بانکداری اسلامی Islamic Banking

Islamic Banking  System

Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity which is consistent with the principles of Islamic law (Sharia) and guided by Islamic economics.
In particular, Islamic law prohibits usury and the collection and payment of interest, also commonly called riba in Islamic discourse. Generally, Islamic law also prohibits taking financial risks (such as betting and gambling). In addition, Islamic law prohibits investing in businesses that are considered haram (such as businesses that sell alcohol or pork, or businesses that produce un-Islamic media). ......

In the late 20th century, a number of Islamic banks were created, to cater to this particular banking market.
Capitalism has been defined in various ways by different economic theorists, but is commonly understood to mean an economic or socioeconomic system in which the means of production are predominantly private and operated for profit, mostly through the employment of labor. In such a system, money dictates the distribution and exchange of goods, services, and labor in largely free markets. Decisions regarding investment are made privately, and production and distribution is primarily controlled by companies or businesses each competing and acting in its own interests.
According to Persian daily Hamshahri, although most developed countries are regarded as capitalist, some of them have been called “mixed economies“, due to government-owned means of production and economic intervention.
The difference, however, between Islamic banking and capitalism is in their perspective of money. In capitalism, money is the market asset and evaluated just like other assets in relation to its scarcity or impact on the production sector. The value of money in the capitalist economy is determined through interest rate. For the same reason and no other, the rate of interest is added to the final amount of total costs. From such a point of view, a fixed interest rate will always result in inflation.
In the Islamic banking system, banks use deposits to participate in investment schemes. Based on such a principle, and as per the banking law without usury, “profit share“ is allocated for the bank, and not necessarily a fixed rate of profit. Therefore, bank becomes a partner in profit-making or loss-making economic activities. Perhaps that is why bank profit rates in such a system are not considered to be inflationary.
In this respect, the banking system in Iran suffers from three fundamental flaws:
- In practice, determining bank profit rates is similar to the structure of capitalist banking than say Islamic banking Ð even though it doesn’t use all the existing tools in the capitalist banking system.
-Because of the fact that non-productive activities are much more profitable, part of the production loans always end up in such activities. Moreover banks are not sensitive about where their loans end up.
- The rate of “spread“ or the difference between bank profit rates and the interest rates on deposits is too much, even greater than those in the industrial nations or the developing countries. The rate in Iran was well over 10 percent in 2004.
In light of the importance of money and the banking system in the national economy, and also in an attempt to lift the existing barriers in the way of production, secure money for productive investment schemes, as well as taking the first step towards upgrading the banking system without usury, parliament ratified the bill to make bank profit rates single-digit. The bill was also ratified by the Guardian Council and is about to be implemented in the banking system nationwide.
The law is in pursuit of two fundamental objectives: Reduction of bank profit rates to a single-digit by the end of the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010) in an attempt to boost economic activities, and urging the banks not to ask for extra deposits or guarantees when participating in production activities or offering loans to this end.
The law will be implemented through a gradual process before going into mainstream to help create new production units, enhance production output, better the distribution channels, generate more new job opportunities, and speed up the process of sustainable development and growth.
It goes without saying that to implement any law will require a proper executor as well. The revival of banking without usury and implementation of the above-mentioned law would certainly require competent executors in the banking system, particularly in the Central Bank of Iran, who have faith in the law and its practicality, and also have the necessary capacity to implement it efficiently. 

( از سایت  iran daily )