by Rebecca Bynum

The good news about Islamic economics is that it is largely cosmetic and therefore unlikely to be disruptive to the global economy. The bad news is that Islamic economics is largely cosmetic and unlikely to be disruptive to the global economy. “Islamic finance” and Islamic financial instruments are not economic but political in nature and serve as vehicles for creeping islamization in the West. They are not more stable, they are not even strictly “islamically” compliant but, rather, involve financial sleight of hand. Nonetheless, the willingness of Western banks and other financial groups to participate eagerly in constructing pseudo-Islamic financial instruments, that is to participate in what is essentially a charade, is not, because they do not result in truly “Islamic finance,” therefore a matter of benign unconcern. For the mere effort by Westerners to supply what is touted as “Islamically correct” – and hiring, up and down the line, Muslim clerics and “consultants” in Islamic law and finance to give their imprimatur, does provide another example of outward kowtowing to Islam, and also, more importantly furthers the illusion of Muslims that they can live anywhere in the world under a separate, and in their minds superior, set of economic rules; in reality, this is simply not the case. In addition, when implemented in the West, Islamic economics softens resistance to Islam by encouraging Westerners to grow used to satisfying, even eager to satisfy, Islamic norms.  more...