http://middleeast.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/09/07/on-islamic-finance/ The World Affairs Blog Network Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:31:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 http://middleeast.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/09/07/on-islamic-finance/comment-page-1/#comment-1382 Middle East » Blog Archive » on the relative merits of Islamic finance Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:30:53 +0000 http://middleeast.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/09/07/on-islamic-finance/#comment-1382 [...] Lahem al Nasser, a frequent commentator on Islamic finance, has an opinion piece in Al Sharq al Awsat (English) contending that, had the West followed Islamic banking restrictions, the current banking crisis would not have been. The Economist’s briefing of several weeks ago asserted something similar. The two perspectives diverge on the relative merits of Islamic finance’s relatively cautious structure: since ‘gambling’ and ‘usury’ are forbidden in Islam, in varying degrees depending on who you ask, selling something you don’t actually own (e.g. mortgage-backed securities), would not take place. Of course, this necessitates a minimum of risk, perhaps minimizing profits. [...] [...] Lahem al Nasser, a frequent commentator on Islamic finance, has an opinion piece in Al Sharq al Awsat (English) contending that, had the West followed Islamic banking restrictions, the current banking crisis would not have been. The Economist’s briefing of several weeks ago asserted something similar. The two perspectives diverge on the relative merits of Islamic finance’s relatively cautious structure: since ‘gambling’ and ‘usury’ are forbidden in Islam, in varying degrees depending on who you ask, selling something you don’t actually own (e.g. mortgage-backed securities), would not take place. Of course, this necessitates a minimum of risk, perhaps minimizing profits. [...]

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