About the Centre for Islamic Economics
CENTER FOR ISLAMIC ECONOMICS: Centuries of imperialistic rule has made the Muslims forget the basic message of Islam which emphasizes on following the Shari'ah guidelines in our Mu'amulat (routine dealing) and Mu'asharat (social system) with a similar zeal as we follow these rules in our Ibadaat (prayers).

This despicable situation has resulted in making the whole economic and social system of all the Muslim nations totally dependent on menaces like Riba or Interest which is clearly declared Haram (prohibited) in Islam.

Nevertheless, there seems to be a ray of hope, as there is an increasing desire of awareness among a considerable portion of Muslims in Pakistan and all over the Muslim world who realize that now its time to inculcate the teachings of Islam in their economic as well as social life. As a result of this noble desire, Islamic Banking & Finance has witnessed an exponential growth worldwide. Most of the leading banks throughout the globe have started offering Shari'ah compliant financial products & services to their customers.

Keeping into consideration the emerging importance of this field a need arises for an organized forum which on one had, equip the younger lot with the education of Islamic economics and on the other hand, train the professionals in the practical field so that they can switch their current day business practices on Shari'ah guidelines Centre for Islamic Economics (CIE), a division of Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, looks forward to fulfill this need.

Centre for Islamic Economics (CIE) was founded on 22nd Safar 1413 i.e. 22nd August 1992 within premises of Masjid-e-Baitul Mukarrm, block-8, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.

The basic rationale for setting up this institution is to propagate the guidelines of an Islamic Economics System by undertaking research to enable the economic, financial and banking activities in Pakistan and other Muslim countries to conform to Shari'ah and to extend training facilities to personnel engaged in economic development activities in the Muslim world. [Source: The Centre for Islamic Economics >>>]

Mark Alexander

Research Affirms Value of Islamic Economics
Image courtesy of Google Images
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)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Putting Profit above Principle
It has been announced that Tony Blair wants to ’devote his life to faith’. By ‘faith’ I suppose we are to understand ‘interfaith dialogue’, so as to try and ensure that we all live together in harmony.

This is a noble ambition indeed; unfortunately, however, there is one stumbling block: The nature of Islam!

For ‘interfaith dialogue’ to be meaningful, there has to be a readiness by all parties, in this case especially Jews, Christians, and Muslims, to compromise, for without compromise, interfaith dialogue becomes a meaningless exercise.

In Islam we find an implacable faith, an unyielding belief system founded on totally different principles than both Judaism and Christianity.

Christianity is based on love: The love of God, the love for God, the love of humanity. Islam, by contrast, is not a religion based on love; rather, it is based on total submission to Allah, and where there is no total submission to Him, we find the sword used to rein in the people. Indeed, Muhammad himself announced the sword to be an instrument of faith. Who, then, are we to argue with Muhammad’s declaration? How can we put a positive spin on that?

It is interesting to note that there is a maxim used by Muslims which states the following: ‘To convince stubborn unbelievers, there is no argument like the sword.’ [Source: Washington Irving: Mohammed]

For this reason, if for no other, it is difficult to see what Tony Blair hopes to achieve with his devotion to interfaith dialogue. How does he hope to change the nature of the faith of Islam? It is impossible to change nature. Indeed, can we change the nature of anything? And if this is so, then what hope have we of changing the nature of Islam, especially after more than fourteen hundred years?

The only man who could have changed its nature was the Prophet Muhammad himself. But as he is no longer around to make any changes, it is not going to be possible for mere mortals to change anything in that religion. You see, Islam is not a religion like Christianity anyway. Christianity has evolved, and has undergone a reformation. This reformation was made possible partly because Christianity, being based on the Bible, especially the New Testament, is to all but fundamentalist Christians considered to be a book that is inspired by God. The words contained therein are not generally considered to be God’s actual words.

In this respect, Islam is very different. Islam, as we all know, is based on the Qur’an, and that book is not considered be inspired by Allah; rather, Muslims consider the book to comprise the actual words of Allah as dictated to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel in the form of a recitation. In fact, the very meaning of ‘Al Qur’an’ is ‘The Recitation’.

The result of this difference between the holy books has led to two quite different civilizations and cultures. Muslims are very defensive of Islamic culture and civilization in a way that Westerners are not defensive of theirs.

Take our leaders. They are reluctant to face up to the fact that we have a huge problem on our hands with Islam in general, and with the rapid growth of Islam in the West in particular. In this reluctance, they are doing us no favours. On the contrary, they are remiss in their duties as guardians of our way of life, as guardians of our Judeo-Christian civilization.

What, for example, are our leaders doing to protect our values and our way of life? Interfaithing will offer no protection; actually, on the contrary, it will probably lead to compromise – the compromise of Westerners. To me it seems like a cop out. It is a smokescreen to enable the top echelons to put profit above principle.

The jihad which is being waged against the West threatens us all. It is not something we can afford to ignore; yet people are ignoring it, largely in the hope that it will go away. It won’t. If anything, it will get worse.

The jihad has many guises. One of the latest is the economic jihad being waged against capitalism. Only this morning, it was reported that there have been calls for Ireland to introduce Shari’ah-compliant finance as a matter of urgency. As a matter of urgency, no less! Why? So that Muslims living and working in Ireland can live their lives according to their faith, without feeling conflicted by the terms and conditions of living in the ‘evil’ capitalist system.

One can but ask oneself one question here: If living under capitalism is so onerous for these Muslims, then why did they come here to live in the first place?

The leaders of finance houses who are working so hard to introduce Shari’ah-compliant financial services and products seem to be oblivious to the fact that Islamic economics is competing in every respect with capitalism. Isn’t it true to say that the interest rate is the keystone of a capitalist economy? Take that keystone away and the whole system will start to fall apart.

In Islam, riba is frowned upon. But let’s get one thing straight: Riba is generally translated as usury, not as the interest rate per se. There is a world of difference between usury, which is the charging of extortionate rates of interest for loans, and the general interest rate which is not to be equated with such extortion. Yet nobody seems to be making any difference between them. The financiers appear to have been hoodwinked into believing that the interest rate is itself frowned upon in Islamic economics. It must be said that one’s definitions in this matter depend on the Islamic scholars one reads: Some scholars frown upon the interest rate altogether, calling it all usury, whilst others take a more liberal approach and make a distinction between a reasonable rate of interest and an extortionate rate.

Whichever is the case, the fact remains that Islamic economics is not compatible with the long-term interests of a capitalist economy. One can but worry about the tentacles of Islam tightening their grip on Western economies. Lest we forget, the old adage, He who pays the piper calls the tune comes to mind. We need not wait to learn that this is indeed true. We can discern the verity of the adage already when we look around us. Take the power of the petrodollar as a case in point. Its power is profound, and it can be felt around the globe.

It is one reason why our leaders and business people are reluctant to speak out. They are overcome by greed and fear: They are greedy to earn back the petrodollars, and they are fearful that if they speak out they will incur the wrath of the Muslims living in the West, and cut off our oil supplies into the bargain.

You see, they do not have the stomach for any form of confrontation. The sad reality is, however, that the West will not survive this onslaught without a confrontation of some kind or other. It’s just not possible. Muslims are too determined to replace our Judeo-Christian civilization with an Islamic one, too determined to replace capitalism with an Islamic economic system.

But by confrontation, I do not necessarily think that we need to go to war (though that cannot, of course, be ruled out in the long-run). But we do need to protect our own values and our own way of life. Alas, this is not happening. Our leaders are giving in at every turn. Appeasement of Muslims both at home and abroad is the norm of the day. It will do nothing for the West except accelarate the demise of our civilization, and accelerate the demise of capitalism, too.

Can’t the people in power see what they are doing? Are bankers and financiers so greedy that they are willing to bring down the West for their own short-term gain? Do they not realize that they are playing with fire? Do they really believe that capitalism and Islamic economics can co-exist? Can they really be that ignorant?

Personally, I think they are not; rather, I think these people are out to get all they can before the house of cards is brought down. Remember the fall of communism? Capitalism will fall equally easily if we do not pay more attention. It’s hard to believe, I know. But the introduction of Shari’ah-compliant finance and other Shari’ah-compliant products is just the start. It is the introduction of Shari’ah law by the back the door. Today it’s banking; tomorrow it will be Shari’ah enshrined in the laws of the land, enshrined in the constitutions of Western countries. How foolish our leaders, bankers and financiers are!

Before 9/11, it would have been hard to imagine that the West could have been so weak and unwilling to fight for a way of life we have come to expect and love. But it all started going wrong after those attacks, because we were too reluctant to state the case against Islam, clearly and unequivocally. The politicians have busied themselves making excuses for Islam and have deceived the public in so doing; the business people and bankers have busied themselves making money from the countries awash with petrodollars. And in so doing they have chosen to turn a blind eye to the financing, by Saudi Arabia, of the propagation of Wahhabi Islam in the West.

So what exactly is Tony Blair going to achieve with his lifetime spent interfaithing? Is he merely going to sell the West farther down the river? And in any case, what are his qualifications for doing this job? What does he know about Islam? And where has he learnt that which he does know?

One thing is for certain: People like Tony Blair are not going to learn the true nature of Islam by sitting in five star hotels in Bethlehem, talking to fabulously rich Muslims from oil-rich countries. To learn about the true nature of Islam one has to mix and talk with people at the grassroots level. The rich are generally Western-educated, indulge in alcohol, spend enormous amounts of money in casinos, live in the lap of luxury, and generally do not adhere strictly to their faith. They are also generally well-travelled; so they are not representative of the ordinary man in the Arab street. Ergo, little can be learnt from them when it comes to the faith of Islam.

Isn’t it high time that we all started taking stock? Isn’t it high time that we woke up to the reality which confronts us? Isn’t it high time that we started to put principle before profit?

©Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Islamic Economics
THE MUSLIM NEWS: Islamic and conventional insurance to be separated 
In Bangladesh, the Insurance Ordinance 2008, approved last month, will allow Islamic insurance, but no company will be permitted to do both Islamic and conventional businesses simultaneously in a major change in the 70-year-old insurance laws. 


Many insurance companies, which run both forms of practices, have to choose either Islamic or conventional insurance after the promulgation of the new law. 


Out of 60 insurance companies currently in operation under the private sector, six are full-fledged Islamic insurance companies. Of these six, three deal with life insurance while the remaining are general insurance companies. Islamic Economics >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>

Ehrenfeld / Abady – Islamic Banking: Is Treasury complicit?
THE WASHINGTON TIMES: If "cash is king," then Middle East coffers are irresistibly enticing. During a recent tour of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt applauded the "growing role" of Arab banks in the U.S. economy. Treasury is seeking buyers for its newly acquired bailout assets because more than $1 trillion in cash is urgently needed to rescue the largest U.S. banks.

However, cash from the Arabian Gulf comes with a vital string attached: Islamic banking, erroneously viewed as an ancient practice. In fact, Islamic banking is a newly invented institution: "Neither classical nor medieval Islamic civilization featured banks in the modern sense, let alone 'Islamic' banks," notes Timur Kuran, professor of economics and law at the University of Southern California. According to the Dinar Standard, "assets managed by Islamic banks are in excess of $700 billion - predominantly concentrated in the Middle East."

Islamic banking took off in the 1970s, but was first concocted by Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna in the 1920s. The stated goal was to penetrate the Western finance system, corrupting it from within in hopes of creating a parallel system to re-establish a global Islamic empire governed by Islamic law (Shariah). Islamic rules of commerce (fiqh al-muamalat) forbid interest (riba) and investing in a prohibited (hara'am) enterprise. They also mandate tithes on wealth (zakat). However, the Koran fails to precisely define these concepts. Imams and ayatollahs differ, for example, on whether riba prohibits all interest or only usurious interest.

While the overhaul of American and Western banking regulations is urgent, Islamic banking cannot be the answer because Muslim clerics - not U.S. laws and regulators - make the rules. In 1969, the Saudis created the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is now leading the charge for global expansion of Islamic banking and has established new regulatory, accounting and auditing organizations to govern such banks. Notably, the OIC's charter is to "liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa [mosque] from Zionist occupation." >>> Rachel Ehrenfeld and Samuel A Abady | December 11, 2008

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

Islamic Economic System Only Way Out, Says Expert
SAUDI GAZETTE: Dammam – The recent global economic crisis was not caused just by sub-prime loans and credit derivative swaps but the more fundamental drawback of the system was behind the meltdown.

C.H. Abdul Raheem, a senior chartered accountant, prominent scholar in Islamic Economics and general manger [sic] Finance and Business Planning with Tasnee Company- Jubail, expressed these views at a lecture on “Global Economic Crisis- an Alternate View”.

The event was recently organized by Thanima- a socio-cultural organization of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom here at a local restaurant.

Raheem, is also the founder of Alternative Investment Credit Limited (AICL) a non – banking financial institution, which is run by Islamic banking concepts, implemented in Kerala state in year 2001 with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

“Any economic system has to take care of different behavioral aspects of human beings, and moral part is very important, and systems based on material gains alone will not work in the long run,” Raheem said.

The economist said that Islamic economic system, which advocated a balanced combination of individual freedom and social responsibility backed by a strong moral base, was the only viable alternative.

“Islam has structural and compulsory wealth re-distribution mechanism such as Sadaqa, Zakat, Will, Waqf, law of inheritance etc. There were period in human history when these principles were successfully practiced and prominent economist lived in those time and wrote valuable books on Islamic economics and practice”, he said.

Raheem said that the two important symbol and icons of capitalist system – the interest-based banking and the speculative stock exchange system - had miserably failed.

“Capitalism, especially interest-based economy, has brought in huge disparities between the rich and the poor. The capitalist system is practically dead as the western governments has nationalized most of the banks and other industrial corporations, which is a big anti-thesis of capitalism,” he said, adding that implementing a non-interest banking and investment system, which is divine and an ethical procedure is the only practical solution to solve to cover up the present situation.

During the function he answered various questions asked by the audience. Earlier, the chief organizer of Thanima’s Dammam chapter, C.P. Musthafa welcomed the audience and K.M. Rasheed presented the vote of thanks. [Source: Saudi Gazette] By Faisal Aboobacker Ponnani | Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Islamic Finance
INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE: Islamic finance has become the fastest-growing, most dynamic sector of global finance. Every Western-style financial product has its sharia, i.e. Islamic law, compliant instrument: microfinance, mortgages, oil and gas exploration, bridge building, even sponsorship of sporting events. Islamic finance is innovative, flexible, and potentially very profitable. “Operating in 70 countries with about $500bn in assets, it is poised to expand geometrically.” With more than one billion Muslims eager to support it, analysts project that this system will soon manage approximately 4 percent of the world economy, equivalent to $1 trillion in assets. Such figures explain the eagerness of Western banks to tap into sharia financial services. Citigroup, along with many other Western banking retailers, have opened Islamic branches in Muslim countries.



At the end of 2004, the Islamic Bank of Britain, the first bank catering to a European Muslim client base, floated its shares on the London Stock Exchange. Ironically, Western capitalism’s three major global economic crises - the 1970s oil shocks, the late 1990s Asian crisis, and 9/11 - paved the way to the ascent of Islamic finance. Unlike market economics, Islamic finance centers on the religious tenets of Islam and operates in a way to keep Muslims compliant with sharia, the religious law that comes directly from the Koran. Islamic activists, intellectuals, writers, and religious leaders have always upheld the prohibition of riba, the interest charged by moneylenders, and denounced gharar, which refers to any type of speculation. Under this belief, money must not become a commodity in itself to create more money. Islamic finance thus shuns hedge funds and private equities, because they simply multiply cash by stripping assets. Money serves as a means or instrument of productivity as originally envisioned by Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This principle is embodied in the sukuks, Islamic bonds. Sukuks always link to real investments - for example, to pay for the construction of a toll highway - and never for speculative purposes. This principle springs from the sharia’s ban on gambling as well as on the prohibition of any forms of debt and activities that trade risk. Islamic Finance >>> By Loretta Napoleoni | April 26, 2008

Hat tip: Dr Nasir Khan >>>

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

An Emerging New Mode of ‘Finanzkapital’
IQTISAD AL ISLAMY (ISLAMIC ECONOMIC) – Abstract: Islamic banking is making a debut in the world of 'Finanzkapital'. Despite being new in the world of finance and still hesitant to make bold claims, it is emerging slowly but steadily. The men who took upon themselves the task of piloting the Islamic mode of 'Finanzkapital' belong to the new generation of Muslims. Not only are they endowed with a strong Islamic faith but are also equipped with the necessary technical wherewithal to rise to this occasion. The one who first started the ball rolling in this direction was Dr. Ahmed El-Naggar, an Egyptian economist. Among others who joined him later, were the late King Faisal and his son Prince Muhammad. Tunku Abdul Rahman too played the pioneering role in the establishment of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.

Although the superstructure of Islamic banking is still in the making and there are quite a large number of fundamental issues waiting to be resolved, the spirit to make this premier pas a success seems undaunted. While some Muslim countries have already set up Islamic banks, there are others where at least a part of the banking business has been Islamized. Pakistan is among those countries which have set up special counters for interest-free banking.

As Islamic economics is not only confined to mere 'finance', quite a large number of steps are also being taken to orientate the economic contours of these countries compatible with the basic tenets of Islam. Zakat and Ushr have already been introduced in Pakistan. In addition, serious efforts are under way to find new ways and means towards raising funds through taxation etc. for purpose of meeting both the budgetary and developmental outlays.

The World of Islam, today, finds itself in an enviable position. Not only is it now largely liberated from the colonial yoke, but is also endowed with the fabulous oil wealth. With a view to enable the Muslim countries to break their centuries-old economic stagnation, the present exercise into Islamic banking is destined to open up a new epoch of resurgent development and distributive justice. If this effort got crowned with success, not only will it benefit the Muslims, but will also usher in a new era of efficient and broad-based growth and development in the whole world. Islamic Bank: An Emerging New Mode of ‘Finanzkapital’ in the World >>> By M. A. Hussein Mullick

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Economic Jihad Spreads to Ireland; Shari’ah-Compliant Financial Services ‘Should’ Be Made Available to Muslims There as a Matter of Urgency
At this rate, capitalism will be dead in a short time. It took the West years to defeat communism. Western capitalism eventually won the day as it was seen to be superior. Indeed it was and still is superior. Islamic economics is now winning the day, though. And there has been no need of a Cold War, and no need for guns (or swords). All it has taken is intimidation of Westerners by an assertive Muslim population, a sense of subservience to the Gulf Arabs, especially the Saudis, ignorance of the true nature of Islam and its goals, a refusal to admit to the dangers of that faith, appeasement, meekness, and timidity on the part of Westerners who are afraid of confronting the ideology, a loss of belief in our own destiny, and a dogged determination on the part of our leaders and captains of industry NOT to call Islam what it actually is: A political system wrapped up in a deity.

The end of capitalism and liberty, dear readers, is nigh! - ©Mark

THE IRISH TIMES: THERE IS an “urgent need” for sharia-compliant financial services to be made available in Ireland so that Muslims living here do not contravene religious teachings, representatives from Irish financial institutions were told at a seminar on Islamic banking yesterday.

The seminar was held at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI), which is based at Ireland’s largest Sunni mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin.

“We organised this conference because there is an urgent need for the Muslim community here to have mortgages and other financial services that do not drive them to break their Islamic teachings,” said Ali Selim, a theologian and secretary to Imam Hussein Halawa of the ICCI.

During yesterday’s seminar Imam Halawa outlined the religious tenets of Islam that forbid the payment or receipt of interest, known as riba.

Representatives from the Arab Banking Corporation’s London subsidiary and the Islamic Bank of Britain gave presentations on how the market for Islamic finance has developed in the UK in recent years.

Several high street banks in Britain now offer a variety of sharia-compliant services, including mortgages.

One of the most common types is based on the Islamic principles of “diminishing musharaka” or diminishing ownership. Under this scheme, the customer and bank jointly acquire a property, with the customer’s share usually similar to the normal deposit, but the property is bought in the bank’s name only.

The customer makes monthly payments made up of rent and contributions towards the purchase price over an agreed period of time.

The amount of rent decreases as the customer’s share in the property increases. Ownership is transferred when the customer eventually buys out the bank.

Similar partnerships are available so Muslim business people in the UK can avoid interest repayments.

Mr Selim told the seminar that as Ireland’s Muslim population increased there would be more demand for such services here. Call for Sharia-Compliant Finance Services to Be Available in Ireland >>> By Mary Fitzgerald | May 30, 2008

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

Islamic Economics: Iqtisad al Islamy
ISLAMIC-WORLD.NET: Islam uniquely considers distribution as the economic problem, and Muslims do not share the obsession of capitalists and communists with production. Because Islam differentiates between the basic needs and luxuries, there exists no concept of relative scarcity of resources in Islam. The resources available on earth are sufficient to secure the basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) of fifty billion human beings. Such a misunderstanding has concealed the reality that starvation, poverty, and economic backwardness, result from maldistribution exasperated by man-made laws and systems. Under the Islamic system, Nigeria alone could support the whole of Africa, as occurred in the past when, under the system of Islam, Africa sent food to relieve the famine in Medinah during the rule of Omar bin al-Khattab.

By using labels like "Third World" and "First World," this economic conspiracy has worked behind a deceived populace who fail to realize that the "Third World" countries are actually First World in terms of resources. While organizations like Mercy International and UNICEF keep the masses content under the circus act of "humanitarian aid," the capitalist machine works behind the stage to gobble up the resources of the world.

The implementation of Islam would eliminate the stranglehold by which the elites control the polices of the world and milk its resources. Unlike the current systems, Islam will not impose any limits on the amount of wealth that an individual can acquire, thus creating and maintaining an incentive to work. The shortsightedness of limiting production stems from the man-made ideologies that fail to understand the nature of creation. Because the Islamic system reflects the wisdom of the Creator, then the implementation of Islam will provide a society conducive to life that will address the needs of humanity based on the correct understanding of life. Muhammad (saaw) said, "The son of Adam, if he had two valleys of gold, would desire a third and would not be satisfied till he bites the dust."

While generating massive abundance and wealth of resources by eliminating all the restrictions and oppressive systems that prevent production, Islam will safeguard against abuses of exploitation in acquiring wealth by limiting the way in which wealth is acquired. For instance, Islam denies the "free" market of Capitalism which has led to the situation of "survival of the fittest". Such an unrestricted environment has led directly to the current situation where multinational companies have scavenged the resources of the world like parasites unrestricted in their "freedom." Under the Khilafah, natural and vital resources would be categorized as public property and a right of every citizen of the state - Muslim or otherwise - in accordance with the Prophet's (saw) Hadith that states, "The humans have a right to three things - water, green pastures, and fire-based fuels (An-Naar)."

In Islam, public revenue from oil and natural resources would be used to secure the needs of the whole Muslim Ummah, and not to line the pockets of casino owners. The Khilafah would provide public and vital resources without charge to cover the needs of every individual and family, and the monopolies that multinational corporations maintain to dictate the lives of the people would dissipate.

The Shariah also defines certain rules that regulate company structure, effectively preventing abuse and corruption. For instance, Islam forbids monopolies by outlawing the hoarding of wealth (Al-Ihtikar), and eliminating copyright or patency [sic] laws that would open the avenue for potential monopolies to develop. Also, Islam protects the ownership of businesses and companies by restricting ownership of companies only to those who contribute both capital and effort to the company or business, thus effectively putting the seal on such concepts as "corporate takeover" from ever becoming a reality. Introduction (more)

Introduction to Shari’ah

What is Usury (Riba)?

Contracts in Islamic Commerce and Their Application in Modern Islamic Finance

Monetary & Fiscal Policy in Islam

Trade & Business in Islam

Mark Alexander

Obama Is Setting Himself and the West Up for Complete Failure!
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. – Mark Twain, Letter to Mrs Foote, Dec. 2, 1887
The West faces two great challenges today: The survival of capitalism, an economic system which has brought prosperity to the masses; and the survival of Judeo-Christianity, a religious system which has brought civilization to us all. Without both, we would be very much more impoverished today, and we probably would still be living in a state of benightedness. Alas, because of recent failures in the economic system, our commitment to capitalism is appearing weak and shaky, and because of the Jihad being waged against a weakened West, our commitment to Judeo-Christianity is appearing weak and shaky, too.

We need to renew our commitment to both the economic system and to the underpinnings of our civilization, but to do that, we need good, strong leadership, and leadership from people who are equally committed to both capitalism and Judeo-Christianity. Sadly, such commitment is nowhere to be found.

In order to surmount these two great challenges we are now facing, we need crystal clear thinking and total commitment to the purpose. To-date, there is evidence of neither crystal clear thinking nor commitment to the civilization which is the keystone of our freedoms and way of life.

President Obama was swept to power in the belief that his administration would usher in a new dawn. He came to power on a promise of hope and change, though before the election, he omitted to explain to the electors what that “hope” stood for, and what that “change” would mean for Americans and for the world.

Obama’s confidence was so great that he promised us all that after his administration, the world would be a very different place. The “audacity of hope” indeed. One could also add the audacity of an upstart!

We all know that Obama wishes to stimulate the American economy by spend, spend, spending. The stimulus package worth $825bn shows Obama’s commitment to spending other people’s money: Taxpayers’ money! For as we all know, governments do not have any money; they have only other people’s.

This stimulus package is being hailed as some kind of stroke of Obama genius, whereas, in actual fact, it is old hat. He is only proposing what socialists have proposed down over the ages: To tax and spend. The only thing that is possibly new about Obama’s proposal is the scale of the stimulus package.

Spending money on roads and other infrastructure is all well and good, and doubtless there are many areas in America which need road-renewal programmes, and badly; but such spending will take a very long time to have an effect on the American economy. The lead-in times are going to be long; these projects are not going to have the immediate effects that Obama will surely be hoping for.

Further, spending public money on this vast scale is a sure recipe for corruption. Contractors, and many others, will be able to dip their hands into the overflowing pots of gold, and help themselves. If Obama thinks he can develop a system that will prevent this from happening, then he is naïver than even I thought.

Then there is the problem which spending public money on such a grand scale will bring with it: It will bring impoverishment to future generations, since future generations will be burdened with the massive debt which today’s generation is in the process of getting itself into.

Government intervention is now the order of the day, and on both sides of the Atlantic. But for government intervention, you can read socialism. For that is the path we are now going down. Wherever and whenever governments get involved in private businesses and corporations, their intervention and the ensuing government regulations end up crippling business communities and stifling initiative.

There is no doubt that we have got into this dire economic situation because of greed; and that greed was born in the complete and utter deregulation of the Reagan and Thatcher years. But what they did was not wrong at all, for their policies proved to be vote-winning, and they led to prosperity. The problems arose not because of the Reaganite and Thatcherite policies themselves, but because they were allowed, over the years long after both leaders had left power, to go on and on, unchecked.

So now, instead of following Friedmanite principles, principles which have been proved to work, we are in the process of throwing out capitalist principles: We are throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. And, as a consequence, we are being taken down the socialist route, taken down the road which leads to higher and higher taxes, increasing government interference, and stifled initiative. It is a road which leads to no paradise! Of that, be sure!

Of course, the excesses of many, especially bankers and their ilk, need to be curbed. It makes absolutely no sense to allow such people to keep paying themselves vulgar and enormous bonuses, especially when many others are experiencing difficulty in feeding their families. But that is an argument for strong government to put a stop to the worst excesses of the capitalist system; it is not an argument for abandoning the system altogether.

We need to reaffirm our commitment to the system by making it possible for people to start up businesses. This can be done with substantial tax breaks and, where necessary, government loans, subsidies, and grants. Unburden the people of their onerous taxation! Set the people free! Let them work and keep the fruits of their labours! Encourage manufacturing! Encourage initiative! Bring out the best in America!

In my judgement, the way Obama is going about correcting the economy, when Obama will no longer be the president of the USA, others will be left to pick up the pieces and pay the high taxes which he will surely introduce, since there is no other way to finance such an ambitious stimulus package. In short, President Obama shows no commitment to capitalism; on the contrary, his way of government is based on the socialist model.

But what is equally worrying, perhaps more worrying still, is Obama’s lack of commitment to Judeo-Christian civilization. In matters of faith, his vision is blurred to say the least. This is probably due to the nature of his family background.

This man is in grave danger of fudging the issues. Oh, sure he talks a good line. His tongue may well be said to be golden. But listen to what he says – carefully. Then you will be able to dissect the character, and see what he truly stands for. He kept those things well hidden from the people before he was elected, but that is going to be very much more difficult for him from now on. His mask is already beginning to slip.

Only yesterday, in a National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton, Obama spoke in a manner which was more redolent of a preacher than a politician. (That is worrying in itself.) It is well worth taking the time to hear what he had to say. You will find that he is not committed to Judeo-Christianity, and further, he has what can best be described as a view of the world which would do Pollyanna much justice!

Obama stated that “faith should not divide us”. Yes, Obama, in an ideal world, faith should indeed not divide us; but in the real world it truly does. And most definitely. It is in the real world that we have to live; and we have to deal with the challenges the real world kicks up for us. One of these challenges is precisely that faith does divide us. It is especially true to say that the faith of Islam is diametrically-opposed to the faiths of Judaism and Christianity. No sweet words from you, Mr President, will change this fact.

Further, Obama stated in the ‘National Prayer Breakfast’ that there is no religion whose central “tenant’ [sic] is hate. Well that’s where Obama is wrong again. Islam does have hate programmed into the faith. It is a tenet of that faith. A Muslim is to love only his brother or sister in Islam. He is not to love a Christian; and as we can see on a day-to-day basis, he is certainly not to love a Jew. Hence the basis for all the anti-Semitism we find in Islam since its birth.

Then there was the point he raised about the hadith, which states that “none of you [Muslims] truly believes unless you wish for your brothers what you wish for yourself”. Surely Obama cannot be this naïve! He must surely understand that this hadith relates to a Muslim’s brother in Islam – and to nobody else!

Then he spoke of the ‘Golden Rule’, which, he says, all religions have. The ‘Golden Rule’ of course is that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. As the son of a Muslim father, Obama should know that Islam does not have the concept of the ‘Golden Rule’. It is singularly absent in that faith.

From his speech at the ‘National Prayer Breakfast’, we learnt more about Obama’s understanding of faith than we have ever learnt before. My understanding of his understanding is this: His father was a Muslim who turned to atheism. His mother was suspicious of all organized religions. His grandparents were non-practising Methodists and Baptists; and Obama himself joined the Trinity United Church of Jesus Christ in Chicago, under the leadership of Rev Jeremiah Wright Jr. This is a concoction of faith which cannot possibly lead to clarity of thought, still less to commitment to Judeo-Christianity.

The following has been said about the Church Obama attended in Chicago:

Jesus is black. Merging Marxism with Christian Gospel may show the way to a better tomorrow. The white church in America is the Antichrist because it supported slavery and segregation.

Those are some of the more provocative doctrines that animate the theology at the core of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Barack Obama's church.

…

[Rev. Jeremiah A.] Wright [Jr.] has said that a basis for Trinity's philosophies is the work of James Cone, who founded the modern black liberation theology movement out of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. Particularly influential was Cone's seminal 1969 book, "Black Theology & Black Power."

Cone wrote that the United States was a white racist nation and the white church was the Antichrist for having supported slavery and segregation.

Today, Cone, a professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, stands by that view, but also makes clear that he doesn't believe that whites individually are the Antichrist.

In an interview, Cone said that when he was asked which church most embodied his message, "I would point to that church (Trinity) first." – Source

This says a lot about Obama. So where is Obama’s commitment to Judeo-Christian civilization? As he stated in the prayer meeting, his administration will not favour any one religious group over another. And herein lies the rub. How can we win a war against an implacable enemy, an enemy which is so committed to its own religion and ‘civilization’ that it will stop at nothing to win, stop at nothing to bring us down, when we ourselves are not committed to ours?

It would appear that Obama’s thinking on religion is as fudged as is his thinking on economics. He may well have been educated in Harvard; but so far, it doesn’t show.

What is needed at this very important stage in the development of the Western world is a renewed commitment to the principles which underpin our civilization, and a commitment, too, to the economic system which has brought us all so much. Capitalism has brought us material wealth unparalleled and unheard of in parts of the world following different economic models; and Judeo-Christianity has brought us civilized behaviour and unparalleled achievements in the sciences, in the arts, in education, in medicine, and in a wealth of other areas besides, such as human rights. Islam cannot compare in matters of achievement, no more than it can compare in matters of freedom, human rights, or in any other field of human endeavour. Yet we in the West find ourselves bereft of the very leaders we need to guide us forwards and upwards. There are many mountains to climb, many achievements still to be attained. Yet we find ourselves doubting the very validity of the founding principles of our economic system and our superior civilization.

Given such deep-seated doubts, it is hard to see how we can come out of all these tribulations unscathed. We are in danger of losing the best economic system ever devised by man, losing the best political system – democracy – ever conceived in the minds of man, however flawed it may be, and we are in danger of losing our civilization, for lack of knowledge, lack of clear thought, lack of courage, lack of commitment, and lack of foresight.

We need to move forward with confidence in both areas: We need confidence in capitalism, whilst at the same time correcting its excesses; and we need to thwart the advance of the enemy. And that enemy is Islam. Of that, be sure. It is not some bastardized version of the faith; it is the very faith itself. Islam and democracy are immiscible, and the capitalist system is incompatible with Islam too, committed as the latter is to Islamic economics and Shari’ah finance. This system of economics is not what the West was built on; but greed here, too, is guiding us up the garden path, since there is money to be made aplenty in Shari’ah finance.

The Jihad is being waged against the West for one purpose, and one purpose only; and that purpose is to supplant our civilization with an Islamic one – if civilization it may indeed be called; and the next purpose is to supplant our economic model of capitalism with a model based on Islamic economics and finance.

Obama, with all his smooth talk and sweet words, will not change these facts. He may be able to hoodwink his own people, but he will not hoodwink the Jihadis who are fighting us. Obama wants to reach out to the Islamic world, but what he should be doing is keeping the Islamic world at bay. He wants to “win hearts and minds” in the Muslim world, too. But that will be to no avail. It is a corny term, and it will surely be a fruitless exercise. A complete and utter waste of time, since the people who are fighting the Jihad on behalf of Islam are hardly the kind of people whose hearts and minds can be won!

Mark Twain’s quotation about ignorance and confidence leading to sure success is very pertinent here, for Obama certainly is displaying ignorance of both economics and Islam, and at very least he is displaying his naïveté. His ignorance was kept well under wraps in the lead up to his election, but his confidence was present in abundance. Both have brought him success in his bid to become the first black president; but it is doubtful – very doubtful – that this will be the winning formula, the winning combination in putting capitalism back together again, for capitalism, at the moment, rather resembles Humpty-Dumpty, whilst Judeo-Christianity resembles a boat without a rudder, and one on the high seas at that! One can have only skepticism of Obama’s recipe for correcting the ailing economy; for his recipe in dealing with the Islamic world, one can have only fear – fear of abject failure!

©Mark Alexander

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Turkey: Did Erdogan's Unorthodox Approach to Bring Down Inflation Actually Work? | DW Business

Jun 5, 2023 | Turkish inflation has fallen below 40% for the first time in 16 months. We speak to Erdal Yalcin, professor of international economics at Konstanz University of Applied Sciences. We ask him: is this a meaningful figure?

Erdogan's low interest rate policy is in line with Islam. His economic policy is unorthodox only to Western economists; his policy is very orthodox if considered in the light of Islamic economics. Erdogan is, after all, trying to re-Islamize the country. He is out to undo Ataürk's secular legacy. – © Mark Alexander

Sciences économiques islamiques?
DANIEL PIPES: Sans que le monde extérieur en prenne vraiment conscience, une quantité d'argent importante et en croissance rapide est gérée aujourd'hui en accord avec la loi islamique, la charia. Selon une étude, «à la fin 2005, plus de 300 institutions de plus de 65 juridictions géraient des actifs d'une valeur globale de l'ordre de 700 milliards à un billion de dollars d'une manière compatible avec la charia».

L'économie islamique prend une ampleur de plus en plus incontournable grâce à une profusion de portefeuilles d'exportateurs de pétrole et une multiplication d'instruments financiers islamiques (tels que des emprunts sans intérêts et des obligations sukuk). Mais à quoi rime tout cela? Les instruments conformes à la charia peuvent-ils concurrencer l'ordre financier international? L'instauration d'un régime économique islamique va-t-elle vraiment de pair, comme l'affirme un enthousiaste, avec la fin de l'injustice grâce à «l'intervention de l'État pour le bien de tous»?

Pour comprendre ce système, le meilleur point de départ est Islam and Mammon, un brillant ouvrage que Timur Kuran a écrit alors qu'il occupait (paradoxalement, vu le soutien saoudien à l'économie islamique) la chaire «King Faisal Professor of Islamic Thought and Culture» (pensée et culture islamiques) de l'université de Californie du Sud.

Kuran, qui enseigne actuellement à Duke University, estime que l'économie islamique ne remonte pas à Mahomet, qu'elle est une «tradition inventée» qui a émergé en Inde, dans les années 1940. La notion de discipline des sciences économiques «qui serait clairement et ouvertement islamique est très récente». Il y a encore un siècle, même les plus savants des Musulmans auraient été interloqués par l'«économie islamique».

L'idée a été forgée à l'origine par un intellectuel islamiste, Abul Ala Maududi (1903-79), pour qui l'économie islamique servait de moyen vers de nombreuses fins: minimiser les relations avec les non-Musulmans, renforcer le sentiment collectif d'identité musulmane, étendre l'Islam dans un nouveau domaine d'activité humaine et moderniser sans occidentaliser. Sciences économiques islamiques? >>> par Daniel Pipes, Jerusalem Post
| 26 septembre 2007

Version originale anglaise: Islamic Economics: What Does It Mean?
Adaptation française: Alain Jean-Mairet

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

This Video Shows How Islamic Economics Is in Direct Competition with Capitalism. It Will Eventually Bring the System Down!

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

Islamic Economics & Finance: Wisdom behind Prohibition of Interest

CNBC World - Islamic Finance: Applying Religion to Economics


Mark Alexander