The Islamic development bank

Extract

[...] The average bank In conventional Western banks, interest is seen as the main source of income for the banker. How then is it possible to work as a banker when interest is prohibited? Different answers have been provided for this question at different times, such as contracts or new Islamic financial instruments. Islamic contracts There are basically two types of contracts, which regulated all the needs for contractors of the pre-Islamic era. These were called and musharaka mudaarabah. Both were based on a sharing of profits and losses between the lender and the beneficiary. [...]

[...] What seems clear today is that the Islamic perspective, despite the desire to introduce a new balance of power and a new ethic that seem most likely to allow the development of Muslim countries, has significantly weakened the position of some banks, starting with the IDB, which has almost disappeared. This weakening is consistent, though at the same time, no Arab or Muslim has yet stopped the banks practicing usury from operating. In addition to growing concerns about the rise of Islamism, the accusations often made against these banks of providing support to the armed Islamist groups or terrorists weaken them even more. [...]

[...] Some Western banks, such as Citycorp or the Union Bank of Switzerland, have also developed "Islamic accounts" for their Muslim clients, including conditions and principles of operation that are consistent with the principles of Islamic law. The growth of these institutions has been phenomenal. In 1983, there were 34 such institutions in the world against 200 in 2000. The activity for these banks was significant and they managed to repatriate more than fifteen billion dollars in the late 1980s, which is nearly a third of the savings previously hoarded by Arab countries. [...]

[...] The Islamic Bank of Development 1. Birth and Development The birth of Islamic banks commenced with the decision to create an Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in 1974. According to its statutes, the IDB aims to foster economic development and social progress in member countries and other Muslim communities following the principles of the châ'aria. It promotes cooperation between national Islamic banks in assisting in the creation of Islamic institutions to finance joint development projects (especially in least developed countries), and promoting cooperation in the field of education and training. [...]

[...] In addition, the IDB is a shareholder in several Islamic banks and Islamic banking systems in many Muslim countries. This guarantees it considerable support in most countries. The organization of the Bank is defined and controlled by statutes that define the 9 bodies. The 10 finance ministers are the Executive Directors, and this constitutes the highest policy making body of the bank. It is important to note that if this is the representation of the ulema at the highest level, the bank was counting on the Fatwas issued by the doctors of the law to encourage new decisions or to change the scope of its action. [...]