Whatever religion you are, let’s all try to do better and be more viligant. Citibank was doing dirt w/ loans to China for illegal settlements in Tibet long before the subprime meltdown.

the organization had a deal with two of the major banks to arrange mortgages at 1% below the prevailing rate. that is, the prevailing rate, at the time, for conventional mortgages, was 5% — to which, btw, many islamic councils also turned a blind eye.

something important to remember is that conventional mortgages in the united states means the same monthly payment, for or less, for 30 years, with any changes in the payments resulting from municipal taxes [ie the rates bill from the municipality] and not interest rates as dictated from the banks.

[you know, if you know what your housing bill is giong to be for 30 years, you can plan the rest of your life very easily. i got *really* burned by that when i bought my house here, that's for sure. eish.]

- mundundu
In my opinion, a model that offers 30 year fixed mortgage at 4% is the model that needs to be promoted and supported. Can you establish that organisation to Africa?

- Robin Grant
It is for this reason that Muslim thinkers such as Mahathir Mohamad have promoted the use of gold and silver as legal tender in place of ‘representative’ forms of money – gold and silver cannot be created out of nothing. Under the precious metal monetary system, no organisation has the power to create money without cost, and this is one important guarantee of stability in the monetary system – but alas something that, as you correctly point out, is unlikely to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

- Khadeeja
Perhaps I should have been more explicit as few have been able to read through the lines. But another important point to consider as a Muslim, is that regardless whether you believe Islamic finance is a farce or not, we do have an important role to play in the current climate – and by ‘we’ I mean all those that claim to have an ethical foundation in their lives.

- JohnTheBaptist
Thank you for your comments and good luck to you too. Ok. Thanks. Bye.

- Siobhan
Interesting points, thanks. The FT (cited above) claims that Islamic banks charge a “sharia premium, expecting Muslims to bank with them simply because (they claim) they are Islamic, and failing to provide competitive services.”

- Lyndall Beddy
Good points as well.
But as mundundu says, your ‘everybody is out to get the jews’ rhetoric is overly simplistic’ idiocy that messes it up.

- Jan Swart
The Financial Times, while not featuring on my list of favourite publications, does not make many jokes. There is a joke somewhere in this, but its doubtful you’ll ever get it.

- Ian
I agree with your concerns and criticisms – Prof. Rodney Wilson, quoted in my article, states that “the religious teaching underpinning Islamic finance is concerned with justice in financial contracts to ensure that none of the parties is being exploited.”
It is this justice and anti-exploitation that should be the main focus. The FT (cited above) also claims that “Islamic banks don’t have well defined corporate social regimes. Also, some have seen big rise in profits in recent years but kept the money for themselves.”

i used to do volunteer work with a first-time buyer’s organization in the united states and we sat down the leaders of various islamic councils and explained to them why we felt that permitting muslims to use our program to buy their first home would not be haram.

we came to an agreement that while they would not write down that it was okay to go through out program, they would give their blessing over the phone or in person to people asking advice.

at the time, i should add, if you went through the program, it was possible to get a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4% interest. FOUR PERCENT.

four percent is not usury. hell, bank charges for ordinary transactions often come out to more than that much, in toto, over the year.

—

lyndall: yet again, your ‘everybody is out to get the jews’ rhetoric is overly simplistic and needs to be thrown out. *all* literate people who did not have absolute fealty to the state were a threat, not just the jews. eish.

As lovely as it would be for those calling for Sharia law (dog help all of us if they get their wish) to believe that the capitalist system has collapsed thus justifying a move back to robes and bartering goods from pack mules, it simply is not true. The capitalist system never budged an inch and remains the defacto standard for progress and growth of a country. The banks played too hard and they got burnt and are now adjusting. Business as usual in a year or two. Sorry to burst the bubble.

In some distant future, Islamic finance and banking may very well replace the conventional systems. But before that can happen, the majority of the world population have to come to love Islam and Muslim.

Don’t forget the whole premise behind Islamic finance is “There is no god/God, but Allah. And Muhammad is Allah’s slave and messenger.” To appreciate Islamic finance one must appreciate Islam. Period.

I would very much like to see Islamic finance succeed because it favour the poor and it favours the risk being shared. We could all use some risk sharing. We don’t need someone earning 2300USD a month to get a 450,000USD mortgage loan. Ok. Thanks. Bye.

Good luck and Allah bless.