LOFSA bullish about increased activities on LFX| KUALA LUMPURBank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz Tuesday said the Labuan International Financial Exchange's (LFX) activities are expected to increase further in line with the increased participation of Malaysian conglomerates and the development of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) itself. Dr Zeti, who is also chairman of LOFSA, said LFX saw nine new listings in 2002 from just one in 2001 and efforts had been taken to attract more issuers to list their products on LFX."We want to offer smart partnership for capital market development, where they can use LFX as a surrogate exchange and initially list their products on LFX and then, together develop the capital market in Labuan," she said.So far, there has been some response from African countries."This is our long term goal, and we are working closely with other authorities, including the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and LOFSA,"She said.Todate, market capitalisation has increased to US$1.6 billion at the end of 2002, consisting of both conventional and Islamic instruments ranging from debt securities to mutual funds.Taken From: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&dt=0514&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=Economy&pg=ec_07.htm |
Baghdad,Shi’a and Sunni scholars and leaders here are trying their best to close the gap between the two schools of thought and to unite the Iraqi people, at this complicated point in time in their historical development. For this purpose a group of Shi’as came to the Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque, which is mostly patronized by the Sunnis, to perform prayers alongside their Sunni co-religionists, and behind a Sunni imam, Muayyid Al-A’dhamy, who is the imam and khatib of the mosque. This step is meant to break the ice that had frozen the relations between the two sects for years on end. In his second sermon, the imam conveyed the greetings and calls for unity made by the Shi’a leader, Sayyid Kadhim Al-Fartussy. It is said that the tradition of Shi’a praying behind a Sunni imam was started by Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq Al-Sadr, in 1998, the same year he was detained by the former regime. Several other Shi’as who had shown a similar inclination was also detained by that regime, en masse.
Taken From:
http://www.islamicnews.org/english/en_daily.html
Cairo,A Muslim thinker and intellectual, Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abu Almajd, a former Information Minister in Egypt, has put forward the idea of rethinking of the Message of Islam, and for the Muslims to stop withdrawing from the contemporary world we live in, and should instead hold an effective dialogue with the West. He said talking about sectarian matters, such as Sunnis and Shi’a as two divisions of the Muslim Ummah is, in the present circumstances counter-productive and threatens the Muslim entity. He suggested that in rethinking the Message of Islam, the Muslims should try to interest others in their faith, and convince them of its veracity and its inherent good for humanity.
Taken From:
http://www.islamicnews.org/english/en_daily.html 