Sharia-compliant banking products a 'huge flop' in Britain

ISLAMIC bank accounts and other financial products have failed to take off in Britain, according to industry insiders. This is despite hopes that the UK would become a pioneer in a new growth market.

New banks that were set up to appeal to the UK's nearly two million Muslims and Sharia-compliant products created by the existing high street lenders have failed to make much of an impact, critics say.

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."

Competitors have fared even worse and many had closed or scaled back their operations significantly, Mr Bhatti said.

Established banks that launched Islamic banking products are also believed to have fared poorly. HSBC and Lloyds were seen as having made the biggest efforts to make inroads, but without much success, Mr Bhatti said.

"Lloyds, which made a half-hearted stab at Sharia-compliant products in 2004, doesn't seem to have promoted its offering for years," he said in an article for MuslimPolitics.com.

"Even HSBC Amanah, probably the most credible and efficient provider of halal banking in the UK, has dramatically reduced its dedicated Islamic banking staff in Britain, and its marketing volume has been turned way down."

Neither Lloyds nor HSBC would give customer figures, but HSBC said that its accounts were growing at 10 per cent to 15 per cent a year. Lloyds did market its Islamic products but is no longer doing so.

Anyone visiting a branch could ask about its Islamic personal and business current accounts but would not see an adviser with specialist knowledge.

HSBC has launched several Islamic products since it got into the market in the UK in 2003 and has a dedicated salesforce in branches in areas with large Muslim communities.

The main aims of Islamic finance include the avoidance of riba, or usury, and making sure that money is not used to support industries considered to be unethical, such as alcoholic beverages, pornography and gambling.

Mohammad Qayyum, the director-general of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance in the UK, said that there had not been "a concerted campaign by banks to make people aware" of available products. Another hurdle is that banks often price their Islamic products more expensively than alternatives, he said.

However, there could be some improvement with legislative changes designed to make it easier for banks to offer Islamic products, which should reduce their price.

The Treasury has made changes in the tax law to accommodate Sharia products, Mr Qayyum said, and the FSA is consulting on a new framework for the issuance and regulation of sukuk, or Islamic bonds.

“Qatari Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi, has actually called SCF-generated zakat “jihad with money.””

Elena Kagan’s Sharia Red Flag
Frank Gaffeny
June 2010

[...]Worse yet, Dean Kagan had an even more direct connection to the Saudis’ Shariah-recruitment efforts at Harvard. She personally officiated in 2003 over the establishment of an “Islamic Finance Project” at the law school itself. The Project’s purpose is to promote what is better known as “Shariah-Compliant Finance” (SCF) by enlisting in its service some of the nation’s most promising law students.

Consequently, it is absolutely appropriate for senators to explore Elena Kagan’s attitude toward Shariah — an anti-constitutional, supremacist legal doctrine that is not only a threat to homosexuals, but to our civil liberties and society more generally.

Shariah-Compliant Finance dates back to the 1940s, when it was invented by leading figures in the Muslim Brotherhood. This international organization has as its stated mission “destroying Western civilization from within . . . by its own miserable hand.”

SCF is designed to further these seditious purposes by: legitimating Shariah in non-Muslim societies; compelling non-Shariah adherent Muslims to use SCF, rather than conventional financial products (in particular, arrangements that involve charging or paying interest); and diverting funds through techniques known as “zakat” (tithing) and “purification” to support jihad.

In fact, one of the driving forces behind the SCF industry, Qatari Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi, has actually called SCF-generated zakat “jihad with money.”

Ms. Kagan’s Islamic Finance Project also has played a prominent role in encouraging the U.S. government to endorse Shariah-Compliant Finance. Notably, a founding adviser to the Project, Harvard professor Samuel Hays III, conducted a “seminar for the policy community” in November 2008. It was sponsored by a former Goldman Sachs executive-turned-assistant treasury secretary, Neel Kashkari, who at the time was responsible for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The signal thus sent could not have been clearer, either to Kashkari’s colleagues in government or those in the financial sector: At a moment when the very viability of major banks and investing institutions critically depended on this individual’s favor, it would be advisable to embrace Shariah-Compliant Finance.[...]
http://www.newsmax.com/FrankGaffney/Elena-Kagan-Shariah-Islam/2010/06/21/id/362600

Elena Kagan, now a supreme court justice, aided and abetted the “jihad with money” terrorists. Thomas Moore has a case which may reach the Supreme Court - how will Kagan judge it?

“Taxpayer Monies Used to Promote Islamic Jihad - Judge Asked to Decide Against AIG Bailout” - June 08, 2010

ANN ARBOR, MI – In a motion for summary judgment filed this week, Federal District Court Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff was asked to enter a judgment against U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Federal Reserve Board over the federal government’s bailout of AIG. The basis for the motion is that over a billion dollars of the bailout went to fund Islamic religious activities in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor Michigan, and attorney David Yerushalmi filed the lawsuit in December 2008, challenging the AIG bailout on behalf of Kevin Murray, a former Marine who had served in Iraq. As a taxpayer, Murray objected to being forced to support the propagation of the Islamic jihad which he fought against as a U.S. Marine.

Robert Muise, Senior Trial Lawyer with the Law Center, and David Yerushalmi prepared the motion for summary judgment. The motion is based on depositions of Treasury officials, affidavits of AIG officials (sealed per court order), answers to interrogatories, and the sworn declarations of two of the nation’s notable experts on Islamic law and terrorism, Stephen C. Coughlin and Robert Spencer. [Click here to read Summary Judgment motion]

Coughlin, a lawyer and a decorated Army Reserve officer in Military Intelligence, is often cited as the Pentagon’s leading expert on the nexus between Islamic law and jihad. He concluded that by engaging in Sharia-compliant financing, AIG and the federal government, which now owns 79.9 percent of AIG, are engaging in the religious practice of Islam.

According to Coughlin, Islam inculcates hostility and discrimination against Jews, Christians, and all others who do not accept the Koran as the “word of Allah.” It is the same law that motivated the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. [Click here to read Stephen Coughlin’s Declaration]

Robert Spencer has studied Islamic theology and history for thirty years. He is the Director of Jihad Watch and the author of ten books dealing with Islam. He has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Command and General Staff College, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. intelligence community.

According to Spencer, by engaging in its Sharia-compliant financing and business practices, AIG is engaging in religious behavior that inculcates hatred and discrimination against Jews, Christians, and all other non-Muslims.

Spencer states that in abetting the spread of Sharia-compliant financing, AIG and the federal government are abetting the same legal system that motivated the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11. [Click here to read Robert Spencer’s Declaration]

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “It’s outrageous that the federal government is the owner of a corporation engaged in a business with interests adverse to the United States. We filed this lawsuit not only to defend constitutional principles, but also to defend our national security. It’s clear we can’t leave the job of protecting America to the Washington politicians.”

The federal lawsuit challenged that portion of the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” (EESA) that appropriated billions in taxpayer money to fund and financially support the federal government’s majority ownership interest in AIG, which engages in Shariah-based Islamic religious activities that are anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish.

According to the lawsuit, AIG, which is now a government owned company, engages in Sharia-compliant financing which subjects certain financial activities, including investments, to the dictates of Islamic law and the Islamic religion. This specifically includes any profits or interest obtained through such financial activities. AIG itself describes “Sharia” as “Islamic law based on the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet [Mohammed].”

According to the lawsuit, “The use of these taxpayer funds to approve, promote, endorse, support, and fund these Sharia-based Islamic religious activities violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Judge Zatkoff, in an earlier decision, denied the request by the Obama administration’s Department of Justice to dismiss the lawsuit. In his ruling, the judge held that the lawsuit sufficiently alleged a federal constitutional challenge to the use of taxpayer money to fund AIG’s Islamic religious activities. The court noted:

Times of crisis, however, do not justify departure from the Constitution. In this case, the United States government has a majority interest in AIG. AIG utilizes consolidated financing whereby all funds flow through a single port to support all of its activities, including Sharia-compliant financing. Pursuant to the EESA, the government has injected AIG with tens of billions of dollars, without restricting or tracking how this considerable sum of money is spent. At least two of AIG’s subsidiary companies practice Sharia-compliant financing, one of which was unveiled after the influx of government cash. After using the $40 billion from the government to pay down the $85 billion credit facility, the credit facility retained $60 billion in available credit, suggesting that AIG did not use all $40 billion consistent with its press release. Finally, after the government acquired a majority interest in AIG and contributed substantial funds to AIG for operational purposes, the government co-sponsored a forum entitled “Islamic Finance 101.” These facts, taken together, raise a question of whether the government’s involvement with AIG has created the effect of promoting religion and sufficiently raise Plaintiff’s claim beyond the speculative level, warranting dismissal inappropriate at this stage in the proceedings.

With the aid of taxpayer funds provided by Congress, AIG employs a “Shariah Supervisory Committee,” which is comprised of the following members: Sheikh Nizam Yaquby from Bahrain, Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari from Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Muhammed Imran Ashraf Usmani from Pakistan. Dr. Usmani is the son, student, and dedicated disciple of Mufti Taqi Usmani, who is the leading Sharia authority for Sharia-compliant finance in the world and the author of a book translated into English in 1999 that includes an entire chapter dedicated to explaining why a Western Muslim must engage in violent jihad against his own country or government.

According to AIG, the role of its Shariah authority “is to review our operations, supervise its development of Islamic products, and determine Shariah compliance of these products and our investments.”
http://www.thomasmore.org/qry/page.taf?id=19&_function=print&sbtblct_uid1=801&month=06&year=2010

“Coughlin, a lawyer and a decorated Army Reserve officer in Military Intelligence, is often cited as the Pentagon’s leading expert on the nexus between Islamic law and jihad.

He concluded that by engaging in Sharia-compliant financing, AIG and the federal government, which now owns 79.9 percent of AIG, are engaging in the religious practice of Islam.”

Wow! Thank you!

I’ll have to add it to my post.....which used to look like this...

Just say no!!!

For the UNknowing, the UNaware and the wary,

When the founding fathers thought of America, their little baby, the last thing they wanted was an invasive force to stifle, smother it, and then overwhelm it and kill it.

Most people do not recognize that what happens in a mosque is sedition. Pure and simple. Islam is not just a “religion”, it is a cult. Larger than that though, it is a political system, it is it’s own government, a economic system (which includes funding new mosque construction), its judicial...all wrapped up in the word sharia. This is inclusive of its military (jihadis) all rolled into one with one intent ...and that is to rule wherever they take root. It is a invasive, systemic infection looking to take over the host once it has quantum.

This is not just a “religion”, but something that cloaks itself in those terms so it should not be given the same treatment contemplated under the first amendment. The Korans Sharia rules are to consume whatever government there is wherever it goes.
Islam is political, and it’s goal is to supplant and replace. Globally.

When the founding fathers thought of America, their little baby, the last thing they wanted was an invasive force to stifle, smother it, and then overwhelm it and kill it.

The sooner America learns this , the better. Some know and many do not, but it is a threat to everything America knows.

Obama? Obama and Company? Should be tried for treason in this issue for promoting the establishment of a foreign government on our soils. He is doing nothing to protect America as per his oath. Also, as a Muslim, he knows this, he know far better, he knows sharia, but is looking to deceive America.

For all interested...Wanna learn more?
On Sharia
http://thehayride.com/2010/08/louisiana-at-leading-edge-in-fight-against-shariah/#more-5392

this,
Three things about Islam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib9rofXQl6w&feature=player_embedded

and a little Bill Whittle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg_iDPRud_c

Maybe we should talk about the birth of Pakistan?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IstZSgniH8

Lets keep America, America!

And if you like conspiracies lets look at the White House and its circle...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jhx_2TqffE
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJzU056ccV4&NR=1

After viewing the two, reconcile our observations.

Obama? Obama and Company? Should be tried for treason in this issue for promoting the establishment of a foreign government on our soils. As a Muslim, he knows this, he knows sharia, but is looking to deceive America.

Sharia is contrary to America, its rights , freedoms , liberty and democracy.

“But the danger to our national security is this:

the hallmark of Iranian Banking (i.e., Sharia banking) is the hiring of mullahs or sheiks in order to have some control over banking practices and the mandate to send some profits off to “Sharia charities” (a process known as Zakat). Hiring Sharia sheiks gives these groups standing in the banking world and brands “Sharia” as perfectly ethical.

Sending money to charity? What could be more ethical, and everyone is concerned about ethics these days.

Wrong.

Four of the most sought-after “Sharia authorities” in the industry, listed below, reads like a Who’s Who of Terrorists.

They all sit on the board of the AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) or the board of IFSB (Islamic Finance Standards Board).

And guess who sits on these boards? IFSB members include the central banks of Iran, Sudan, and Syria (all designated state sponsors of terrorism) and the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), which is widely documented since its inception to be a funder of terrorism.

Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawiis on the Board of AAOIFI, the Bank Al-Taqwa (shut down in 2001 by the U.S. Treasury for terror funding) and many other Middle East banks. Qaradawi, has been banned from entering the United States of America since 1999 and the United Kingdom since 2008 because of his ties to terrorism. He created a 57-member network of charities called the “Union of Good,” which is designated as a sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. Government.

In July 2003 in Stockholm, at a conference arranged by the Muslim Association of Sweden, he expressed his support for suicide attacks against Israeli civilians which he called a “necessary Jihad.”

Perhaps this is why he described Sharia charity dollars as “Jihad with Money” in an interview with the BBC in 2006. During an address to the Journalists Syndicate in Cairo (Associated Press, September 2, 2004) he stated, “Fighting American civilians in Iraq is a duty for all Muslims… Americans in Iraq are all fighters and invaders. There is no difference between a civilian and a military American in Iraq”. Lastly, just to show how ‘charitable’ he really is on July 7, 2004, in an interview with BBC TWO’s Newsnight he said, “Allah Almighty is just; through his infinite wisdom he has given the weak a weapon the strong do not have and that is their ability to turn their bodies into bombs as Palestinians do.”

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmaniis the Chairman of AAOIFI and is, or has been a paid Sharia Sheik on the Board of HSBC, Dow Jones, Citigroup and Guidance Financial. He is the Founder and Director of Jamia Uloom madrassa, the second largest madrassa in Pakistan, which “boasts close ties to the Taliban” according to International Crisis Human Rights Group.

He was the Deobandi Cleric to the Taliban in 2001. According to a comment piece in The Times (UK), September 8, 2007 Usmani “believes that aggressive military jihad should be waged by Muslims ‘to establish the supremacy of Islam’ worldwide.”

Imran Ashraf Usmaniis on the Boards of AAOIFI; AIG, HSBC, Citigroup, Lloyds TSB Bank (UK) and Credit Suisse Bank. Imran is the son of Sheik Taqi Usmani, schooled in the same Jihadist Pakistan madrassa. Banks are replacing Taqi Usmani with his son, Imran, as his father’s Jihadist background is being publicized.

Sheikh Yusef Talal DeLorenzois on the boards of AAOIFI; IFSB, Barclays Capital, Dow Jones, Guidance International, Sharia Capital and Blackrock. He is an American convert to Islam who dropped out of Cornell and was educated at the same Jihadist Darul Uloom madrassa as the Usmani father and son team. He was also an advisor to Pakistan President Zia al-Haq 1981–1984 during the creation of the Taliban.

He is the past Director of Education for the Islamic Saudi Academy, which has been condemned for its hate curricula by the Congress-appointed U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom.

DeLorenzo was the secretary of the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) which The Investigative Project has linked to Islamist extremism and terrorism. It was Sheikh DeLorenzo who said using the word “ethical” was a better description than “Sharia” for Western bankers to understand.

So what do these sheiks actually do? One of their jobs is to ensure that somehow money from Sharia investments gets sent off to charity. The problem is that their definition of charity and the definition of charity according to most Americans are polar opposites.”
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.5632/pub_detail.asp

Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo is a Board of SHARIAH Advisor to the Devon Bank in Chicago.

Sharia is a political movement just like Communism.

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