15 April 2012

Muslims Caught Between Islam, Wall Street

Making inroads into America’s financial hub of Wall Street, Muslims are caught in practices that run counter with their religious teachings.

“Wall Street is basically blind to religion,” Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic finance at Thomson Reuters, told The New York Times on Sunday, April 15.

“What it’s concerned about is deal flow, assets under management and transactions.”

Rushdi is one of many Muslims taking executive positions in banks on Wall Street, who are facing many hurdles to abide by their religious teachings.

For instance, they do not have dedicated prayer rooms at work to perform prayers. They also have to deal with interest (Riba), which is banned under Islam. [OnIslam.net] Read more