ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Riyadh - The Islamic nation in all its stages has suffered under the weight of usury until recently since it had no other choice but to deal with the products of colonialism. Usury is a tool that was employed [by the occupational forces] to rob the nation of its resources and weaken its economy whilst creating a constant dependence on the capitalist system.
This was the case until a group of Muslims got together and with faith in the validity of Islamic Shariah and its suitability for situations regardless of time and place, took the responsibility upon themselves to find an alternative to the usury-reliant institutions. And thus, the Islamic banking system emerged and in the span of 30 years, such institutions recorded one success after the other and penetrated markets that had previously been impregnable.
And yet, there were some who viewed in this victory a defeat and attempted to sabotage the experiment. Under an economic pretext, they meticulously examined sources to find evidence to challenge and invalidate the legitimacy of Islamic banking – but came out empty-handed. All what they could argue, theoretically speaking, was that usury does not apply to paper currency because it cannot be valued against gold and silver.
Such people justified their claims by drawing on archaic and contemporary sources, in addition to some clerical opinions and the provisions of the monetary system – all of which were obsolete and could not be relied upon in this day and age. Meanwhile, prominent scholars and clerics have stated that paper currency could be valued against gold and silver.
According to the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the late Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Baz, "It is common knowledge among contemporary scholars that banknotes are valued against gold and silver [currency] since it [paper currency] gives commodities value and prices." Islamic Banking is a Legitimate Demand >>> By Lahem al Nasser | April 25, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
