Dubai Bank Forces Non-Muslim Women to Wear Islamic Gear

While most Westerners are telling themselves anything they can to continue believing that some form "moderate" Islam is coming to the rescue, facts show us the opposite.
The Islamic world is getting stricter and stricter.

Hat tip to Atlas Shrugs.

Dubai Bank says all female staff must wear abayas
By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
August 21, 2009, 22:50

Dubai: All female staff at Dubai Bank, Muslim and non-Muslim, must wear a shailah (head scarf) and abaya (black cloak covering the whole body) starting this Ramadan, Gulf News has learnt.

A memo sent to staff on Thursday says the bank has decided that all Muslim and non-Muslim female staff must wear a shailah and abaya.

A Dubai Bank official who would not reveal his name said a memo was issued to this effect by the human resources manager, informing employees that starting from the first day of Ramadan all female employees must wear a shailah and abaya regardless of their religion.

"Our bank is Islamic and must follow Sharia in all respects, which will satisfy our clients," he said. While the decision takes effect beginning first of Ramadan, it has become a rule and part of the dress code for female employees at all times.

Gulf News contacted Dubai Bank on several occasions, but officials would not comment on the memo.

Gulf News has learnt that the proposal on the dress code was made by the bank's Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board in June and it was endorsed by the management. A circular was then issued on Thursday.

The Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board's proposal, a copy of which has been obtained by Gulf News, says the abaya should not have any embroidery or decoration on it and must not be coloured.

It says any female staff who does not adhere to this dress code should be advised by the human resources department at the bank to follow it.

If the staff member insists on not abiding by the law then the matter should be brought to the notice of the executive member of the Sharia supervisory board who can decide upon action to be taken against that staff.

The bank will encourage employees to wear a shailah and abaya by providing staff with them. The head of the human resources department has been instructed to ensure that employees adhere to the dress code.

The bank has given employees a grace period until after the Eid holiday after which it will become mandatory.

The proposal, signed by Shaikh Mohammad Taqi Usmani, Chairman of the Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board of Dubai Bank, says the move will gain customers' confidence and help market the bank's products.

Many customers, the proposal said, choose a bank based upon its appearance before considering other aspects. The dress code is essential in determining the bank's identity as a Sharia compliant institution.

Link to Article

Kuwait Islamic Bank Successfully Imposes Shariah in the USA

Here is an article from our friends over at ShariahFinanceWatch.org. It displays Muslims once again using our freedoms against us to advance Islam.

If we continue with the status quo we will end up just like the UK in regards to this issue. We need to end all Muslim immigration and officially ban Sharia Law. If any Muslim calls for it after the law is passed they should be arrested and deported if possible.

All pro-Sharia Muslims need to be looked upon as enemies of the state, just as Nazis were.

Kuwait Islamic Bank Successfully Imposes Shariah in the USA, Courtesy of UDR

Earlier today, we posted a link to an article which mentioned that Kuwait Islamic Bank had entered into a joint venture with Colorado-based real estate company UDR:

"Shariah Compliant Sovereign Wealth Funds Resume Investing in West"

We were curious as to what, if any, restrictions were to be imposed on the real estate properties in which Kuwait Islamic Bank invested here in the United States, so we made an inquiry via UDR’s “contact us” form on the company’s web site.

The company was quick to reply as, within minutes, we received a phone call from Dave Messenger, CFO of UDR.

I asked Mr. Messenger two questions:

1. What, if any, special restrictions or qualifications relating to Shariah were required in the deal with Kuwait Islamic Bank?

2. Are zakat payments to be made as part of this venture?

Mr. Messenger did not attempt to address question number 2, but referred me to Kuwait Finance House to get an answer to that question.

Mr. Messenger was also quite insistent that UDR’s agreement was in fact with Kuwait Finance House and not with Kuwait Islamic Bank. We regard this as a distinction without a difference, since Kuwait Finance House is an arm of Kuwait Islamic Bank. In all the media being devoted to this new deal, the entity identified is in fact Kuwait Islamic Bank.

Mr. Messenger was able to provide much more information in response to question number 1.

His answer was troubling, right from the outset.

First of all, he mispronounced “shariah.” Shariah is pronounced shu-ree-uh. Messenger pronounced it shu-rye-uh.

It does not inspire a great deal of confidence in terms of due diligence when the CFO of the American entity which entered into the agreement with an Islamic bank cannot even correctly pronounce the name of the underlying doctrine which governs their joint venture partner.

Messenger was not bashful at all about the issue of shariah-compliance.

He declared that the entire agreement was written to be shariah-compliant to make sure that the joint venture properties fit in with their partners’ religion.

When asked about specific provisions which he knew about to establish and maintain shariah compliance, Messenger named two: “cinematography and food served on the property.”

I asked what he meant by cinematography and he explained that some of their properties include movie theaters.

Evidently, Kuwait Finance House/Kuwait Islamic Bank wants to make sure that no offensive movies are shown on properties in which they invest.

In terms of “food served on property” Messenger explained that no pork would be served on the property at functions put on by UDR.

I asked him if any of the properties leased to sandwich shops or delis or such. He said that 8 of their 160 properties did have such tenants.

Again, evidently, those businesses would be prohibited from serving pork to prevent any conflict with shariah or the religion of UDR’s venture partners.

Messenger explained that potential conflicts with shariah were addressed up front with the JV partners and would continue to be addressed up front to prevent conflicts.

What has clearly happened here is that Kuwait Islamic Bank has been able to impose shariah here in the United States by using its financial leverage over UDR.

This is the essence of Shariah-Compliant Finance.

Link to Article

Dick Morris on Sharia Encroachment in the West~Video

This is a short video in which author Dick Morris talks about the chapter on Sharia in the West from his new book Catastrophe.

Hat tip to the Munz at Munz's Place

Lawsuit Against US Govt for Supporting Sharia Banking Moves Forward

This is an update to the
"Iraqi war vet Sues Govt for Bailout of AIG, Supporting Islam" story.

AIG, Sharia and Uncle Sam
A federal judge in Michigan has declined to dismiss an ex-Marine's lawsuit that insurance giant AIG is using tax dollars to promote Islamic Sharia law and charities that may be funneling money to terrorist organizations.

Just when you thought the government's massive bailout of AIG couldn't get more complicated or controversial.

The facts of the case "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," U.S. Dist. Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff ruled .

The judge's ruling, a surprise to many legal scholars who think the suit will never go to trial, adds a troubling religious dimension to an already troubling economic crisis. It also shines a spotlight on Sharia-compliant financing, a growing part of the $1 trillion Islamic banking industry.

Sharia, or Islamic law, encourages trade and investment, but bans interest and prohibits investments in certain areas such as gambling, alcohol, pornography, abortion, human cloning, conventional banks or insurers, and most forms of entertainment. Under Sharia, making money from money, such as charging interest, is usury and therefore not permitted. Western banks and investment companies have established Sharia-compliant accounts overseen by imams and Islamic scholars.

According to the lawsuit, filed by the conservative Christian Thomas More Law Center, at least a portion of AIG's $40 billion federal bailout has been used to support Sharia-compliant financial products. The suit claims that violates the First Amendment's establishment clause. "It is outrageous that AIG has been using taxpayer money to promote Islam and Shariah law, which potentially provides support for terrorist activities aimed at killing Americans," Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, said in a statement.

The federal judge hasn't ruled on the merits of the case, but he did acknowledge that "at least two of AIG's subsidiary companies practice Sharia-compliant financing, one of which was unveiled after the influx of government cash." He also noted "That 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."

Many legal experts doubt that such actions constitute a violation of church (or mosque) and state.

"The government no more cares about advancing Sharia through the AIG bailout than my local Ralphs supermarket cares about advancing kosher laws by selling products that are certified kosher," UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, who expects the case to be thrown out, wrote in his Volokh Conspiracy blog.

Robert Tuttle, constitutional law professor at George Washington University, told Fox News that he doubts the case will go to trial: "The question is whether the government has funded religion, not whether the religion is good or bad that the government has funded. Then the next question is whether the government is responsible for what AIG has done. I can't imagine any court saying, under existing law, that the government will be responsible for what AIG does."

Anti-Islam conspiracy theorists will have a field day with this one, regardless of what happens to the lawsuit. But the case does raise some interesting questions about the application of Sharia law in western democracies and economies.

Are companies that pursue religious clients endorsing that religion? Can and should every faith group have its own financial products? Can democracy accommodate any aspect of Sharia? Could capitalism survive without interest?

For now, I'll go with On Faith panelist and Interfaith Alliance chief Welton Gaddy's bottom line on Sharia in the West: "If a conflict arises between American law and religious laws, the Constitution prevails."

Link to Article

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part V

At the end of the Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part IV, Mr.Ranzini had broken off contact with me for about one month. That was until I wrote to him about an article that the NY Times had done on him.

Mr.Ranzini,
You state you are not promoting anything Islamic yet.....from the article.

It’s part of this religious revival, this return to roots, you see taking place not only in Islam but in many faiths,” said Isam Salah, an expert in Islamic financing at the international law firm King & Spalding.

On the religious side, he needed to appoint a board of Shariah scholars to certify the mortgage alternatives as “halal,” or religiously permissible.

It completed 11 home sales, more than twice the weekly average, to observant Muslim customers, and pushed four more closings into next week.

The bottom line is that you as a Christian has sided with a religion that persecutes Christianity. All for the sake of the might dollar.
Chris


Here is his response where he tries to spin it like he implemented sharia banking because he is a good Christian and not for the money. I do not know how this man lives with himself. Then in an effort to try and justify to what he is doing, he tries to equate Islam to Christianity and even defends Mohammad the terrorist!

Chris:
Thanks for your feedback – always interesting to see your blog entries, which I am reading “religiously”.

If you read the article carefully, you will note that I am actually promoting Catholic values by publicly embracing my religious beliefs and the principle of tolerance to others who are different.

As to Islam persecuting Christianity, every religious group has its extremists; that doesn’t mean the whole religion is bad. Two “Christians” murdered two British soldiers in Northern Ireland over the weekend in the name of Catholicism versus Protestantism. Leaving aside the fact that a true Christian cannot murder, and that murder is contrary to the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ prime injunction to love they neighbor as thyself, their actions (or assertions) would not mean that all Catholics are evil murderers. Similarly, just because Bin Laden and Zawahiri asserted that Muslims can be suicide bombers and still be good Muslims, it doesn’t take away the fact that Mohammad condemned suicide of every flavor as 100% evil.
Best wishes,
Stephen

My response to his spin was this.

You didn't ban alcohol, the Christmas party and bring in sharia banking to be "tolerant". You did it because you put your Muslim customers above everyone else. Obviously one of the VP's of the bank (Amjad Quadri) had a say in this. Banning the alcohol and party just shows how intolerant Muslims can be. The problem is that you are helping advance a religion that is not in line with American values.

As far as Islam goes, you are tolerating an intolerant religion. Please stop trying to compare Christians to all the problems that Muslims are causing across the world. Are those murders supposed to offset the way Christians are treated in Islamic countries?

Those "suicide" bombers are really homicide bombers, don't let your Muslim buddies play word games with you. As for Mohammad the man was a rapist, paedophile and a terrorist himself. Islam allows murder, rape, lying and the extortion of non-Muslims. The whole religion is based on deception. When it comes to Islam homicide bombers are just part of the problem as political Islam is an even bigger threat to life as we know it. Our way and their way do not mix and things are going to get a lot worse as they are slowly changing the West to suit Islam. Sharia banking just helps them move on to their next demand.

Have a good day,
Chris


In Mr.Ranzini's reply he cannot refute a word that I said about Islam, so we see him turn into a foaming at the mouth nasty leftist. He also implies that I am against all jobs because I am against sharia banking. Yea Ranzini, that makes a lot of sense....

Chris:
All business is profit driven, as it should be. If there was no profit, there would be no jobs. Without jobs there is only abject poverty and misery. In your perfect world we'd all be poor and penniless? Are you a communist?

As I mentioned previously, it’s true that our bank is targeting Muslims for Islamic Banking however, at the Kroger I walked down the aisle with the supermarket’s international food aisle, and I saw the following ethnic food:
Mexican
French
Southern
Kosher
Italian
Middle Eastern
Chinese
Thai
Etc.
It was evident to me that Kroger is attempting to increase sales by offering a variety of products. We are doing the same. But my personal motive is not only profit driven and without profits my bank could not exist, but based on my Catholic values of tolerance.

If I said that your motives were because you are an intolerant bigot, you'd be offended. Please don't offend me by telling me what my motives are. You don't have a clue, obviously, when you contradict what I say about my own motives, as if you know better!

Certainly, we can agree that homicidal or suicidal bombers are evil and must be stopped. We can lower the number of such bombers who target our citizen soldiers overseas by demonstrating our tolerance and love of the other. Tolerating those who are intolerant - that is the Christian way!! Are you not a Christian?

Helping integrate the Islamic community in the U.S. (2.4 million fellow citizens) into our banking system helps our country and demonstrates the inherent strength of our values. We should never forget that we are fighting two wars – lives of soldiers are at stake. We won The Cold War by winning “hearts and minds” not through force of arms. Throwing around statements as you do about what you assert Mohammad "was" - your views are decidedly not mainstream - is totally counterproductive to winning "hearts and minds"! If you spew out such hatred it doesn't make the world a better place (or safer).

How would you feel if some idiot called Jesus a rule breaking criminal who espoused overthrow of the Roman and Jewish states? Instead Jesus instructs us to turn the other check to be slapped again, if someone fairly or unfairly slaps you on your cheek. That's tolerance!

No Ranzini, that is cowardice!

In the up coming part VI Mr.Ranzini tells me that I should study the ideology of the "extremists". He also states that speaking out against Sharia law is counterproductive as it attacks all Muslims. What ever you need to tell yourself Ranzini.

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part IV

This is part IV of the Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank series.

Here is where we left off in part III.

Pictured:Stephen L. Ranzini, seated, president of University Bank in Ann Arbor, Mich., with Amjad Quadri, a bank vice president.

Mr. Ranzini,
No it is a lawsuit trying to stop the ideology we are fighting against from coming here. Christians are not looking to impose a set of barbaric laws on the land, so please stop with the invalid comparisons. One only needs to look towards the UK to see that the UK has implemented sharia banking, sharia pensions and completely bent over backwards to please them and it is not enough. Their behavior is always somebody else's fault and it is just a coincidence that it is happening across the world. Is that what you are telling me? Now Islamic leaders of the UK are calling for sharia law for all. Do you know about the no go zone for non-Muslims in the UK, or how non-Muslims are moving out because of Muslim immigration? Look at this video showing how Muslims do not care for the law of the UK.

WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE



Please think past the day that you are in. One only needs to look across Europe to see that Muslims are looking to impose Islam on the world. Our gov't is blind as to how stealth jihad works and the State Department has given money to Islamic terrorist organizations in the past. Them being here does not mean it is for the best of the country. We had thousands of American Muslims who turned up at pro-Hezbollah and Hamas rallies, showing that their citizenship does not mean loyalty. This is not the cold war and we did not win it by winning their hearts and minds. We won it because we out spent them on military equipment and we did not back down or appease them. We are obviously not winning the hearts and minds of the Islamic world as they are voting terrorist groups into office such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The call for sharia in the West is on the rise and you are helping the enemy gain a foothold here. Tolerating the intolerance of Islam is just plain foolish as Islam is always a one-way street. But you obviously have no problem with sharia law coming here. Sad.

You have an open invite next week on this.
Chris


Mr.Ranzini could not refute anything that I had stated, so he took the easy way out and did not respond. Approximately one month after this I saw this article about Mr.Ranzini in the NY Times. I then sent a short email to him about it. In his upcoming response we will see how him the Catholic tries to compare Christianity to Islam and even tries to defend Mohammad the terrorist. Stay tuned for part V.

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part III

This is part III of the Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank series. In this email exchange I point how Muslims are using the free market to help advance Islam within Western society and how American Muslims have no problem spewing hatred towards Jews but have major problems taking to the streets against Islamic terrorist organizations like Hamas or Hezbollah.

Here is where we left off in part II.

Mr. Ranzini,

Thanks for responding again. I do work for a radio show based out of NY and I also run a site which documents the problems that Islamism brings to the world. I also see how Muslims are using the free market to slowly bring sharia into the West. They are even opening sharia hotels.

I believe that you are a Catholic but then why are you promoting a religion that calls for the dominance of all non-Muslims and treats Christians like second class citizens across the Islamic world. (Coptics are a perfect example of this) You seem to be contradicting yourself, first you say I am illogical to not want sharia here, and then when I point out how one sided it is, you are against it. Yet you promote it.

Actually there is already one Sharia court in Texas which is used for divorcees. It was approved by our govt. Little by little Islamists are changing our country to suit their needs. The plan of the Muslim Brootherhood is to take over within the law, using our freedoms against us. The US gov't is also being sued for promoting a religion via sharia banking.

I am sure you do not want your family's future generations living under Islamic rules.
I am on Wed. nights at 7PM Est. on this station.

WVOX

We will be talking about this, if you want to come on just call in.
Here are some interesting videos of American Muslims. Yet I see no American Muslims condemning these acts.

LA pro-Hamas Rally.

American Muslims, no Different From the Rest.

Good luck with your new baby,
Chris


In Mr. Ranzini's response he tries to dismiss the AIG lawsuit (linked above). Part of his dismissal is because he says that the lawyer who wrote the lawsuit is a Jew. It sure sounds like Ranzini has been hanging around with Muslims too much. Most of the readers here know the that UK has gone above and beyond to try and please their Muslim community, but Ranzini blames the UK for the actions of the Muslims there. He then implies that if we don't do what Muslims want they might try and kill us. Should we all go and convert now? Please note that he does not said one word about the hateful actions by American Muslims shown in the videos. I guess he does not want to offend any Muslims.

Dear Christopher:
The lawsuit against AIG is written by a Jewish lawyer by the name of David Yerushalmi. We looked into his allegations and found that his work is intellectually dishonest. In each case where we checked his assertions against the source materials, it turned out that what he asserted the source materials would say, wasn’t actually there. It’s the intellectual equivalent of a “hit and run” job.



The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) started with Christian hotels and if people want to patronize Christian hotels or hostels or Sharia hotels, they are free to do so. Personally, I like Marriott and the like but have spent too many nights already at Motel 6!



Why am I promoting Islamic anything? I’m not promoting Islamic anything. We are providing a banking service that Muslims already want. One only needs to go to England to see the consequences of marginalizing Muslim citizens. Some of them then do stupid things like build bombs. We have 2.4 million American citizens who are Muslim.



The better question to ask is, why is it good public policy for banks to offer Islamic law compliant products? People I spoke to at the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Reserve Banks encourage the growth of Islamic Banking because they want more transactions running through the banking system and not through informal/illegal banking structures such as hawala where there is no records kept. The State Department sees this as a boost to U.S. image overseas – they profiled us on the State Department newswire and Voice of America. We should never forget that we are fighting two wars – lives of soldiers are at stake. If we are seen overseas as a tolerant society fewer of our citizen soldiers will die. Remember, we won The Cold War by winning “hearts and minds” worldwide and through an alliance between President Reagan and the Pope to peacefully undermine Communism, not through force of arms.



Best wishes,

Stephen

In the upcoming part IV I confront Mr.Ranzini with some of the actions of Muslims across world. These actions show that we are not winning their hearts and minds.

Christian Leaders Stuck on a one way Street With Islam

Recently we have seen some Christian leaders promoting aspects of Sharia law. Aspects of an ideology that calls for the domination of all non-Muslims including Christians. In the past we have seen the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of Scotland back the sharia courts in the UK. They gave this support to try and appease the Muslim community and this is what they got back in return.



Now it comes to light that the Vatican is giving its support to sharia banking in the West. Yet Christians are being driven out of the Middle East. Isn't respect supposed to be a two way street?

Vatican Says Islamic Finance May Help Western Banks in Crisis

By Lorenzo Totaro
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- The Vatican said banks should look at the rules of Islamic finance to restore confidence amongst their clients at a time of global economic crisis.

“The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service,” the Vatican’s official newspaper Osservatore Romano said in an article in its latest issue late yesterday.

Author Loretta Napoleoni and Abaxbank Spa fixed income strategist, Claudia Segre, say in the article that “Western banks could use tools such as the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, as collateral”. Sukuk may be used to fund the “‘car industry or the next Olympic Games in London,” they say.

Pope Benedict XVI in an Oct. 7 speech reflected on crashing financial markets saying that “money vanishes, it is nothing” and concluded that “the only solid reality is the word of God.” The Vatican has been paying attention to the global financial meltdown and ran articles in its official newspaper that criticize the free-market model for having “grown too much and badly in the past two decades.”

The Osservatore’s editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, said that “the great religions have always had a common attention to the human dimension of the economy,” Corriere della Sera reported today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net

Link to Article

Minn:Breaks 1st Amendment for Islamic Banking

Recently we have seen sharia banking being implemented by a Michigan bank. That was bad enough, but now the state of Minnesota has taken it one step further. The state is willingly breaking our seperation of Church and state in order to bring sharia banking to the Muslim community. Keep in mind that the UK has also tried these programs to appease the Muslim community. It is never enough as their list of demands is never ending.

Hat tip to The Denialator

Mortgage Madness
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Politics: Minnesota is offering a program to Muslims who want to buy a home but don't want to break their religion's laws about interest. Where are the civil libertarians who want to keep church and state separated?

The Minnesota program, the first in the nation, will be administered by the state's housing agency, which will buy homes, with taxpayers' dollars, and resell them at higher prices to Muslim buyers.

To circumvent Islamic Shariah law, which, we're told, forbids Muslims from buying or selling loans that charge interest, the transaction will have higher up-front costs, including the amount of interest that would have been charged over the life of the loan.

This is a clear mixing of religion and state, which runs afoul of the Constitution and should incite the American Civil Liberties Union to launch a complaint and file a lawsuit. Yet we've seen no word from the group that recently filed a lawsuit against a Muslim, mosque-based charter school that takes public funds.

Is the organization acting cautiously, afraid to anger a group whose more enraged members have gained a reputation for taking advantage of our politically correct culture and bullying officials to get their way? Have ACLU leaders lost their nerve, fearful activists will target them? They've already seen Minnesota officials, who, when pushed by activists demanding preferential treatment for Muslims, agreed to provide foot-washing facilities on the campuses of several universities.

Surely if the Minnesota home-buying program — called Murabaha financing — were reserved for only Christians or Jews, the ACLU would have roared by now.

But it hasn't. If this lack of interest goes on, someone else needs to take up the cause. It's not within the legitimate duties of government to ensure that members of certain religions can buy homes.

The private sector, however, is under no such restrictions. It's free to offer Shariah-compliant loans and will do so if there's a demand.

So far, though, only a few U.S. lenders make the loans. That's not evidence of market failure nor a compelling reason for government to meddle in the market or ruin a good business opportunity. It's simply evidence of a weak, or possibly burgeoning, market.

The economy is troubled because policymakers have subsidized a politically favored group of homebuyers and skewed the housing market.

While financing homes for a few thousand Minnesota Muslims won't kill the economy, the program isn't likely to be limited to only that state for long. Political correctness and lawmakers' eagerness to appear "tolerant" drive much public policy, while the hard-earned lessons of the past and present go unheeded.

Link to Article

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part II

This is the continuation of the Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part I story. In part I the president of the bank tells me that I am illogical not to want Sharia law here. Now when I explain to him that I know what Sharia law is he backtracks.

Here is where we left off in part I.

Here is my return email to the University Bank President Mr. Ranzini.

Mr. Ranzini,
Thanks for responding.

Saying that I do not want the barbaric Sharia law in Western culture is very logical. Our country is not about a set of laws that treats one religion better than the other. Christians and Jews are not looking to impose a set of barbaric laws on the world, Muslims are and you are helping them. It is no coincidence that you implemented sharia banking and also banned the Christmas party and alcohol. It is obviously not because that you had some sudden pity for alcoholics. You are clearly more concerned with your Islamic customers over anyone else. You catering to Islamic banking needs is clearly promoting a religion and all of those food choices that you mentioned are for nationalities and not an ideology which calls for world domination. So your comparison is invalid.

Are you a Muslim and would you like to defend this on talk radio tonight?

Chris

Mr.Ranzini was kind enough to respond, but look how he ducks that he has gone beyond sharia banking and has catered to Muslims by banning the annual Christmas party and banning alcohol at after work gatherings. Mr. Ranzini has shown he is a Christian who is clearly more concerned with the beliefs of Muslims over anyone else. He will make an obident dhimmi.


Here is his response.

Dear Mr. Logan:
I’m a Catholic!

I agree with you that our laws in the U.S. should not treat one religion better than any other. Private individuals can enter into contracts as they see fit and are free to do so. How contracts are drawn up is left to the individuals to decide. I can wrote “I O U $1,000” on a piece of paper and sign it and that’s a contract. I can also go to Citibank and get a 100 page commercial real estate loan agreement. Maybe other options in between exist. If the Jewish only bank in NYC or the Christian only bank in Minnesota (they both exist) offer loan contracts drawn up under certain principles to meet the religious needs of their consumers, good for them, I don’t care. At the end of the day, if the legal contracts are violated by one party or another a U.S. court of law, using U.S. Law will interpret the contracts and decide what to do. The U.S. courts will not consider Sharia (Sharia isn’t even mention in our legal contracts with our customers, nor is any religion referenced).

Having a new born baby at home, my desire to work at night is low at the moment. Just curious, your suggestion about the talk show makes me ask, do you work for or with a talk radio show?

Best wishes,

Stephen

In the upcoming part III I mentioned the lawsuit filed against the US government for bailing out AIG, which also is promoting sharia banking. The lawsuit was filed because our government is not supposed to be promoting any religion. In the email Mr.Ranzini tries to marginalize the lawsuit, because the lawyer is a Jew.

Stay tuned!!

Exclusive Q&A With the President of a Michigan Sharia Bank Part I

Back in JanuaryI posted about a Michigan bank which had implemented Islamic banking. The bank also went way beyond that and banned alcohol at after work gatherings and they have also banned their annual Christmas party. These three changes were clearly done to cater to the Islamic community while showing no concern for the beliefs of anyone else. I want to state that I am not against the free market. I am just pointing out how the free market is being used by Muslims to slowly change the country to suit Islam. This is one of the reasons that I am against Muslim immigration. Because the less of them that are here, the less of this we will see. Continually changing aspects of our country to suit Islam is not fair to our country's future non-Muslim generations. As they will just continue to come up with new demands.

Here is the the email that I had sent to Mr.Ranzini the President of University Bank.

Mr.Ranzini,
I am writing in concern of your bank implementing sharia banking, which I find highly offensive.Do you realize that this is just one way that Muslims are slowing getting aspects of Sharia law into Western culture?

I also realize that you are doing this to try and raise more business. But why did you ban the annual Christmas party and alcohol? If Muslims are such tolerant people why would they be offended by what other people believe in? Did you even begin to consider the beliefs of anyone else besides the Muslims?

Thank you,
Christoper Logan


In his response he tries to spin it that he had a sudden awaking against alcohol because of alcoholics, and he also states that he is against charging interest. So we are supposed to believe that he as banker is all of a sudden against high interest being charged? As he talks in circles he claims that it is not appropriate for his bank to promote a religion, but yet they are promoting sharia banking.

Dear Christopher:
Thanks for your email.
The principles of Islamic Law that you are referring to, are part of both Jewish and Christian legal systems. By saying that you don’t want Sharia law in Western culture isn’t logical. Please see attached history of usury for your information in case you’d like to learn more about this topic. A condensed history is as follows:
History of Usury (As a Catholic I find the history of usury rather interesting)
Jewish Talmud says it’s illegal for Jews to charge Jews interest
Jesus says it’s illegal for everyone to charge interest
Mohammad (610) agrees with Jesus
Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215), c. 27, only forbids Catholics to exact excessive interest.
Monti di Pieta societies (Mountain of Piety) founded in Italy 1460s after first founded by Bishop of London in 1361 are the first Western World banks following the Fourth Council’s edict
Martin Luther did not change the policy, so it applies to all Protestant faiths (usually)
Enacted into law in all Western societies that usury is only the charging of excessive interest
1% per month was the usury limit when I was growing up
Inflation in the 1970s prompted rises in the usury law in most states
Usury in Michigan is set at 25% per year
Credit card companies charging 36% are immoral in my opinion
So, in summary, there is great agreement among the faiths that there are issues charging interest. Catholics and Protestants are a little more liberal on this point than Muslims or Jews. But we are all in agreement that usury is bad and immoral.

As to why we stopped having a Christmas party and don’t serve alcohol, well if you know any alcoholics or recovering alcoholics or any lawyers, you know why it’s a bad idea for a company to serve alcohol at a party. As to the Christmas party, it isn’t really appropriate for our bank to promote religion of any type, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise, so we don’t have any parties like that anymore. Just because we sell them services doesn’t mean we promote religion – quite the contrary! It’s true that our bank is targeting Muslims for Islamic Banking however, at the Kroger I walked down the aisle with the supermarket’s international food aisle, and I saw the following ethnic food:
Mexican
French
Southern
Kosher
Italian
Middle Eastern
Chinese
Thai
Etc.
It was evident to me that Kroger is attempting to increase sales by offering a variety of products. We are doing the same. There are 2.4 million Muslims in the U.S.
We do have a Christmas tree in the lobby nicely decorated during the Holiday Season from the day after Thanksgiving to Epiphany, but since that has become rather generic, it offends nobody (actually in the beginning the tree was a Druidic religious symbol since adopted by Macy’s for Christmas decorations at their NYC store in the late 1800s).
Best wishes,
Stephen Lange Ranzini
President
University Bank

Stay tuned for part 2.

Michigan Bank Falls to Islam

This is a very disturbing article about the University Bank in Ann Arbor Michigan. The bank has recently implemented sharia banking, but to make matters worse they have even canceled their annual Christmas party and have stated that no alcohol will be served at after work gatherings. Several employees have quit the bank and hopefully they will sue the bank for religious discrimination.

Michigan bank operates by Islamic law
Jeff Karoub,Sebastian Abbot, Associated Press
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Big financial institutions have been battered by mortgages gone bad. But a tiny Michigan bank is getting attention in the industry by turning a profit on loans without even charging interest.

It also rules out some of the activity that got Western finance in trouble - subprime mortgages, credit default swaps and the like.

"When you look at the economic crisis we're in, if you were to follow Islamic or Sharia financing, you couldn't have this crisis," said John Sickler, corporate director for the bank, University Islamic Financial Corp. in Ann Arbor.

Islamic finance operations aren't prohibited from making a profit. Far from it. Instead, banks that comply with Islamic law, or Sharia, earn money from fees that are part of the cost of the loan, some paid up front and some over time.

University Islamic Financial has two types of financing: one called a marked-up installment sale, the other a lease-to-purchase sale. Fees in both cases are comparable to interest payments in traditional loans, bank officials say.

For example: A seller who bought a house for $100,000 could sell it for $120,000 or even $300,000, provided that the buyer agrees it's a fair deal. The home could be sold on an installment plan negotiated by buyer and seller.

The bank is a subsidiary of Michigan-based University Bank, and its leaders say they have talked recently with executives from two national banks hoping to learn more about the business.

Islamic law says money cannot grow by itself, the way it does with compounding interest. Trade is acceptable as long as the equal amounts of money are traded or two different things are swapped with a fairly negotiated price.

So a dime for an apple would be considered halal, or religiously acceptable, while one apple for two apples would be harem, or unacceptable.

Even at University, not everyone is on board. Some customers have closed their accounts when they learned that it was engaging in Islamic finance. Some employees who objected to the move quit. The bank also stopped having a Christmas party and no longer serves alcohol at after-hours events.

The Michigan bank focuses on contracts that clearly spell out the risk and reward between lender and borrower. University Islamic Financial says it's the nation's first to offer Sharia-compliant, federally insured deposits.

Islamic banking is more common overseas, but some U.S. banks and credit card companies are exploring the idea of branching out into Sharia products to reach out to the growing Muslim population.

So Islamic banking is only expected to increase in coming years. Already, Citigroup offers Sharia products and services to clients overseas, and Visa says it has worked with banks around the world to offer Islam-compliant products.

The conventional banking system could learn a lot from the idea, said Jawad Ali, a finance lawyer based in Dubai and London who specializes in structuring Sharia-compliant deals.

"We haven't made as much money as the conventional banks because we can't, for example, sell what we don't own," he said. "We have to own it before we sell it. We may have missed out on gains in good times ... but we haven't suffered any losses."

Of course, there's no guarantee that banks will find immunity in Islamic finance from a severe global downturn.

"I am not doing banking on Mars," said Afaq Khan, the head of Saadiq, the Islamic banking arm of Standard Chartered Bank, in London. "If real economic activity slows down significantly, the Islamic banking industry will also be affected."

A Sharia-compliant mortgage is like rent-to-own: There is no note, or mortgage, but typically part of each month's payment is held toward the ultimate purchase. The property is titled to an individual trust, or limited liability corporation.

Deutsche Bank estimates total assets in the Islamic finance market at $1 trillion - a tiny fraction of global financial assets, but the bank said in a recent report that the sector has been growing at a clip of 15 to 20 percent per year.

Most big international banks already have Islamic banking arms, and a November report by Moody's Investors Service shows that Islamic banks have been fairly resilient to the global economic downturn.

The U.S. banking industry has not embraced Sharia banking. Wachovia, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase said they have not adopted Sharia practices and declined to comment about what they may do in the future.

"As far as the future, we are always looking for opportunities to better serve our customers, but our specific strategy is proprietary," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Lisa Westermann said.

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Iraqi war vet Sues Govt for Bailout of AIG, Supporting Islam

Iraqi war veteran Kevin Murray is suing the US government for bailing out AIG . The reason being that AIG supports sharia financing which in turn promotes Islam. Mr. Murray is claiming that our government is breaking the First Amendment by endorsing a religion. I applaud this man and this will be very interesting to watch.

December 15, 2008
Michigan man files suit to stop AIG bailout

By ED WHITE
DETROIT

A Michigan man is challenging the government's bailout of American International Group Inc., claiming the move is illegal because the insurer has financial products that promote Islam and are anti-Christian.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Detroit by the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, which pursues cases on behalf of Christian causes.

It says the government is violating the First Amendment with billions of dollars of aid for AIG. The clause prevents the U.S. government from endorsing a religion.

The lawsuit says AIG offers financial services that comply with Sharia principles, specifically Takaful insurance. Islamic or Sharia-compliant finance bans investments that pay interest or sponsor alcohol, tobacco, pork, gambling or weapons.

"The Takaful insurance business of AIG is pervasively sectarian," the lawsuit alleges. "Its secular purposes and its Sharia-based Islamic religious mission are inextricably intertwined."

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Kevin Murray of Washtenaw County, a Roman Catholic and Iraq War veteran.

Treasury Department spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli had no comment.

A University of Louisville law professor predicts the lawsuit will be quickly dismissed.

"The notion that this bailout of AIG will advance religion is preposterous," said Sam Marcosson, who has written about the Constitution's Establishment Clause.

"The bailout was trying to prevent disastrous events for the economy. Any religious effects that might be alleged in this lawsuit were not on anyone's mind," he said.

The More center is named for a 16th century English statesman who was made a saint by the Roman Catholic church in 1935. It was started in 1999 by Domino's Pizza Inc. founder Tom Monaghan and Richard Thompson, a former Oakland County prosecutor who serves as president and chief counsel.

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