'Orange'
all over
the
Middle
East
On January 20 2011, ZItouna Bank, Tunisia’s first Islamic bank was seized
by the
Central
Bank of
Tunisia
(Rothschilds).
The bank
owned by
Sakher
El
Materi,
the
thirty-year-old
son-in-law
of
deposed
Tunisian
leader
Zine El
Abidine
Ben Ali
has been
placed
under
“the
control”
of the
central
bank.
Materi
is
presently
in Dubai.
The move
came a
day
after 33
of Ben
Ali’s
clan
were
arrested
for
crimes
against
the
nation.
And this:
“Islamic
bankers
describe
depositors
as akin
to
partners
— their
money is
invested,
and they
share in
the
profits
or,
theoretically,
the
losses
that
result.
(In
interviews,
bankers
couldn’t
recall a
case in
which
depositors
actually
lost
money;
this
shows
that
banks
put such
funds
only in
very
low-risk
investments,
they
said.)”
It is
easy to
see why
the
Rothschilds
and
their
network
of
conventional
western
banks
would be
threatened
by
competition
from the
more
appealing,
more
conservative
Islamic
banks.
Late in
2008,
French
Finance
Minister
Christine
Lagarde
announced
France’s
intention
to make
Paris
“the
capital
of
Islamic
finance”
and said
several
Islamic
banks
would
open
branches
in the
French
capital
in
2009.
French
sources
estimate
this
area of
the
financial
market
is worth
from 500
to 600
billion
dollars
and
could
grow by
an
average
11
percent
a year.
John
Sandwick,
managing
director
of Swiss
asset
management
firm
Encore
Management,
characterized
the
opening
of
several
Swiss
Islamic
banks as,
“the
race to
control
the rich
prize:
which
today is
worth
hundreds
of
billions,
but in
the
future
will be
trillions
of
dollars
of
Islamic
wealth.”
“According
to
Standard
and
Poor’s,
Islamic
banking
assets
reached
about
$400
billion
throughout
the
world in
2009. In
November
2010,
The
Banker
published
its
latest
authoritative
list of
the Top
500
Islamic
Finance
Institutions
with
Iran
topping
the list.
Seven
out of
ten top
Islamic
banks in
the
world
are
Iranian
according
to the
list.”
(iStockAnalyst,
Feb 8,
2011)
----- Original Message -----
From:
RICHARD
EASTMAN
To:
undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 8:40 AM
Subject: serious second thoughts -- are Soros agitators leading Egyptians to a
suicidal
3
million
defensless
"children's
crusade"
against
Jerusalem
so they
can be
slaughtered?
Are Egyptians walking into a trap?
Serious
second
thoughts
-- Are
Soros
sponsored
and
trained
agitators
leading
Egyptians
to a
suicidal
3
million
defenseless
"children's
crusade"
against
Jerusalem
so they
can be
slaughtered?
In the
middle
ages the
Jews got
two
boys,
one in
France
and one
in
Germany
to claim
they had
visions
telling
them to
lead a
new
Children's
Crusade
to the
holy
land.
Most of
the
children
died or
were
taken
into
slavery
without
ever
reaching
Palestine. I
don't
think
the
Egyptians
would
fare
much
better
-- and
the Jews
would
call it
self-defense
and get
away
with it.
We read
in the
first
article
that
Soros
has used
his
billionaire's
resources
to
conduct
schools
for
agitators
to
create
revolutions
and that
these
agitators
played
key
roles in
each of
the
"flower"
revolutions
-- and
that
young
men
wearing
the
shirts
of his
training
school
have
been
seen
taking
leadership
roles in
the
crowds
of
Egypt.
And now
we hear
that
there
has been
a very
large
rally
where
people
called
for a
march on
Jerusalem.
At first
I was
taken by
the
heroics
of such
a
jesture
-- how
great it
would be
to free
Palestine
from the
pestilence
of
Zionism
and make
Palestine
one
state
with
equal
status
and
equal
rights
for all
--
except I
know
that the
Jews
would
slaughter
the
Egyptians
marching
to
Jerusalem,
even if
the
people
were
walking
unarmed
in the
spirit
of
Mohatma
Gandhi.
The Jews
would
murder
them --
or
possibly
have
their
U.S.A.
debt
slaves
do it
-- and
I know
the
world
would do
nothing.
It would
become
-- is
intended
to
become
-- an
example
to the
world:
"Step
out of
line and
this is
what you
get."
If you
can warn
the
Egyptians
against
such a
march --
you
might
prevent
a
catastrophe.
Let them
gain
control
of their
own
country
before
thinking
about
going
after
Israel.
Or if
they
must
march --
wait
until
the
world
understands
their
intentions
and the
spirit
in which
they
act.
Dick
Eastman
Yakima
Washington
Items
02/19/11
Mass
demonstration
that
occurred
this
morning
in Egypt
at
Tahrir
Square.
Some
where
chanting:
“Martyrs
by the
millions
are
heading
to
Jerusalem”
Here is
what I
wrote 30
minutes
ago:
I think three million marching to Jerusalem is a
great
idea --
as long
as the
Egyptians
are
willing
to pay
the
price of
what
they
would
accomplish.
The Jews
would
start to
kill
them and
then the
world
would
have to
react --
provided
the
Jewish
media
let the
world
know
that the
slaughter
was
happening.
I would
gladly
march
with
them if
I could
somehow
get over
there.
Now I
think
differently.
Never go
to your
own
slaughter
just on
the hope
that
people
will get
your
point.
They
almost
never
do.
(1)
Note: The following long article says that Soros and others
serving
the
Rockefeller
interests
allowed
the
Egyptian
and
Tunisian
people
to break
out into
revolt so
their
mercenary
agitators
could
direct
the
people against
Islamic
Banking
Institution. The
pictures seem
to
indicate
that
Soros
has been
involved
-- but
even if
this is
true, it
does not
mean
that the
Egyptians do
not have
a real
revolution.
If the
Jews
deliberately
allowed
Egypt to
overthrow
Mubarak,
who was
allowing
Islamic
banking, it
may yet
turn out
to be
their
fatal
mistake.
“Islamic bankers describe depositors as akin to
partners
— their
money is
invested,
and they
share in
the
profits
or,
theoretically,
the
losses
that
result.
(In
interviews,
bankers
couldn’t
recall a
case in
which
depositors
actually
lost
money;
this
shows
that
banks
put such
funds
only in
very
low-risk
investments.”
"NED [National Endowment for Democracy] and Soros
work in
tandem,
targeting
the same
regimes
and
using
the same
methods.
. . . At
least
ten of
the
twenty-two
directors
of NED
are also
members
of the
plutocratic
think
tank,
the
Council
on
Foreign
Relations"
http://www.puppet99.com/?p=126
Puppetworld
Post --
Deep
Journalism
about
Who
Really
Runs the
World
Rothschilds
Stage
Revolutions
in
Tunisia
and
Egypt to
Kill
No-Interest
Islamic
Banks In
Emerging
North
African
Markets
Jacob
Rothschild,
senior
member
of the
British
branch
of the
Rothschild
dynasty
Background:
Tunisia
has
undergone
increasing
economic
liberalization
over the
last
decade:
In the
2010-2011
World
Economic
Forum’s
Global
Competitiveness
Report,
it was
ranked
as the
most
competitive
country
in
Africa,
as well
as the
32nd
most
economically
competitive
country
globally.
North
Africa’s
large
Muslim
populations
are a
vast
business
opportunity
for
Islamic
banking
and
other
businesses.
Contrary
to
popular
belief,
the
world’s
finances
are
controlled
by
privately-owned
“central
banks”
masquerading
as
federal
government
banks in
nearly
every
country
in the
world
[The
U.S.
Court of
Appeals,
Ninth
Circuit,
ruled
that The
Federal
Reserve
(U.S.'
central
bank)
was
privately
owned in
680 F.2d
1239,
LEWIS v.
UNITED
STATES
of
America,
No.
80-5905].
Though
it is a
carefully
guarded
secret,
the
Rothschilds
and
their
associates
own most
the
shares
in the
central
banks ((Federal
Reserve
Directors:
A Study
of
Corporate
and
Banking
Influence,
Committee
on
Banking,
Currency
and
Housing,
House of
Representatives,
1976,
Charts
1-5)
(Mullins,
Eustice
Secrets
of the
Federal
Reserve
1983).
With
extremely
little
government
input,
the
economies
of
Tunisia,
Egypt,
Yemen,
Jordan,
and
Algeria
are
strictly
controlled
by the
Rothschild’s
central
banks
and
their
International
Monetary
Fund.
THE
MOTIVE:
FOLLOW
THE
MONEY
Islamic
banks
have
been
eating
into
Rothschild
profits
in the
Middle
East
because:
they
don’t
charge
interest
(Shariah
Law),
they are
growing
very
rapidly
among
the
world’s
exploding
Muslim
populations,
and (in
these
catastrophic
economic
times)
they are
more
stable
than
western
banks.
While it
is a
very
good
thing
that
people
are
freed
from the
tyranny
of
dictators,
they
also
need to
be freed
from the
tyranny
of
economic
control
and
serfdom.
The
relevant
moral
question
is: Do
the
means
justify
the
end?.
Deposed
Tunisian
President
Ben
Ali’s
son-in-law,
Sakher
El
Materi,
opened
Tunisia’s
first
Islamic
bank,
Zitouna
Bank, on
May 26,
2010.
Ben Ali's son-in-law El Materi at the opening
of his Zitouna Bank, Northwest Africa's first
Islamic bank, last May
Zitouna
Bank is
the
first
Islamic
bank in
the
Maghreb
region
[North
Africa].
The bank
was a
first
step
toward
Ben
Ali’s
new
program
of
extensive
reforms,
“Tunisia,
a Pole
for
Banking
Services
and a
Regional
Financial
Centre”,
which
would
have
undermined
the
power
and the
profits
of the
Central
Bank of
Tunisia
(privately-owned
by the
Rothschilds
and
their
associates).
The
Telegraph
(October
19 2010)
reported
on the
opening
of the
megaproject
Tunis
Financial
Harbour
–President
Ben
Ali’s
bid to
make
Tunisia
the
regional
financial
centre
of North
Africa
and
beyond:
“Islamic
investment
bank
Gulf
Finance
House
(GFH)
and the
Tunisian
government
have
created
the
first
offshore
finance
centre
in North
Africa.
The
centre
will be
part of
Tunis
Financial
Harbour,
a $3
billion
waterfront
development
in Tunis
. . .
GFH,
which is
based in
Bahrain,
hopes
the
centre
will
allow
Tunisia
to take
advantage
of its
strategic
position
on the
Mediterranean
sea, and
operate
as a
bridge
between
the EU
and the
rapidly
growing
economies
of North
Africa
[and
subSaharan
Africa].”
Tunis Financial Harbour opened last October 19. It's
the
first
offshore
finance center in North Africa.
“However,
despite
the
current
poor
climate,
the
potential
for
Islamic
banking
in Egypt
is huge,
and one
should
expect
more
moves
from Abu
Dhabi
Islamic
Bank
into
Egypt,
possibly
in the
form of
a
buyout,”
Executive
Magazine
(Feb 8
2011)
reports,
“A
recent
Middle
East
Business
Intelligence
report
said it
best,
when it
opined,
‘If Abu
Dhabi
Islamic
Bank can
make a
success
of
offering
Islamic
products,
the
whole
market
will
open up.
We have
already
seen
some of
the
local
banks
start to
advertise
their
Islamic
products
in view
of the
competition
for
customers
they see
about to
begin.’
“Clearly
Islamic
banks in
the Gulf
are
already
anticipating
the day
when
their
home
markets
are
saturated.
And it
appears
that
Egypt
will be
on the
next
front-line
in the
development
of
regional
Islamic
banking
and
finance.”
“African
countries
such as
Algeria,
Egypt,
Libya,
Morocco,
Tunisia
and
Sudan
are keen
on
future
sukuk
exercises
(issuing
Islamic
bonds).
Gambia
debuted
with a
US$166m
sukuk
deal,
privately
sold in
the US
in
2006.”
[International
Finance
Review
(Reuters),
2008]
The
New York
Times
article
“Islamic
banking
rises on
oil
wealth,
drawing
non-Muslims”
(
November
22,
2007)
reported:
“Rising
oil
wealth
is
lifting
Islamic
banking
– which
adheres
to the
laws of
the
Koran
and its
prohibition
against
charging
interest
– into
the
financial
mainstream.
. . . In
addition
to
Islamic
loans,
there
are
Islamic
bonds,
Islamic
credit
cards .
. .
Loans
and
bonds
that
conform
to the
Koran
are
already
available
in the
United
States.
. . .
“’This
is an
industry
on its
way from
a niche
industry
to
becoming
a truly
global
industry,’
said
Khawaja
Mohammad
Salman
Younis,
the
managing
director
for
operations
in
Malaysia
for
Kuwait
Finance
House,
the
world’s
second-largest
Islamic
bank.
‘In the
next
three to
five
years
you’ll
see
Islamic
banks
coming
out in
Australia,
China,
Japan
and
other
parts of
the
world.’
“In
Islamic
banking,
financiers
are
required
to share
borrowers’
risks,
meaning
that
depositors
are
treated
more
like
shareholders,
earning
a
portion
of
profits.
Financing
deals
resemble
lease-to-own
arrangements,
layaway
plans,
joint
purchase
and sale
agreements,
or
partnerships.
“The
stampede
into
Islamic
finance
is
mostly
an
effort
to tap
an
estimated
$1.5
trillion
of funds
sloshing
around
the
Middle
East,
largely
from
higher
oil
prices.
. .
.Those
investments
have
helped
ignite
an
economic
revival
throughout
the
Muslim
world at
a time
of
increasing
religious
conservatism
among
Islam’s
1.6
billion
faithful.
A result
is
expanding
demand
for
financial
services
that
adhere
to
Islamic
law . .
.
“And
while
the
biggest
Islamic
banks
are in
the
wealthy
Gulf
states,
the most
attractive
potential
markets
are in
Turkey
and
North
Africa
(emphasis
added)
and
among
European
Muslims.
. . .
“. . .
even
non-Muslims
are
taking
advantage
of a
growing
range of
Islamic
products
offering
competitive
returns.
For
instance,
David
Ong-Yeoh,
a public
relations
executive
tired of
fretting
over the
rising
interest
rate on
his
adjustable
rate
mortgage,
refinanced
to a
30-year
fixed
loan
from an
Islamic
financial
institution.
Now, he
pays
regular
installments
that
include
a
predetermined
profit
margin
for the
bank.
“’The
terms
are
better
than on
conventional
loans,’
said
Ong-Yeoh,
41.
“Islamic
finance
also
avoids
other
prohibited
practices.
Shariah-compliant
bankers
cannot
receive
or
provide
funds
for
anything
involving
alcohol,
gambling,
pornography,
tobacco,
weapons
or
pork.
Proponents
of
Islamic
banking
say
these
are
limits
any
socially
conscious
investor
can
support,
Muslim
or not.
They
also
envision
wider
appeal
for
Islamic
banking’s
ban on
interest,
which
stems
from the
Koran’s
prohibition
against
usury.
“This is
a view
that has
a long
religious
and
historical
tradition.
Interest
is
repeatedly
condemned
in the
Bible.
Aristotle
denounced
it, the
Romans
limited
it, and
the
early
Christian
church
prohibited
it. . .
.
“The
belief
that all
interest
charges
are
unjust
now
underpins
Islamic
finance.
. .
.Hoarding
is
frowned
upon in
the
Koran,
so
savings
earn no
return
unless
put to
productive
use.
“’Money
should
be used
for
creating
better
value in
the
country
or the
economy,’
Maraj
said.
‘Money
cannot
generate
money.’
“Nor can
Islamic
banks
simply
trade
money.
‘In the
Islamic
finance
model,
the
banks
are
supposed
to
mobilize
funds
through
a fund
management
concept,’
said
Rafe
Haneef,
head of
Islamic
banking
in Asia
for
Citigroup.
“Indeed,
Islamic
banking
is
supposed
to
function
more
like
private
equity
firms
than
conventional
banking.
‘Private
equity
is an
Islamic
concept,’
Haneef
said.
“Industry
proponents
say this
risk-sharing
requirement
helps
reduce
the kind
of
abuses
that led
to the
subprime
mortgage
mess in
the
United
States.
Scholars
consider
it
un-Islamic
to
overload
a
customer
with
debt or
invest
in a
company
with
excessive
debt.”
The
Washington
Post,
“Islamic
Banking:
Steady
In Shaky
Times”
(Oct 31
2008),
reported:
“As big
Western
financial
institutions
have
teetered
one
after
the
other in
the
crisis
of
recent
weeks,
another
financial
sector
is
gaining
new
confidence:
Islamic
banking.
Proponents
of the
ancient
practice,
which
looks to
sharia
law for
guidance
and bans
interest
and
trading
in debt,
have
been
promoting
Islamic
finance
as a
cure for
the
global
financial
meltdown.
“This
week,
Kuwait’s
commerce
minister,
Ahmad
Baqer,
was
quoted
as
saying
that the
global
crisis
will
prompt
more
countries
to use
Islamic
principles
in
running
their
economies.
U.S.
Deputy
Treasury
Secretary
Robert
M.
Kimmet,
visiting
Jiddah,
said
experts
at his
agency
have
been
learning
the
features
of
Islamic
banking.
“Though
the
trillion-dollar
Islamic
banking
industry
faces
challenges
with the
slump in
real
estate
and
stock
prices,
advocates
say the
system
has
built-in
protection
from the
kind of
runaway
collapse
that has
afflicted
so many
institutions.
For one
thing,
the use
of
financial
instruments
such as
derivatives,
blamed
for the
downfall
of
banking,
insurance
and
investment
giants,
is
banned.
So is
excessive
risk-taking.
“’The
beauty
of
Islamic
banking
and the
reason
it can
be used
as a
replacement
for the
current
market
is that
you only
promise
what you
own
[contrast
to
western
banks
fractional
reserve
system].
Islamic
banks
are not
protected
if the
economy
goes
down —
they
suffer —
but you
don’t
lose
your
shirt,’
said
Majed
al-Refaie,
who
heads
Bahrain-based
Unicorn
Investment
Bank.
“The
theological
underpinning
of
Islamic
banking
is
scripture
that
declares
that
collection
of
interest
is a
form of
usury,
which is
banned
in
Islam.
In the
modern
world,
that
translates
into an
attitude
toward
money
that is
different
from
that
found in
the
West:
Money
cannot
just sit
and
generate
more
money.
To grow,
it must
be
invested
in
productive
enterprises.
“’In
Islamic
finance
you
cannot
make
money
out of
thin
air,’
said Amr
al-Faisal,
a board
member
of Dar
al-Mal
al-Islami,
a
holding
company
that
owns
several
Islamic
banks
and
financial
institutions.
‘Our
dealings
have to
be tied
to
actual
economic
activity,
like an
asset or
a
service.
You
cannot
make
money
off of
money.
You have
to have
a
building
that was
actually
purchased,
a
service
actually
rendered,
or a
good
that was
actually
sold.’
“Islamic
bankers
describe
depositors
as akin
to
partners
— their
money is
invested,
and they
share in
the
profits
or,
theoretically,
the
losses
that
result.
(In
interviews,
bankers
couldn’t
recall a
case in
which
depositors
actually
lost
money;
this
shows
that
banks
put such
funds
only in
very
low-risk
investments,
they
said.)”
It
is easy
to see
why the
Rothschilds
and
their
network
of
conventional
western
banks
would be
threatened
by
competition
from the
more
appealing,
more
conservative
Islamic
banks.
Late in
2008,
French
Finance
Minister
Christine
Lagarde
announced
France’s
intention
to make
Paris
“the
capital
of
Islamic
finance”
and said
several
Islamic
banks
would
open
branches
in the
French
capital
in
2009.
French
sources
estimate
this
area of
the
financial
market
is worth
from 500
to 600
billion
dollars
and
could
grow by
an
average
11
percent
a year.
John
Sandwick,
managing
director
of Swiss
asset
management
firm
Encore
Management,
characterized
the
opening
of
several
Swiss
Islamic
banks
as, “the
race to
control
the rich
prize:
which
today is
worth
hundreds
of
billions,
but in
the
future
will be
trillions
of
dollars
of
Islamic
wealth.”
“According
to
Standard
and
Poor’s,
Islamic
banking
assets
reached
about
$400
billion
throughout
the
world in
2009. In
November
2010,
The
Banker
published
its
latest
authoritative
list of
the Top
500
Islamic
Finance
Institutions
with
Iran
topping
the
list.
Seven
out of
ten top
Islamic
banks in
the
world
are
Iranian
according
to the
list.”
(iStockAnalyst,
Feb 8,
2011)
BEN ALI’S SON OPENS FIRST ISLAMIC BANK IN ATTRACTIVE NORTH AFRICAN MARKET
Commenting
on the
opening
of
Zitouna
(Islamic)
Bank,
International
Business
Times
(May 28
2010)
reported,
“North
Africa
has
begun to
embrace
Islamic
finance
after
years
watching
from the
sidelines,
partly
to
channel
more
Arab
Gulf
petrodollars
into the
region.
. .
.Tunisia
has one
of the
most
open
economies
in the
region
and
attracts
substantial
investment
from the
European
Union,
something
that is
expected
to
accelerate
after
2014,
when the
government
has said
it will
make the
currency
(the
Tunisian
dinar)
fully
convertible.”
Global
Islamic
Finance
News
(May 31,
2010)
reported,
“Zitouna
Bank
also
seeks to
impart a
regional
dimension
on its
activities,
particularly
in the
Maghreb
region
[North
Africa],
all the
more so
that it
is the
first
specialised
bank not
belonging
to a
foreign
banking
group,”
and went
on to
add,
“The
Bank
will
also
seek to
forge
strong
relations
with the
Maghreb
and
Mediterranean
banks to
ensure
needed
flow of
financial
operations
for its
customers.
The bank
officials
stressed
that the
financial
institution
has
established
relations
with 12
Islamic
banks in
collaboration
with the
Institute
of
Islamic
banks in
Bahrain.
Zitouna
bank’s
formation
had been
announced
earlier
in the
Official
Gazette
of the
Republic
of
Tunisia
on 10
September
2009.
Tunisia
and
Morocco
authorized
Islamic
finance
in 2007,
partly
to
channel
more
investment
into
their
fast-growing
tourism
and real
estate
industries.
Due to
his
being
the
son-in-law
of
President
Ben Ali,
El
Materi’s
Zitouna
Bank was
expanding
in
Tunisia
to the
level of
monopoly.
El
Materi
had
built a
powerful
business
empire:
he ran
businesses
in News
and
Media,
Banking
and
Financial
Services,
Automotive,
Shipping
and
Cruises,
Real
Estate
and
Agriculture,
Pharmaceuticals
and last
November
22 he
bought a
50%
stake in
Orascom
Telecom
for 0.2
billion.
The
newly-opened
Tunis
Financial
Harbour
was on
the
brink of
becoming
the
regional
financial
centre
of North
Africa
and,
with its
strategic
position
on the
Mediterranean
sea,
becoming
a bridge
between
the EU
and the
rapidly
growing
economies
of North
Africa
and
subSaharan
Africa.
On
January
20 2011,
ZItouna
Bank,
Tunisia’s
first
Islamic
bank was
seized
by the
Central
Bank of
Tunisia
(Rothschilds).
The bank
owned by
Sakher
El
Materi,
the
thirty-year-old
son-in-law
of
deposed
Tunisian
leader
Zine El
Abidine
Ben Ali
has been
placed
under
“the
control”
of the
central
bank.
Materi
is
presently
in Dubai.
The move
came a
day
after 33
of Ben
Ali’s
clan
were
arrested
for
crimes
against
the
nation.
State
television
showed
what it
said was
seized
gold and
jewellery.
Switzerland
has also
frozen
Ben
Ali’s
family
assets.
EGYPT’S
ISLAMIC
BANKS
THREATENED
BY
ROTHSCHILD
REVOLUTION:
OLD MAN
POTTER
VS HARRY
BAILEY
The
following
scenario
is right
out of
the
1946,
Frank
Capra
film
It’s a
Wonderful
Life
with Old
Man
Potter (Rothschild)
creating
a run on
Harry
Bailey’s
traditional
Savings
and
Loans (Islamic
bank):
Islamic
(halal)
banking
products
have not
made
significant
inroads
in North
Africa
yet,
except
in Egypt.
“. . .
There
are
several
Islamic
banks
operating
in Egypt:
Faisal
Islamic
Bank, Al
Baraka
Egypt (Al
Ahram
Bank)
and Abu
Dhabi
Islamic
Bank NBD
. . .
There
may be
others
as well,”
says
Blake
Goud, an
expert
on
Islamic
Finance
(The
Review –
Middle
East,
Jan 31
2011),
“. . .
and the
risks of
a run on
the bank
should
concern
those
interested
in
Islamic
banking
around
the
world
because
it could
provide
a test
of how
resilient
Islamic
banks
really
are to
crisis.
“What I
mean is
that the
Egyptian
situation,
which
could be
a
fantastic
opportunity
for the
Egyptian
people,
could
expose a
weakness
within
the
Islamic
banking
industry
if it is
problematic.
The main
risk to
any bank
is that
there is
a run
and the
bank
cannot
meet
depositor
withdrawals
with the
cash
available
on hand.
This
forces
the bank
to raise
cash
from
other
means.
In most
cases,
it can
either
get an
inter-bank
loan
from
another
bank
overnight
that
allows
it to
handle
withdrawals.
If other
banks
are
hesitant
to lend
to a
given
bank
because
of fears
of asset
quality,
then the
bank
will
usually
have
access
to an
overnight
borrowing
facility
with the
central
bank,
which
operates
as the
lender
of last
resort.
“The key
for
Islamic
banks is
that
they are
not able
to take
advantage
of the
inter-bank
lending
market,
nor are
they
able to
borrow
from (or
lend to)
the
central
bank
(emphasis
added)
because
those
loans
are
interest-bearing.
The only
alternative
is to
find
other
banks (mostly
Islamic
banks)
willing
to
extend
Shari’ah-compliant,
bilateral
loans
often
using
commodity
murabaha.
In a
country
like
Egypt
where
the
Islamic
banking
industry
is a
small
portion
of the
total
banking
system,
it does
not
create a
systemic
risk if
Islamic
banks
fail,
but it
does
matter a
lot to
the
depositors
of other
Islamic
banks in
the
country
and
globally.
If there
is the
potential
that a
run on
an
Islamic
bank
will not
be
stopped
by
someone;
whether
that is
a
foreign
bank, a
multi-lateral
bank
like the
Islamic
Development
Bank or
the
central
bank of
Egypt (through
emergency
measures),
then it
could
hurt
confidence
in
Islamic
banks.
“If
neither
of these
options
are
available,
the bank
will
have to
try to
raise
funds by
selling
its
assets,
most of
which
(loans)
are
illiquid
in the
short
run. It
will
have to
take a
loss on
the sale
to
realize
the cash
it needs
to meet
withdrawals.
If this
continues
and the
bank
sells
enough
assets
at a
discount
to the
value
they are
held on
the
balance
sheet,
the
bank’s
equity
will be
negative
(the
value of
assets
minus
liabilities)
and it
will
become
insolvent
(having
earlier
only
been
illiquid).
This is
the
fundamental
danger
in
banking
from a
financial
stability
perspective.
If
enough
banks
face
runs and
have to
sell
assets,
the run
could
become
self-sustaining
and
contagious.
Even a
healthy
bank
facing a
run can
become
insolvent.
“The
loss of
confidence
is more
than
just a
reputational
hit and
a hit on
the egos
of
Islamic
bankers.
It would
make it
more
difficult
for
Islamic
banks to
attract
and
retain
depositors
and it
could
raise
the cost
at which
it can
attract
depositors.
This
would
make the
bank,
all
other
things
equal,
less
profitable
(it
makes
profit
of the
spread
between
the
return
on
invested
funds
and the
cost of
funds
borrowed
from
depositors).
Lower
profitability
will
lower
the
attractiveness
of
Islamic
banks to
equity
investors
limiting
their
ability
to
increase
capital
through
equity
offerings
(or at
least
increasing
the
dilution
to
current
shareholders).
It will
lower
the
amount
available
to
supplement
capital
as well
as pay
dividends
to its
shareholders.
“Therefore,
it is
important
that the
Islamic
banks in
Egypt
make it
through
the
‘run’
that is
predicted
if it
materializes,
not just
for
those
banks’
shareholders,
but also
for the
Islamic
banking
industry.”
In
contrast,
Bloomberg
reports,
“Egypt’s
banks
may risk
a surge
in
customer
withdrawals
when
they
open for
business,
placing
them
among
companies
worst
hit by
the
nationwide
uprising
against
President
Hosni
Mubarak.
…
Central
Bank
Governor
Farouk
El-Okdah
said in
a
telephone
interview
Jan. 29
that his
bank has
$36
billion
in
reserves,
enough
to
accommodate
investors
should
they
wish to
withdraw
funds.
His
deputy,
Hisham
Ramez,
said
interbank
lending
“will
function
properly”
when
banks
are
reopened.
He said
the
security
situation
will
determine
when
that is
possible.
“Asked
about
the risk
of a
bank run,
Mohamed
Barakat,
chairman
of
state-run
Banque
Misr and
head of
the
country’s
banking
association,
said in
a
telephone
interview
that
Egyptian
lenders
are
‘very
liquid,’”
with
average
loan-to-deposit
ratios
of 53
percent.
[…] “The
Egyptian
interbank
offered
rate,
the rate
banks
charge
to lend
to each
other,
is at a
16-month
high of
8.5
percent.”
THE
MEANS:
SPONSOR
PRO-DEMOCRACY
ACTIVISTS
These
Rothschild
revolutions
are done
under
the
pretense
of
bringing
democracy
and
deposing
despots,
but the
real aim
is to
initially
create
chaos
and a
leadership
vacuum,
then
quickly
offer a
solution:
install
a puppet
that
will do
the
economic
bidding
of the
Rothschilds.
The
citizens
gain
freedom
of
speech
and
association,
but
become
economic
serfs.
These
revolutions
are most
likely
coordinated
at the
highest
levels
by the
Rothschild’s
International
Crisis
Group.
Mohamed
ElBaradei
is
already
being
touted
as a new
leader
for
Egypt.
ElBaradei
is a
trustee
of the
International
Crisis
Group.
Another
board
member
of this
group is
Zbigniew
Brzezinski.
George
Soros
sits on
the
executive
committee.
The
later
two are
ubiquitous
front
men for
the
Rothschilds.
The
revolutions
are from
the same
playbook
as the
fairly
nonviolent
“color
revolutions”.
These
revolutions
have
been
successful
in
Serbia (especially
the
Bulldozer
Revolution
(2000),
in
Georgia’s
Rose
Revolution
(2003),
in
Ukraine’s
Orange
Revolution
(2004),
in
Lebanon’s
Cedar
Revolution
and (though
more
violent
than the
previous
ones) in
Kyrgyzstan’s
Tulip
Revolution
(2005),
and
Tunisia’s
Jasmine
Revolution.
Iran’s
Green
Revolution
(2009)
was
unsuccessful.
The
Guardian
reported
(Nov 26,
2004)
that the
following
were
“directly
involved”
in
organizing
the
colour
revolutions:
George
Soros’
Open
Society
Foundation,
the
National
Endowment
for
Democracy
(NED),
the
International
Republican
Institute,
and
Freedom
House.
The
Washington
Post and
the New
York
Times
also
reported
substantial
Western
involvement
in some
of these
events.
George Soros funded training of
activists in North Africa
Activists
from
Otpor in
Serbia
have
said
that
publications
and
training
they
received
from the
US based
Albert
Einstein
Institution
staff
have
been
instrumental
in the
formation
of their
strategies.
The
Albert
Einstein
Institution
is
funded
by the
Soros
Foundation
and NED.
(Wikipedia)
In the
article,
“Georgia
revolt
carried
mark of
Soros” (November
26,
2003),
the
Globe &
Mail
reported,
“[Soros'
Open
Society
Institute]
sent a
31-year-old
Tbilisi
activist
named
Giga
Bokeria
to
Serbia
to meet
with
members
of the
Otpor (Resistance)
movement
and
learn
how they
used
street
demonstrations
to
topple
dictator
Slobodan
Milosevic.
Then, in
the
summer,
Mr.
Soros’s
foundation
paid for
a return
trip to
Georgia
by Otpor
activists,
who ran
three-day
courses
teaching
more
than
1,000
students
how to
stage a
peaceful
revolution.”
Egyptian activists wearning Otpor shirts.
Otpor was started by Soros in Serbia and
has
trained
activists
in other
colour
revolutions.
Several
protest
organizers
on the
streets
in Egypt
last
week
were
wearing
Otpor
t-shirts.
These
t-shirts
are
given
out by
Otpor at
training
sessions.
This is
only to
say that
there
may be a
link
here,
between
Soros
and
Tunisian
protesters.
In
2007-08,
Freedom
House [funded
by Soros
and the
Middle
Eastern
Partnership
Initiative
(MEPI)]
ran the
following
program:
“New
Generation
of
Advocates,
a
MEPI-funded
program
that
supports
young
civil
society
activists
working
for
peaceful
political
change
in the
Middle
East and
North
Africa,
spearheaded
the
“Lawyers
against
Corruption”
campaign
in
Tunisia.”(Freedom
House
website).
The
group of
“journalists,
lawyers,
and
other
activists
who
advocate
for
democratic
reform”
had a
meeting
with
then
Secretary
of State
Condoleezza
Rice, on
a trip
to
Washington
on
International
Human
Rights
Day,
December
10,
2008.
In May
2009,
U.S.
Secretary
of State
Hillary
Clinton
met with
the
group of
activist/dissidents.
Freedom
House
reported
on their
website
that the
group
also
visited
“U.S.
government
officials,
members
of
Congress,
media
outlets
and
think
tanks .
. .
After
returning
to Egypt,
the
fellows
received
small
grants
to
implement
innovative
initiatives
such as
advocating
for
political
reform
through
Facebook
and SMS
messaging.”
(emphasis
added)
And also
from the
Freedom
House
website:
“From
February
27 to
March 13
[2010],
Freedom
House
hosted
11
bloggers
from the
Middle
East and
North
Africa
for a
two-week
Advanced
New
Media
Study
Tour in
Washington,
D.C.”
In 2010,
Soros’
Open
Society
Institute
funded a
grant
called
‘Can It
Tweet
its way
to
Democracy?
The
promise
of
Participatory
Media in
Africa’
described
on the
OSI
website
as “. .
. .
Ethiopia
and
Egypt
have
been the
current
focus of
the
research
programme;
the OSI
funding
will
allow
the
project
to be
expanded
to
include:
Uganda,
Zimbabwe,
Tunisia,
Eritrea
and
Rwanda.
. . . it
is hoped
that it
will
contribute
to the
understanding
of the
new
media in
Africa
and its
links to
democratization.
It is
also
intended
that the
study
will be
used as
a source
material
for
future
research.”
Facebook
and
Twitter
were the
primary
means of
organizing
the
revolution
in Egypt:
“Activists
from
Egypt’s
Kifaya (Enough)
movement
– a
coalition
of
government
opponents
– and
the 6th
of April
Youth
Movement
organized
the
protests
on the
Facebook
and
Twitter
. . . .”
(Voice
of
America)
In the
Foreign
Policy
Journal,
Dr. D.K.
Bolton (Jan
19 2011)
writes,
“NED [National
Endowment
for
Democracy]
and
Soros
work in
tandem,
targeting
the same
regimes
and
using
the same
methods.
. . . At
least
ten of
the
twenty-two
directors
of NED
are also
members
of the
plutocratic
think
tank,
the
Council
on
Foreign
Relations
. . . .”
(The
Council
of
Foreign
Relations
is the
American
sister
of the
Rothschild’s
Royal
Institute
of
International
Affairs
in
Britain:
both are
instruments
of
plutocratic
control
hiding
in plain
sight.
The
following
is a
partial
list of
grants
from the
NED
website
for 2009
(the
latest
year
available):
In
Tunisia
the
focus
was on
training
youth
activists:
“Al-Jahedh
Forum
for Free
Thought
$131,000
To
strengthen
the
capacity
and
build a
democratic
culture
among
Tunisian
youth
activists.
“Mohamed
Ali
Center
for
Research,
Studies
and
Training
$33,500
To train
a core
group of
Tunisian
youth
activists
on
leadership
and
organizational
skills
to
encourage
their
involvement
in
public
life. [MACRST]
will
conduct
a
four-day
intensive
training
of
trainers
program
for a
core
group of
10 young
Tunisian
civic
activists
on
leadership
and
organizational
skills;
train 50
male and
female
activists
aged 20
to 40 on
leadership
and
empowered
decision-making;
and work
with the
trained
activists
through
50
on-site
visits
to their
respective
organizations.
“Association
for the
Promotion
of
Education
$27,000
To
strengthen
the
capacity
of
Tunisian
high
school
teachers
to
promote
democratic
and
civic
values
in their
classrooms.
APES
will
conduct
a
training-of-trainers
workshop
for 10
university
professors
and
school
inspectors,
and hold
three
two-day
capacity
building
seminars
for 120
high
school
teachers
. . . .”
The
above
organizations
and
others
have
been
recipients
of
ongoing
NED
grants
in
Tunisia,
as the
following
list
from
previous
years
indicates:
2008:
Al-Jahedh
Forum
for Free
Thought
received
$57,000
to train
Tunisian
activists;
Mohamed
Ali
Centre
for
Research
got
$37,800;
Tunisian
Arab
Civitas
Institute,
$43,000
for
training
teachers
in
“civic
values”
and the
Center
for
International
Private
Enterprise,
$163,205
“to
inculcate
free
enterprise
doctrines
among
Tunisian
businessmen,
which
reflects
what NED
is
really
aiming
for in
its
promotion
of
“democracy
and
civil
values”:
globalization”
(Bolton,
2011)
2007:
AJFFT
received
$45,000
to
develop
Tunisian
Activists;
The Arab
Institute
for
Human
Rights
got
$43,900;
The
Center
for
International
Private
Enterprise
(CIPE)
$175,
818;
The
Mohamed
Ali
Center
for
Research,
Studies,
and
Training
$38,500;
Moroccan
Organization
for
Human
Rights
$60,000
“To
strengthen
a group
of young
Tunisian
attorneys
as they
mobilize
citizens
on
reform
issues.”
In Egypt,
the
number
of NED
grants
doubled
in 2009
to 33
democracy
projects
totaling
$1.4
million
and the
focus
changed
from
promoting
private
enterprise
to
training
young
human-rights
lawyers,
and
identifying
and
training
youth
activists.
It will
be
interesting
to see
when (if?)
NED
publishes
its 2010
grants.
From the
NED
website—a
sample
of the
grants
for
2009:
Egyptian
Union of
Liberal
Youth (EULY)
$33,300
To
expand
the use
of new
media
among
youth
activists
for the
promotion
of
democratic
ideas
and
values.
EULY
will
train 60
youth
activists
to use
filmmaking
for the
dissemination
of
democratic
ideas
and
values.
The
Union
will
lead a
total of
four
two-month
long
training
workshops
in Cairo
to build
the
political
knowledge
and
technical
filmmaking
skills
of
participating
youth
involved
in NGOs.
Andalus
Institute
for
Tolerance
and
Anti-Violence
Studies
(AITAS)
$48,900
To
strengthen
youth
understanding
of the
Egyptian
parliament
and
enhance
regional
activists’
use of
new
technologies
as
accountability
tools.
AITAS
will
conduct
a series
of
workshops
for 300
university
students
to raise
their
awareness
of
parliament’s
functions
and
engage
them in
monitoring
parliamentary
committees.
AITAS
will
also
host 8
month-long
internships
for
youth
activists
from the
Middle
East and
North
Africa
to share
its
experiences
using
web-based
technologies
in
monitoring
efforts.
Bridge
Center
for
Dialogue
and
Development
(BTRD)
$25,000
To
promote
youth
expression
and
engagement
in
community
issues
through
new
media.
BTRD
will
train
youth
between
the ages
of 16
and 26
in the
use of
new and
traditional
media
tools to
report
on
issues
facing
their
communities.
BRTD
will
also
create a
website
for
human
rights
videos
and new
media
campaigns
in Egypt.
Egyptian
Democracy
Institute
(EDI)
$48,900
To
promote
accountability
and
transparency
in
parliament
through
public
participation,
and to
build
legislative
capacity.
EDI will
produce
quarterly
monitoring
reports
and hold
seminars
to
discuss
the
overall
performance
of
Parliament
and
offer
recommendations
on
legislation
proposed
in the
People’s
Assembly.
EDI will
monitor,
collect,
and
document
evidence
of
corruption
in Cairo
and
Alexandria
Lawyers
Union
for
Democratic
and
Legal
Studies
(LUDLS)
$20,000
To
support
freedom
of
association
by
strengthening
young
activists’
ability
to
express
and
organize
themselves
peacefully
within
the
bounds
of the
law.
LUDLS
will
train
250
youth
activists
on
peaceful
assembly
and
dispute
resolution
Our
Hands
for
Comprehensive
Development
$19,200 To engage Minya youth in civic activism and
encourage
youth-led
initiatives
and
volunteerism.
Our
Hands
will
hold two
public
meetings
for
local
youth to
discuss
challenges
and to
identify
youth
leaders
who
would
benefit
from
additional
training
courses.
Participants
will
produce
a short
film on
youth
political
participation,
and
develop
and
implement
action
plans
for
resolving
problems
facing
youth in
the
governorate.
Our
Hands
will
also
provide
Minya
youth an
opportunity
to learn
from the
experience
of and
network
with
Cairo-based
activists
and NGOs.
“Youth
Forum
$19,000
To
expand
and
maintain
a
network
of youth
activists
on
Egyptian
university
campuses
and to
encourage
the
participation
of
university
students
in
student
union
elections
and
civic
activities
on
campus.
. . .”
NED and
Soros
have
been
injecting
millions
of
dollars
into the
training
of North
African,
pro-democracy
teachers,
lawyers,
journalists
and
youth
activists.
In 2009
they
more
than
doubled
their
training
efforts.
Why, at
this
time,
has the
30-year
support
of these
dictators
been
undermined?
The
prize is
the
rapidly-rising
economies
of North
Africa.
It
coincides
with the
efforts
of Ben
Ali to
make
Tunisia
the
financial
center
of North
Africa
and to
promote
Islamic
banking.
The
Rothschilds
want
North
African
Muslims
to
borrow
from
Rothschild
banks
and pay
interest
at rates
the
Rothschild
central
bank
decides:
they do
not want
them to
be able
to
borrow
from
Islamic
banks
and not
pay any
interest.
The
Rothschilds
want
Muslims
to trade
their
present
political
oppression
at the
hands of
brutal
dictators
for
future
economic
serfdom
under
the
control
of
banker
Lord
Rothschild.