WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – Yahia Abdul-Rahman, 60, is the CEO and founder of American Finance House- Lariba. He was formerly a chemical engineer and financial planner. Now, he is usinghis talents and experience to introduce Sharia investment vehicles for the growing number of Muslim investors. With his Chief lending officer Syed Rehman, 64, their company continues to seek out realestate and other alternative investments that suit the investment needs of Muslim Americans.
According to published reports, the Muslim mortgage market in the United States has reached $600 million mark. The Islamic religion’s Sharia laws, �Prohibit earning or paying interest on borrowed money.� The market is projected to double in the next few years. Under Islam’s Sharia law, which guides moral conduct, interest-bearing income and debt are considered sinful, but financing may be arranged to incorporate negotiated profit margins and fees rather than compounded interest.
Abdul-Rahman has now turned his attention on mutual funds and hedge funds hoping to catch in introduce them to the Muslim investors. He said, �We are not run-of-the mill marketing people who find a niche and run with it, we are humble servants of the community.”
The war on terrorism has had some set back to the Muslim American investment, Rushdi Siddiqui, director of the Dow Jones Islamic Index Group, which tracks Sharia compliant investments, said, “Frankly, with 9/11, as with any tragedy, there was a silver lining. One of the silver linings … was a revival by Muslims to look inward to how they can be more compliant (with the Islamic faith).” Siddiqui however notes that Muslims have become better educated about new alternatives to the Western Financial Markets.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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