This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/4263
February 11, 2010
On February 11th the Muslim Student Association of Columbia University will team with the Barnard Office of Career Development for an Islamic Finance Symposium.The opening remarks will be delivered by Barnard President Debora Spar and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs.
Among the speakers was the radical Harvard University Chaplain Taha Abdul Basser.
Taha Abdul Basser has justified the killing of apostates.
"In an e-mail to an unnamed student, the chaplain, Taha Abdul-Basser, stated that most traditional authorities on Islamic law agree that in countries under Muslim governance, the proper punishment for apostasy — that is, rejection of Islam by a former Muslim — is death."
"In his original e-mail, Abdul-Basser appeared to put himself at odds with the international human rights community, which includes a number of luminaries who teach at Harvard. After a lengthy discussion of the positions of various Muslim autorities, he concluded by writing that "there is great wisdom (hikma) associated with the established and preserved position (capital punishment), and so, even if it makes some uncomfortable in the face of the hegemonic modern human rights discourse, one should not dismiss it out of hand."
Dr. Daniel Pipes the director of the Middle East Forum had this to say about the Abdul –Basser controversy:
"This case is typical of many others; Muslim leaders, portrayed as moderate and occupying prestigious and responsible positions, turn out, in fact, to be Islamists," said Daniel Pipes, who founded Campus Watch, an organization dedicated to rooting out and criticizing university professors and student groups that it considers to be excessively Islamist or antisemitic. "Only when institutions like Harvard engage in proper due diligence to exclude Islamists can we begin to fight the enemy within." http://www.forward.com/articles/105042/
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ISLAMIC FINANCE SYMPOSIUM
For a comprehensive debate on the practice, viability, sustainability and career prospects (legal, consulting and finance) of Islamic Finance
Please join the MSA, the Barnard Office of Career Development, and our many other sponsors in the first ever Islamic Finance Symposium at Columbia University. Please join world renowned panelists. Featuring:
**Opening remarks by Barnard President Debora Spar and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs**
- Amir A. Rahman; Consultant
- Umar Moghul; Lawyer
- Taha Abdul-Basser; Harvard University Chaplain and Financial adviser
DATE: TODAY, February 11
TIME: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
PLACE: Event Oval, Diana
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/4263