I absolutely agree with Bubba. While the Sukuk is simply a euphemism to get around an inconvenient religious prohibition, it certainly doesn't mean that Islam has gone modern. As for the ports, I think it is insane to have ANY foreign company managing key elements of our infrastructure. Doesn't a Chinese company manage Long Beach, and we're supposed to be comfortable with that?
It's not just a Chinese company, it's a Chinese government owned shipping company.
The Port of Long Beach operates as a landlord. The Board of Harbor Commissioners leases port shipping terminals and other facilities to private firms. Port revenues are reinvested in new facilities and improvements.
SSA Marine, A PRIVATE COMPANY, operates container terminals in Long Beach, Oaklan, San Pedro
http://www.ssamarine.com/company/history.html
2001 SSA Terminals (Long Beach), LLC was formed as a Limited Liability Company jointly owned by SSAT and Terminals Investment Limited, an affiliate of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, to operate the 170-acre Long Beach container terminal facility at Pier A. Operations commenced in December 2002.from another articleSSA formed the joint venture Pacific Maritime Services, LLC ("PMS") with China Ocean Shipping Company, to operate a major container facility in the Port of Long Beach. SSA manages the facility day to day, and operations commenced July 1, 2001.
http://www.fmc.gov/reading/ChinaOceanShippingCompany.asp
China Ocean Shipping Company ("Cosco") is a state -owned enterprise of the People's Republic of China ("China"). It was established in 1961 utilizing four ships with a combined tonnage of 30,000 deadweight tons. The company operates a worldwide network service with five operating branches: Guangzhou Ocean Shipping Company, Shanghai Ocean Shipping Company, Tianjin Shipping Company, Quindao and Dalin Shipping Companies. Cosco, now one of the world's largest shipping companies, was reorganized in 1993 through a merger of four companies, China Ocean Shipping Company, China Ocean Shipping Agency (Penavico), China Marine Bulker Supply Company, and China Road Transportation Company. The reorganized company was named China Ocean Shipping Companies Group and is known both as "Cosco" and "Cosco Group" (hereinafter "Cosco").
Foreigners are already major operators in U.S. ports. Thirteen of 14 container terminal operators at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex are foreign-owned, including companies from China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Denmark.