| One and a Million | | Print | |
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Page 1 of 4 By Atif Raza Khan Cash often speaks louder than words, whatever your financial wherewithal, there is always an opportunity to make a difference. The following are some ideas that each of us can resolve to do with $1, $100, $1,000, $100,000, or $ 1 million: $1Send a letter to your bank asking them to introduce Islamic banking to their product range, and if you currently use an Islamic bank, ask them to send proof of their Shari‘a compliancy, perhaps also requesting copies of the actual documentation they use in their car, home, and business finance transactions. Educated consumers and qualified scholars, not bankers, drive demand for high-quality, Shari‘a-compliant Islamic banking products. It is imperative that during the current Islamic banking boom, individuals and institutions begin to understand the basics of Islamic banking (“In Your Interest”, Islamica Magazine, Winter ) and learn to address some of the misconceptions about its authenticity (“Fiqh or Fiction”, Islamica Magazine, Summer/Fall ). Banks are highly customer-driven organizations that will do just about anything to safeguard their reputation and satisfy unmet demand. But while over three hundred Islamic banks operate worldwide, and dozens more open each year, the U.S. and the U.K. are home to but a handful of Islamic banks, and even these few usually only provide plain-vanilla home financings. |