Sunday, September 09, 2007

Swedish Banks Urged to Adopt Shari’a

Our Swedish correspondent Carpenter writes:

Stockholm’s local administration is actually lobbying for banks to institute “Islamic banking,” i.e. Shari’a-compliant loans (Muslims should pay less for loans than native Stockholmers — Jizyah, as it is called in the Koran).

Here’s Carpenter’s translation of the Sveriges Radio report on Friday:

Alvendal wants Islamic banking

According to Islam, it’s prohibited to receive or pay interest on loans. Therefore Stockholm’s integration council wants Swedish banks to offer so-called Islamic banking to the groups which, for religious reasons, don’t want traditional bank services.

Kristina Alvendal of the Moderate party is on the integration council of Stockholm.

“We are many Swedes who take cash cards, saving money for our children and buying our own residences for granted. But for many new Swedes [emphasis added] this is impossible today. Therefore, it is very important to inspire the banks. It’s about making it possible for people of Muslim belief to act the same way we do.”
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According to Islam, neither lending nor borrowing money with interest involved is allowed. With Islamic Banking, interest is replaced by permanent installments or by leasing agreements where the customer pays amortization.

Today, there is Islamic banking in fifty countries [the article doesn’t mention which countries; Saudi-Arabia? Syria? Jordan? Egypt? Exactly what countries should Sweden “enrich our culture” from? — translator] but in Sweden, the interest in this has been weak.

Mostafa Kharraki, chairman of Sveriges muslimska råd [Sweden’s Muslim council] hopes that Stockholm’s request will make the Swedish banks change their minds.

“I think it’s very good that [Stockholm] is trying to convince the banks”

But why should Swedish banks adapt to Shari’a?

“It’s not about that. It’s about giving opportunities to citizens [emphasis added] who live in this country.”

What could this mean?

“It means a lot. One gets more involved with the majority of the population, more engaged, and economically takes better care.”

13 comments:

ENGLISHMAN said...

Classic!It is because they are muslim that they do not act the same as we do.What i have always wondered is if ususury is forbidden, how will the banks make any money out of the deal?do they simply increase the charges for every-one who is not lucky enough to be a muslim,and we subsidise them in this as in everything else,and if ususury is so evil why are so many of the morons of the moon working in them.Personally i refuse to conduct my financial business with any-one who wishes to drag the paedophile or his master into my affairs.

Baron Bodissey said...

Englishman,

No, the Muslim banks have a very peculiar and legalistic way of getting around the "no interest" rule of sharia.

Instead of taking out a loan at a Sharia bank, you "sell" the bank some of your property. Later you "buy" it back, but at an inflated price.

It's a really stupid system, since it assumes that their god can be fooled by such juvenile legerdemain. But that's the way they do it.

Anonymous said...

Shariah mortgages cost more than traditional mortgages so I'm not sure why anybody would even want one.

Non-muslims won't be subsidizing the cost BTW, the extra cost are paid by the person receiving the loan.

Shariah mortgages

Fernando A. Ramírez Martínez said...

All this stuff of treating two layers of society in different ways says pretty much everything about their concept of dhimmis.

I wonder what's next. Probably 25% off on every good purchased on Carrefour by a muslim. But you know... just to make things easier for them

Unknown said...

If these banks have produts for muslims that are not available to other customers this will be plain racism and must be denounced as racism.
Racism against swedes in sweden.

Henrik said...

Moderaterna are worse than the social democrats! It's sickening!

Anonymous said...

Isn't the Moderate Party supposed to be a right-wing party? Or is there no such thing in Sweden?

Yorkshireminer said...

Shari banking is just calling a Rose by another name, what ever happens you still have to pay money for borrowing the money, the bank still makes a profit so there is no real difference. It is nothing more than an exercise in the use of synonyms and hypocrisy. Interest is transformed as if by a miracle into a fee or a commission. If anything it just shows the inability of Shari law to change, and the mental gymnastics that they employ to get around them, if the laws are god given you can't change them, but you can interpret them. This semantic farce is the result of trying to adapt to a changing economic environment.

Christianity has allowed laws to evolve and adapt to the emerging civilization. Parliamentary Government has evolved to facilitate this change. It is the main reason that the west has developed into an industrial society and Islam hasn't. The Majlis system of Government used in the Arabian peninsular is not a Government as we know it and should not be confused, it is nothing more than a Supreme Court passing judgement. The writing into the constitution of the Afghanistan and Iraq that Shari law is the law of the land is the biggest mistake the west has ever made, and has condemned the attempt to democratize these countries to failure.

Lynne said...

We (the US) have RINOs, republicans-in-name-only, they have MINOs, moderates-in-name-only.

History Snark said...

Now now, everyone. Remember: if you want muslims to feel accepted and equal, you must change the rules so they don't have to abide by them. If you don't, then it's impossible for them to feel "equal" and they just might start blowing things up.

finch said...

You're thinking about this the wrong way. This approach lets the infidels make some money off a community that consumes a disproportionate share of social services.
It also gives some of the Moslem clientele a greater stake in the existing system, and may make some them feel that Sweden is dar al ahd (land of covenant) rather than dar al harb (land of war), and hence not a necessary target of jihad.

Until the next cartoon's published, of course.

Profitsbeard said...

Back to Mecca with the mess of them.

They can pretend not to be charging interest on their own dime.

A shell game called Sharia.

R. Hartman said...

Totally insane Dutch Minister Ella Vogelaar was shocked to find we are having two parallel societies in NL. Most shocking for her was to find the Muslim society does not integrate because it does not want to. Well duh, they're colonists, not immigrants.

I'd say the situation would be quite a bit different if they'd had to work to survive, rather than get handed out Dutch taxpayer's money. Our finance minister, Wouter Bos, nicknamed Boslim, has advocated Sharia banking here as well. He's PvdA, in case I should still have to mention that. The most currupt party in NL, a bunch of cultural Marxists and egalitarianists at the same time. They should be tried for hight treason, as well as robbery, fraud and corruption.

Alas, no such luck, with politicians. But a citizen calling a cop a 'loser' gets fined 400 euro for that grave offense.