Few will regret the demise of the PFI contracts that enabled big firms to make unjust profits. As a replacement, the SNP administration has devised the Scottish Futures Trust, which it claims will provide better value for expanding public infrastructure.
Alex Salmond hopes that Islamic financing sources can be tapped into in order to address not only infrastructure needs but perhaps also his ambitious plans for the energy sector.
There is no reason why Scotland should not benefit from investment originating from the Middle East, as long as it does not come with costly strings attached. What if one of the primary uses of Islamic finance will be to fund state schools with an overt Islamic ethos? The first minister publicly gave the go-ahead for such schools when he was the chief speaker at the launch of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation (SIF) this summer. The SIF is dominated by SNP activists and it has been awarded generous funding while most other Scottish Muslim groups have been turned away. The government believes this patronage demonstrates its commitment to celebrating diversity but the SIF scarcely hides its monolithic approach to Scotland's Muslims. It believes their religious identity is paramount but has little time for diverse strands of Islam which conflict with its narrow world view.
A look at the statements from Osama Saeed, the chief executive of SIF and the SNP candidate for Glasgow Central indicates that he shares much of the world view of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) which is committed to establishing theocratic states across the Muslim world.
It's time for those who don't want to see Scots forced into narrow religious postures to carefully scrutinise the SNP's plans for Scottish Muslims. Perhaps the SNP aims to ensure that they fall under the sway of activists who make the younger generation conform to a rigid form of Islam. This might convince investors linked to conservative Middle Eastern interests that Scotland is receptive to their favoured brand of Islam. But it will be a tragedy if Muslims who came here to escape the restrictions of their own societies find their children are being groomed for a very different existence. The SNP's economic plans surely don't entitle it to play God with the future of an important and valued group of young Scots.
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