act now > Shari'ah¹ compliance

Last Updated 11/13/07

Should worker rights have higher priority in Islamic investing?

IWJ is partnering with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on a trailblazing effort involving workers’ rights, Islamic investment law, transnational social justice organizing, and the morally unacceptable labor practices of a multi-billion-dollar real-estate company. The Indianapolis-based HDG Mansur, which also has offices in London and Dubai, is making international financial headlines by declaring itself Shari’ah-compliant.¹ But the shabby treatment of the janitors who work in Mansur’s Indianapolis headquarters raises serious and troubling questions — for worker justice as well as the integrity of Shari’ah compliance.

IWJ sponsored a delegation to London November 6-8 to call attention to these ethical issues. The delegation included a Muslim scholar representing ISNA, an African-American janitor currently on strike from her job cleaning at Mansur’s Indianapolis headquarters, and a staff person from IWJ. They teamed up with members of the UK Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU-Unite) and British trade union and community leaders to raise awareness about Mansur’s business practices.

For background on this vibrant story, see these pieces:

HDG Mansur’s Al-Umran Global Property Fund: Innovative. Ambitious. Ethical?

Why Indianapolis janitor Shaneka Brown is on strike

U.S. Muslim-Christian-Worker Delegation Coming to London to Stress Worker Rights in Islamic Investing (press release)

And check IWJ’s blog for updates on it as it unfolds.

¹ Shari'ah—The Islamic system of financial management is faith-based, underpinned by the Qur'anic proscription on riba (interest) and gharar (intentional incomplete disclosure). As such, a core component of the Islamic system of financial management is Shari'ah compliance. There can be no compromise on Shari'ah compliance, otherwise the product or service may be deemed unacceptable.

In certain financial services jurisdictions, such as Sudan and Malaysia, there are Shari'ah supervisory boards within that country's central bank, and in Iran they have a committee within the Council of Guardians, which sets the rules for the banking and finance sector. In other jurisdictions, individual Islamic financial institutions and the Islamic banking units at conventional financial institutions appoint their own Shar'ah supervisory boards or advisors.

A Shariah Board is a committee of Islamic financial legal scholars and experts established to ensure that the financial institution's practices and products offered are in compliance with Islamic law.