Via Eclectic Linkfest I saw this story:
Malaysia Islamic clerics forbid forex trading
Malaysia’s highest Islamic body has issued an edict forbidding foreign exchange trading by Muslim individuals, saying such speculation violates Islamic law.
The National Fatwa Council ruled forex trading by money changers or between banks was allowable but trading by individuals “creates confusion” among the faithful, according to a report issued Wednesday by state news agency Bernama.
Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin warned “there are many doubts about it (forex trading) and it involves individuals using the Internet, with uncertain outcomes,” Bernama reported.
“A study by the committee found that such trading involved currency speculation, which contradicts Islamic law,” he was quoted saying.
Forex and religion don’t have a great history. The only time Jesus uses physical force is when he expels the money-changers from the temple. Matthew 21:12-13:
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Skipping over any doctrinal issues, trading foreign currency is a terrible idea for individual investors. It’s a zero-sum game and you most likely won’t win.
You’ll notice that it’s always around forex that trading outfits style their sales pitches in order to lure in customers. If you’re saving for your retirement, trust me, stay away from forex.
Posted by Eddy on February 16th, 2012 at 11:36 am
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Named by CNN/Money as the best buy-and-hold blogger, Eddy Elfenbein is the editor of Crossing Wall Street. His free Buy List has beaten the S&P 500 for the last five years in a row. (more)
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