April 10, 2006: For Sale: Western Civilization

By Laura Mansfield

Bat Y’oer calls it Eurabia. Others call it Londonistan.

But regardless of what you call it, the new face of Europe is beginning to emerge from the hijab-clad cocoon which has concealed the developing pupa.

This morning, the state-run Islamic Revolution News Agency in Iran discusses the new initiative of the Muslim Council of Britain to “showcase the UK as the gateway for trade with Muslim countries and to promote London as a key center for Islamic finance”.

According to IRNA, the initiative has the support of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, and also has the cooperation of the Islamic Development Bank and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

"This conference will demonstrate a positive model of interaction and relationship between the United Kingdom and Muslim countries," the secretary-general of Britain's mainstream Muslim umbrella organization, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, said.

According to IRNA, several conventional Western banks, including HSBC, Citigroup and Lloyds TSB Bank, have already launched their own sharia-compliant products and services and many others are expected to follow.

It’s clear that money talks. There’s a lot of oil money out there and it’s being used to buy a place for Islam in the west, not just in the UK but in the US. There’s a plethora of sharia-compliant financial products in the US, as I discussed in my book One Nation Under Allah.

There’s an old story about a young beautiful woman who meets a weathly but ugly elderly man at a party. He propositions her, and offers her a million dollars to have sex with him.

She agrees.

Then the man changes the offer, and reduces payment offer to $100.

She indignantly responds “What do you think I am?”

The man responds “We’ve already determined that. Now we’re haggling over price.”

It would behoove us to remember that story.

Western civilization is for sale.

Right now the only remaining issue may very well be price.

IRNA: London To Be Showcased as Center for Islamic Finance

Monday, April 10, 2006

London, April 10, IRNA: The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is launching a major new initiative later this year to showcase the UK as the gateway for trade with Muslim countries and to promote London as a key center for Islamic finance.

The initiative, by way of an Islamic Trade and Finance Conference in June, is being supported by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and organized in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

MCB said the event "will highlight the excellence and innovation in the field of Islamic finance and the myriad of opportunities for trade with Muslim countries."

"This conference will demonstrate a positive model of interaction and relationship between the United Kingdom and Muslim countries," the secretary-general of Britain's mainstream Muslim umbrella organization, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, said.

"We all know that the current climate of tension calls out for an alternative approach that promotes peace and constructive dialogue in place of suspicion and confrontation," he said.

It is estimated that there are over 256 Islamic financial institutions worldwide with assets of more than USD 250 billion and with an annual growth rate of around 15 percent.

"Assuming steady growth, the industry will double in size by 2010," MCB predicted in announcing outline details of the conference, part of which is being held in London's parliamentary buildings.

Conventional Western banks, including HSBC, Citigroup and Lloyds TSB Bank, have already launched their own sharia-compliant products and services and many others are expected to follow.

The event will be attended by secretaries of state, finance and trade ministers, Islamic scholars, international banks, professionals and business leaders.

Speakers already announced include OIC Secretary-General Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, UAE Minister for Finance and Industry Khalfan Karbash and Bahrain's Finance Minister Shaikh Ebrahim bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa as well as Brown.

(Description of Source: Tehran IRNA (Internet Version-WWW) in English -- official state-run news agency)