How HSBC’s Sharia fund invested millions in Israeli war-linked firms

HSBC bought $130m in shares of firms linked to Israel’s military amid Gaza war in breach of Sharia compliance. Save Share The United Kingdom’s biggest so-called Sharia-compliant fund spent more than $130 million to buy shares in several companies linked to the Israeli military amid an ongoing genocide in Gaza, pogroms in the occupied West Bank, and occupation of southern Lebanon. HSBC, Europe’s second-largest bank, invested the funds through its Islamic Global Equity Index Fund in companies linked to Israel’s military supply chain – from components used in weapons to technology and equipment with military applications. The firms range from US tech giant Palantir to the world’s second-largest arms company, RTX. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 74,300 Palestinians since October 2023, including nearly 1,500 killed since a “ceasefire” was agreed upon last year. Israel’s war, which has devastated the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people, has drawn global condemnation. Investments by the HSBC fund raise several questions, including: can money marketed as being compliant with Islamic law flow into companies linked to the Israeli military? With more than $8bn in assets, HSBC’s Islamic fund channels the savings of investors, expected to be predominantly Muslim, into global equities screened against Islamic financial principles. The bank’swebsite for the fundsays it delivers “both investment returns and better outcomes for society as a whole”, describing its Sharia philosophy as “ethical investments that enhance society”. It is supposed to exclude businesses and financial practices deemed forbidden under its Islamic law screening rules, with oversight from a Sharia committee. HSBC says it has an independent Sharia Committee consisting of two internationally renowned Islamic scholars overseeing investment in the fund “to ensure compliance with Islamic principles”.