Saudis close Canadian exhibition because of female workers

[Cowperson]

The Canadian embassy in Saudi Arabia is protesting a decision to shut down a booth at an education fair in the Saudi city of Jeddah aimed at wooing Saudi students to Canada because it was staffed by women.

According to reports in the Saudi Arabian press, members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice closed down the booth and forced three female Canadian embassy employees to leave the exhibition.

They were told women were not allowed to participate in staffing the booths at the exhibition or giving presentations.

The Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice department never ceases to amaze in their anal retentiveness . . . . . they're almost as bad as the goons who enforce the dress code at your local golf club.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...8b19aa&k=68183

Cowperson

[Bobblehead]

I had a professor say that regulators will continue to regulate regardless if the regulations are needed. It is their raison d'etre.

[Cowperson]

I'll throw this second story into this thread . . . . . the hottest area of banking is Sharia compliant financing.

Islamic finance is becoming one of the hottest areas in banking and insurance in the world as the Muslim population grows and wealth increases.

Sharia-compliant products must meet three criteria: no explicit interest is paid; the transactions can't be in such areas such as gambling, alcohol, pork or pornography; and the transaction can't be deemed as a gambling contract, or one that assumes a high level of risk. Products tend to be for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Assets in the sector have hit more than $250-billion (U.S.) worldwide while the number of Islamic financial institutions has jumped to more than 300 from just one in 1975, the British Treasury estimates.

It's prompted global financial companies such as Citibank NA, HSBC Holdings PLC, Barclays PLC and American International Group Inc. to start offering Islamic financing products. Governments are getting interested too: Britain said last month it's looking into issuing sharia-compliant bonds as London aims to become the world centre for Islamic finance.

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/serv...y/robNews/home

Cowperson

[Lanny_MacDonald]

And what is the complaint here? We're in their country and should follow their laws and cultural expectations regardless of how distasteful we find them. Seems the Canadian embassy should know better and have the appropriate staff available to meet the expectations of the local community. The only thing I find embarassing about this is the fact that the local Embassy thought it was not that big a deal and they could staff the booth with who ever they wished.

[Flashpoint]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

The only thing I find embarassing about this is the fact that the local Embassy thought it was not that big a deal and they could staff the booth with who ever they wished.

From the article:

"Prior to the event, we specifically inquired whether women staff would be permitted at the exhibition and we were told by the organizers, the Al-Harithy Company, that they would."

[Lanny_MacDonald]

I stand corrected. Can't trrust them Saudi's I guess. Is that considered a news flash?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I'll throw this second story into this thread . . . . . the hottest area of banking is Sharia compliant financing.

Islamic finance is becoming one of the hottest areas in banking and insurance in the world as the Muslim population grows and wealth increases.

Sharia-compliant products must meet three criteria: no explicit interest is paid; the transactions can't be in such areas such as gambling, alcohol, pork or pornography; and the transaction can't be deemed as a gambling contract, or one that assumes a high level of risk. Products tend to be for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Assets in the sector have hit more than $250-billion (U.S.) worldwide while the number of Islamic financial institutions has jumped to more than 300 from just one in 1975, the British Treasury estimates.

It's prompted global financial companies such as Citibank NA, HSBC Holdings PLC, Barclays PLC and American International Group Inc. to start offering Islamic financing products. Governments are getting interested too: Britain said last month it's looking into issuing sharia-compliant bonds as London aims to become the world centre for Islamic finance.

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/serv...y/robNews/home

Cowperson

I always like criteria number one. There are many implicit ways of getting around this point that essentially creates a synthetic interest equaling the same effect as a security with an expicit interest feature. The key is to find hard assets to include in the transactions. However I like point number three, there is a lot of evidence out there that with the popularization of hedge funds and commodity futures trading that this type of trading skews and actually disrupts the market. By limiting derivative trading to only those with covered positions or physical interest in the commodity being traded a lot of this undue volitiliy can be reduced.

[MoneyGuy]

What's the objection with interest being paid? Do Muslims have a religious objection to interest? Not that I mind that because I advise my clients to avoid interest if at all possible.

There are now Muslim-friendly mutual funds or MF-type investments available.

[someguy51]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

What's the objection with interest being paid? Do Muslims have a religious objection to interest? Not that I mind that because I advise my clients to avoid interest if at all possible.

There are now Muslim-friendly mutual funds or MF-type investments available.

I remember hearing somehwere that charging over a certain percentage of interest is wrong according to the bible. I guess most Christians don't know about / follow the rule. I wouldn't be surprised if there was something similar in the Koran.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

What's the objection with interest being paid? Do Muslims have a religious objection to interest? Not that I mind that because I advise my clients to avoid interest if at all possible.

There are now Muslim-friendly mutual funds or MF-type investments available.

I believe I heard it was something about interest implying that the lender somehow 'owns' time and that according to their religion only Allah or God can 'own' time. Very similar to Medieval Christian beliefs.

The bonus I find with Muslim-friendly mutual funds is that they fit in perfectly with a client with a low risk tolerance whether they are actually muslim or not. The companies allowed in the portfolio are all low leveraged companies that seem to stick around longer than others. Solves a bit of the 'suvivorship bias' issue with the performance of funds over long periods of time. The negatives are that if you're a business who wants to build something at cosiderable capital cost in a Muslim country the mechanics of getting a loan to help fund it are difficult should the local laws care about how a foriegn company funds its projects.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by someguy51

I remember hearing somehwere that charging over a certain percentage of interest is wrong according to the bible. I guess most Christians don't know about / follow the rule. I wouldn't be surprised if there was something similar in the Koran.

Yup, It was a Papel decree at some point that Jews were the only ones allowed to collect interest and is why so many Jews were/are involved in the financial sector. It also probably caused much of the sentiment/discrimination against Jews throughout history.