CHARGING FEES FOR FINANCIAL GUARANTEE: THE BASIC ISSUE

GUARANTEE FEES AND ISLAMIC FINANCE: WHAT IS THE BASIC ISSUE??

Islam prohibits charging of interest for money lending if such is contractually made compulsory on a borrower and as such has made it very clear that payment and receipt of interest made compulsory based on contracts between the two parties is prohibited. However the borrower is allowed out of his own accord without compulsion to pay more than what he had borrowed from the lender as a token of gratitude for the kindness rendered. Money lending must always be treated as a benevolent contract in Islam that its shall carry no interest charges.

CRISIS IN ISLAMIC FINANCE EDUCATION

Islamic finance as practiced today is a new phenomenon that is very interesting to look at not because it is related to the so-called growth  rate that is so impressive according to many reports of late. True that to a certain extent,  the figure normally quoted to support this claim of impressive growth is there to be appreciated but the basic question to ask is whether such an achievement is truly an achievement worthy of celebration.

THE EGYPTIAN DEBATE ON SUKUK LAW

THE EGYPTIAN DEBATE ON SUKUK LAW

The current Egyptian debate about the sukuk draft law that had been proposed by the government and tabled in the People Assembly and passed but rejected by some shows clearly that sukuk is such a topical topic in a country where Islamic finance was tested many decades ago even before many other countries started their Islamic finance movement. During the eighties of the last century, many would remember the controversy surrounding the so-called Islamic investment schemes that were mushrooming in the country including the famous case of al-Rayyan Investment  Scheme. The difference is that the government of the day at that time had a very different attitude toward Islamic finance and about anything Islamic generally.