….As the Street adapts to greater regulation, lower profits
and tighter costs, it is also experiencing change within its ranks the NY Times
reports. Among entry-level financiers,
especially, a years-long recruiting effort at major banks has resulted in a
diverse group of aspiring Masters of the Universe.
Young Muslims, one of the newest groups to make inroads in
American finance, can face steep barriers to entry. Some obstacles are remnants
of a less tolerant era. But prominent, too, are the limitations of Islam itself
— a faith whose tenets, Muslim workers say, often seem at odds with Wall
Street’s sometimes bacchanalian culture.
“I’m always the one
drinking Diet Coke at happy hour,” Mr. Iqbal said.
Perhaps the biggest impediment to greater participation by
Muslims on Wall Street is that, by some readings, the Koran prohibits riba, or
interest. Some Islamic scholars have interpreted the ban to be more inclusive
of modern finance, and a subgenre of Sharia-compliant financial transactions,
known as sukuk, has tried to bridge the gap....
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