NEWS: Islamic Web site for Sharia-compliant stock trading

[Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>]

U.S.-IT-Muslims

Islamic Web site for Sharia-compliant stock trading

by Ela Dutt, India Abroad News Service

New York, Jan 11 - An Islamic Web site has announced it is going to be open
for online stock trading that complies with the Sharia (Islamic laws).

The Web site ihilal.com has signed agreements with Dow Jones and Online
Brokerage Solutions, Inc. to launch Sharia-compliant online stock trading
services before the end of the first quarter of this year.

The iHilal stock trading service will enable Internet trading of
Sharia-compliant U.S. and Canadian equities, as well as shares of
Sharia-compliant foreign companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The service does not permit un-Islamic transactions, including options
trading, nor does it permit interest-based transactions, such as margin
trading and short selling.

The solution combines the capabilities of three financial providers:  Dow
Jones & Company, the world's leading stock market index provider, Online
Brokerage Solutions, a U.S.-based provider of Internet brokerage services
and ihilal.com, an Islamic financial Web site, founded by the Dubai-based
Rasmala Private Equity Group and Accenture Technology Ventures (previously
known as Andersen Consulting (AC) Ventures).

"There are numerous online brokerage services worldwide, but none of them
offer Muslims the opportunity to invest their money according to Islamic
principles," said Ramzi Abu Khadra, CEO of iHilal. "We consider the launch
of Islamic online stock trading a major breakthrough; the service will
expedite the development of retail Islamic finance in general and will
significantly empower Sharia-conscious investors," he added.

Trading will be supported by a number of financial services, including an
Islamic stock filter that is based on the components of the Dow Jones
Islamic Market Index (DJIMI). "The Islamic filter will restrict investments
to stocks that are Sharia-compliant," explained Rushdi Siddiqi, director,
Islamic Index Group, Dow Jones Indexes.  "The index will be updated
quarterly, adding or dropping stocks in order to remain consistent with the
Dow Jones Islamic stock screening methodology," Siddiqi added.

The Sharia-compliant features of the service will be incorporated into the
technological architecture and operational support provided by Online
Brokerage Solutions.  "We are designing and building the service to ensure
full compatibility with the Dow Jones Islamic stock screening methodology,
as well as general guidelines specified to us by iHilal and its Sharia
advisory board," clarified Bob Vosburgh, CEO of Online Brokerage Solutions.

The service will be launched before the end of the first quarter and iHilal
plans to initially target the more than 200 million Muslims who live in
North America, Europe and the Middle East. The company will gradually expand
the service to include a global audience.

Ihilal.com wants to be the world's first Web-based platform that allows
investors to buy and sell Islamic financial products directly through the
Internet. The Rasmala Private Equity Group, a Dubai-based investment
consortium that includes a number of prominent private Muslim investors, the
Saudi American Bank and Deutsche Bank and Accenture Technology Ventures
spearheaded the company's founding.

--India Abroad News Service