Mutual Funds that Conform to Islamic Law

January 7, 2003

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19777-2003Jan6.html

On January 7, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "Bashar Qasem and three colleagues were there to discuss... [a] growing area for investment: mutual funds created to attract Muslims concerned about keeping with Islamic law. That means steering clear of companies whose products are off-limits -- no pork producers, for example, or liquor manufacturers or casinos -- as well as those whose reliance on borrowing puts them at odds with Islam... 'The main motivation is to provide Muslims with an investment alternative that doesn't end up compromising their faith,' said Youshaa Patel, vice president of marketing for the Dow Jones Islamic fund. Like the Azzad/Dow Jones Ethical Management Fund, the Dow Jones Islamic fund takes companies that are part of the Dow Jones indexes and puts them through a filter to remove companies whose lines of business would violate sharia, or Islamic law. The Amana funds aren't pegged to the Dow Jones indexes but use a similar filter, overseen by the Leesburg-based Fiqh Council of North America, to determine which stocks are in keeping with Islamic beliefs."