and what it portends for the American economy and the freedoms Americans enjoy.

This may be why the judge in the Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas last fall declared a mistrial and five of six defendants face a retrial (one was found not guilty of most of the charges against him). Terror expert Douglas Farah surmised at the time that part of the reason might have been because “perhaps the prosecution tried to cram too much information in with a group of jurors largely unfamiliar with anything to do with the case.” And Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism had a heated exchange with Alan Colmes of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes about whether the mainstream news media had even managed to get the story right.

So what exactly is SCF?

Part of Shari’a Law

SCF is a part of Shari’a law (also known as Islamic law), and dates back to the 9th Century. Shari’a law encompasses every facet of one’s life, and those who seek to impose it upon Muslims – and the world – look to regulate everything from aspects of religious and social customs to political and military responsibilities. Shari’a law is, in fact, the law in countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran. The Taliban also recognizes Shari’a law, and subjected all of Afghanistan to it before U.S. forces entered that country after 9/11.

Earlier this year, Britain’s Archbishop of Canterbury faced a firestorm after he suggested in a BBC interview that the adoption of Shari’a law in Britain “seems unavoidable and, as a matter of fact, certain conditions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law, so it is not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system.” While his seemingly willing acceptance of this might shock, UK Muslims on welfare are eligible to receive extra benefits if they have more than one wife – even though polygamy is considered illegal under British law. So, in essence, the Archbishop was correct when he said “certain conditions” of said Shari’a law are already recognized in today’s British society. How Shari’a-Compliant Financing Curtails Your Economic Freedom >>> The Editors | April 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
Targeting Opportunities in the United Arab Emirates

EMIRATES BUSINESS 24/7: Dow Jones Indexes has opened its first office in the region in Dubai. While the office will promote all the company's indexes, attention is likely to be given to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, which were launched in 1999. The Dubai office will target investment banks, asset managers, fund managers and exchanges across the region. Sumeet Nihalani, senior director for Asia Pacific and Middle East, spoke to Emirates Business about what Dow Jones Indexes hopes to achieve from its presences in the region and the general outlook for Islamic banking.



Why has Dow Jones Indexes decided now is the time to establish a new presence in the Middle East? 



We have been in the Islamic market and business index for a long time. But we have been growing our business with the licensees in the Middle East. As this business grew, it was important to have somebody in terms of proximity to be able to efficiently and in a timely manner to serve and support potential clients. We have seen a lot of growth in the Middle East – mainly in GCC countries. And we have seen a lot of growth in the Middle East around Islamic index opportunities. It is important to have somebody on the ground to see what are the emerging trends. And to see how we can fit our competence with local knowledge and understanding to the local market place to create more products or different products. 



What are the challenges facing Islamic financial banking?

I would like to use the word opportunities rather than challenges. I do think there are a number of opportunities. As a lot of banking and financial professionals engage themselves with Islamic finance activities, they are able to create new products and services that can be [useful] across regions. And they can address the different aspects of Islamic finance in insurance, mortgages, etc. Our office has given us a good opportunity to contribute to this and bring our global experience to Dubai and the region in similar services in this market place. Also, the members of our Sharia board who provide Islamic Finance expertise to Dow Jones Indexes and provide the Sharia rules that we apply to our index components are located here.
Targeting Opportunities in UAE >>> By Rami Eljundi | April 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)