Journalistic skepticism is rare when it comes to Shari'a banking. In January this blog highlighted an Associated Press puff piece on the subject, deeming it an early "contender for the most one-sided story of 2009." However, a new frontrunner has emerged: another Shari'a banking article.
Stephen Magagnini's March 30 piece in the Sacramento Bee presents Islamic finance as a panacea, a "socially responsible" way of doing business which has ensured that "the recession gripping the nation has taken less of a toll on American Muslims who follow age-old Islamic laws." The money quote can be found in the third paragraph:
"If everybody was Shari'a-compliant, there would be no recession," said Farouk Fakira, a Yemeni immigrant who moderated a discussion on Islamic finance [in Sacramento].
The next eighteen paragraphs feature not a single voice to scrutinize this stunningly saccharine assessment and not a single hint of Islamic banking's many troublesome aspects: that unaccountable clerics determine which arrangements are Shari'a-compliant; that charitable donations required to "purify" proceeds have been used to fund terror in the past and could leave investors legally liable for attacks in the future; or that Shari'a banking is a modern invention designed by Islamist thinkers to propagate their radical, separatist ideology.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: A Tale of Two Shari'a Finance Articles: Europe News
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Trying to give some information about Islamic Economics. You can always read more on a ="_new" href="http://www.islam-economy.org">Islamic Economics
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