Islamic bankers versus Islamic terrorists

By Meshary Alruwaih

The British government has announced its determination to launch the first Islamic bonds (Sukuk) by a Western government. British officials have stressed that Islamic bonds are one of the fastest rising markets and this move will cement London's position as the leading Western center for Islamic Finance. London, the city that was attacked by self proclaimed Muslims on July 7, 2005, is becoming a center for Islamic Finance. What does this tell you?

Well, this story shows two things; first it shows maturity and superior adoption and interaction skills of the British society and government. This move shows that Britain understands the signs, symbols, and expressions of progressive life-based Islam that has something to contribute in various spheres of life. It shows an ability to advance its earthly interests in the global financial networks and markets through acceptance of others' culture, moral codes, and constructed meanings. Britain has given the
world a free lesson of the know-how of the interaction of different forms of life.

Second, this story confirms that the work of the Islamic institutions and banks through the last three decades has been the most significant effort in placing Islam on the global landscape of accepted ways and alternatives of organizing economic and social relations and in inserting Islamic moral codes in the intersections of the global networks of interaction and interdependence.

The terrorist attacks on London by Bin Laden and his group, as unfortunate and brutal as they were, were not only wrong and un-Islamic, but also superficial in the sense that they had no structural impact on the interaction of Islam with the world.

What Islamic bankers are doing is winning back the responsibility of presenting Islam on the world stage from Islamic terrorists. The war is now between institutions like Kuwait Finance House and groups like Al-Qaeda. A war that is taking place on a socially constructed battlefield where the weapons are expressions, symbols, and speeches. Whoever wins, gets to define the relationship between Muslims and others for the next century.

Now the two sides might not be fully aware of the social constructive dimension of their activities, Islamic bankers might be mainly thinking about global capital markets and Al-Qaeda might be mainly thinking of how to terrorize the biggest number of non-Muslims and Muslims. But at the end of the day, it's a world of our making!