From The Korea Times:
Via Terry
Korean Christians attack “terrorist” bonds
by WangKon936 on March 4, 2011
Korea does a lot of business with countries that have a majority Muslim population. Ships, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, utility plants, roads, buildings, weapons, etc. Muslims buy a lot of stuff from the Koreans and the Koreans buy a lot of Middle East oil. To make the flow of goods easier between trading countries, Muslim banks would like the Koreans to buy more “sukuk” bonds, a financing instrument that is compliant under Islamic principles and jurisprudence called Sharia.
Evidently, the Lee Myung Bak administration supports the sale and purchase of Sharia Law compliant sukuk bonds in Korea, but that hasn’t made many of the more conservative Christian churches very happy. LMB’s party was actually going to push a bill to allow the sale of sukuk bonds in Korea with special tax breaks. Upon hearing the news, Rev. David Yonggi Cho, pastor and founder of the Yeouido Full Gospel Church, Korea’s largest church (if not the world’s largest), condemned the bill and threatened to stage a campaign to force Lee out of power. Cho latter retracted his statement and expressed regret for speaking too strongly against LMB. However, a lot of conservative Protestant Christians are upset and are protesting the administration regarding the bonds. Many seem to believe that sukuk bonds will help finance terrorists. However, most business analysts and economists believe that to be rather ludicrous.
In any case, LMB appears to have pissed off a key constituency. LMB himself is a declared, committed Protestant Christian who has actively sought political support from churches in Korea. He’s had no issue pissing off Buddhists or Catholics because he’s always had the support of the Protestant sects. When the leader of Korea’s largest church says he wants to topple you, it tends to make you a little more self reflective. Others are asking if the Protestant faith has too much power over the state in this case, particularly when the Korean Constitution, like its U.S. counterpart, separates church and state. The power that the church has wielded here has made more secular Koreans (as well as religious non-Protestant Koreans) a little nervous.
(Image from Korea Times)
However, the fact of the matter is that Islamic business and financial power is simply too big and too important for Korea, Inc. to ignore. LMB was seen kneeling in prayer at a prayer breakfast in COEX on Thursday, ostentatiously for “social unity”. For the reasons of “greasing the wheels” of capitalism with Muslim countries expect LMB to try to push this through. If not today, then an appropriate time in the near future. LMB is, after all, a business friendly President before he is a religious one. Besides, the religious objection to Islamic financial instruments don’t appear to have a very strong logical case for it in the first place, so I’m willing to cut LMB some slack.
Source and 60+ comments at:
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2011/03/04/korean-christians-attack-terrorist-bonds/
Via Terry
Korean Christians attack “terrorist” bonds
by WangKon936 on March 4, 2011
Korea does a lot of business with countries that have a majority Muslim population. Ships, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, utility plants, roads, buildings, weapons, etc. Muslims buy a lot of stuff from the Koreans and the Koreans buy a lot of Middle East oil. To make the flow of goods easier between trading countries, Muslim banks would like the Koreans to buy more “sukuk” bonds, a financing instrument that is compliant under Islamic principles and jurisprudence called Sharia.
Evidently, the Lee Myung Bak administration supports the sale and purchase of Sharia Law compliant sukuk bonds in Korea, but that hasn’t made many of the more conservative Christian churches very happy. LMB’s party was actually going to push a bill to allow the sale of sukuk bonds in Korea with special tax breaks. Upon hearing the news, Rev. David Yonggi Cho, pastor and founder of the Yeouido Full Gospel Church, Korea’s largest church (if not the world’s largest), condemned the bill and threatened to stage a campaign to force Lee out of power. Cho latter retracted his statement and expressed regret for speaking too strongly against LMB. However, a lot of conservative Protestant Christians are upset and are protesting the administration regarding the bonds. Many seem to believe that sukuk bonds will help finance terrorists. However, most business analysts and economists believe that to be rather ludicrous.
In any case, LMB appears to have pissed off a key constituency. LMB himself is a declared, committed Protestant Christian who has actively sought political support from churches in Korea. He’s had no issue pissing off Buddhists or Catholics because he’s always had the support of the Protestant sects. When the leader of Korea’s largest church says he wants to topple you, it tends to make you a little more self reflective. Others are asking if the Protestant faith has too much power over the state in this case, particularly when the Korean Constitution, like its U.S. counterpart, separates church and state. The power that the church has wielded here has made more secular Koreans (as well as religious non-Protestant Koreans) a little nervous.
(Image from Korea Times)
However, the fact of the matter is that Islamic business and financial power is simply too big and too important for Korea, Inc. to ignore. LMB was seen kneeling in prayer at a prayer breakfast in COEX on Thursday, ostentatiously for “social unity”. For the reasons of “greasing the wheels” of capitalism with Muslim countries expect LMB to try to push this through. If not today, then an appropriate time in the near future. LMB is, after all, a business friendly President before he is a religious one. Besides, the religious objection to Islamic financial instruments don’t appear to have a very strong logical case for it in the first place, so I’m willing to cut LMB some slack.
Source and 60+ comments at:
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2011/03/04/korean-christians-attack-terrorist-bonds/
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