One more sharia accommodation in the west! “DePaul buys into growth of Islamic banking,” by Deborah Horan for the Chicago Tribune:

Amir Davoodi had read about the meteoric rise of Islamic banking, but the senior finance major at DePaul University didn’t realize how intrigued he would become with the idea of mixing Islam and market finance until he took a course on the subject last fall.

Now Davoodi has accepted an internship with a local Islamic real estate company, Sunrise Equities, and might pursue the banking niche after graduation….

If Rezko weren’t in jail, I’m sure he would have been able to help out Davoodi. Perhaps put him in contact with the Bridgeview Mosque foundation, CAIR and others.

Driven by rising oil prices and an increasing desire by Middle Eastern and Asian investors to keep their cash in the region, Islamic finance has boomed into a $500 billion to $600 billion global industry, experts in the field said.

Right. We’re stealing oil, that’s why it’s so expensive. Islamic finance has boomed - that’s why guys like Auchi are wanted by interpol for pilfering millions of dollars of funds that don’t belong to them.

The growth prompted DePaul last fall to join a tiny vanguard of U.S. colleges offering classes or lectures on the subject. On Thursday, the university will sponsor a conference on Islamic banking methods including home financing, private equity, bonds, even derivatives and hedge funds.

I wonder if George Soros has any input into this, LOL…

“There is a significant demand clicking up for people who understand the field and can design products that are Islamic and can answer the needs of the community,” said Ali Fatemi, chair of DePaul’s finance department, who was instrumental in bringing the Islamic banking course to campus.

After Sept. 11, 2001, Middle Eastern and Asian money came under greater scrutiny, worrying investors in those regions that their money was no longer safe in Western banks, Fatemi said. Many of them chose to invest locally instead, adding to the demand for Islamic banking….

After September 11, these funds came under greater scrutiny because they were ultimately used for jihad against America.