Islamic Finance and Economics

Gaza’s Islamist Groups Use Cryptocurrency as New Jihadist Funding Tool

December 15, 2021

Islamist militant groups in Gaza are using cryptocurrency as a new fundraising tool to finance jihadist operations against Israel, with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies providing cover from international counter-terrorism laws designed to crack down on global funding networks for a diverse range of Islamist extremist activities.
Islamic Banking Show Robust Growth in UAE

December 01, 2021

The Islamic banking sector in the Arab Emirates (UAE) showed robust growth for 2020 and 2021, according to metrics for use of sharia-compliant/compatible products as well as perceptions of trust for Islamic banking versus conventional banking.
UK Leads on Integration of Global Sharia Finance with International Climate Change

November 15, 2021

The United Kingdom (UK) has led the establishment of three-year multinational High-Level Working Group (HLWG) aimed at ensuring the integration of sharia finance into all UN Climate Summit (COP26) initiatives, aiming to boost demand for sharia compatible/compatible instruments to support international climate change infrastructures and policies.
FATF Grey-Lists Turkey for Islamist Terror Financing and Money Laundering

October 27, 2021

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Turkey on the Grey List that monitors violations of international financial protections against corruption, citing the Islamist government for its failures to take adequate measures to clamp down on financing of Islamist terror groups and related money-laundering operations.
US Treasury OFAC Sanctions Reveal Financial Linkages Between Al-Qaeda and Turkey

September 22, 2021

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assects Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on five Turkey-based al-Qaeda facilitators and financiers for their alleged activities in providing financial and travel support for the jihadist group.
Islamist Regimes Calculate Relations Based on Maritime Geopolitical Interests & Possible US Human Rights Priorities

September 22, 2021

Diplomatic maneuvers among competing pro- and anti- Islamist regimes reveal a sustained, albeit flexible, commitment to using Islamist soft power and economic leverage to accomplish geopolitical ambitions of controlling some of the world's most strategic maritime chokepoints in Africa and Eurasia.
Bosnia Court Case Highlights Europe & Levant Link

September 08, 2021

The indictment of a Bosnian women charged with providing financing for the estimated hundreds of Bosnian citizens fighting in Iraq and Syria for the Islamic State points to the active finance-fighter networks linking European actors to Islamist militants in the Levant.
FDD: Financial Watchdog Cracks Down on Turkish Public Lender’s German Subsidiary

September 07, 2021

Turkey's two largest banks, with direct ties to senior government officials in Turkey's Islamist regime, are under scrutiny in Germany and the United States, with Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposing strict regulatory requirements and fines on Ziraat Bank, Turkey's largest public lender, based on evidence of the bank's illicit financial activities involving Russian and Turkish sources.
Taliban Victory Highlights Geo-economic Consequences of Expanding Islamism

August 17, 2021

James M Dorsey writes on wionews.com that the Taliban’s conquest of Afghanistan will have significant repercussions for economic and trade competition across South and Central Asia, as the reality of a sharia-state regime in Afghanistan forces the US and India to reassess plans for investment in Iran’s port of Chabahar and pushes China to reconsider its investments in Pakistan for the Belt Road Initiative.
Islamic Economics and ESG May Have Compatible Ethical Claims

August 02, 2021

Islamic economics and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies may converge in promotion of banking and finance services, as promoters of sharia-based/compatible investment argue that there is an inherent compatibility between Quranic ethical precepts and the sustainability metrics for ESG initiatives.