Prologue
1 An optimistic view, but one that may have merit. Source: Rushdi Siddiqui, Thomson Reuters; at the Dubai International Financial Centre MENASA Forum, 24 May 2010. ‘Islamic finance set to be a $2 trillion industry globally within five years’: http://www.difc.ae/news/islamic-finance-set-be-2-trillion-industry-globally-within-five-years. By late 2013, Ernst & Young claimed that Islamic banking assets had crossed US$1.7 trillion (World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2013–14, Ernst & Young).
2 The Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board believes the Islamic finance industry’s assets may quadruple to $2.8 trillion by 2015 from approximately $700 billion in 2005 (‘Sharia compliant finance faces hurdle, lacks expertise, U.K. body says’, Bloomberg, 26 April 2010: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-06/islamic-finance-assets-may-surge-five-fold-to-5-trillion-moody-s-says.html).
3 ‘France’s burqa ban: women are “effectively under house arrest”’, Guardian, 19 September 2011.
4 ‘Enough is enough: ban the Koran’, Geert Wilder’s Weblog, 10 August 2007.
5 ‘Swiss minaret ban condemned by Vatican’, Daily Telegraph, 30 November 2009.
6 Though this ban was blocked in November 2010 by a federal judge who ruled the law to be unconstitutional. See, for example, ‘Judge blocks Oklahoma’s ban on using shariah law in court’, the New York Times, 29 November 2010.
7 Summary of ‘Sharia Law and American State Courts: An Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases’, Center for Security Policy, published on their website shariahinamericancourts.com, 21 June 2011.
8 ‘In Islamic law, Gingrich sees a mortal threat to U.S.’, the New York Times, 21 December 2011.
9 Goldman Sachs as described by Matt Taibbi in ‘The great American bubble machine’, Rolling Stone magazine, 9 July 2009.
Chapter 1
1 Not his real name.
2 HSBC press releases and website, October 2012. See for example http://www.hsbc.ae/1/2/common/amanah-faq
3 ‘the industry has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 23.5% from 2006 to 2010’, Razi Fakih, CEO of HSBC Amanah, ‘The Growth of Islamic Finance’, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (undated).
4 For more information, refer to Michael Morgan, Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists (National Geographic Society, 2008); Salim Al-Hassani, 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World (Foundation for Science, Technology & Civilisation, 2006); Ehsan Masood, Science and Islam (Icon Books, 2009).
5 Hereinafter, I omit the term of reverence ‘peace be upon him’, a rough approximation of the traditional Arabic phrase salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – or the blessings of Allah and peace be upon him – when referring to the Prophet. This is merely intended to facilitate a little more fluidity of prose for non-Muslim readers in keeping with the style and theme of the book, though of course I (and Muslim readers) would voice this phrase whenever the Prophet is mentioned.
6 A consensus arrived at by various data providers, including Moody’s, Ernst & Young and McKinsey & Company. See Prologue, note 1.
7 ‘The World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report, In Search of New Opportunities’, McKinsey & Company, 2010–11.
1 Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, ‘Post-crisis Reforms: Some Points to Ponder’ (January 2010).
2 ‘Davos 2010 ends with bankers on the defensive’, BBC News, 31 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8489946.stm
3 Quran, 5:3.
4 The Farewell Sermon, as documented in Saheeh Al-Bukhari from Abi Bakrah Nufayi bin Al-Harith as-safha ar-raqm 7447 and also Hadith numbers 1739, 1740, 1741; Saheeh Al-Muslim, Book 7, Hadith 2803; Imam Al-Tirmidhi, from Amro bin Al-Ahwas as-safha ar-raqm 3087; Musnad of Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Hadith 19774; and others.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 See, for example, Abu Hanifa: The Quintessence of Islamic Law (Harris-Greenwell, date uncertain); or Muhammad Abu Zahra, The Four Imams (Dar Al Taqwa, 2010), p. 123.
8 Muhammad Abu Zahra, The Four Imams (Dar Al Taqwa, 2010), p. 128.
9 Ibid., p. 170.
10 See for example Chapter 20, P. Sevket, ‘Finance in the Ottoman Empire, 1453–1854’, Handbook of Key Financial Markets, Institutions and Infrastructure (Elsevier, 2013); or P. Sevket, ‘The evolution of financial institutions in the Ottoman Empire’, Financial History Review, Vol. 11, Issue 01 (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 7–32.
11 Loans and Credit in Early 17th Century Ottoman Judicial Records, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, XVI (1973), pp. 168–216, as referenced in P. Sevket, Finance in the Ottoman Empire.
12 ‘Most sukuk not “Islamic”, body claims’, Reuters (22 November 2007). http://www.arabianbusiness.com/most-sukuk-not-islamic-body-claims-197156.html
13 Al-Ghazali, Ihya’ul-uloom, v.4, (1997), p. 348, as quoted in Usmani.
14 See, for example, David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years (Melville House, 2012), p. 38.
15 Ibid., pp. 64–5.
16 See, for example, Nehemiah, 5:1–13.
17 John, 2:13–16.
18 Matthew, 21:13.
19 Tarek El Diwany, The Problem With Interest (Kreatoc, 2003), pp. 22–4.
20 Ibid., p. 23.
21 Ibid., p. 25.
22 Al-Ghazali, Ihya’ul-uloom, through Qal’awi, Al-Masarif-al-Islamiyyah (Dar al-Maktabi 1998), p. 52, as quoted in Usmani.
23 Tirmidhi, Buyu’, Book 12, Chapter 19, Hadith 1232.
24 Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Buyu’, Book 34, Chapter 55, Hadith 2136.
25 Tirmidhi, Book 12, Chapter 19, Hadith 1234.
26 Tarek El Diwany, The Problem With Interest, pp. 22–4.
27 Correspondence with Mohammed Amin in response to a review of El Diwany, Islamic Banking and Finance: What It Is and What It Could Be (1st Ethical Charitable Trust, 2010). http://www.mohammedamin.com/Reviews/Islamic-Banking-and-Finance-Editor-TEl-Diwany.html
28 Heinrich Böll, Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 1963.
Chapter 3
1 The Four Imams, Muhammad Abu Zahra (Dar Al Taqwa, 2010), p. 139.
2 Ibid., p. 148.
3 Ibid.: see for example pp. 149–50.
4 Quran, 2:275–9.
5 ‘The Text of the Historic Judgement on Riba’, 23 December 1999, The Supreme Court of Pakistan, as written by Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani.
6 See for example Saheeh Al-Muslim, Book 10, Hadith 3854.
7 ‘The Text of the Historic Judgement on Riba’, 23 December 1999, The Supreme Court of Pakistan, paragraph 194.
8 Ibid., paragraph 195.
9 Ibid., paragraphs 11–35.
10 El Diwany, The Problem With Interest, p. 27.
11 Quran, 3:130.
12 ‘The Text of the Historic Judgement on Riba’, 23 December 1999, The Supreme Court of Pakistan, paragraphs 90–106.
13 Ibid., paragraphs 116–69.
14 Ibid., paragraphs 43–54 and paragraphs 107–12.
15 Ibn Rushd, Bidayat Al-Mujtahid, The Book of Buyu’, 24.2.5.
16 Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, Islamic Finance: Law, Economics and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 58.
17 Ibid., p. 59.
18 Safdar Mandviwala, The Amanah Files (unpublished, date uncertain), p. 4.
19 Based on interviews with a former senior staff member.
20 Safdar Mandviwala, The Amanah Files, p. 13.
21 Ibid., p. 15.
22 Based on interviews with a former senior staff member.
23 Archbishop Rowan Williams, ‘Civil and religious law in England: a religious perspective’, Guardian, 7 February 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/07/religion.world2.
24 ‘Sharia law in UK is “unavoidable”’, BBC News, 7 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7232661.stm.
25 Based on interviews.
Chapter 4
1 ‘Top scholar hails boom in Islamic finance’, Financial Times, 1 June 2006.
2 ‘Family fortunes: the obscure origins of a crisis at a Saudi conglomerate’, The Economist, 18 June 2009. http://www.economist.com/node/13876724.
3 Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and the Markets (London: Texere, 2001) and The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (New York: Random House, 2007).
4 Letter to shareholders, Warren E. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, 21 February 2003, p. 15.
5 Tarek El Diwany, ‘Questions for the scholars’, September 2007, http://www.islamic-finance.com/item146_f.htm
6 ‘PCFC Development FZCO Preliminary Offering Circular’, 30 December 2005, condition 4.1 of the Terms and Conditions of the Certificates, p. 33.
7 Ibid., see for example Risk Factors: Acquisition, p. 21.
8 Surprise, surprise, it’s the same head of MENA sales! Based on internal conversations at Deutsche Bank, c. late 2008.
Chapter 5
1 Financial Times Islamic Finance Supplement, 1 June 2006.
2 Declan Lawn, ‘Comic Relief money invested in arms and tobacco shares’, BBC News, 10 December 2013.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 ‘Church of England invests in Wonga backer’, Financial Times, 25 July 2013.
6 Euromoney: http://www.euromoney.com/Article/2762000/Islamic-finance-awards-Deal-of-the-year-and-best-sukuk-deal.html, and Islamic Finance News: http://www.islamicfinancenews.com/pdf/doty10_results.pdf.
7 ‘The Day of the Locusts’, Time, 15 May 2005. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1061439,00.html
8 Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, A Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks, English translation with Arabic text (London: Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, Vol. I 1997, Vol. II 2000, Vol. III 2004).
9 ‘When Hedge Funds Meet Islamic Finance’, The Wall Street Journal, 9 August 2007.
10 Ibid.
11 Journal of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, 1993, vol. 1, no. 8, p. 641.
12 ‘The Shariah-Compliant Arboon Short Sale’, Shariah Capital, 2008, slides 16–20, http://www.shariahcap.com/staging/pubs/shariah/arboon_explained.pdf.
13 Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, ‘The Arboon Sale: A Shariah Compliant Alternative to Selling Short with Borrowed Securities’ (2008), p. 6, http://www.shariahcap.com/staging/pubs/shariah/the_arboon_sale_english.pdf.
14 ‘Madoff Jailed after Admitting Epic Scam’, The Wall Street Journal, 13 March 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123685693449906551.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
1 Tarek El Diwany, Islamic Banking and Finance: What It Is and What It Could Be.
2 Quran, 2:275.
3 Muhammad Taqi Usmani, An Introduction to Islamic Finance (Idaratul Ma’arif, 1999), p. 105.
4 See for example Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid, The Book of Buyu’, 24.2.3.1.
5 ‘The Text of the Historic Judgement on Riba’, 23 December 1999, The Supreme Court of Pakistan, paragraph 227.
6 ‘Islamic bonds recruited for purchase of 007’s favourite car’, Financial Times, 17 March 2007.
7 Islamic Alternative Investments: a guide to managing and investing Shari’a compliant private equity, real estate and hedge funds, PEI Media Limited, 2008, p. 68.
8 ‘Pioneering Innovative Sharia Compliant Solutions’ (Deutsche Bank, 2007), p. 9.
9 Ibid., p. 22.
10 This merits a fuller discussion, which is outside the scope of this book.
11 ‘DIB launches 5 year capital protected notes linked to DB-GSAM ALPS Hedge Fund Index’, press release, 12 June 2007. http://www.dubaisharetalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=3512.
12 ‘Questioning “Shariah Conversion Technology”’, Dinar Standard, 26 January 2008.
13 Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, ‘The Total Returns Swap and the “Shariah Conversion Technology” Stratagem’, in C. Beard, Conventional? The Relationship between Islamic Finance and the Financial Mainstream (Arab Financial Forum, 2008).
14 Ibid.
15 ‘Don’t fear the riba’, Arabian Business, 24 January 2008. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/don-t-fear-riba-122012.html.
16 DeLorenzo, ‘The Total Returns Swap’.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 ‘Don’t fear the riba’, Arabian Business, 24 January 2008. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/don-t-fear-riba-122012.html.
20 Confirmed following a reading of the Al Miyar platform documents by a former Deutsche Bank in-house counsel who was directly responsible for the legal drafting of these documents.
21 Ibid. This is known as rehypothecation, where a bank or broker-dealer reuses collateral pledged by its clients as collateral for its own borrowings.
Chapter 7
1 Adair Turner (former chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority) interviewed by Prospect magazine, ‘How to Tame Global Finance’, 27 August 2009.
2 ‘Why Wasn’t AIG Hedged?’ Forbes, 28 September 2008. http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/28/croesus-aig-credit-biz-cx_rl_0928croesus.html.
3 ‘Mastering Sharia’, Risk magazine, 30 March 2010. http://www.risk.net/risk-magazine/feature/1598877/mastering-sharia.
4 In fact, in the case of the Tahawwut, the Islamic contract used is a musawama, which is similar to a murabaha.
5 These can be found on ISDA’s website, at the following url: http://www.isda.org/docproj/stat_of_net_opin.html.
Chapter 8
1 Variously ascribed to him in a letter to John Taylor in 1816, or in a letter to James Monroe in 1815, or in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin in 1802, and/or later published in The Debate Over the Recharter of the Bank Bill in 1809. There is some debate among historians as to whether Thomas Jefferson did in fact say these very words. It is certainly true that he expressed disdain and mistrust of banks and paper currency, but as to these specific quotations there is no absolutely definitive proof he has been quoted verbatim, since the earliest known references appeared some time after his death.
2 See for example Michael Lewis, The Big Short (W. W. Norton & Company, 2010), or Gillian Tett, Fool’s Gold (Little, Brown, 2009).
3 ‘BNP Paribas Investment Partners temporarily suspends the calculation of net asset value of the following funds: Parvest Dynamic ABS, BNP Paribas ABS EURIBOR and BNP Paribas ABS EONIA’, press release, 9 August 2007.
4 Oliver Wyman, ‘State of the Financial Services Industry 2011’.
5 Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Post-crisis reforms: some points to ponder, (www.muftitaqiusmani.com January 2010).
6 ‘GMO Quarterly Letter’, Fall 2008, Part I.
7 This example can be found in El Diwany, Islamic Banking and Finance: What It Is and What It Could Be, and Diwany, The Problem With Interest, p. 44.
8 El Diwany, Islamic Banking and Finance: What It Is and What It Could Be.
9 Variously also quoted as ‘on the continent their Fathers occupied’.
10 See note 1, this chapter.
11 See for example Antony C. Sutton, The Federal Reserve Conspiracy (CPA, 1995).
12 Richardson’s Messages quoting Andrew Jackson addressing the American people, 4 March 1837, volume 4, p. 1523.
13 Quoted in Sutton, The Federal Reserve Conspiracy, p. 21.
14 For a comprehensive discussion on present value and the opportunity cost of capital, see, for example, Richard A. Brealey and Stewart C. Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance (McGraw-Hill, 2010), Part One.
15 El Diwany, The Problem With Interest, pp. 13–16, based on an idea from Michael Lipton, University of Sussex, 1992.
Chapter 9
1 EFG-Hermes report, quoted in Arabian Business, AME Info, Bloomberg and other media, September 2008.
2 ‘Dubai property prices “will never decline”’, Emirates 24/7, 20 October2008. http://www.emirates247.com/2.277/construction/dubai-property-prices-will-never-decline-2008-10-20-1.57497.
3 Also translated as ‘ask Allah copiously’ or ‘make beautiful your plea [to Allah]’.
4 Abu Naeem in Al-Hulya, narrated from Abu Umama, 10/27.
5 ‘Dubai government statements on Nakheel, $5 billion bond’, Bloomberg, 25 November 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auMhyjedmkps.
6 Ibid.
7 ‘Dubai index slumps to july low as Nakheel repayment date nears’, Bloomberg, 8 December 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aGgRls83DqUc.
8 ‘Dubai recovery hopes hit by debt “standstill” call’, Daily Telegraph, 25 November 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/6655687/Dubai-recovery-hopes-hit-by-debt-standstill-call.html.
9 Ibid.
10 ‘Nakheel Development Limited Offering Circular’, 13 December 2006, p. 10.
11 From Nakheel’s own literature. See their website www.waterfront.ae.
12 Maples Finance Limited, an independent provider of specialized fiduciary and fund services domiciled in the Cayman Islands.
13 Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, see ‘Nakheel Development Limited Offering Circular’, 13 December 2006, p. 59.
14 See ‘What can Nakheel sukuk holders expect in a default?’, Blake Goud, Sharing Risk dot Org, 30 November 2009; and ‘Dubai Debt Crisis: a Legal Analysis of the Nakheel Sukuk’, Omar Salah, TISCO Working Paper Series on Banking, Finance and Services, No. 05/2010.
15 ‘Nakheel Development Limited Offering Circular’, 13 December 2006, p. 36.
16 Sheikh Nizam Yaquby at the Euromoney 9th Annual Islamic Finance Summit, London, 23 February 2010.
17 ‘Property Law in Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates’, Al Tamimi & Company (2009), p. 3. http://www.tamimi.com/files/Legal%20Brochures/propertylaw(1).pdf.
18 ‘Nakheel Development Limited Offering Circular’, 13 December 2006, p. 46.
19 Ibid., p. 50.
20 Ibid., p. 46.
21 Deals of the Year 2006 Handbook, Islamic Finance News (RedMoney Group, 2006), p. 6.
22 ‘$10 billion deal agreed to help pay off Dubai World debt’, Arabian Business, 14 December 2009. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/-10bn-deal-agreed-help-pay-off-dubai-world-debt-10058.html.
23 ‘Dubai renames world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa – after ruler that bailed out emirate’, The Times, 4 January 2010.
24 See note 4 above, this chapter.
25 Quran, 16:71.
26 ‘Saudi donates billions to charity’, Al Jazeera, 15 May 2011. http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/05/201151522136786875.html.
27 Translation of various articles in the Arabic language press. See, for example, http://forums.islamicawakening.com/f9/arabic-news-corner-46619/
28 See note 26, this chapter.
29 Forbes on Warren Buffett, 10 March 2005. http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/10/cx_bill05_homeslide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000000000.
30 Warren Buffett, ‘My philanthropic pledge’, CNN Money, 26 June 2010.
Chapter 10
1 Not his real name.
2 Hayya is not easily translated into English, but shyness and modesty are a close approximation. Hayya is considered a highly desirable quality in a Muslim, though – not surprisingly – is of little import in the modern business environment.
3 St Cyprian, De Lapsis, trans. Reverend Patrick Cleary, The Church and Usury ([written c. 251CE] 1914).
4 ‘Translation of Selected Fatwas of Al-Baraka Seminars’ – Seminar 6, pp. 81–2, Algeria, 2–6 October 1990.
5 From their website, http://www.ansarfinance.com/home-finance/.
6 For a detailed discussion on this, see El Diwany, Islamic Banking and Finance: What It Is and What It Could Be, pp. 261–7.
7 Fatwa regarding the Ansar Housing Limited scheme, Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad, 8 June 2006. http://iqtisad.blogspot.com/2006/06/fatwa-regarding-ansar-housing-ltd.html
8 See Chapter 4, note 8.
9 ‘Qatar slaps conventional banks with Islamic units ban’, Reuters, 6 February 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/06/qatar-islamic-idUSLDE71503A20110206.
10 ‘QCB move on Islamic banks draws flak’, The Peninsula, 10 February 2011. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/142111-qcb-defends-ban-on-islamic-units-of-banks.html.
11 ‘QCB defends ban on Islamic units of banks’, The Peninsula, 9 February 2011.
12 Gerald Celente Hammers MF Global’s “MF’ers”’ Capital Account, RT, 14 November 2011.
13 Gerald Celente interviewed by James Puplava for Financial Sense Talkradio, 19 November 2011, http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/2011/12/03/gerald-celente/transcript.
14 See note 12, this chapter.
15 Ibid.
Chapter 11
1 See Chapter 10, note 13.
2 Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, Islamic Finance: Law, Economics and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 177.
3 Goldman Sachs as described by Matt Taibbi in ‘The great American bubble machine’, Rolling Stone magazine, 9 July 2009.
4 See Chapter 8, note 2.
5 His views have been reported by various media agencies, including Bloomberg, Reuters and the Financial Times. For the full set of papers online, see http://reading.academia.edu/MohammedKhnifer/Papers.
6 ‘Base Prospectus of Global Sukuk Company Limited’, 18 October 2011, p. 60.
7 Ibid., p. i, p. 12, p. 15, p. 20.
8 Ibid., p. 13.
9 ‘Scholar row hits Goldman sukuk landmark’, Euroweek, 6 January 2012.
10 ADIB Scholars See Goldman Sukuk Non-Islamic, Al-Eqtisadiah Says, Bloomberg, 15 February 2012.
11 Based on conversations with the journalist at the WIBC in 2011.
12 Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, Islamic Finance: Law, Economics and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 96.
13 Quran, 114:4–5.
14 Asim Khan, ‘Goldman’s sukuk: is the criticism fair?’, for Reuters, 2 January 2012.
15 ‘Goldman Sachs Sukuk “all a misunderstanding,” says top scholar’, Islamic Business & Finance, 6 June 2012.
16 ‘Fake fatwa threatening collapse of instruments’ (an approximate translation from the Arabic), Al Eqtisadiah, 18 January 2012.
17 See note 9, this chapter.
18 ‘High-profile Islamic finance firm Dar Al Istithmar closes’, Reuters, 29 January 2013.
Chapter 12
1 ‘Goldman Sachs freezes sukuk due to criticism’, Asharq Al-Awsat, 25 December 2012. http://www.aawsat.com//details.asp?section=58&issueno=12446&article=710184&feature=1.
2 See, for example: ‘Citi, ITFC, Barclays Capital win IFN awards’, Arab News, 6 March 2011, in which a Barclays Capital spokesman says ‘This award clearly reflects our focus on Islamic finance…and [we] are committed to continuing to demonstrate our ability to structure innovative, tailor-made financing solutions in Islamic format’, a comment apparently made in response to a Reuters report that claimed their Islamic department had been shut down.
3 HSBC press releases and website, October 2012. See for example http://www.hsbc.ae/1/2/common/amanah-faq.
4 ‘US Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs and Terrorist Financing: HSBC Case History’, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 17 July 2011.
5 A study by Forbes Middle East, 18 June 2012, lists Al Rajhi with assets of $58.94 billion.
6 See, for example: ‘Britain’s a world-leader in Sharia banking – but we haven’t grasped the sinister and dangerous implications’, Daily Mail (online version), 10 February 2009. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1141087/Britains-world-leader-sharia-banking--havent-grasped-sinister-dangerous-implications.html.
7 A translation of the common Arabic phrase, subhana wa ta’ala.
8 Razi Fakih, CEO of HSBC Amanah, interviewed 22 October 2012.
9 El-Gamal, Islamic Finance: Law, Economics and Practice, p. 78.
10 Ibid., p. 165.
11 ‘Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority’, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, The Vatican, 24 October 2011.
12 Rowan Williams, ‘Time for us to challenge the idols of high finance’, Financial Times, 2 November 2011.
13 Ibid.
14 ‘Vatican calls for global authority on economy’, Reuters, 24 October 2011.
15 ‘Regulator to investigate payday loan industry’, Financial Times, 27 June 2013.
16 ‘Church of England invests in Wonga backer’, Financial Times, 25 July 2013.
17 Today programme, BBC Radio 4, 26 July 2013.
18 Okay, so that isn’t literally what Ezekiel 25:17 actually says, but you have to admit that Quentin Tarantino does have a way with words. What the Bible actually says is ‘And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.’
19 ‘Church Commissioners’ Fund Annual Report 2012’.
20 ‘Davos elites to seek reforms of “outdated” capitalism’, AFP, 18 January 2012.
21 David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years (Melville House, 2012), pp. 319–20.
22 Ibid.
23 ‘Parliament seals ban on sovereign debt speculation and short selling limitations’, European Parliament News, 15 November 2011.
24 Markus Feber, interviewed by Reuters, 15 November 2011.
25 Such as the purchase of Leeds United football club by Gulf Finance House, a Sharia-compliant investment house in Bahrain, in November 2012. See for example ‘GFH acquires Leeds Utd for £44m’, Financial Times, 21 November 2012.
26 ‘Near-fraudulent marketing of ‘Islamic Hedge Funds’, Islam and Economics, blog by Mahmoud El-Gamal, 26 May 2005, http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2005/05/near-fraudulent-marketing-of-islamic.html.
27 ‘Sharia or Islamic law is incompatible with Australia’s Western values. I want to ensure the Liberal Party is opposed to the government’s proposal to introduce any form of sharia-law banking into Australia’, said Liberal Senator Cory Bernadi. See ‘Lib demands sharia banking is kept out’, The Australian, 2 November 2010.
28 A comment made by Lord Turner, the chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority, in a ‘searing critique of the industry’, in ‘Financial Services Authority chairman backs tax on “socially useless” banks’, Guardian, 27 August 2009.
29 ‘FSA bans short-selling of banks’, Financial Times, 19 September 2008.
30 A comprehensive description of Sharia law is well outside the scope of this book. For a layman’s introduction, see Sadakat Kadri, Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari’a Law (Bodley Head, 2011).
31 Sunan An-Nasai, Hadith 3057/Vol.3 Book 24 Hadith 3059 from English translation (Darussalam, 2007) and Sunan ibn Majah 3029.