Islamic Mint

Thursday, August 14, 2008
Islamic Mint
This write up of the Islamic Mint explains exactly who the Islamic Mint are and what they deal in and is well worth while reading before you decide to buy any gold or silver coins from the Islamic Mint.

As always, it is prudent to do one's own due diligence before buying gold from any gold dealer or mint.

Who are the Islamic Mint
The Islamic Mint is situated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It produces the Islamic Dinar and Islamic Dirham.

Castiñeira is marketing director of the Islamic Mint, a private institution dedicated to reviving as international currency the coinage described in the Koran - the gold dinar and silver dirham.

E-dinar's British COO, Yahya Cattanach, and his family share a communal condo with Castiñeira in the comfortable Jumeirah district of Dubai. The company's Spanish president, Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, is also the president of the Islamic Mint. And finally, uniting all three men, as well as e-dinar's Swiss CEO, Malaysian CFO, and German CTO, is the fact that all are high-placed members of the Murabitun movement, a modern, Western offshoot of Sufi Islam and possibly the only religious sect in history whose defining article of faith is a financial theory.

The e-dinar's primary unit of account is 4.25 grams of gold. Officially, the Islamic Mint and e-dinar are separate organizations, but they're actually the off- and online divisions of a single project, joined by ideological and personal ties.

Their website is www.e-dinar.com

They are associated with E-Dinar Ltd who actually sell the coins. E-Dinar Ltd are based in Malaysia and Dubai.

They first began minting Minted first gold dinar and silver dirhams in 1992. In 2000 they Established formal organization and incorporated e-dinar Ltd in Labuan, Malaysia with a authorized share capital of USD 1.5 million. They received permission to mint coins in Dubai and have established mints in UAE and Indonesia.

They also have a Malaysian site at www.islamicmint.com.my.

More information about the Islamic Currency & Mint
In the beginning the Muslims used gold and silver by weight and the dinar and dirhams that they used were made by the Persians.

According to the Islamic mint website:

"Umar Ibn al-Khattab (second caliph of the Muslim also known as Abu Hafs Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Adawi, reigned from 634 to 644 CE) established the known relationship between them based on their weights: "10 dirhams must be equivalent to 7 dinars (mithqals)". The weight of a mithqal of gold is seventy-two grains of barley, so that the dirham which is seven-tenths of it is fifty and two-fifths grains. In the year 75 AH (695 CE) Caliph Abul Walid Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (reigned from 685 to 705 CE) ordered Al-Hajjaj to mint the first Dirhams and in 77 AH (696 CE), the first standard gold Dinar were minted. In the next years these coins were minted in all the regions of Islam. He ordered that the coins should be stamped with the sentence: "la ilaha ill' Allah" (Allah is Unique, Allah is Eternal). He also ordered to remove human figures and animals from the coins and to be replaced with letters. Gold and silver coins remained official currency in Islamic regions until the fall of the Caliphate in 1918. This indicates that the Islamic Gold Dinar was the currency of the Muslim community from its first years right up to the fall of the Ottoman Empire (Osmanli dynasty)."

Dr. Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, Pioneer of the Dinar's reintroduction and director of E-Dinar Ltd, is known as the designer of the current coins. He is also the author of books, written on Islamic finance and Economics. Among his books are "The Fatwa on Paper Money", "The Return of the Gold Dinar" and "The Esoteric Deviation in Islam", published by Medinah Press.

Islamic Mint Products
The wealth in these coins can be calculated directly by weight for zakah, marriage and hudud according to Islamic teaching and implementation.
Weights and Measures:
The Islamic Dinar 22K gold (.917) is equivalent to 4.25 grams 23mm diameter.
The Islamic Dirham 0.925 pure silver equivalent to 2.975 grams 25mm diameter.
Besides 1 Dirham in silver and 1 Dinar gold coins, 5 Dirhams in silver and 2 Dinars in Gold also exists. The silver coins show the Kaaba. (All the Muslims face the Kaaba during their five time prayers in a day, which is the second pillar of Islam. ) The gold coins also show the tomb of Muhammad.

The Islamic Dinar is now currently minted in four countries and being privately used in more than 22. During 1982, the Islamic Development Bank was prescribed by the IMF as a holder of Special Drawing Rights (SDR's). SDR's are a unit of IMF currency tied to gold. The Islamic Dinar, which is made of gold is a unit of account at the Islamic Development Bank, equal in value to one SDR.

It is possible to buy Dinar gold coins from the various Islamic mints such as e-dinar Ltd. You will need to open an account and provide the usual ‘Know your Customer’ proof of ID, or alternatively one could also possible purchase from the principal contact person of Islamic Mint: Mr. Thani Alromaithi. email: info@e-dinar.com. But I dare say he will also want to know with whom he is dealing.

In the beginning of 2008 the Islamic Mint introduced two more coins: 10 Dirhams in .999 Silver having 30g and 8 Dinar 22K gold having 34g. These gold and silver coins are also available for sale. Their main office is at Abu Dhabi and regional branch and private mint located in Dubai. Their functional website is at www.e-dinar.com/ and current prices can be seen at www.e-dinar.com/cgi/shop.cgi.

You might also be able to get them at gold and silver dealers.

Last Word on the Islamic Mint
The Islamic gold and silver coins are very impressive and outstanding in quality and the cost is not much above spot. But they are really designed specifically for use in the Islamic World.

When it comes to investment in gold and silver, one would be better off looking at gold bullion in the form of bars or even buying gold and silver from such places as goldmoney.com for example, for investment purposes.

More information on Islamic gold coins can be found at: Islamic Gold Coins.

If you have bought any Islamic silver bullion coins from any dealers please feel free to leave your feedback on the quality of service and products including any online complaints and special attention or service given by any dealers of Islamic gold and silver coins.