Fri, 24 May 2013
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Islamic banks seem immune from the current credit crisis. In the past few months, the ‘Islamic Dow Jones' has lost just a few percent, whereas the original stock market index has lost more than a third of its value.
Islamic banks are less vulnerable to the effects of the financial crisis because:
* The Islamic banking sector is relatively small and young
* Islamic banks do not make use of the inter-bank money market (frozen because of mistrust between banks)
* Islamic banks have no money invested in uncovered loans and financial derivatives.
Sharianomics
Riba, Arabic for interest, is forbidden. So all transactions involving the charging of interest are taboo.
Emeritus professor of international financing Hans Visser says that in addition, Islamic financing must always be linked to real transactions.
This means money will only be lent for "the purchase and sale of real goods and services. Trade in claims on money not linked to any real transaction is banned, as is the separate trade in risk."
In addition, no money can be invested in activities which are considered impure (haram), such as the production of alcohol, as well as gambling and pornography.
Exotic
Most people agree that the credit crisis requires a reorientation on current financial practices. The concept of Islamic banking may appear exotic at first sight, but on second thought it may not be all that far removed from ‘ethical banking'.
Islamic banking has failed to take off in the Netherlands, but has grown steadily in surrounding countries.
In the past few years, Islamic banking grew worldwide by 15 percent a year, and today has an estimated value of about 800 billion US dollars.
Islamologist Rodney Wilson says Islamic banks can serve as an example:
"To some extent it is a return to banking fundamentals. So a move away from the reliance on inter-bank and wholesale markets. We may see a model in which banks are much more constrained in what they can do and how fast they can expand by their own ability to attract their resources. I think that is not a bad thing."
However, not everybody is convinced. Professor Hans Visser points out that adopting the Islamic model could block economic developments. Taking out insurance against all kinds of hazards facing international business would become much more difficult.
"The economy would become much more rigid. Greater economic openness has brought enhanced growth but also greater volatility, stronger fluctuations. If you have free markets, you must accept that things go wrong every once in a while."
Laurens Nijzink
Radio Netherlands
Photo credit: RabunWarna
Back in my shell, and I'm still doing this - talking. A said to be representative of the British Government was saying on TV that recent interventions of Nato in North Africa have clear and reasonable aims. Should that mean that a political stability of a different ideological identity other than the usual (historical) West European one, has firmly and globally been established, it could in extension imply other things. Like eg. capital money must go towards solving pending migration pleas, based on a more or less similar human argument(as to be found in the great ideological migration afloat at this very stage) ,so that a more equatable parallelism arises. Your article about Islamic Banking is two years old; why have you not improvised on it for more reliable information. What is the place of a forthcoming anti-Islam film in all this economy or mixed model. Human resources come first even though I may be agreeing with the negative effects of this said to be more primordial Banking System.
Thank you, Buddies!? Do help save me, ha.
Back in my shell, and I'm still doing this - talking. A said to be representative of the British Government was saying on TV that recent interventions of Nato in North Africa have clear and reasonable aims. Should that mean that a political stability of a different ideological identity other than the usual (historical) West European one, has firmly and globally been established, it could in extension imply other things. Like eg. capital money must go towards solving pending migration pleas, based on a more or less similar human argument(as to be found in the great ideological migration afloat at this very stage) ,so that a more equatable parallelism arises. Your article about Islamic Banking is two years old; why have you not improvised on it for more reliable information. What is the place of a forthcoming anti-Islam film in all this economy or mixed model. Human resources come first even though I may be agreeing with the negative effects of this said to be more primordial Banking System.
Thank you, Buddies!? Do help save me, ha.
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