Arabic Banking/ Islamic Banking

I actually heared about the Islamic or Arabic Banking (IB), but I didn't really know what it all was about. And because I also don't have any idea of the economics it was a good start to get interested :)

So today I accepted to go to a debate about IB and it was very interesting!!

What is Islamic Banking about, well it's a kind of ethical banking but with Islamic laws. So it's a banking based on the Koran and the Sunnah, so actually the Sharia. That means that the banks cannot investigate in haram things such as alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, pornography, interests (because it is seen as a kinda betting thing) and so on. 

I think it was interesting to go there because they said things that are not written, you know in sites or such a things when you search for the real meaning of Arabic Banking. Like those things they said that I didn't forget: 

• That because there isn't a  you know kinda law about banking in the Islam, it are some scholars that got together and tried to find out a knew kind of 'helal (in the law of Islam)' banking, so they are actually taking the existent form of banking (capitalistic banking) and they are trying to make it Islamic. And because it's new there are a lot of things that are not yet to the point and that are still a bit difficult to arrange, but they are trying to do their best.
  
• What I also learned is that this form of Banking exists already in Dubai, Pakistan and Sudan  also in some London and USA banks and in Turkey you have a mixed system.. so I was actually surprised :)
  
• Even if the Islamic banking does show a lot of similarities with the capitalistic banking the greatest difference between them is that in the Islamic Banking they don't use the money for the money, they use it just as a middle. So they are not for the 'bad' profit, you know (even if there is still a profit,  the risks are not the same and the moral neither).
  
• As I said the moral aspect is different: do good for others and don't profit from pours. No investments in prohibited companies or products. It encourages tradings and so on ^^
  
• ANd a very important point in the Islamic Banking is that there is a kind of supervisor-thing, namely: the transactions are made by conventionalities (a mandatory Sharia board)

So as I said the Islamic Banking isn't fully developed and I don't think I mentioned every side of Islamic Banking but that's all I understood of it, I guess :)

Now there were some interesting questions coming out if the public like:

• How can you have an IB in a society where there are not only Muslims and where some of the things that are prohibited for the Muslims aren't prohibited for non-Muslims such as pork or armory and so on?
  --> The thing that they are going to do and I think that they are also doing in countries such as London  is that they make two separated money depots (I know I use stupid and easy terms but it's because I actually don't know a lot about it so excuse me ^_^).
  
  But there was also said that it is not because someone spends money on haram things such as pork or alcohol that Muslims can't trade with them. Because the Prophet pbuh did also trades with non-Muslims, it's not because something isn't haram for them and that they use the money for it and after that they want to do trades with us, that we can't. We just have to use the money like it is said in the Islamic way once the money is in our hands :).
  
  And for the armory thing, they said that if it was really needed, than there could be some exceptions. Like there can be some exceptions for people who want to open a society or something: well those persons need money and than they can do an exception.
  
• There was also a question who led to the conclusion that IB could have another name and that would lead to a more kind of ethical banking. There are also ethical banking's but they don't totally agree with the IB (in the way that they don't want to base something on a religion). They said that it would be better if IB had another name here in the western countries because of the secularity and that it could maybe then work better here in the west. The debaters totally agreed, they said that in a pluralistic country that way of thinking was normal and that if the manner of the IB could also exist but under another name it would be great. Also for the economy!

So that was quite everything I remember :)

If you want more information about it here you have an English site ^^

Afterwards I went to eat Lebanese with a friend and the Sharma's were delicious, we just enjoyed ^^

Young SOul