KARACHI: A meeting of Shura Hamdard Karachi was held on Wednesday at the Hamdard Corporate Head Office on the topic “Implementation of an Interest-free economic system. Is it possible?”. The meeting was presided over by former Justice Haziq-ul-Khairi. The meeting featured guest speaker Mufti Dr Wasie Fasih Butt, an expert in Islamic finance. The Hamdard Foundation Pakistan’s President, Sadia Rashid, was also present.
Haziq-ul-Khairi said it was a delicate matter that should be resolved in accordance with Islam’s teachings and values. “Pakistan faces economic turmoil due to an interest-based system, which has caused an uncontrollable hike in inflation, and economic hardships in the country,” he said. Dr Wasie Faseeh said that due to the successful business model of Islamic financial institutions, an alternative to the interest-based system had emerged. “Islamic banking has gained a strong foothold in the Islamic world, which proves that an interest-free economic model offers better options for economic growth and development,” he explained. He further informed the Shura members that globally the total volume of the Islamic financial market had reached above $1 trillion with a significant presence in the Gulf region and Muslim-majority countries.
Lt-Gen Moinuddin Haider (retd), the former governor of Sindh, remarked that it was ironic that Muslim scholars were unable to agree on the definition of usury (Riba) to this day. “In developed countries, interest rates are very low, which keeps inflation under control. Therefore, the issue of inflation will not be addressed by adopting an interest-free economic model, but by reforming and industrializing the country’s economy. Exploitation in the name of profit is strictly forbidden in Islam.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.