Sharia Banking Conquers Europe

The Brussels Journal ^ | March 24, 2009 | Thomas Landen

[GeronL]

Europe surrenders

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Mohammad Smith ?

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Dead or Alive, it seems Bin Laden won...

[Uncle Meat]

Do you get beheaded for overdrawing at a Sharia bank?

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[NorwegianViking]

I read an article a few days ago that said a northern state in the U.S. is starting to offer Sharia banking.....well, isn’t that swell?

[yazoo]

Hey, if someone wants to lend money interest free, go right ahead. It’s value to the nation can probably best be seen by looking at Muslim countries that don’t have oil. They are all dirt poor with very little possibility of upward mobility. It’s one of the main causes of poverty in Muslim countries.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Its proponents argue that Islamic banking is “ethically superior” . . .]

Even if this were true their “purity” won’t last long in the arena they’ve chosen to compete in.

[antiRepublicrat]

Sharia banking is the exact same thing as Western banking, only they need to jump through a few hoops to put justifications on top of it in order to supposedly make it in line with the Koran.

And taking interest is a sin. For example, drinking alcohol is really only strongly discouraged in Islam, and other minor things are the same degree of offense. But taking interest is a “damnation and hellfire” sin. Basically, they are following the letter of the law to get around this prohibition rather than following the spirit and intent. It’s kind of like a liberal lawyer picking apart the Constitution to see how he can ban all guns without “violating” the Second Amendment.

This might even be a good thing since they are bending their own religion in order to be more like modern Westerners. May be a good trend brewing here.

[leonid]

It’s one of the main causes of poverty in Muslim countries.

I am interested in how it is the cause of their poverty and what might the other causes be. Also, where did you get you doctorate in Middle Eastern culture?

[Fred Nerks]

“An Islamic bank granting murabaha credit to a customer for an automobile, for example, would purchase the automobile for the customer for $15,000 and the customer would owe the bank $20,000 in a year’s time. Similarly, under the ‘diminishing musharaka’ credit, the Islamic version of a mortgage, the bank and the customer purchase the property together. The customer must make monthly payments to the bank and pay a monthly rental fee, both based on the portion of the purchase price the bank still owns. Ironically, the interest this amounts to ranges between one and two percent higher than the interest on a conventional mortgage. Although the resale price of the vehicle and the rent paid on the house are akin to simple interest charges, the banks’ sharia boards legitimate the charges by renaming them ‘commissions’ or ‘profits.’”

everything you need to know about sharia banking...

[LucyT]

Hopefully, I’ll never need to know any more about sharia banking. Panama is beginning to look more appealing; wonder if they have dsl.

[happygrl]

The Camel has his nose under the tent.

"Take the Mark of the Beast..."

[Fred Nerks]

http://www.cpanama.com/

looks good to me...

[Made In The USA]

“Do you get beheaded for overdrawing at a Sharia bank?”

Not unless you pledged your 72 virgins as collateral.

The real question is: When a muslim woman walks into a sharia bank covered head to toe in a burka, produces a weapon, makes that insane yelping sound, demands all the cash, and dashes out the door.... does it really matter what the video cameras recorded?

[cerberus]

An Islamic bank granting murabaha credit to a customer for an automobile, for example, would purchase the automobile for the customer for $15,000 and the customer would owe the bank $20,000 in a year’s time.

The bottom line is that people will find a way to get around the "rules" and then rationalize their behavior. It sort of reminds me of the Catholic version of "fasting" where you can't eat a slice of bacon during Lent, but it's fine to devour a huge seafood platter (anti Catholic comment not!!!).

[AmericanVictory]

I gather this is because Islam has so led the modern world and in developing industrialization and the information age.

All those Islamic innovators and inventors! one marvels!

/s

[green iguana]

I would love to make Sharia loans, as they benefit the lender immensely. In a modern loan, I loan you $100,000 at 6% interest for 10 years. If you pay on time and to term, you end up paying me $133,225. If you come into money (or refinance into a better loan, etc.) and pay me off in a month, you end up paying just a bit over $100,000.

Sharia loans are 0 coupon (no interest.) You take out a loan for $133,225, which is due in 10 years (actually it would be somewhat more, as the implied interest rate would be higher due to the fact that the loan is a 0-coupon bullet.) I give you $100,000. If you decide to pay me off in one month, you still have to pay me the full principle - $133,225.

I would make that loan every single day.

[yazoo]

“Also, where did you get you doctorate in Middle Eastern culture?”

I’m not sure you have to have a doctorate in a subject to have an opinion. I lived in the middle east for several years, but that doesn’t make me an expert either. I have read numerous articles on the subject and a recurring theme was the inability of small businessmen to expand their businesses with loans. Most businessmen in the middle east have to do everything with the capital they have accrued from their startup business. The way most businesses succeed in most part of the world is by borrowing money against assets already gained from the initial business. Under Sharia law one cannot put up any property as a guarantee against losses. It stands to reason that if no one makes a profit from a loan, there aren’t going to be many loans available. Show me a Middle Eastern country that has an upper class based on small and growing businesses. They just don’t exist.