Shariah indices do well in all weather

Shariah indices performed well during the financial crisis compared to their conventional counterparts but this performance far from being limited to volatile times&is spread across the full market cycle.

Over the past 11 credit-challenged quarters, the MSCI World Islamic Index has maintained a good track-record with lower volatility than the MSCI World Index.

Moving into the third quarter of 2009, the assumption was that the alpha that Shariah indices had built up over the credit crisis would give way as markets and financials moved into recovery.

Jahangir Aka, Senior Executive Officer, SEI Investments (Middle East), said: "August and September saw equity markets across the world rally and perform strongly. During these months we saw Shariah indices underperform their conventional counterparts.

"However, single months of the conventional indices rallying have not dampened the strong absolute performance of Shariah indices.

"Considering the MSCI World Islamic Index versus the MSCI World Index back to January 2004, we see that as of end of September 2009, the Islamic index not only outperformed but also consistently performed well through a bull and bear market." Global recovery, analysts at SEI Investments believe that the market has turned a corner and evidence is mounting to suggest that the global economy is recovering.

Aka said: "As companies report better-than-expected results and credit conditions continue to improve, investors are returning to the market and positioning themselves for a global economic recovery.

"After the risk aversion of last year, we are now seeing a sharp recovery in stocks as the reduction in economic and financial stress leads to normalisation in investors' risk appetites. Equity investors have begun shifting to riskier asset classes and are favouring cheaper and lower quality stocks."

A low-quality rally does not favour Shariah-compliant securities, which tend to be of higher quality as they are restricted by Shariah guidelines on level of debt.

As a result, the MSCI Islamic indices underperformed on average their traditional MSCI counterparts in August 2009. August saw the MSCI World Islamic Index return 0.72 per cent and the MSCI World Index return 1.93 per cent for the month in US dollar terms.

In September, the MSCI World Islamic index edged ahead of the conventional as a higher level of volatility returned to the markets, with investors retracting slightly away from financial stocks amid fears that they had rallied too far too fast.

Additionally the poad expectations of recovery have bolstered the Shariah preferred sectors such as manufacturing and healthcare.

September saw the MSCI World Islamic Index return 6.03 per cent and the MSCI World Index return 5.82 per cent for the month in US dollar terms, said Aka.

"While the conventional index has edged forward and year-to-date has returned 19.95 per cent compared to the Shariah return of 16.82 per cent in US dollar terms as of end of September 2009 this switch in leadership has only come about in the past two quarters"

"Over a long-time period, January 1, 2004, to September 30, 2009, the MSCI World Islamic has outperformed the MSCI World."

By Shuchita Kapur

© Emirates Business 24/7 2009
Source: Zawya

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English Racists Plan Anti-Muslim Glasgow Rally

CAIRO — A mob of English racists, neo-Nazis, right-wingers, football hooligans and racist thugs are planning a huge anti-Muslim march in Glasgow, near Scotland’s biggest mosque, the Sunday Mail reported on October 25. "A lot of the different firms down here seem to have buried the hatchet and are sickened by the rising tide of Islam," said Stephen Gash, an English businessman and a member of the Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) group.

“Whether or not that is the case in Scotland, we will have to see.”

A group calling themselves the Scottish Defence League made and then withdrew an official application to stage a march on November 14 in Glasgow.

"There will not be an appropriately organized or licensed public procession," a Glasgow City Council spokesman told the Mail.

Yet behind the scenes, preparations are underway for a huge demonstration on that date, undercover Sunday Mail investigators have discovered.

Expected to show up for the anti-Muslim rally are English racists, neo-Nazis, far-right trouble makers, football hooligans and right-wingers, including senior activists of the British National Party (BNP).

They include Essex security boss Leisha Brookes, BNP activist Chris Renton, Aston Villa fan Richard Price and Jeff Marsh, a 44-year-old convicted football hooligan.

“Glasgow may well be the biggest march yet,” said Gash has helped organize similar protests in Harrow, Middlesex which descended into chaos.

"In Scotland, we will be demonstrating the strength of our support, which, across the UK, is growing at rate of almost 1000 a month,” said Brookes, 42.

Senior police officers and politicians fear the flare-up of violence, especially that the illegal march is expected to take place near Glasgow Central Mosque.

There are more than 50,000 Muslims making up less than one percent of the Scottish population, according to the Scottish Islamic Foundation.

Muslims are the second largest religious group in Scotland, which has thirty mosques, including twelve in Glasgow.

Racist Invasion

The Sunday Mail asserts that most of the protestors would be coming from England, not Scotland.

"There will be a lot of English guys travelling up for the Glasgow march from all over the place - Bristol, Luton, Birmingham,” said Gash.

“A lot of the football firms like Aston Villa get involved. I have a lot on but I will be going to Glasgow.”

The same trend happened in a recent similar anti-Muslim rally in Swansea held by the Welsh Defence League eight days ago.

"In Swansea, the vast majority of protesters were actually English and that will be the same in Glasgow,” said Taha Idris, of Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council.

"It was quite obvious that a lot of people had come from elsewhere for the rally.

“They are basically a rent-a-mob and a bunch of troublemakers. There are serious football hooligans attached to these people."

Source: IslamOnline

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At 15, CAIR Leads US Muslims Change

WASHINGTON — America’s Muslim community is celebrating 15 years during which the Council on American Muslim Relations (CAIR) had many achievements and faced many hardships in defending and advancing Muslim rights and civil liberties. “The organization and the community have grown tremendously, in terms of size and influence, compared to zero size and influence at the time we established CAIR,” Nihad Awad, co-founder and executive director of CAIR, told IslamOnline.

“Muslims now feel that there is a Muslim organization that can defend their rights.”

CAIR celebrated on Saturday, October 24, its 15th birthday in a ceremony attended by hundreds of Muslims from all walks of life who came to show support to the group.

A galaxy of US Muslim leaders and activists, government officials and Congressmen also showed up to share the special moment, themed “Leading the Change…15 Years of Service.”

Representatives of other faith communities were also present, including leading rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, a key speaker, and Rabbi Steven Jacobs.

Established in 1994, CAIR is a non-profit grassroots organization headquartered in Washington DC, with 35 offices and chapters across the US and Canada.

It strives to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

“It was the right thing to do at the time,” CAIR Chairman and North Carolina Senator Larry Shaw told IOL.

“It was what is needed to organize the aspirations of Muslims in this country.”

Though there are no official figures, America is believed to be the home of nearly 7-8 million Muslims.

“We are in a better position to go forward to the next level,” asserts Senator Shaw, the longest-serving Muslim elected official in the US.

Challenges

But Awad notes that the Muslim organization has been through many challenges during these years. “The road was never rosy,” a smiling Awad said.

Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s Communications Director and one of its founders, agrees.

“There has been a lot of water under the bridge since our first day standing in front of a hotel which fired a woman for wearing hijab, to the hundreds of thousands of cases, editorials and media interviews that we have done,” he told IOL.

CAIR processed nearly 2,500 civil rights discrimination cases on behalf of Muslims in 2006, and more than 9,500 in the past decade.

Awad recalls that the first challenge they met was the reluctance of many Muslims to be engaged and their lack of confidence that the system can work for them.

“We have proved them wrong over the years that the system can work for them, but they have to show up and they have to be organized, and to take action.”

CAIR executive director says another challenge along the way was dealing with the media.

“We have shown that we can work with the media effectively. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but I think American Muslims understand the media culture now.”

Hooper asserts that to do that CAIR conducted hundreds of seminars nationwide on how Muslims can write press releases and organize actions.

“Fifteen years ago we were the only ones who can issue press releases or work with the media,” he recalls.

“Now after we trained so many people and people become more mature, spokesmen for small mosques all around the country can make press releases and contact the media and work with government officials.”

“Not Intimidated”

But the media also had shown another face to CAIR in recent years, with fierce attacks by right-wing media outlets over Funding and alleged ties to terrorist organizations. “They attack you when you are effective,” Awad contends.

“They feel that the growth of Islam and the development of the Muslim community are threatening their agenda.”

Just a few days before the 15th anniversary, a new book, “The Muslim Mafia”, accused CAIR of trying to infiltrate Congress through interns on the Judiciary, Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees.

Four House Republicans formally requested an investigation to determine if CAIR is a security threat.

Even the FBI decided earlier this year to server cooperation with CAIR on the pretext of its links to some radicals.

Awad lamented that the attacks have intensified in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as the media joined hands with far-right groups.

“They exploited unfortunate incidents that were done by some Muslims who are not from our community, and tried to generalize, bash and cash.”

But he is confident that CAIR would overcome such hardship.

“We are not afraid and we are not intimidated. The pressure should not deter us from doing what is right.

“CAIR is a firefighter. It has to continue to fight the fires of hate and ignorance, and reach out to people with the mercy that our religion advices us with.”

Source: IslamOnline

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UK college bans Muslim student over burka

CAIRO – Britain became the latest European country to join the furor over burka, an outfit covering the whole body from head to toe, after a college banned a Muslim student from entering the class over the wearing.

“We do require all students of Burnley College to have their faces visible when at the college,” principal John Smith told the Telegraph Saturday, October 24.

“We are determined to maintain the highest standards of teaching and learning in Burnley College.

“It is not possible to maintain this essential full communication of the face of any student is not fully visible,” he said.

Shawana Bilqes was barred by the college from enrolling for the Access course for an HE Diploma.

The 18-year-old Muslim student was sent a letter by the college rejecting her enrollment.

“I tried to compromise but they wouldn't,” Bilqes said.

“The college sent me a letter to say I could continue with my course if I stopped wearing the veil.”

The college defended its decision to ban the Muslim girl.

“Where individuals are able to comply with these reasonable requirements, which apply to all students equally, we would be very pleased to admit them to Burnley College,” Smith said.

“Where individuals decline to comply, then I am afraid that we cannot accommodate them.”

The majority of Muslim scholars believe that a woman is not obliged to cover her face or hands.

They say that it is up to every woman to decide whether to take on the face-cover or not.

* Personal choice

The Muslim student defended her right to wear burka on campus.

“It is my choice to wear the veil,” Bilqes said.

“I live around the corner from the college in an area where there are so many practicing Muslims.”

Burka has been making headlines in the West since France’s Communist MP Andre Gerin proposed a parliamentary probe into what he describes as the rising number of Muslims wearing the outfit.

The call was followed by a proposal by Italy’s far-right Northern League party to prosecute women wearing burka.

Earlier in 2006, the leader of Britain’s House of Commons, Jack Straw, caused a controversy when he suggested that Muslim women should abandon wearing the face-veil because it was a "visible statement of separation and difference".

Straw’s call sparked outcry across the European country and across the Muslim world.

“We are in the 21st Century and we get people from all walks of life,” Bilqes said.

“I'm in the police cadets as well and yet it's not a problem wearing the veil there.”
Source: IslamOnline

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