Controversy

In Islamabad, Pakistan, June 16, 2004: Members of the party's Islamist politics in Pakistan, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) party, staged a protest strike to the National Assembly of Pakistan against what they called disparaging remarks by a minority on the bank of interest:



Taking part in the budget debate, MP Bhindara is a member of a minority [members of National Assembly] ... referred to a decree by an Al-Azhar scholar that bank interest was not to Islam. He said without interest the country could not obtain foreign loans and could not achieve the desired progress. A Pandemonium erupted in the house on his statements as a number of members of MMA ... rose from their seats in protest and tried to respond to Mr. Bhindara 's. However, they were not authorized to speak on a procedural motion that led to their walkout .... Later, the opposition members were persuaded by a team of Ministers ... to come home ... the government team accepted the right of the MMA to meet the minority member's remarks .... Sahibzada Fazal Karim said the Council of Islamic ideology had decreed that the interest in all its forms was haram in an Islamic society. Thus, he said, no member has the right to deny this issue is resolved [33].

Some Islamic banks charge for the time value of money, the definition of common economic interest (Riba). These institutions are criticized in some quarters of the Muslim community for their lack of strict adherence to Sharia.

The concept of Ijarah is used by some Islamic banks (Bank Islami in Bangladesh, for example) are applicable to the use of money rather than demand more accepted delivery of goods or services using money as a vehicle. A fixed fee is added to the loan amount to be paid to the bank, regardless of whether the loan generates a return on investment or not. The reasoning is that if the amount due does not change over time, it is profit and not interest and therefore acceptable under Sharia.

Islamic banks are also criticized by some for not applying the principle of Mudarabah an acceptable manner. When Mudarabah insists on sharing the risk, critics point out that these banks are eager to participate in sharing benefits but have little tolerance for risk. Some members of the Muslim community, these banks may be consistent with the strict legal interpretation of sharia, but avoid recognizing the spirit that has made the necessary legislation in the first place. [Edit]

The majority of customers of Islamic banks are in the Gulf countries and in developed countries. With 60% of Muslims living in poverty, the Islamic bank is of little benefit to the general population. The majority of financial institutions that offer Islamic banking services are mainly held by non-Muslims. With Muslims working in those organizations working in the marketing of these services and have little say in the day to day management of the veracity of these institutions and their services are viewed with suspicion. A Malaysian-based Islamic Bank to offer investment funds has been found that the majority of these funds invested in the games industry, managers of the administration of these funds were not Muslims. [33] These types of stories contribute to the general feeling within the Muslim population Islamic banking is simply another way for banks to increase their profits through the growth of deposits, and only the rich are benefiting inplementation principles of Islamic banking.