Group urges Muslims to avoid body scans

Source:  CBC.ca

 

An Islamic group is urging Muslim travellers to choose to be patted down by airport security rather than go through airport body scanners, a practice that it says violate religious and privacy rights.

The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) said the scanners, which produce a three-dimensional outline of a person’s naked body, are “against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty.”

“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” the group said in a statement last week.

“The Qur’an has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts. Human beings are urged to be modest in their dress,” the group said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations also issued a statement of support of the FCNA’s recommendation.

The United States began using the scanners capable of detecting items hidden underneath clothing at airports as part of new security protocols put in place in the wake of the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.

 

Canada installing scanners

Halifax imam Dr. Jamal Badawi, one of 10 Muslim scholars on the council who made the religious ruling, said the only exception to the rules of modesty are medical necessity or another emergency.

“It has to be a clear and compelling case and only to the extent that it is absolutely needed,” said Badawi. “And that doesn’t seem to apply to these scanning machines.”

Canada is also in the process of installing 44 scanners to be used on U.S.-bound passengers selected for secondary screening at Canadian airports.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has said the scanners would protect the privacy of the passenger, and that the officer viewing the image would do so in a separate room and never see the actual traveller.

Only people singled out for extra screening would be scanned, and they would have the option of getting a physical search instead, according to authorities on both sides of the border.

The Fiqh council, which in 2005 issued an Islamic legal ruling, or fatwa, against terrorism and religious extremism, said it appreciated the pat-down search option and recommended Muslims choose this option.

 

U.S. puts countries on watch list

Canada has not adopted the U.S. approach of requiring additional screening for anyone flying into the U.S. who is a citizen of or is travelling from any of the 14 countries deemed to be state supporters of terrorism or “of interest” to the U.S.

Most of the countries listed are predominantly Muslim, and civil liberties groups say the policy of targeting travellers from specific countries opens the door to discriminatory racial profiling.

Transport Minister John Baird has said that “100 per cent” of Canadian travellers bound for the United States could be subjected to secondary screening.

The focus on security measures stems from the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to set off a bomb on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is accused of trying to ignite the bomb on the Northwest Airlines flight. Officials said he has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen.

News alert: Canadian scholars on niqab issue

Source: CAIR-CAN

 

 

- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

Statement by Canadian Islamic Scholars and Mainstream Muslim Organizations Reaffirms Freedom of Religious Expression

(OTTAWA – October 9, 2009) In response to recent calls to ban the niqab (face veil) in Canada, a wide coalition of mainstream Canadian Muslim organizations in conjunction with Canadian Islamic scholars issued a statement today reaffirming the freedom of religion and conscience in Canada.

The statement read as follows:

“The recent calls to ban the niqab (face veil) in Canada are misplaced and contravene the fundamental principles of our free and democratic society. All Canadians, whether Muslim or not, are guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the freedom of religion and conscience. The state has no business in the wardrobes of the nation.

“Therefore, if a segment of Canadian Muslim women believe that wearing the niqab is part of their religious practice, then they must be allowed to freely do so. The principle must be extended to all religious practices, provided the practice does not infringe upon the fundamental rights of others.

 

“The marginalization of Muslim women must be countered with public education and anti-discrimination efforts, not with the state’s dictation on how one may dress, which only serves to further marginalization instead.”

 

STATEMENT SIGNATORIES:

Ahlul-Bayt Centre Ottawa *
Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN)
Canadian Council Of Muslim Theologians (CCMT)
Canadian Council of Imams
Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC)
Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association (CMCLA)
Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute (CMWI)
Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF)
Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals Toronto (CAMP Toronto) *
Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre
DawaNet Canada
Federation of Muslim Women *
International Muslims Organization (IMO)
Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada, Richmond Hill *
Islamic Circle of North America Canada (ICNA Canada) *
Islamic Foundation of Toronto *
Islamic Society of British Columbia
Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada)
Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA)
Islamic Society of Toronto
Jamat E-Islahul Muslimeen *
Jami Omar Mosque
Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
Muslim Council of Calgary (MCC)
Muslim Association of Canada (MAC)
Muslim Council of Montreal / Conseil Musulman de Montreal
Muslim Presence / Presence Musulmane *
Muslim World League, Canadian Office *
Salaheddin Islamic Centre
Scarborough Muslim Association
TARIC Islamic Centre, Toronto
Young Muslims Canada

CONTACTS:

Nermine Barbouch, CMF Spokesperson, 514.806.3257 [FRANCAIS]
Selma Djukic, CAIR-CAN Spokesperson, 416.726.4992
Shahina Siddiqui, ISSA Executive Director, 204.944.1560
Shk. Yusuf Badat, CCMT Spokesperson, 416.321.0909 ext 235 or 416.402.8542

Banking: Islam waits

Source: Canadian Business on line

© Greeks Rethink

As the Anglo-Saxon ex-masters of the financial universe struggle to emerge from a perfect storm of bad loans, bad bets and a deep recession, an alternative approach to business transactions is having a moment in the sun: Islamic finance, based on teachings from the Qur’an.

Some governments, including the United Kingdom and Japan, have begun trying to tap into money from the Middle East by floating debt as sukuk, or Shariah-compliant bonds. At the retail level, Islamic mortgages and other banking products — based on a no-interest equity-pool form of finance — are becoming more popular. Here in Canada, Standard & Poor’s recently set up a Shariah-compliant index that has already led to the proposed creation of the first Islamic ETF in this country.

But as the Islamic finance movement begins to get off the ground, a tug-of-war about how fast this new religious economy should emerge has broken out among those hoping to be players in this market.

The federal government declines to say how many applications it has received from organizations hoping to be the first Canadian institution to set up a licensed Islamic-focused bank in this country. But observers estimate there are about half a dozen applications sitting with the Department of Finance, and some of those asking for consideration are getting impatient with the time it has taken the government to come up with a yes or no.

Steve Watts, a partner with KPMG in Toronto, is involved with one of the applications. (KPMG is also handling another.) He says he’s worried Canada is falling behind other countries in its development of this sector. He points to London, which has decided to be proactive in developing that city as a “centre of excellence” in Islamic finance. “This is the next big shift in retail banking for the Muslim community. Looking to the future, this is going to be great for banks,” says Watts. “What are we waiting for? If this is being done in the rest of the Commonwealth, why can’t it be done here? Why can’t the laws of Canada accommodate this?” A conventional application usually takes up to 12 months; the Islamic applications have been sitting with the government for two to three years.

Watts points out that Islamic finance is one of the fastest-growing sectors in financial services. Authorities have done background checks around the applications; the backing of KPMG helps to ensure the commercial accounting on the applications is up to par. And anyway, despite what some critics argue, the products offered under the Islamic finance banner are not all that unconventional; the techniques used in Islamic finance are the same as or similar to some used at credit unions, in private equity and in venture capital.

Watts argues that the bureaucratic delays are leaving the sector under-regulated. “Mainstream Canadians are protected, but regulation is non-existent in this sector,” he says. “This is about taking something that is currently unregulated and bringing it into the mainstream. We want to show Canadians that they are represented under the regulatory system of Canada.”

Interestingly, the proposals were submitted for approval to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, as is typical in such filings. But all the applications were subsequently punted to Finance. What might have held up the approval process? Only four years ago, the Ontario government found itself mired in a debate around accommodating Shariah-based law in provincial courts; the plan was eventually tossed out amid the populist backlash. The federal Conservatives might be hoping to avoid a similar kind of debate, especially given a minority in the House. As well, groups such as the Muslim Canadian Congress, the self-styled voice of moderate Muslims, has criticized the Islamic finance movement, calling it a con job by “Islamists, with backing from Middle Eastern financial institutions and their Western partners,” as one letter to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. put it, intended to scare Muslims into paying more for financial services out of a sense of religious duty.

And others in the Islamic finance sector suggest there is no rush to hand out a banking licence. Among them is Omar Kalair, the president and CEO of UM Financial Inc., a company that offers Islamic mortgages and is proposing a new Islamic ETF. UM Financial doesn’t have a banking licence. It offers its services through an agreement with an existing financial services company, Central 1 Credit Union, which provides capital to UM. That and partnerships with other companies allow it to offer a limited number of mortgages as well as a couple of other services, like insurance, and, more recently, a “prepaid”(interest free) Islamic credit card. But as one of the first movers in this space in Canada, Kalair would like to see more development of the market first, before a stand-alone bank is approved. “The market is not yet ready for this,” he says. “The fact that the big Canadian banks are not yet offering these services suggests that.” Kalair assumes the applications with Finance are mainly offshore Mideast groups hoping to set up shop here.

Nevertheless, the rest of the world is moving quickly. According to a report by Stikeman Elliott LLP, the sector has grown by between 20% and 30% a year since 2001. Watts wants to see Canada catch up to the U.K., which speeded the approval process in Islamic finance on the principle of “no obstacles, but no special favours.” That is, the government won’t stand in the way of the sector just because the word “Islamic” is attached. If the products fit into existing regulations, then banks will get a licence.

Watts calls this an enlightened, rational approach that meshes with western traditions of free markets and religious freedom. The idea that technically sound applications would be held up on any other concern would be to undermine western values. “The bureaucrats can’t have their heads in the sand on this. The applicants are making a business case here — nothing more,” says Watts. “They don’t want any special favours. They just want this considered.”

Those in the world of Islamic finance believe that now is the time to strike. One of the key developments in western finance leading to the current meltdown was the 25-year expansion in consumer credit. Deregulation, the rise of the offshore-shadow banking system, cultural attitudes toward debt — all led to a sharp rise in the amount of debt held by each individual. But as formerly non-creditworthy people were offered mortgages, demand in the economy was artificially expanded as well. That worked like a charm for a while — home prices skyrocketed, the auto industry continued to sell cars at a rapid pace, corporate earnings advanced — but once the credit bubble began to deflate, crisis quickly followed.

Proponents of Islamic finance argue that had its principles been followed, the big crash would have been avoided. Not only are profits from pornography and alcohol banned, but so too are unstable debt levels. That is an idea that may find favour with many in the West, especially in the wake of the recent meltdown. Watts suggests that even non-Muslim Canadians, recognizing the advantages, might at some point hope to access these services, just as some non-Muslim Canadians choose to eat halal. “You don’t have to be Muslim to enjoy the benefits. How many Canadians might want that — invest ethically in a system that isn’t debt-based?” asks Watts.

That possibility might soon be tested in the real world. The federal Department of Finance has confirmed that it recently finished its assessments and sent the applications back to OSFI for normal processing.