Are Islamic Investment Funds Complicit in Genocide?

A recent article accused Islamic investment funds of indirectly financing the genocide in Gaza by holding shares in companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and NVIDIA.

The article names platforms such as Wahed and Amana and raises a serious concern. If Muslims are investing in these funds, are they unknowingly complicit in funding oppression?

It is a powerful claim and one that should be taken seriously. But we need to step back and look at how investing actually works before jumping to conclusions.

This article breaks the issue down into plain terms. What is true. What is not. What investors can actually do. And what needs to change across the industry.

Are These Companies Actually Involved in What’s Happening in Gaza?

Claim:
“Billions of dollars, invested through allegedly sharia-compliant’ funds are quietly fuelling the companies enabling the genocide.”

Are Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and NVIDIA actually involved in what’s happening in Gaza?

Yes to varying levels.

Microsoft has provided cloud services used by the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Google and Amazon are both part of Project Nimbus, which supplies cloud and AI infrastructure to Israeli military and government bodies. Meta has been accused of suppressing pro-Palestinian voices on its platforms. NVIDIA supplies advanced chips that power Israel’s military AI systems and surveillance programs.

These are not fringe claims. Many of these partnerships are confirmed by the companies themselves in public documents and press releases.

So yes, these companies are involved. And yes, it is a problem that they appear in sharia-compliant portfolios.

Why Are These Companies in Halal Investment Funds?

Most Islamic investment funds do not pick individual stocks by hand. Instead, they track Islamic equity indexes created by third parties.

These indexes apply financial and business activity screens. They remove companies involved in interest-based finance, alcohol, gambling, pork, and adult entertainment. They also apply filters on things like debt levels and interest income.

What they do not screen for is ethical or political alignment. That means a company can provide cloud infrastructure to the Israeli military and still pass the sharia screens, as long as it does not breach those core financial and sector-based filters.

That is how companies like Microsoft and Google end up in Islamic portfolios. Not because fund managers think they are clean, but because the screening methodology does not consider these types of political or ethical issues.

This is a limitation of the system. But it is different from saying Islamic funds are actively choosing to support these companies.

Why Don’t They Just Remove These Stocks?

This sounds simple, but it is much harder in practice.

The top seven technology companies in the United States make up around 20 percent of the global stock market by value. These include Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, NVIDIA, and Tesla.

If you remove these companies from a fund that is supposed to track a broad index like the S&P 500, you are no longer tracking the market. You are building an entirely different portfolio with very different risk and performance characteristics.

Islamic funds are typically designed to offer sharia-compliant exposure to public equities. That means providing Muslims access to long-term market growth while avoiding core haram sectors. If you start excluding massive companies based on ethical or political criteria that fall outside the original screening model, you are changing the entire structure of the fund.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. But it is a different product, and it requires different expectations around performance, volatility, and diversification. Perhaps that is something public equities fund managers should be actively looking into – and how they can provide that for those of our community who would want to participate.

How Do We Define Complicity?

The global economy is deeply interconnected. This makes defining “complicity” far more difficult than it might seem at first glance.

For example, if an Israeli military unit uses Zoom to coordinate operations, does that make Zoom complicit? If a cloud provider hosts data used in drone targeting, are they responsible for how that data is used?

Once you start applying political or ethical filters to investing, the conversation becomes less about black-and-white answers and more about proximity, thresholds, and judgement calls. These are not always easy to standardise.

Also there are increasingly legal and political barriers for companies in the West. For example, in the United States, anti-BDS laws create additional complexity. Over 30 states now have legislation that penalises or restricts businesses that engage in boycotts of Israel. Many companies must certify they are not boycotting Israel to qualify for state contracts.

This legal pressure makes it difficult for large public companies to take ethical stands, even if they want to.

A well-known example is Airbnb. In 2018, they announced plans to delist properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Shortly after, they faced multiple lawsuits and were eventually forced to reverse their decision.

The lesson here is clear. Even when companies try to act on ethical grounds, the political and legal environment can shut them down.

Does Holding Shares Mean You Are Funding These Companies?

Let’s clear up a common misconception. When you buy shares in a company like Microsoft or Amazon through the stock market, you are not directly giving that company money.

That might sound strange, but here’s how it works.

When a company first lists on the stock market through an IPO (Initial Public Offering), it raises capital by selling shares to investors. That is when it receives money in exchange for equity.

But once those shares are in circulation, they are bought and sold on the secondary market. That means you are just buying shares from another investor and not from the company itself.

So if an sharia-compliant ETF holds shares in Google, for example, Google is not getting a check from Muslim investors every time the ETF rebalances. The money moves between investors, not into Google’s bank account.

That does not mean there is zero impact. Holding shares in a company can contribute to demand, which can affect its share price. A higher share price gives the company more leverage and reputation. It might also make it easier for the company to raise money in the future. It also personally benefits executive employees whose performance plans are often linked to stock price targets.

But let’s put that in perspective.

The total assets under management in Islamic equity funds is around $200 billion globally. That might sound like a big number. But when you compare it to the size of these corporations ( Apple and Microsoft are each worth over $3 trillion) the impact is minimal.

The combined Islamic investment in Microsoft is estimated to be around $600 to $700 million. That is less than 0.03 percent of Microsoft’s total market value. It is a drop in the ocean.

This does not mean we should ignore the issue. It just means we need to be accurate about the scale and mechanics of what is happening.

Let’s Be Honest About What Actually Supports These Companies

There is a deep irony that you can criticise complicity using a website that is hosted by Amazon, Google, or Microsoft, written by Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and on devices that are powered by Google and Microsoft.

These are not distant, abstract connections. They are direct commercial relationships. Every time we use these platforms and tools, we are contributing to their revenue, whether through subscriptions, advertising, cloud usage, or selling our data. 

That is a far more direct form of financial support than holding shares through a passive equity fund, where the company receives no new capital.

And we all use these tools daily for various purposes; education, work and entertainment.

This does not mean we should give up on boycotts or ethical screening. But it does mean we need to approach the issue with clarity. If we take an all-or-nothing stance, where any indirect involvement is considered unacceptable, we quickly end up in a place that is completely infeasible. 

It is like saying we must avoid riba and concluding the only option is to shut down our bank accounts and live entirely in cash. On paper, that might be more principled and laudable. In practice, it is not realistic or scalable.

Living in the UK, US, or most of the West also comes with unavoidable compromise. Our taxes fund governments that are complicit in the very actions we oppose. Should we leave? And if so, where do we go that is free from similar entanglements? The answer is not obvious, easy, or even possible for most people.

That brings us to the real challenge. It is not enough to say something is wrong. We need to also ask what the genuine, realistic alternative is. Without that, we risk falling into contradiction while making no meaningful progress.

Let’s Talk About Boycotts And How to Do Them Properly

Before we dive into what needs to change, we need to zoom out and ask: what is the actual point of a boycott?

It is not to feel morally superior. It is not to take the most extreme possible stance. And it is definitely not to waste time arguing about who is or isn’t “pure” enough.

The purpose of a boycott is to create real pressure. Economically, politically, and socially. That only happens when a large number of people take focused action in a coordinated way.

That means we need to be principled, but also practical. We need to be clear on our goals and realistic about our methods. A good boycott is one that is narrow, targeted, and strategic, not so broad that it becomes impossible to follow, or so vague that it loses impact.

This is why BDS campaigns typically focus on a small set of high-impact targets. The goal is not to find 100 percent ethical perfection. It is to apply meaningful pressure where it counts and create a ripple effect that moves the needle.

In short, this is not about personal purity. It is about collective power. And the more focused we are, the stronger that power becomes.

So, What Needs to Change?

The core issue is that current Islamic equity screens are not designed to handle modern ethical concerns. They were built to avoid obviously haram sectors, not to evaluate human rights or political alignment.

That clearly needs to change.

Muslim investors are increasingly concerned not just with riba and gambling, but also with the ethical impact of their capital – rightly so. Screening systems need to reflect that. We need new indexes, new products, and new frameworks that integrate both sharia compliance and broader ethical considerations.

And long term, we need to build. The real solution is to create more public companies founded and led by Muslims with values we trust. If we want to stop relying on compromised giants, we have to replace them with alternatives.

What Alternatives do Muslims Have from Investing in These Funds?

If you are uncomfortable holding shares in companies linked to oppression, you do have other options. But they come with different trade-offs.

A) Use Tools That Help You Avoid BDS-Flagged Companies

If you want to align your investments more closely with BDS principles, there are tools that can help. But they function differently and come with their own trade-offs.

Zoya allows you to screen individual stocks for sharia compliance and apply additional ethical filters, including those related to BDS. This gives you a high level of control over what you invest in. However, it usually requires building and managing your own portfolio, which comes with added risk, effort, and the potential for poor diversification. Unless you are experienced in stock selection, this approach can be difficult to maintain over the long term.

Amal Invest offers a simpler route. Instead of asking you to build a portfolio, it gives access to pre-screened portfolios that have been filtered for both sharia compliance and BDS alignment. This makes it more accessible for the average investor who wants to invest ethically without picking stocks manually.

That said, Amal is a relatively new platform. It has not yet been tested across full market cycles, and it may lack the track record, scale, or product range of more established platforms. As with any emerging investment platform, it is important to do your own due diligence and understand the risks involved.

Both Zoya and Amal deserve credit for tackling a gap the broader Islamic finance industry has largely ignored. But investors should be clear-eyed about the tools they are using and the trade-offs they are accepting.

B) Invest in Alternative Private Investments

Public equities get most of the attention, but they are not the only option. In fact, private markets are larger than public ones and offer a wide range of halal opportunities for Muslim investors who want to align their money with their values.

Private market investments are those that are not traded on public stock exchanges. This gives you more flexibility in what types of businesses or assets you support. The trade-off is that these investments are often less liquid. In other words, it may take longer to get your money out, and you might not be able to sell whenever you want, like you could with a stock or ETF.

That said, there is real depth and choice in the private market space. From gold to real estate to sukuk, here are six solid alternatives to public equities that are worth considering.

1. Gold

Gold has always been a favourite in the Muslim community, and with good reason. It is a real, tangible asset with a centuries-long track record of holding value during economic turbulence.

You can hold it physically or invest in it through sharia-compliant platforms or ETFs that give you exposure to the underlying metal. While gold prices can fluctuate in the short term, over the long run, it is a proven hedge against inflation and market instability.

Best for: preserving wealth, hedging against uncertainty
Keep in mind: it doesn’t produce income, and storage or platform fees may apply

2. Islamic Savings Accounts

Islamic savings accounts are a simple, low-risk way to grow your cash without earning riba. 

Instead of guaranteed interest, you are offered an Expected Profit Rate (EPR). While not guaranteed, UK Islamic banks have a strong track record of delivering on it. Profit rates range from 0.5% to 4% depending on the term and bank, and most accounts are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000.

Best for: emergency funds and short-term savings
Keep in mind: returns are modest and may not beat inflation over time

3. Sukuk (Islamic Fixed Income)

Sukuk are the sharia-compliant alternative to conventional bonds. Instead of earning interest, you invest in an underlying asset and receive a share of its returns, usually in the form of regular rental-style income.

Sukuk tend to offer predictable, stable payments and are often backed by governments or blue-chip corporates. They are a useful way to diversify your portfolio and reduce volatility, especially if you are nearing retirement or want regular income.

Best for: consistent income and portfolio stability
Keep in mind: returns are modest and sukuk options are limited

4. Real Estate

Property remains one of the most popular investments among Muslims, and rightly so. It offers the reassurance of a tangible, physical asset and the potential for long-term capital growth and steady income.

You do not have to be a landlord to benefit from real estate either. You can access property investment through funds, fractional ownership platforms, or development finance deals. This allows you to benefit from rental yields or fixed returns, without the admin of managing tenants. Cur8 Capital offer real estate funds and Wahed and Nester allow you to invest in single properties.

Best for: long-term wealth building, steady income
Keep in mind: it can be illiquid, and returns may vary depending on location and economic conditions

5. Private Equity

Private equity allows you to invest in businesses not listed on the public markets and benefit from their long-term growth. While the entry requirements are often higher, new funds and platforms are making this space more accessible. 

In our view, private equity will play a critical role in scaling the next generation of Muslim-led, ethically-aligned businesses. These are often companies that are already profitable or well-established, but need capital and strategic support to grow further. 

At Cur8, we’ve made forays into this space and have recently launched a pharmacy based private equity strategy where we are partnering with a Muslim-run pharmacy chain and helping them with their growth ambitions.

Best for: long-term growth, access to unique opportunities
Keep in mind: returns can take longer to realise, and capital is usually locked in for several years

6. Venture Capital

Venture capital is about backing early-stage startups with high growth potential. These are usually private companies solving real problems in tech, healthcare, education, or logistics. For Muslims looking to put capital to work in a way that reflects long-term vision and impact, venture capital can be a powerful route.

The upside can be significant as you are getting in early before the business scales. But the risk is also much higher than other asset classes. Many startups fail. Returns are unpredictable and typically take years to materialise.

That said, venture capital plays a critical role in building the next generation of Muslim-led, ethically-aligned companies. Platforms like Cur8 are beginning to make access to this space easier through managed funds and syndicates.

Best for: long-term impact, supporting ethical innovation
Keep in mind: high risk, illiquid, and not suitable for short-term needs

The Bottom Line

There is a real issue here. Some of the world’s largest companies are actively supporting oppression. And yes, some Islamic investment funds hold shares in these companies through legacy index structures.

But that does not mean those funds are intentionally supporting genocide in the same way most of us are not intentionally supporting genocide by using Amazon, Google or Microsoft. The system has limitations, and we should push to improve it. But we should also approach this with clarity, not just outrage.

If you want to divest, there are halal alternatives. If you want to campaign for better screening, that work is overdue. If you want to build better options, the door is wide open.

Boycotting injustice is part of our responsibility. So is building the financial systems that reflect our values.

References

• https://sarim.blog/
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/23/us-states-use-anti-boycott-laws-punish-responsible-businesses
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/28/what-is-islamic-and-halal-investment-is-it-on-the-rise