Learning from Islamic finance

A few months back Archbishop Rowan Williams faced a media outcry after speaking positively of certain aspects of Sharia law. It’s a shame that the debate was shut down in a storm of protest, because it has denied us the opportunity to look at Sharia principles more broadly, and see if there is anything applicable. If we did, we might take note of Islamic principles on finance, addressed yesterday on the Adbusters blog: What is at the core of the philosophy of Islamic Finance is the idea of money a measure of value, and not a real asset in itself. According to the principles of Islamic Finance, profiting from money–including charging interest on loans–is regarded as riba, or non-permissible investing activity under Sharia law. Instead, what Islamic Finance emphasizes is the idea that the investors should share the risks... [read full story]