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ISLAMOFASCISM THROUGH THE FINANCIAL BACK-DOOR |
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Written by Alex Alexiev
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Thursday, 29 November 2007 |
Since September 11, 2001, the men and women of the U.S.
Department of the Treasury have worked tirelessly to identify and cut off
sources of financing for terrorist organizations and other threats to our national
security.
However, their efforts are now taking place alongside an
emerging financial trend that could threaten our national security in ways not
yet fully grasped: the penetration of Islamofascism-tainted countries and
radical Islamists themselves into Western financial markets and other Western
strategic industries.
The problem consists of two elements. The first is the
matter of countries with questionable, possibly hostile, dispositions towards
the United States and the West staking out enormous positions in strategic U.S.
industries, with numerous non-transparent repercussions.
As today's
lead Wall Street Journal editorial points out, Abu Dhabi's recent $7.5
billion purchase of a 4.9% stake in Citigroup came in just below the 5% level
that would otherwise trigger scrutiny by the Federal Reserve.
The Journal goes on to state that the structure of the
purchase raises questions as to Abu Dhabi's motives and underscores the need
for reassurance by Citigroup that it will continue to cooperate in tracking
terror financing in the wake of this transaction, particularly in light of Abu
Dhabi's historical relationship with Saudi Wahhabi-backed institutions and
causes - including, on occasion, terrorists and/or their organizations.
Moreover, as
Youssef Ibrahim highlights in today's New York Sun, the countries engaging
in these purchases - including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab
Emirates - are effectively purchasing silence from their Western sellers
with respect to the Islamofascist behavior and pattern of human rights
violations that have become a matter of course in much of the Gulf
States.
Ibrahim rightfully points out - as just one example - the
lack of American governmental or business community protest over Saudi Arabia's
recent sentencing of a 19-year old gang-rape victim to two hundred
lashes.
While this first element of Islamofascist penetration of
Western financial markets has received much well-deserved attention by the
media, a second element of equally startling import has gone largely ignored:
the emergence and aggressive promotion of Shariah financing as a Western
investment tool.
As documented in a recently
published Center for Security Policy paper, Western financial institutions
are beginning to offer so-called "Shariah-compliant" investment instruments to
attract more Muslim (and some non-Muslim) investors, while failing to
understand that Shariah - a legal doctrine that promoters claim is based on the
tenets of the Koran - is in fact a doctrine of radical Islam that gives legal
sanction for, among other things, jihad against non-Muslims, slavery, and
persecution of women and homosexuals.
Even more troubling is that Shariah financing as an
institution is dominated by individuals and organizations with undeniably
Islamofascist agendas, such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference and
the European Council for Fatwa and Research, among others.
By promoting Shariah financing, Western financial
institutions are lending legitimacy to those who promote Shariah doctrine as a
replacement for Western values, and are simultaneously creating a demand for
individuals qualified to certify investment instruments as "Shariah-compliant"
- individuals likely indoctrinated by Saudi Wahhabism and other Islamofascist
schools of thought.
As these articles indicate, the American media is beginning
to raise critical questions about sovereign wealth purchases by questionable
sources in a post 9-11 world. What is regrettable, however, is that only
one half of the broader ominous development is beginning to receive attention
commensurate with the risks posed.
In order to fully address the phenomenon of Islamofascist
penetration into Western financial markets, we must urge the media, the Executive
Branch, Congress, and Wall Street to scrutinize and challenge Shariah financing
with the same sense of urgency that we are now applying to transactions such as
the Abu Dhabi - Citigroup purchase.
Alex Alexiev is vice
president for research at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC.
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