Free Republic

Islamic Finance is a scam. It requires weird workarounds to make sense in today's world. Islamic Mortgages are are a scam. They charge you more and add no value. Muslims who follow these rules are far worse off than Muslims who get conventional bank mortgages. Home buyers tend to be better off and grow equity, have a home that they can leave for the kids, are able renovate as they please, and not be at the mercy of their landlords to put arbitrary rules or kick them out as they please. Some Islamic mortgages are actually conventional mortgages repackaged as...

Politicians could face an alcohol ban as the new offices they will be moving into are ruled by Sharia law.MPs are to be rehoused temporarily in Richmond House while Parliament undergoes much-needed repair. But the building, 91 metres down the road, was transferred from the British Government to wealthy Middle Eastern businessmen and banks under an Islamic bond scheme, called Sukuk, in 2014 in George Osborne's bid to make the UK a global hub for Islamic finance. The lease terms stipulate the building is governed under Islamic law - which includes the banning of alcohol on the activities. A Whitehall...

When you think of Sharia law the first thing that probably comes to mind is all of the big ticket items which regularly make the news, particularly “honor killings” and the rest of the horror show which follows such practices. But as I’ve recently been learning there’s a lot more to it than just stoning infidels, maiming or killing women and denying an education to girls. Did you know that Sharia law prohibits the charging or paying of interest on loans? It’s apparently true, and it’s something which hinders homeowners and business operators who follow these rules. Out in Seattle,...

Britain is set to become the first non-Muslim country to sell a bond that can be bought by Islamic investors in a bid to encourage massive new investment into the City. David Cameron will say in a speech on Tuesday at the World Islamic Economic Forum in London that the Treasury is drawing up plans to issue a £200m Sukuk, a form of debt that complies with Islamic financial law.

This might be a good time for investors to pick up a copy of the Koran. Stocks and other investments that adhere to sharia, or Islamic law -- though hardly unscathed -- have fared better than the broader market. That's thanks largely to rules that forbid investing in collateralized debt obligations and other toxic assets that have caused the carnage in conventional financial circles. A big part of the appeal of Islamic finance is its simplicity. Speculation is taboo under sharia, and there's a ban on assessing interest because the Prophet Mohammed said debts must be repaid in the amount...

Britain's Treasury is likely to back plans to issue Shariah law-compliant bonds, officials said Sunday - amid continuing debate about the application of Islamic laws in the country. Treasury Secretary Alistair Darling, who will present his annual budget March 12, plans to issue the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, to tap into a fast-growing market in the products. "We want the City of London to be one of the gateways globally for Islamic financial products," a Treasury spokesman said, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy. ...Shariah law prohibits charging or paying interest, which has led to the...

Dubai: Local and foreign investors are rushing to subscribe to the world's biggest-ever Islamic bond issue, the $2.8 billion sukuk of Dubai's Ports Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), the joint book runner to the issue. Faisal Mikou, a director at Barclays Capital told Gulf News that the investors were attracted by the convertible sukuk's indicative yield of 7.25 per cent to 8.25 per cent which is some 250 to 350 basis points over a two-year dollar Libor swap. The bond's innovative structure that promises favourable allotment in the planned pre-2007 initial public share offer of the PCFC Group, the...