By Rushdi Siddiqui

The New York Stock Exchange – Muslims working in non-Muslim countries do understand work is for work, even in Islamic finance, and informed non-Muslim colleagues understand basic tenets of Islam.

The New York Times recently interviewed several American Muslims, including me, working in the financial arena for the article, “Muslims on Wall Street, Bridging Two Traditions.” It explored two ‘conflicts’: Muslims working in conventional finance may encounter ‘interest’ against their faith, and challenges of abiding by Islamic ‘traditions’ in a secular workplace.

Today, it seems to an outsider, the burning issues for Muslims on Wall Street include prayer breaks, fasting and productivity, bonding after-office drinks, shaking a woman’s hand wearing a hijab, and structuring instruments dealing with (the prohibited) interest.

This cannot be what Muslims are about. Also, more credit must be given to working non-Muslim colleagues on understanding Muslim sensitivities.

Common Shared Values

Muslims, like other people with strong beliefs, do not see themselves exclusively focused on or defined by such  issues. Islam has spread throughout the world because of its dynamic nature, where it influences local customs and is ‘influenced’ by the older local culture.

Religion is a private matter and it’s looked upon as foundation for building inner discipline and external strength to address challenging situations. People of faith, like their secular colleagues, want to climb the corporate ladder and break the glass ceiling to get to the executive floor, if not the corner office. Muslims have been on Wall Street and High Street for many years, if not decades, and it’s only now they are being noticed. The difference between then and now is there are more Muslims in the financial sector and non-Muslim colleagues know more about Islam because of a combination of internet, 24-7 news, 9/11, documentaries, Dubai’s accomplishments, Islamic finance and personalities like His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

It should be noted that many Muslims were involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement because of common shared values. In the New York Times article there are two quotes that best summarise how Muslims, residing in
a non-Muslim country such as the US, should think about and approach a place of work and perception of fellow workers. “I think Muslim professionals are too sensitive and underestimate our co-workers,” comments a consultant in the article.

“Seek the opportunities and firms that speak to their set of values, expertise and passion,” said Mohammad Al Arian, CEO of Pimco.

Just as an employer interviews a potential employee, the latter also needs to interview the former.

I have worked at two multinational companies in the US, heading their Islamic finance business, in New York. First at Dow Jones Indexes for 10 years and now at Thomson Reuters.

A common denominator for international companies is their diverse employee base due to extensive international presence, including many Muslim countries. The corporate culture in these companies reflects common shared values formalised in codes of ethics. Thus, these companies understand ‘sensitivities’, and have high expectations of all employees.

As Muslims working in the West we do have a tendency to initially “underestimate our co-workers” in understanding our rituals (prayers, fasting, etc.), and our prohibitions (alcohol). While it could be attributed to many things, such as prejudices, with time there is a mutual understanding and respect.

The New York Times article used examples of Muslims finding places for praying during working hours or Friday prayers, and fasting during Ramadan. The article should have taken this one step further, and asked the Muslim worker about non-Muslim colleagues fasting or visiting a mosque.

Most, if not all, of us have non-Muslim colleagues who have fasted, some partially (till lunch time) and others until sunset. One of the great attributes of Americans is they like challenges, and will push the envelope of endurance. Others have visited mosques, and made observations such as “nothing fancy inside”, “where are the stained glass windows, pews, gold crescent and star?”

Maybe the article should have interviewed non-Muslims working in senior positions in Islamic finance in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Malaysia on drinking alcohol, shaking hands with conservative women, breaking meetings for prayer time and so on. As senior executives, they are deemed ambassadors of the Islamic financial institution, and it does imply abiding by a certain level of Islamic code of conduct in public places.

Bottomline

The bottomline is that there is understanding and respect for rituals as long as teamwork, quality and deliverables are not compromised.

Muslims working in non-Muslim countries do understand work is for work, even in Islamic finance, and informed non-Muslim colleagues understand basic tenets of Islam. Muslims need to continue taking a pragmatic,
over dogmatic, approach to finding the balance between faith and finance.

This article was originally published in Gulf News. Siddique is the Global Head of Islamic Finance and OIC Countries at Thomson Reuters.

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The Expo is endorsed by Dubai Municipality, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM), Germany to run at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from November 27-29 2012

Dubai: The 10^th edition of annual organic and natural products expo, MENOPE 2012 (Middle East Natural and Organic Products Expo) is expected to attract more regional participation this year, apart from a host of global companies who have elicited enthusiasm to be part of the show.

In a statement, the organizers of MENOPE 2012, Global Links Dubai LLC, today said the Middle East’s one and only exhibition for natural, organic and halal products will run from 27-29 November this year at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE.

“Even at this early stage of the preparations for MENOPE 2012, we have strong and enthusiastic response from both regional and global players endorsing the fact that the annual exhibition has a very strong reputation as a show which caters to the trade with a view to foster growth of this sector,” said Eng. Nadim Al Fuqaha, Managing Director, Global Links.

He said MENOPE 2012 is also looking at attracting a number of regional organic players from both the private and public sector in line with the growth the sector has witnessed over the last few years.

“There are more regional players in the organic market now as businesses realize the growth potential of the sector. We believe that the market has expanded in size as well as quality of offerings with local organic players sensing the need to cater to a sophisticated and aware consumer base with a large share of young people,” Eng. Nadim said.

The Middle East market has maintained the pace of growth of over 15 per cent CAGR in the organic products market though the base is still small and niche with potential to expand further.

“Our partners say that there is strong retail growth trend in the organic and natural products sector. Higher prices have always been a hurdle for increased uptake of products in this sector, but as the volume increases, the price line is also expected to come down. We believe that some amount of rationalization of  prices is already taking place in the market, encouraging more consumers to buy organic products as they  become more affordable,” said  Mr. Joby Mathew, Head, Exhibitions, Global Links.

MENOPE is Middle East’s only exhibition for natural and organic products and this year over 150 exhibitors from 25 countries will take part in the niche show. The three-day expo includes the third MEVEG Conference and a  conference on  Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicines.

MENOPE 2012 is endorsed by the Dubai Municipality. It is supported by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Germany, Ministry of Agriculture Lebanon, Department of Agriculture Philippines, Agrar Marketing Austria, and National Chamber of Sri Lanka etc.

Last year there was significant country pavilion participation from Austria, India, Korea, Philippines, USA, Romania, Srilanka, Lebanon, and Taiwan. The participating countries in MENOPE 2011 included the UAE, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Thailand, Malaysia and Slovenia, Canada, among others.

MENOPE 2012 will showcase a variety of products spanning across Herbals and Spices, Food & Beverages, Cereal Products, Supplements, Health Care products, Natural Living, Natural and Organic Cosmetics, Healing Products, Natural Remedies, Traditional Medicines, Spas, Relaxation facilities, and Fabrics. More information on the event is available at www.naturalproductme.com. The organizers can also be reached at info@naturalproductme.com.

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Dr. K. Ravindranath, Chairman & MD, Global Hospitals Group, said “With about two billion Muslims worldwide and a major number of international health travellers coming to Global Healthcity from the Islamic nations, we see Halal certification as a form of approval that boosts our patients’ trust and confidence in our range of hospital services. To earn the certification, Global Health City had to meet strict Islamic guidelines dealing with hygiene & dietary regulations of global standards.”

“This Halal certification will further help in boosting medical value travel in our country and showcasing our world class infrastructure.” He further added.

Mr. Mohamed Jinna, CEO, Halal India stated “We have great heritage for service and hospitality in India which also signifies that we can take good care of patients. The state of art technologies available in medical care is just perfect for overseas patients.  All we need to do is understand their culture and custom so that we accommodate them well and make them feel truly at home”  This way we can respect their values and belief and at the same time cater to this niche market in India.”

Global Health City is one of the few hospitals in the world to have Halal certification. Halal, an Arabic word meaning “lawful or permitted”, is the certification given by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia. The concept of Halal, is not just being applied to food, but it includes services and infrastructure as per rules in Quran. Global Health City provides special desk for such patients which includes patient managers and co-ordinators who are caring and  knowledgeable about the language, culture and expectations of the patient from the Islamic world. The hospital provides prayer room with Friday prayers, customized cuisine & Arabic TV channels in the rooms.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Chandra Sekhar, Executive Director, Global Hospital Group said “As with the concept of Halal Friendly Medical Tourism it’s a proven set of services which helps hospital attract more and more patients from SAARC & S.E Asia region as well as from various other countries. The biggest example of countries which has already implemented this concept is Thailand, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, UK and Malaysia.”

GLOBAL HEALTH CITY

Global Health City, Chennai is a 500 bedded super specialty tertiary care facility, with a capacity to expand to 1000 beds. It renders 360 degree advanced tertiary healthcare services with multi-super speciality and multi-organ transplant services. With the finest combination of expertise, experience, state-of-the art technology and well coordinated team work, every step is aimed at ensuring excellence in patient care.

The Global Hospitals Group started with its first Hospital a decade ago in Hyderabad. Today, it has nine hospitals with over 2000 beds, strategically spread across the country with branches now in Bangalore and Chennai and many more in advanced stages of planning and implementation, one such being the Mumbai facility which is proposed to be operational by the end of the current financial year. Each unit is a world class tertiary care multi super specialty Hospital with facilities matching the best in the world and offering advanced patient care of international standards.

Halal India

Halal India (HI) is as an Independent Certification body which is recognized by the Government of India. Halal India is one of the established Halal Certification body in India. Halal India Certification is becoming more relevant in today’s market mainly because people are more aware of the Halal concept it is not just about religious related matters but it extends to the products or services being deemed safe for consumption as well as have health benefits.

Halal India is recognized by IHIA (International Halal Integrity Alliance, Malaysia) who is a partner of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). It has been recognized by the 57 OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) Countries, in principle member with the World Halal Council and Intertek Testing Services, a testing company, are its global partners.

Hospitals eye ‘halal’ certification to attract patients from Middle East

Pushpa Narayan, Times of India

CHENNAI: There are two things that worry almost every patient from Islamic countries who come to Indian hospitals: the meat they eat and the direction of Mecca. With more than 75% of the medical tourists being from the Middle East, hospitals are eyeing ‘halal’ certification to make them feel at home.

On Monday, Chennai-based Global Health Citysaid it has became the first in the country to receive the ‘halal’ certification from the Halal Development Authority. The certification would mean they get ‘halal’ meat in food and have ‘quiblah’ (the direction of Mecca) signs in every room and prayer hall. Muslims offer prayers facing ‘quiblah.’

At least five leading hospital groups in the country including Apollo Hospitals and Fortis are in talks with the authority, said Halal India general manager Mohamed Noman Lateef. In Chennai, Mehta Hospitals and Lifeline Hospitals have also sent applications for the certification.

Halal India, is an independent Halal Certification body which is recognised by the Indian government and deals with certification of food, cosmetics and drugs as per the Shariah law. Halal is anything that is legal or lawful for Muslims. In terms of meat, halal applies to the kind of meat (pork is banned), their health condition and the way they are killed. The butcher must make a recitation to God and cut the jugular vein, carotid artery and the windpipe with a sharp knife. The animal can’t be stunned before it is killed.

To ensure the meat used in the Global hospital’s kitchen is ‘halal,’ officials from Halal India visited the slaughter house from where the meat is purchased. “It’s not just about food or prayer hall, it’s about lifestyle. For any Muslim it is important that any business performed in their daily lives is clean, hygienic and not detrimental to either their health or wellbeing as specified in the religious text. In that sense, it is a new benchmark for quality,” said Halal India business development manager Sheetal Bajaj.

Hospital chairman Dr K Ravindranath said Halal certification was a form of approval that boosts patients’ confidence. “To earn the certification, Global Health City had to meet strict Islamic guidelines dealing with hygiene and dietary regulations of global standards.” The hospital’s international business vice-president M Zakariah Ahmed said after Joint Commission International (JCI) this would be one of the biggest certification process hospitals in the country are aiming for.

Every room will also have a sticker that gives the exact direction of Mecca. “I tell every patient the food is halal. But I feel they would be happy to see the certification,” said Global Hospital’s international patients executive Vireesh Singh. “We tell them that we make public announcements for prayer and ensure that we give women a separate place during prayer,” he said.

Transplant surgeon Dr Madhu Shankar agrees. “People from the Middle East have a different culture. We don’t enter the female patient’s room without their permission. A female nurse will walk in first and seek permission for a male doctor’s entry,” he said.

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DUBAI: Bangkok is moving in the direction of having its world-renowned spa establishments and treatments, “conform to halal regulations,” in a move to lure more tourists from the Middle East.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)-International Marketing deputy governor and in-charge of the European, African, Middle East and American markets Juthaporn Rerngronasa, during her recent visit to Dubai, said this is one of the novel ideas the government is undertaking.

“We are developing the Thai spa to conform to halal regulations, with the organic products and the men and women having their own private rooms,” she said.

In an interview with The Gulf Today, Rerngronasa said a few thousand of the spas in her country already have their unique herbal treatments in halal form.

She repeated that similar to the genuine Thai spa boutiques in the UAE, primarily in Dubai, these already have separate rooms for men and women with male masseurs attending to the former and  masseuses attending to the latter.

“All they have to do is check on the list which spas are already offering halal services,” Rerngronasa said.

“The Middle East is a very potential market for us,” Rerngronasa also said.

TAT regional office figures showed that for 2011, out of the 19.23 million tourists from all over the world, 651,912 tourists from Iran and the six Gulf countries visited various parts of Thailand, spending an average of 10 days with tourism receipts of between 4,000 and 5,000 Bahts a day or $153 a day.

The 19.23 million tourists spent $25 billion while the 651,912 spent $1.093 million.

Though there has been a decrease of 3.38 per cent in the first three months of 2012, the slump coming mostly from Iran, which according to the TAT regional office was the number one source of tourists in 2011, the visiting tourism official still expressed a positive outlook.

This is brought about by the continuous development of family-inspired tourism destinations and packages, including the expansion and modernisation of the Phuket International Airport, eyed to be the second international gateway of the country, which would service 12.5 million visitors in 2014.

Delta Ban Travel and Tours tour manager Mophammad Valimirza, whose clients are basically from Iran, mentioned of the astute marketing and advertising schemes employed by Bangkok.

“They work in very close co-ordination with people like us on the ground to know what our clients really want and work on these,” he added.

Discovery Holidays-Asian, Middle East and Gulf marketing director Eric Anthony Culaton shared the view that Bangkok has been very keen on promoting the country throughout the year, holding roadshows in the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and India, besides Japan and South Korea.

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The Guardian

For Muslim women hoping to combine stylish clothes with modest dressing, Vivienne Westwood protegé Barjis Chohan may have the answer. And with Muslim fashion worth an estimated £59 million globally, the rest of the fashion world is sure to follow

Barjis Chohan’s AW 2012 collection: ‘Young, fashionable Muslims are struggling to buy clothes from the Western, high-street shops’ Photograph: Barjis Chohan

It’s 2012. We’re bored to death with debates about the hijab. Why women wear it. Whether they are coerced into it. “Oh, but I bet they have a lovely head of hair under there”. SNORE. All this talk neglects the role of fashion in the hijab’s popularity. It’s just easier to be a fashionable Muslim in Britain these days – walk down Oxford street and stereotypes of the hijab as bland and restrictive are laughable. There are gaggles of friends wearing bright leopard print H&M shawls as a hijab, girls with a mountain of fabric piled up to create a beehive style hijab – hell, I even saw a lady wearing a glittery blue cardigan as a headscarf once (I saw the sleeve hanging out).

But mainstream brands seem reluctant to target Muslim women, so the hijab-wearing shopper has to be extra discerning on the highstreet. The whole outfit has to be considered. This means that unless you are wearing an abaya, you need to learn how to layer. Maxi dresses need a jacket, midi skirts need leggings or trousers underneath them and low-cut tops need a sufficiently long hijab. Barjis Chohan, a protegé of Vivienne Westwood, is looking to make things easier with her clothing label, Barjis. Chohan saw a gap in a market flooded with polyester abayas and over-embellished abayas that are impractical and only suitable for special occasions. “Young, fashionable Muslims are struggling to buy clothes from the Western, high-street shops, because of the unsuitable hemlines and necklines, and they resort to wearing layers, which are very hot and uncomfortable in the summer. So that is why I created Barjis, to fill this gap, with practical, high-quality, modest and fashionable day and evening wear for the busy, modern woman.” Her autumn/winter collection features abayas with peter pan collars and dresses designed to be worn over trousers.

The minimalist style of Barjis’ line is reminiscent of Zara’s ‘Studio’ range and the sleekness of maysaa.com. But is it that hard for a muslim to dress on the high-street right now? Last year maxi skirts and dresses were freed from the stigma of hideous boho-chic, thanks in part to Jil Sander’s spring/summer 2011 collection. With its sleek paperbag dresses, Sander’s influence still has the highstreet flooded with maxi skirts. Tapered chinos have trumped skinny jeans as the bottoms of choice, and more recently the Prada and Chanel autumn/winter 2012 shows included mostly dresses and long coats worn over trousers, which the highstreet will be sure to copy.Chohan’s research found that the global muslim fashion market is worth $96 million (£59 million) and with Harrods selling abayas, it’s no surprise that after Issa was bought by Camilla Fayed it featured headscarves and summery twists on the abaya. Of course, fashion fetishises trends as quickly as it discards them, but part of the joy of combining a dress-code with fashion is in searching for new combinations. We can’t all dress like Sheikha Mozah, who has her couture outfits adjusted for modesty, but it’s fun trying.

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On a bleak, wet and windy day in Liverpool the old Georgian, white-stoned building which once housed England’s first registered mosque looks quite dull.

The property on Brougham Terrace is just a few miles from Liverpool city centre but, in stark contrast to the newer council building next door to it, the paint is peeling off the front walls and the windows are boarded up, after years of vandalism.

The house, one of three adjoining properties, was once owned by William Abdullah Quilliam, a solicitor and son of a Methodist preacher. In 1887, he became the first Christian to convert to Islam in Victorian England.

Born William Henry Quilliam, he turned to the religion after a trip to Morocco, and adopted the name Abdullah.

Two years later he opened the Liverpool Muslim Institute at 8 Brougham Terrace, as a mosque and hub for the growing Muslim community. He also opened a boys and girls school and an orphanage.

Professor Ron Geaves is author of the book Islam in Victorian Times. He gave the first Abdullah Quilliam Lecture at the Pakistan Community Centre in Liverpool earlier this month.

“William Abdullah Quilliam was brought up as a devout Christian and was part of the Temperance Movement which promoted abstinence from alcohol. One of the reasons he was attracted to Islam was that alcohol is forbidden for Muslims. He also had theological concerns about Trinitarian Christianity,” he said.

Muslim leader

Quilliam gained national and international recognition through his many writings and lectures about Islam and Muslims. Part of his house was converted into a publishing house for this purpose.

In 1894 the title of Sheikh-ul-Islam, leader of Muslims in the British Isles, was conferred on him by the last Ottoman caliph, Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He was also appointed Vice Consul of Persia by the Shah.

Prof Geaves said: “He was a royalist and was also recognised by Queen Victoria. He had sent her one of his books about Islam, apparently. She then ordered several copies for her children.”

William Abdullah Quilliam, founder of England’s first registered mosque

At the time of her son King Edward VII’s coronation, Quilliam was widely recognised as a leader of Muslims in the British Isles.

Prof Geaves recounts an occasion when Quilliam, as Sheikh-ul-Islam, dressed in his long robes and turban, accompanied the Lord Mayor to greet foreign dignitaries arriving in England through the port at Liverpool. They included maharajas, royalty and world leaders.

“Hundreds of guests had gathered in the Great Hall, in the Empire building, including foreign troops. When they saw him the whole regiment rose and offered him not the British military salute but the Islamic ‘Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar’. (God is great).”

Quilliam had been responsible for the spread of Islam in England in the Victorian era. He helped to convert about 600 people. They included the wealthy landowner, Lord Stanley of Alderley, in Cheshire, the first Muslim peer in the House of Lords. This also proved controversial.

Prof Geaves: “At the time of his (Lord Stanley’s) death some Christians questioned if he was a Muslim. They said that he had built churches on his land and therefore could not be one.

“Quilliam then intervened and told them that, as a landowner, he could provide places of worship for his Christian workers.”

Despite the controversy, Lord Stanley had a Muslim burial with Quilliam leading the Islamic funeral prayers at the mosque he had established in Brougham Terrace.

The prayer hall has holes in the walls

After Quilliam’s death in 1932, the property housing the mosque was sold, and later used as a register office where records of births, deaths and marriages were kept. These included records of the marriage of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia.

Behind the door of 8 Brougham Terrace today lies what could be described as an empty shell. The old prayer hall has holes in the walls where doors and windows once stood.

A group of Muslims from Merseyside set up the Abdullah Quilliam Society in 1999 in order to preserve Quilliam’s legacy. In 2000 they took over responsibility for the building, which is now recognised as part of British Heritage.

The society wants to reopen the mosque and publishing house as a museum and heritage centre.

Its chairman, Ghalib Khan, said: “It is the birthplace of Islam in the UK. We need to raise £3.8m to return it to its former glory.

“Several hundred Muslims used to gather here to listen to the Sheikh. There was also a piano at the back of the prayer hall. He was known for rewriting Christian hymns so that they had an Islamic slant to them.”

Work to restore the mosque has been slow. So far, they have only raised about £300,000 which was used to reroof the property and for the treatment of dry rot.

Mr Khan said: “We wanted to complete the project by 2008. However this wasn’t possible. We are now looking to carry out the work in several phases but times are hard, everyone is short of money.

“We’ve got some people who give us a pound a month or a week but we are optimistic that we can raise £100,000 so at least the prayer hall can be renovated before the summer and Ramadan, which starts in July.”

‘Absolutely fascinating’

The Abdullah Quilliam Society is trying to raise the profile of the Sheikh-ul-Islam. It recently held its first annual lecture in his honour, at the Liverpool Pakistan Community centre.

It also plans to hold an awards ceremony to recognise people who promote Islam and who work to foster good links with other faiths.

The lecture was attended by some of the Sheikh’s descendants. Jonathon Quilliam and other members of his family had travelled to Liverpool from Stafford.

“I think I’m related through my dad’s side. It’s very interesting to know that someone from the Isle of Man originally, where we still have relatives, and then from Liverpool, was responsible for the rise of Islam in this country, absolutely fascinating.”

Some of the British Muslims attending the lecture were impressed by Quilliam’s courage and strength of purpose.

Mohammed Afzal, who is in his late 20s, said: “It’s important because a lot of stigma is attached to Islam, but Quilliam spoke out about it openly even though it was against the status quo.”

Shaheena Anjum said: “In this day and age, people find things difficult, but he came from a Christian, Methodist background.

“I think what he did required a lot of determination and courage.”

By Rahila Bano

You can hear more on this story on Asian Network Reports on the BBC Asian Network

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NAIEL IQBAL’S co-workers couldn’t figure him out.

He’d just started at a Midtown Manhattan hedge fund — the kind of elite enclave where overachievers in button-downs go to make a few hundred grand before heading off to Harvard Business School. But Mr. Iqbal, 27, a graduate of the Wharton School, wasn’t acting like a typical finance guy. He didn’t introduce himself around the office. Nor did he grab lunch with the other traders.

In fact, he didn’t eat at all. Or drink. Not coffee, not soda, not even a sip of water from a Nalgene bottle on his desk. All day, he just sat there, staring into his Bloomberg terminal. Was he sick? Nervous? A modern Bartleby?

None of the above: It was Ramadan, and Mr. Iqbal, a Muslim, was exhausted from fasting daily till sundown.

“I’m actually a huge foodie,” he recalls with a laugh. “When Ramadan ended, I was, like: ‘Guys, let’s go to this restaurant! Let’s go to that one!’ Nobody had seen that side of me.”

Mr. Iqbal — who doesn’t drink or smoke — is among a growing number of young Muslims who are disrupting Wall Street’s old-boy culture. Seen from a certain angle, the Street can still look like a monolith — a cohort of white males with Ivy League degrees and Roman numerals attached to their names. (This is especially true the higher you look; there are, for example, no black, female or openly gay chief executives at the nation’s largest banks.)

But as the Street adapts to greater regulation, lower profits and tighter costs, it is also experiencing change within its ranks. Among entry-level financiers, especially, a years-long recruiting effort at major banks has resulted in a diverse group of aspiring Masters of the Universe.

Young Muslims, one of the newest groups to make inroads in American finance, can face steep barriers to entry. Some obstacles are remnants of a less tolerant era. But prominent, too, are the limitations of Islam itself — a faith whose tenets, Muslim workers say, often seem at odds with Wall Street’s sometimes bacchanalian culture.

“I’m always the one drinking Diet Coke at happy hour,” Mr. Iqbal said.

Granted, for the many Muslims in New York and elsewhere who have made peace with a more secular culture, working on Wall Street may not pose any problem. And Muslims, of course, aren’t the only ones whose values can clash with the ways of Wall Street. Orthodox Jews, conservative Christians and other faithful working in finance have all, at one point, had to square their beliefs and practices with an environment in which money, not God, is king.

But for observant Muslims hoping to keep the values and practices of Islamic law, known as Sharia, intact even as they climb the ladder, the calculus can be messy.

For Aisha Jukaku, a former health care analyst at Goldman Sachs, getting started in finance carried additional challenges. Ms. Jukaku has worn a head scarf, or hijab, since she was 11. Like many conservative Muslim women, she avoids physical contact with men outside her family. (She makes exceptions for handshakes extended to her in a business setting that would be awkward to decline.)

“It’s not something I want to do,” she says of shaking hands with men. “But that’s the common American way of doing business.”

At Goldman, where she worked from 2006 to 2008, she developed a daily routine that let her preserve her religious beliefs while not missing a beat at work. She would wake before sunrise in her Battery Park City apartment, conduct her first of five daily prayers, then fall back asleep until around 8:30 a.m., when she would head to work. While at Goldman, she dressed more modestly than most of her colleagues, and found a room in the firm’s health center where she could pray during the day. During Ramadan one year, a staffing director, seeing how tired she looked after completing a big deal on an empty stomach, took pity on her.

“He said: ‘Take it easy for the next couple weeks. This can’t be fun for you,’ ” said Ms. Jukaku, who now works as a freelance financial consultant.

FOR many Muslims in finance, such delicate negotiations are part of life. Ali Akbar, 34, a Pakistan-born managing director at RBC Capital Markets, says that although he observes the Ramadan fast, he doesn’t always pray five times a day and doesn’t pray in his office to avoid drawing the attention of colleagues. And when the demands of his job collide with the teachings of his faith, a tough choice often follows.

“You can’t just get up in the middle of a deal and say, ‘I have to go spend two hours in a mosque,’ ” Mr. Akbar says.

Working in finance is straightforward enough in a Muslim country, where prayer breaks are typical and holidays like Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, are built into the calendar. But Muslim bankers in the United States have fewer resources. Many don’t have dedicated prayer rooms at work, and leaving the office to attend Friday prayers at a mosque can mean shuffling duties to a co-worker.

“We have a concept called law of necessity,” said Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic finance at Thomson Reuters. “You have to, at one level, abide by the laws of the land that you happen to reside in, whether it’s the formal laws or the unwritten laws.”

Perhaps the biggest impediment to greater participation by Muslims on Wall Street is that, by some readings, the Koran prohibits riba, or interest. Some Islamic scholars have interpreted the ban to be more inclusive of modern finance, and a subgenre of Sharia-compliant financial transactions, known as sukuk, has tried to bridge the gap.

Still, a vast majority of Wall Street deals are not Sharia-compliant. So observant Muslims at traditional banks are often forced to shift their boundaries. “What I was doing wasn’t 100 percent legitimate in terms of religious ruling,” Ms. Jukaku says of her work at Goldman. “But after a while, you stop feeling guilty, I guess.”

In 2006, three Muslim twenty-somethings formed a group to help fellow young professionals negotiate issues that arise. The organization, Muslim Urban Professionals, nicknamed “Muppies,” began as a Google group of around 50; members traded messages about job openings, notices of apartments for rent and announcements of group dinners. It has expanded to about 1,000 members globally, roughly half of whom work in finance, according to Mr. Iqbal, the hedge fund trader, who is now a national administrator of the group.

As the Muppies’ ranks have grown, more intimate questions have surfaced. Earlier this year, one member, who was about to start a job at a well-known consulting firm, e-mailed the group for advice. How, he wondered, could he succeed at his new job without compromising his Muslim values?

The consultant’s plea, under the subject line “Avoiding Alcohol and Opposite Gender Handshakes in the Corporate World,” received a vast range of responses. In regard to the alcohol issue, Muppies respondents divided into liberal, moderate and conservative camps — those who suggested that going to bars with colleagues was permissible, those who thought “drinking-focused events” were unadvisable but that dinners where alcohol was served were O.K., and those who insisted that places serving alcohol were to be avoided.

“The dominant opinion is that it’s still mustahab (recommended) to get up or leave a gathering where alcohol is served, but many consider it mubah (permissible) to stay seated,” the consultant wrote.

On the matter of handshaking, some urged the consultant to shake hands with women when prompted, but not to initiate handshakes himself. Others suggested adopting “a tactful technique to avoid” shaking hands, such as pretending to be sick or wearing gloves.

“I think Muslim professionals are too sensitive and underestimate our co-workers,” the consultant wrote, summarizing his own views. “People in our society are actually quite understanding of these things and we just freak out, thinking, ‘OMG, what will they all think if I don’t shake her hand??!!’  Just trust in God and He will guide you and give you more than that which you give up for him.”

The Muppies also draw on a network of older, more experienced mentors in finance and investing. One such mentor, Iftikar A. Ahmed, a general partner at the venture capital firm Oak Investment Partners, says the Muppies fill an “amazing need” in the community.

“It’s telling them that you can follow an American way of life while not denying the fact that you happen to be a Muslim,” Mr. Ahmed said.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief executive of the giant bond house Pimco and one of the highest-ranking Muslims in American finance, said in an e-mail interview that he had never experienced “religion-based impediments” in his decades-long career. He said he would advise young Muslims to “seek the opportunities and firms that speak to their set of values, expertise and passion.”

Left unsaid by senior Muslims, but understood by many Muppies, is that being Muslim can be an asset for one’s employer and clients. Muslim bankers, for example, may have to leave work at 1 p.m. on Fridays to go to the mosque. But they also may be less likely to rack up a huge bar tab on the company card and may be better positioned to compete for business in Arab markets.

“Rightly or wrongly, if you’re religious, you’re considered to have a reasonable degree of integrity,” says Sohail Khan, a managing principal at StormHarbour Securities and former trader at Citigroup. He says that his business expenses are often lower than colleagues’ and that he considers his lifestyle an asset in negotiating deals.  “When you’re the only guy at the table that’s not drunk, it’s a great weapon,” he said. “You know more than anyone else at the table the next morning.”

Mr. Akbar of RBC agrees that “being a good Muslim helps you be a good banker” but acknowledges that the union of his religious beliefs and his work in finance has been less than perfect.

“When I made a decision to pursue a career on Wall Street, there were certain things I knew I would have trouble reconciling with my faith,” he says. “I did some research, and I gained comfort that God is all-forgiving.”

For some, though, the envelope can be pushed only so far. Farhan Malik, Mr. Khan’s cousin and former Citigroup colleague, found his faith tested last year when asked to work on a trade involving British pubs. Mr. Malik, who does not drink, decided that trading so-called pub securities would violate tenets of his faith. He asked to be taken off the assignment; his bosses gladly acquiesced.

For Mr. Malik, who has since left Citigroup and now works at a Bahrain bank that deals sukuk products in addition to more conventional ones, the notion of marrying Western bank culture with Islam’s demands came to feel like an uphill battle.  “If you’re going to go out for Friday prayers, if you’re not drinking, it’s like trying to box with one of your hands tied behind your back,” he said.

STILL, for the Muppies and other Muslims hoping to make it on Wall Street, the fight carries on. The goal, they say, is to be so good at their jobs that bosses and colleagues come to think of each as just another hard worker.

“Wall Street is basically blind to religion,” said Mr. Siddiqui at Thomson Reuters. “What it’s concerned about is deal flow, assets under management and transactions.”

Mr. Malik, the former Citigroup trader, said it another way: “You could be worshiping Satan. As long as you’re making money, they’re happy.”

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SINGAPORE — As a frequent flier and devout Muslim, businessman Abdalhamid Evans always comes up against the same challenge in the air: when to say his prayers.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day at certain hours, but this schedule becomes complicated when crossing various time zones at thousands of metres above sea level.

“I usually don’t pray when I am in a plane,” said Evans, the London-based founder of the website HalalFocus that provides information on the global halal, or Islam-compliant, industry.

“But lately I have been thinking that it is probably better to do them in the air than make them up on arrival,” he told AFP.

The problem may be solved for travellers such as Evans thanks to an innovation called the Air Travel Prayer Time Calculator, developed by Singapore-based Crescentrating, a firm that gives halal ratings to hotels and other travel-related establishments.

Launched earlier this month, the online tool takes data such as prayer times in the country of origin, the destination city and in countries on the flight path and uses an algorithm to plot exact prayer hours during a flight.

Current programmes only allow Muslims to find their prayer hours according to their position on land, and the absence of any tools that can be used to calculate during a flight has compromised many travellers .

“I knew there was lot of frustration among the travellers on this issue, but nobody had really attempted to solve it,” Crescentrating chief executive Fazal Bahardeen told AFP in an interview.

Before embarking on a trip, a Muslim traveller can now go to the online calculator in the Crescentrating website and input their departure airport, time of flight and destination.

The calculator then comes up with the prayer times set either in the local time of the airport of origin, the destination city or the country that the aircraft is flying over, which the traveller can then email to themselves to access later.

Fazal said his team plans to develop a mobile app that will also point users in the direction of the Islamic holy city of Mecca, to which Muslims must face when they pray, based on the flight path.

Muslim travellers have welcomed the tool. “It’s good for long-haul travelling,” said Shiraz Sideek, a vice president at the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank who travels almost a dozen times a year.

“When you cross different times zones in an airplane, you have a problem of timing when to pray,” he told AFP from Abu Dhabi. “The application sounds like a very unique thing and very useful.”

Indonesian airline industry executive Sabry Salahudeen agrees that there is a potentially big market for the new tool.

“I’ve been in the airline industry for the past 20 plus years… To my knowledge I don’t think anyone has come up with anything like this,” said Salahudeen, vice president for airport operations and aircraft procurement at Pacific Royale Airways, a soon-to-be-launched premium airline in Indonesia.

As more Muslims travel around the world, services catering to their needs are expanding, industry players say.

In 2010, Muslim travellers spent $100 billion, or about 10 percent of total global travel expenditures, according to Crescentrating’s Fazal. This is projected to increase to 14-15 percent of the global total by 2020.

The World Tourism Organization last year estimated that an additional two million Arabs will travel overseas within the next twenty years, raising their region’s total of outbound tourists to 37 million.

While it is still early days for the Air Travel Prayer Time Calculator, potential customers say mobility is important.

“If it becomes a smartphone app .. it could prove to be a popular idea,” said Evans.

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The 7th World Halal Forum (WHF) started on 2 April with Deputy Prime Minister, YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Hj Mohd Yassin officially launching the annual forum at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The two-day forum attracted the participation of 720 delegates and over 35 speakers. With participants and speakers from over 36 countries, WHF 2012 provides a stirring platform for a stimulating discussion on the USD800 billion worth Halal industry.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Hj Mohd Yassin, in his keynote address, praised the World Halal Forum for its efforts in emphasizing on a universal appeal on Halal principles and for leveraging on creative channels like the arts, media and entertainment in spreading good values.

“The success of a system is not just about numbers but also about whether it could improve the quality of life and about good values,” said Tan Sri Muhyiddin in his keynote address, officially marking the opening of WHF.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin also stated that the new generation of Muslim youths are asking for more value out of Halal and not just mere compliance to its standards.

Established in 2006, WHF has since become part of the Malaysian government’s 15-year plan to become the world’s Halal hub. With this year’s theme “INSPIRE, INNOVATE, INVEST”, WHF 2012 goes beyond its usual exploration of business perspectives and reached out towards the grassroots with its primary focus on consumer issues, as well as helping the industry’s understanding on its beneficial values, to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The annual gathering of industry captains showcases contemporary speakers such as Advertising, Branding and Marketing expert from the United Kingdom, Jonathan Bilal Wilson; author of UK bestseller “Unimagined”, Imran Ahmad and Graphic Designer and Artist, Peter Gould from Australia. They shared their views on challenges related to consumer issues as well as promoting key messages of universal values via various communication channels.

“For 2012, we want to leverage on all our past achievements and cultivate a universal Halal lifestyle that transcends religion, race, culture and location,” said Hajjah Jumaatun Azmi, the Founder-Director of the forum. “We also believe in the power of the music and arts to spread universal ideas and channel positive, wholesome values.”

She stated that the Halal industry is steadily evolving towards a more holistic values-based direction making the concept of Halal applicable to everyone.

WHF, which became a non-profit entity in 2011 and hosted by the International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHI Alliance), also emphasized that all parties including small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) should seize lucrative potentials and use the forum as a platform to explore new strategies in the booming Halal market globally.

“What is certain now is that, the Muslim world’s population is currently increasing. The Muslim population as at year 2010 is estimated at 1.6 billion. Naturally, the expansion of the Halal market is inevitable,” said Darhim Hashim, CEO of IHI Alliance.

Acknowledging the many challenges in ensuring global Halal integrity, he stated that the solution was the formulation of a set of International Halal Standards which will serve as a benchmark to the Halal industry.

“The Alignment of Halal Certification practice should be in place to ensure Halal integrity globally,” he added.

WHF 2012 also showcased at its display area a new retail arm, Rumi and Kohl and its vast collection of jewellery and ethnic furnishings; “Rezeki”, a new publication which aims to convey universal ideas and concepts to young, urban entrepreneurs and “99″, the critically acclaimed comic book series by Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, which features the world’s first superheroes based on Islamic culture, values and society.

WHF 2012, with the Platinum sponsor being the Malaysian chapter of Turkish ice cream brand “Mado”, concluded on a high note with the resolution to pave the way towards a future where good values and noble principles are shared universally, achieving a complete, holistic and Halal lifestyle for all. Other sponsors include Nestle Malaysia, Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad (CCM), Fonterra Malaysia, Bank Rakyat, Prince Court Medical Centre, Tanjung Manis Halal Hub, Penang International Halal Hub and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

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14 February 2012

International Business Times

Sean Stone, the son of prominent U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, has converted to Islam while filming a documentary in Iran.

“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with,” Sean told Agence France Presse.

“It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets.

Sean’s father Oliver is Jewish, while his mother is Christian.

The Fars news agency of Iran reported that Sean, who underwent conversion in the city of Isfahan, chose to become a Shia Muslim (the faith that predominates in Iran) and will be known as Ali.

Sean Stone’s conversion follows reports that Irish Catholic actor Liam Neeson may also convert to Islam.

The trend towards conversion to Islam has apparently been accelerating in recent years in the West.

This might seem like an odd development, given the relentlessly negative image that Western media has of Islam, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Neeson told The Sun newspaper that the thought of conversion came to him while making a film in Turkey.

“The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it’s the most beautiful, beautiful thing,” he said.

“There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim.”

He added: “I was reared a Catholic but I think every day we ask ourselves, not consciously, what are we doing on this planet? What’s it all about? I’m constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism.”

There are many reasons why a Western Christian might convert to Islam – some because they want to marry a Muslim person and wish to make such a union easier; others because they have a spiritual beckoning towards Islam.

Neeson would appear to be part of the latter group.

Should he embrace Islam, he would not be alone.

According to Faith Matters, a multi-faith organization in Great Britain, there are now in excess of 100,000 Muslim converts in the United Kingdom — having doubled in just a decade — with more than 5,200 adopting the faith in 2010.

Moreover, the average Muslim convert in the U.K. is described as a “27-year-old white woman” — quite surprising, given the widely held notion that Islam is “oppressive” to women.

“Converts do not represent a devious fifth column determined to undermine the Western way of life – this is a group of normal people united in their adherence to a religion which they, for the most part, see as perfectly compatible with Western life,” Faith Matters said.

The survey suggested that many British converts are appalled by the immorality and vulgarity of modern society, including alcohol and drunkenness, and a “lack of morality and sexual permissiveness” and “unrestrained consumerism.”

Kevin Brice, of Swansea University in Wales and also affiliated with Faith Matters, explained to British media that Muslim coverts face some unique problems.

“White Muslim converts are caught between two increasingly distant camps,” he said. “Their best relationships remain with other converts, because of their shared experiences, while there is very little difference between the quality of their relationship with other Muslims or non-Muslims. My research also found converts came in two types: Some are converts of convenience, who adopt the religion because of a life situation such as meeting a Muslim man, although the religion has little discernible impact on their day-to-day lives. For others it is a conversion of conviction where they feel a calling and embrace the religion robustly.”

29 November 2011 – Tehran Times

U.S. filmmaker Sean Stone (R) and Reel Knights Productions CEO Mellissa Carter attend a press conference in Tehran on September 8, 2011 to explain their project in Iran. (Fars/Hassan Musavi)

Brice added: “That’s not to say the two are mutually exclusive – sometimes converts start out on their religious path through convenience and become converts of conviction later on.”

One of the most famous Muslim converts in Britain is probably the TV presenter and author Kristiane Backer.

She once told UK media: “I converted to Islam in 1995 after [Pakistani politician and former cricketer] Imran Khan introduced me to the faith. At the time I was a presenter for MTV. I used to have all the trappings of success, yet I felt an inner emptiness and somewhat dissatisfied in my life. The entertainment industry is very much about ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it”, which is the exact opposite to the more inward-oriented spiritual attitude of my new faith. My value system changed and God became the center point of my life and what I was striving towards.”

Backer further said: “I recognize some new converts feel isolated but, despite there being even fewer resources when I converted than there are now, it isn’t so much an issue I’ve faced. I’ve always felt welcomed and embraced by the Muslims I met and developed a circle of friends and teachers. It helps living in London, because there is so much to engage in as part of the Muslim community. Yet, even in the capital you can be stared at on the Tube for wearing a headscarf. I usually don’t wear one in the West except when praying. I wear the scarf in front of my heart though!”

Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, is also a prominent convert to Islam. Although half-Jewish by birth, Booth’s conversion appeared to have something to do with her passion for Palestinian rights.

Of course, on the dark side are such names like notorious shoe-bomber Richard Reid and July 7 bomber Germaine Lindsay. However, converts who turn to Islam represent an extremely tiny minority.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, said in a statement: “Conversion to Islam has been stigmatized by the media and wrongly associated with extremist ideologies and discriminatory cultural practices.”

In the U.S., the number of Muslim converts is unknown, although clearly the overall Islamic population in the country is rising. Overall, there were estimated to be about 2.6 million Muslims in the U.S. as of 2010.

A survey by the Pew Research Center back in 2007 indicated that two-thirds of all Islamic converts in the U.S. came from a Protestant background.

Moreover, 60 percent of all converts are black – like the three most famous American converts of all: civil rights activist Malcolm X (formerly Malcolm Little), boxing champ Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor).

In the U.S. government, there are two elected Muslims in Congress, both of them African-American converts: Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. and Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind..

There has apparently never been any other Muslims serving in high political office in the U.S. While there are a number of Arab-Americans who have risen to prominent political positions (Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and former Senator Majority Leader George Mitchell, for example), they were all Christians.

Pew Research predicts that the Muslim population in the United States will more than double to 6 million by 2030, partly due to the high birth rates among Islamic peoples. By that time, they will represent 1.7 percent of the total population, equal in number to American Jews.

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