Ann Paxton El-Moslimany

of using it to fund terrorism, making money laundering easier and its high volatility. However, none of these reasons intrinsically make it forbidden.

One of the stronger arguments is that people primarily use a cryptocurrency for speculation. But they also use many other currencies as well. According to fundera. com, in 2021 about 15,174 businesses worldwide accept Bitcoin. This means that even though it is mostly bought for speculation, it is also used as an actual currency.

So, in brief, Muslims can use it and other cryptocurrencies as a currency. The last, and perhaps most important, point is whether speculating on a currency is halal or haram. Currency exchange is permissible if the exchanger has a good reason to think that the currency will increase in value based on some analysis that does not resemble the psychology of gambling.

For example, people in Venezuela are using U.S. dollars through Zelle in order to avoid the worthless Venezuelan Bolivar currency. This is not considered gambling.

On the other hand, let’s say “A” has $10,000 invested in the stock market, which he daytrades regularly. His annual return is 10%. He withdraws it and decides to invest in Bitcoin and daytrade it, where his annual return is now 70%. This is haram, for he is clearly speculating on a currency, which is akin to gambling.

A final example is investor “Z” who does not believe that the U.S. dollar is strong. He invested a lot of money into gold thinking that the dollar will go down. He also invested a lot of money into the Euro, thinking that the European Union is a safer place to park his life savings. He then decides that gold is not a safe store of value for his money. He also notices the European Union collapsing due to Brexit, etc. He then uses all his gold and Euros to buy ethereum — a decentralized, open-source blockchain featuring smart contract functionality — instead and leave half of his life savings in there instead. This is most probably halal.

Whether Muslim investors can purchase a cryptocurrency depends on their intention and a legitimate analysis of why it is a better store of value than their local currency. ih

Shaykh Mustafa Umar, who has a bachelor’s degree in information and computer science (UC Irvine), a bachelor’s degree in theology and Islamic law (European Institute of Islamic Sciences, France) and a masters in Islamic studies (University of Gloucestershire, U.K.), is president of the California Islamic University and an executive member of the Fiqh Council of North America.

Ann Paxton El-Moslimany Scientist, Educator & Community Leader

1937-2021

Ann Paxton El-Moslimany, PhD, who along with her (now late) husband Dr. Mohammad El-Moslimany (1924-2003) founded the Islamic School of Seattle (ISS) in the late 1980s and which she led for forty years, passed away on January 25, 2021, after a prolonged illness.

El-Moslimany was a cornerstone of the early Muslim community in Seattle. In the early 80’s, ISS put into reality her vision of what a truly modern Islamic school would look like, infused with elements of Montessori learning and holistic education. She made ISS her life mission so that children of all faiths, racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds could have access to quality education.

She embodied the spirit and practice of integrated, holistic learning and Islamic values who helped many in her community and beyond. She is irreplaceable, but her legacy will live on in her children, students and fellow educators.

El-Moslimany (PhD in botany) was author of not only Islamic books but also science research papers, had taught in Kuwait University, Kuwait (1984-86) and Seattle Central Community College, Seattle (1986-1990). She was the author of “Zaki’s Ramadhan Fast” (1994) and “Teaching Children: A Moral, Spiritual, and Holistic Approach to Educational Development” (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2018).

Her book “Teaching Children” is considered a necessary read for Islamic school educators. In her book, El-Moslimany advocated for teaching the whole child, building foundationally from the concept of tawhid, while also drawing upon fitrah and activism. She commented on the value that an Islamic school can provide to the child in the book, “The time that a child spends in a full-time Islamic school can be thought of as a sort of incubation period if you will, if God wills, give him/ her the strength of character to comfortably assume a role in the world in which we live” (p. 23). Yet, she also highlighted, “The ‘ilm we seek to instill in our children cannot be a combination of two diametrically opposed views of life, but a unified vision of the truth” (p. 10), thus reiterating her approach to integrated, holistic curricula and pedagogy.

Tarek Dawoud, a former ISS board member, reflected, “She taught the kids ‘Since God is one, that means all creation comes from Him, all knowledge comes from Him, all people come from Him. There’s no bad knowledge, there are no bad creatures, there are no lower humans.” In a given unit, the students would be learning about the physics of space and gravity, the Quranic verses that talk about stars and the heavens and then famous Muslim scientists who contributed to the optics of the telescope and close with a science experiment to fire a rocket. Just beautiful holistic education where religion and science were not at conflict or taught in separate enclaves. A true pioneer and visionary who was decades ahead of her time.”

ISNA programs director Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad reflected, “Late Sister Ann was a great source of inspiration for Muslim educators all over the country and her community in Seattle for a long time. Her intellectual and financial contributions made many projects possible. She was a strong believer and generous person who had devoted her life to the cause of Islamic education.”

She was the mother of Ahmed Ramsey El-Moslimany, Rasheed El-Moslimany, and Samia El-Moslimany and a beloved grandmother. ih