Muslims on Wall Street, Bridging Two Traditions

 

In the financial world, Muslims’ religious tenets are often tested. From left are Naiel Iqbal, who works for a hedge fund; Ali Akbar, of RBC Capital Markets; and Aisha Jukaku, a financial consultant. 

NAIEL IQBAL’S co-workers couldn’t figure him out.

He’d just started at a Midtown Manhattan hedge fund — the kind of elite enclave where overachievers in button-downs go to make a few hundred grand before heading off to Harvard Business School. But Mr. Iqbal, 27, a graduate of the Wharton School, wasn’t acting like a typical finance guy. He didn’t introduce himself around the office. Nor did he grab lunch with the other traders.

In fact, he didn’t eat at all. Or drink. Not coffee, not soda, not even a sip of water from a Nalgene bottle on his desk. All day, he just sat there, staring into his Bloomberg terminal. Was he sick? Nervous? A modern Bartleby?

 None of the above: It was Ramadan, and Mr. Iqbal, a Muslim, was exhausted from fasting daily till sundown.

“I’m actually a huge foodie,” he recalls with a laugh. “When Ramadan ended, I was, like: ‘Guys, let’s go to this restaurant! Let’s go to that one!’ Nobody had seen that side of me.”

 Mr. Iqbal — who doesn’t drink or smoke — is among a growing number of young Muslims who are disrupting Wall Street’s old-boy culture. Seen from a certain angle, the Street can still look like a monolith — a cohort of white males with Ivy League degrees and Roman numerals attached to their names. (This is especially true the higher you look; there are, for example, no black, female or openly gay chief executives at the nation’s largest banks.)

But as the Street adapts to greater regulation, lower profits and tighter costs, it is also experiencing change within its ranks. 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.

Granted, for the many Muslims in New York and elsewhere who have made peace with a more secular culture, working on Wall Street may not pose any problem. And Muslims, of course, aren’t the only ones whose values can clash with the ways of Wall Street. Orthodox Jews, conservative Christians and other faithful working in finance have all, at one point, had to square their beliefs and practices with an environment in which money, not God, is king.

But for observant Muslims hoping to keep the values and practices of Islamic law, known as Sharia, intact even as they climb the ladder, the calculus can be messy.

For Aisha Jukaku, a former health care analyst at Goldman Sachs, getting started in finance carried additional challenges. Ms. Jukaku has worn a head scarf, or hijab, since she was 11. Like many conservative Muslim women, she avoids physical contact with men outside her family. (She makes exceptions for handshakes extended to her in a business setting that would be awkward to decline.)

  “It’s not something I want to do,” she says of shaking hands with men. “But that’s the common American way of doing business.”

At Goldman, where she worked from 2006 to 2008, she developed a daily routine that let her preserve her religious beliefs while not missing a beat at work. She would wake before sunrise in her Battery Park City apartment, conduct her first of five daily prayers, then fall back asleep until around 8:30 a.m., when she would head to work. While at Goldman, she dressed more modestly than most of her colleagues, and found a room in the firm’s health center where she could pray during the day. During Ramadan one year, a staffing director, seeing how tired she looked after completing a big deal on an empty stomach, took pity on her.

“He said: ‘Take it easy for the next couple weeks. This can’t be fun for you,’ ” said Ms. Jukaku, who now works as a freelance financial consultant. 

FOR many Muslims in finance, such delicate negotiations are part of life. Ali Akbar, 34, a Pakistan-born managing director at RBC Capital Markets, says that although he observes the Ramadan fast, he doesn’t always pray five times a day and doesn’t pray in his office to avoid drawing the attention of colleagues. And when the demands of his job collide with the teachings of his faith, a tough choice often follows.  

“You can’t just get up in the middle of a deal and say, ‘I have to go spend two hours in a mosque,’ ” Mr. Akbar says.

 Working in finance is straightforward enough in a Muslim country, where prayer breaks are typical and holidays like Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, are built into the calendar. But Muslim bankers in the United States have fewer resources. Many don’t have dedicated prayer rooms at work, and leaving the office to attend Friday prayers at a mosque can mean shuffling duties to a co-worker.

  “We have a concept called law of necessity,” said Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic finance at Thomson Reuters. “You have to, at one level, abide by the laws of the land that you happen to reside in, whether it’s the formal laws or the unwritten laws.”

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.

Still, a vast majority of Wall Street deals are not Sharia-compliant. So observant Muslims at traditional banks are often forced to shift their boundaries. “What I was doing wasn’t 100 percent legitimate in terms of religious ruling,” Ms. Jukaku says of her work at Goldman. “But after a while, you stop feeling guilty, I guess.”

 In 2006, three Muslim twenty-somethings formed a group to help fellow young professionals negotiate issues that arise. The organization, Muslim Urban Professionals, nicknamed “Muppies,” began as a Google group of around 50; members traded messages about job openings, notices of apartments for rent and announcements of group dinners. It has expanded to about 1,000 members globally, roughly half of whom work in finance, according to Mr. Iqbal, the hedge fund trader, who is now a national administrator of the group.

As the Muppies’ ranks have grown, more intimate questions have surfaced. Earlier this year, one member, who was about to start a job at a well-known consulting firm, e-mailed the group for advice. How, he wondered, could he succeed at his new job without compromising his Muslim values?

The consultant’s plea, under the subject line “Avoiding Alcohol and Opposite Gender Handshakes in the Corporate World,” received a vast range of responses. In regard to the alcohol issue, Muppies respondents divided into liberal, moderate and conservative camps — those who suggested that going to bars with colleagues was permissible, those who thought “drinking-focused events” were unadvisable but that dinners where alcohol was served were O.K., and those who insisted that places serving alcohol were to be avoided.

“The dominant opinion is that it’s still mustahab (recommended) to get up or leave a gathering where alcohol is served, but many consider it mubah (permissible) to stay seated,” the consultant wrote.

On the matter of handshaking, some urged the consultant to shake hands with women when prompted, but not to initiate handshakes himself. Others suggested adopting “a tactful technique to avoid” shaking hands, such as pretending to be sick or wearing gloves.

“I think Muslim professionals are too sensitive and underestimate our co-workers,” the consultant wrote, summarizing his own views. “People in our society are actually quite understanding of these things and we just freak out, thinking, ‘OMG, what will they all think if I don’t shake her hand??!!’  Just trust in God and He will guide you and give you more than that which you give up for him.”

The Muppies also draw on a network of older, more experienced mentors in finance and investing. One such mentor, Iftikar A. Ahmed, a general partner at the venture capital firm Oak Investment Partners, says the Muppies fill an “amazing need” in the community.

“It’s telling them that you can follow an American way of life while not denying the fact that you happen to be a Muslim,” Mr. Ahmed said. 

Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief executive of the giant bond house Pimco and one of the highest-ranking Muslims in American finance, said in an e-mail interview that he had never experienced “religion-based impediments” in his decades-long career. He said he would advise young Muslims to “seek the opportunities and firms that speak to their set of values, expertise and passion.”  

Left unsaid by senior Muslims, but understood by many Muppies, is that being Muslim can be an asset for one’s employer and clients. Muslim bankers, for example, may have to leave work at 1 p.m. on Fridays to go to the mosque. But they also may be less likely to rack up a huge bar tab on the company card and may be better positioned to compete for business in Arab markets.

“Rightly or wrongly, if you’re religious, you’re considered to have a reasonable degree of integrity,” says Sohail Khan, a managing principal at StormHarbour Securities and former trader at Citigroup. He says that his business expenses are often lower than colleagues’ and that he considers his lifestyle an asset in negotiating deals.  “When you’re the only guy at the table that’s not drunk, it’s a great weapon,” he said. “You know more than anyone else at the table the next morning.”

 Mr. Akbar of RBC agrees that “being a good Muslim helps you be a good banker” but acknowledges that the union of his religious beliefs and his work in finance has been less than perfect.

  “When I made a decision to pursue a career on Wall Street, there were certain things I knew I would have trouble reconciling with my faith,” he says. “I did some research, and I gained comfort that God is all-forgiving.”

For some, though, the envelope can be pushed only so far. Farhan Malik, Mr. Khan’s cousin and former Citigroup colleague, found his faith tested last year when asked to work on a trade involving British pubs. Mr. Malik, who does not drink, decided that trading so-called pub securities would violate tenets of his faith. He asked to be taken off the assignment; his bosses gladly acquiesced.

 For Mr. Malik, who has since left Citigroup and now works at a Bahrain bank that deals sukuk products in addition to more conventional ones, the notion of marrying Western bank culture with Islam’s demands came to feel like an uphill battle.  “If you’re going to go out for Friday prayers, if you’re not drinking, it’s like trying to box with one of your hands tied behind your back,” he said.

STILL, for the Muppies and other Muslims hoping to make it on Wall Street, the fight carries on. The goal, they say, is to be so good at their jobs that bosses and colleagues come to think of each as just another hard worker.

“Wall Street is basically blind to religion,” said Mr. Siddiqui at Thomson Reuters. “What it’s concerned about is deal flow, assets under management and transactions.”

Mr. Malik, the former Citigroup trader, said it another way: “You could be worshiping Satan. As long as you’re making money, they’re happy.”

How the Quran shapes the brain ?

 

"If it wasn't for their political problems and constant fighting between each other, the Muslims would have been on the moon by the 1400's" was the statement made by a non-Muslim professor in a 400-level undergraduate class on the history of science. It seems that the rate of discovery and advancement in science achieved by the Muslims was quite impressive and has yet to be replicated. What was it that they were doing that allowed for their fast progress?

The teacher in me immediately thinks about their education system, and the neuroscientist in me wants to examine the factors involved in shaping the brains of such a civilization. Interestingly, many Muslim religious scholars will say something about how the Muslims were the leaders when the Quran was the center of their education, and only when they abandoned the Quran that they lost their reign. The amazing thing about this is that while Muslim religious scholars are typically talking about spiritual and moral realities, there is actually a material reality to what they're saying, which takes place in the brain.

A quick disclaimer here: The list of all that is affected in the brain by the Quran and how that can influence other functions is quite exhaustive. But in the interest of keeping it short, I chose some major areas to present in this article.

Before getting into the brain and how the Quran changes it, one should be familiar with how traditional Muslim education took place. In case you're wondering where I'm getting this from, it's from reading the biographies of major figures of scholarship in the traditional Muslim world such as Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina, and others. This is also based on my personal experience and what I have been told by some of my teachers.
The very first thing taught to an aspiring student was the Quran, which had to be memorized completely. Unlike anything else encountered in spoken Arabic, Quran recitation is a very specific science. Local dialects of Arabic or different ways of pronunciation are not permitted when reciting the Quran. In fact, part of learning the Quran is learning what is called in Arabic taj'weed, which means elocution. The very first thing the student must do is replicate exactly how the teacher is reciting the verse. This refers to where individual letter sounds are being generated in the mouth and throat and where the tongue is to be placed exactly. Once this is done, the student writes the verse on a wooden board in the Othamni script, which follows different spelling rules than regular Arabic writing. The student then takes his board and goes away to memorize the verse. A typical memorization session for a beginner starts with repeating one verse multiple times as it is read on the board to also memorize how it is spelled using the Othmani script. The next day the student reviews the verse several times before returning to the teacher to receive the following verse. After repeating it with the teacher to ensure exact replication of sound and pronunciation, the student writes the new verse and goes away to begin a new memorization session. The third day begins with reviewing the first verse one final time, followed by the second verse several times before going to receive the third verse. On the fourth day the first verse is not reviewed anymore as it would have taken hold in memory, and the second verse takes its place for being reviewed while the third verse is repeated several times before going to receive the fourth verse. At the end of the week is a complete review session for everything that was memorized in the previous days.

As the days pass the capacity for memorization increases and the student is able to take on several verses or even pages at a time instead of only one or two verses. The writing using Othmani spelling continues, as well as the review sessions. Eventually, the whole Quran having more than 6,200 verses is memorized word for word with their specific pronunciation and Othmani spelling. Now the hard task begins as the student works to review all the verses on a monthly basis so as to not forget them. This usually means taking the 30 parts of the Quran as it has been divided to facilitate memorization, and reviewing one part everyday until all 30 have been recited by the end of the month.

It should be mentioned here that the Quran has 10 different modes of recitation. This refers to the placement of diacritical marks on the words and how certain words are pronounced. Some students take this task on and memorize the Quran in all the different modes of recitation, which requires a very careful attention to where the pronunciations are different so they're not confused with each other given how subtle they sometimes can be.

There are a couple of important qualities about the Quran that relates to how it sounds. Verses in the Quran rhyme and change rhythm often, which gives a pleasurable effect to the listener. Furthermore, as one recites, they're supposed to sing it rather than simply read it. In fact, the very practice of Taj'weed (elocution) forces the reciter into a singing tone as they enunciate the words of each verse.

A final note to bring up is in regards to the Arabic language and writing in Othmani script. Part of studying the different modes of recitation requires the student to write not only in an unusual spelling, but also to exclude the diacritical marks from the words. This would allow the student to learn the variations of recitation without having the diacritical marks visually interfere with their memorization of different modes of recitation. Moreover, the grammar of the Arabic requires the proper use of diacritical marks in pronunciation so as to not confuse things such as the subject and predicate. This means that the one learning the Quran must always keep track of how the words are enunciated so as to not alter the overall meaning of the verse.

How all of this relates to the brain is quite impressive. The brain is recognized to be a malleable organ that can change its connections and even its size of certain areas based on how active they become. Understanding how involved the brain is of someone learning the Quran using the traditional Muslim method can explain how they were able to achieve such success in their knowledge endeavors.
While learning the Quran, the careful attention to listening and pronunciation of verses stimulates an area of the brain located in the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is also where the hippocampus is located, which is the memory consolidation center. It's also the brain region activated for processing of musical sounds such as the case when the Quran is recited. Moreover, it becomes involved when the student engages in handwriting exercises similar to the ones on the wooden board. Where this matters is that this is the part of the brain whose activity levels and capacities have been correlated with a person's aptitude for learning new information. The more activation this area receives, and the more involved this activation is such as the case with the Quran, the better and more efficient it becomes in its functions for learning and memory.

The parietal lobes are also quite heavily engaged as one learns the Quran. The left parietal lobe deals with reading, writing, and functions in speech. It's also the part whose activity is important for math and logic problems. The right parietal lobe handles speech tone, which is related to elocution. It's also responsible for visuospatial relationships and understanding facial expressions. The front part is responsible for the sense of touch discrimination and recognition, which is active during handwriting. The back part plays an important role in attention. Both lobes are also activated during skill learning tasks. Overall, having parietal lobes that have been well activated translates to better logic and math-solving skills, eloquence in general speech, better ability at reading emotional states from facial cues, improved attention, and enhanced capacity for understanding visuospatial relationships.

This last one can explain why Muslims were so good at astronomy.
Other brain regions the activity of Quran recitation strongly activate are the frontal lobes and the primary motor cortex. The frontal lobes activity deals with higher order functions, including working memory, memory retrieval, speech production and written-word recognition, sustained attention, planning, social behavior, in addition to others. For example, as the student is reading the Othamni script, his brain must quickly decide on the proper pronunciation of the word, which without the diacritical marks means it must be distinguished from other possibilities that include not only wrong words, but also wrong enunciation depending on the specific recitation he's using out of the 10 valid ones. The amazing thing about this is that the brain after practice will do these things without conscious control from the student. This trains the area of the brain responsible for inhibition, which is important for social interaction. Children with ADHD have been shown to have this area to be under-developed.

Given the Quran's content that for example includes descriptions of individuals and places, it activates the occipital lobes, which are involved in generating mental imagery. This brain region is also important in visual perception. Becoming active as a result of generating mental imagery indirectly improves visual perception capacities since the area activated is within the same region. The Quran is also rich in its content for history, parables, and logical arguments, all of which recruit different areas that become more efficient and better connected as they are continually activated due to the consistent review sessions.

Putting all this together, it's no wonder Muslims were able to make such vast contributions to human knowledge in a relatively short amount of time, historically speaking. After the aspiring student during the height of Muslim rule has mastered the Quran, his education in other sciences began by the time he was in his early teenage years. Given the brain's malleable nature, the improved connections in one region indirectly affect and improve functions in adjacent locations. The process in studying the Quran over the previous years has trained his brain and enhanced its functions relating to visual perception, language, working memory, memory formation, processing of sounds, attention, skill learning, inhibition, as well as planning just to name a few. Now imagine what such an individual will be able to do when they tackle any subject. It makes sense how someone like Imam Al Ghazali can say he studied Greek philosophy on the side during his spare time and mastered it within 2 years.

What was the Muslims' secret for their exponential rise in scientific advancement and contribution to human knowledge? Literally, the Quran when it was the centre of their education system.