Islamic Banking (7)—Sookhdeo Continued

Post 37--:Is

Today we continue the enumeration of problems  associated with Islamic banking as listed by Sookhdeo.

 Why non-Muslims are drawn to Islamic Banking

§       In some countries non-Muslims are drawn to these banks; some, because of good profits; others, because they regard the system “as more ethical, fair, and stable” than the “predatory” Western institutions (pp. 52, 56, 76, 78).

Copies of Western Banks

§       “Contrary to their goals, the tendency is for the emerging Islamic economy to be driven by market forces and to become an integrated subdivision of the Western-dominated global economy.” Some see it as just copies of Western institutions (p. 55).

Creating Artificial Needs and Wants

§       “It is clear that the Islamist movements have artificially generated the need and demand for sharia finance” (p. 79). Boer: If Sookdheo does not object to the ways of Western banks and business in general, why should he object to this feature in Islamic banking? They both do the same thing: Create artificial needs and wants.  The goose and gander kick in once again.

Driven by Politics, not Religion

§       The demand for this system “is not a purely religious phenomenon.”  Sookhdeo holds the “assumption that sharia finance is a politically-driven Islamist invention masked in religious idiom” (p. 79).

Pre-eminence of Divine Directive

§       In spite of the negatives listed above, Sookhdeo admits that to Muslims the sharia connection, “this divine directive,”  “is the preeminent point and the final say in the matter” (p. 53). 

Issues to be Considered by Western Governments

§       The final paragraph in Sookhdeo’s book:  The response of governments and other authorities to this process requires urgent and sustained attention.  Detailed recommendations cannot be provided here, but we suggest that it would at least be prudent for Western governments to exercise more discernment over their…support for sharia finance, at least to the extent of recognizing…its vulnerabilities and in particular its lack of external accountability. At a time of intense debate in Western countries over the proper role of religion in public life, the possibility of sharia finance’s giving to Islam an inappropriate influence over financial and economic policy must also be acknowledged. Political, economic and financial institutions are wise to take note of any possible threat to their own systems, and to provide necessary checks and balances before it takes effect. The provision of rigorous regulatory mechanisms for Islamic practices and products, according to internationally accepted norms, must therefore be a priority (pp. 56-57).  

Summary of Islamic Banking in Various Countries

§       I would urge you to read Appendix 2-4 in Sookhdeo’s book, where he gives a summary of sharia banking in many countries, Muslim, Western and Asian non-Muslim.  It is very enlightening to see how countries react so differently. 

I want you to realize that though his is a very helpful book, it is not an objective book: It is part of Sookhdeo’s anti-Islamist struggle and thus selective in the topics discussed. Do not look for anything positive or supportive. Such a book is legitimate and I do not criticize Soohdeo for it. In fact, I recommend the book highly, especially for Nigeria that is presently trying to give birth to Islamic banking. Much of his critique of the system is derived from Muslims themselves.

But—and this is a criticism--it is also infused throughout with the semi-secularist dualism so common to evangelicals, that shines through all of Sookhdeo’s work and that partially derails it. While he totally condemns Islamic banking, he does not utter a single critique of the secular Western banking system that has only recently cast the world into an unprecedented downward spiral due to its avarice and carelessness. Sorry, not quite true. There is that one exception of one single word: Sookdheo refers to the Western system as “predatory.” Profoundly true. But that’s it.  For the rest, the Western system is implicitly upheld as the standard to which Muslims should conform. Well, that is Evangelicals for you and other Christians afflicted with this semi-secular dualism. It is a serious critique. Missionaries have exported the same worldview into many countries and saddled the church with it. The result is a clumsy and inadequate response on the part of many Christians to Islam.

In spite of that serious critique, Christians, moderate Muslims and governments need to ensure that the budding Islamic banking sector is not in any way tied to militancy and terrorism, whether internally or globally.  Sookhdeo demonstrates very convincingly that much of this sector has such connections. It is the reason some Muslim countries are either cautious or have rejected it altogether.  Any such institution must be shut down immediately with zero tolerance, for if left to operate, it will be like a cancerous worm that will be difficult to eradicate once it has settled in. 

Islamic Banking (6) Further Sookhdeo Claims and Assertions

Post 36--:  I   

Wonderful Summer Weather

It’s been and still is a wonderful summer here on Canada’s West Coast, though it was unusually slow in starting.  I have loved it and spent a fair amount of time—weeks in fact—away from my desk and, hence, away from this blog.  Visiting our kids and families in WA and near SF in CA with days of RV-“camping” in between.  Since then, “backyard” RVing in southern BC—with more to come.  If you like a moderate climate without extremes of heat and cold, then BC’s south-west coast and much of Vancouver Island is the place to be. So a bit of a lull, but one you can understand, I believe.  But, while it’s still great summer stuff in the middle of September, here I am, once again slogging/blogging it out.  Welcome to Fall. 

Back to Sookhdeo

Back to Sookhdeo’s claims and assertions re Islamic banking.  They are interesting and challenging.  He worked them out very carefully, which is not saying I support all he writes:

Connection to an Islamist Agenda

§                 Islamic banking is part of the Islamist agenda, to gain support for radical Islam and terrorism and to promote Muslim separatism and even world domination.  Sookhdeo’s list of prominent members of sharia banking boards in the UK are mostly  members of Islamist organizations either with direct terrorist connections or with terrorist offspring. Among the groups he lists is Pakistan’s Jama’at-I-Islami. That should sound familiar to all Nigerians. Would the similarity with their own Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI) be purely accidental?  

Moderate Connections?

§                 In the West, these financial institutions “appear outwardly moderate, while secretly pushing for radical goals.” “Although the larger movements [in the UK] claim they are committed to legal methods to attain their goals, their ideology has spawned many radical groups and terrorist organizations” (p. 41).

Inverted Tradition

§                 It is an “invented tradition.”  Such rigid views about interest and profit were not the norm in earlier centuries (pp. 9-10).

Based on Legal Tricks

§                 The system is based on “legal tricks, the interest simply being hidden and relabeled. It has been described as “deception” (pp. 23, 25, 32, 37-38).

Lacking Accountability and Transparency

§                 The system lacks normal and proper accountability and transparency protocols and is not subject to a “robust regulatory framework.”  It can more easily conceal its activities than can Western-type banks. Corruption is a serious problem (pp. 42-47, 51, 63).  

Violates Spirit of Sharia

§                 It “violates the spirit of sharia and may facilitate the activities of criminal financial actors,” including money laundering (pp. 23, 42-43).

Creates Muslim Captive Market

§                 It is a tool to create a “captive market” of Muslims who will deal only with Islamic banks, separates Muslims from the economic main stream and exploits them. Even the British involvement is aimed more at attracting huge amounts of petrodollars than in meeting the demands and needs of the British Muslim community. The latter is “used simply as a pious cover” (pp. 25-27, 79).

Fails to Relief Poverty

§                 Islamic economics, including banking, have “dismally failed in relieving poverty” in Muslim countries (pp. 25, 55).

Not Based on Muslim Concensus

§                 Western bankers and other authorities falsely assume that Islamic banking represents the consensus of the entire Muslim community. In fact, most Arab governments “were at first hostile or ambivalent….” Even today Libya and Morocco refuse them licenses, while some other North African governments “are extremely cautious in their approach….” These negative reactions are due to the perceived links of the system to Islamism.  Oman does not allow Islamic banks “because it believed banks should be universal, not specific.” 75 per cent of British Muslims are said to be “indifferent to sharia finance and that there was no automatic demand for it.” 83 per cent “questioned the necessity” of it.  50 per cent wondered how Islamic these institutions really are (pp. 38-39, 61, 69, 78-79).  

Confusion Caused by Different Traditions and Interpretations

§                 Different sharia traditions and interpretations by various scholars cause confusion (pp. 45, 50-51). 

Shortage of Experts Leads to Extortion

§                 The entire system is dependent on sharia experts in Islamic finance. There is a great shortage of these so that a small body of experts are found on many boards across the world. Some up to 30!  They charge up to $10,000 per hour! (pp. 49-50)

NOTE:  The pagination in the above paragraphs refer to pages in Sookhdeo’s Understanding Sharia Finance.  You can find these summaries in my series Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 8, chapter 9).

Islamic Banking (4)

Post 34--: 

Sorry for the interruption on this series, but now we're back on track.  I cannot predict at this point how long we will keep going on this subject.  It's a biggie, though most of us may not yet have experienced any of it personally but have only read about it. But it's coming and it may not be long before you will have Islamic banking as your system of choice.  It may not necessarily be a specifically Muslim bank you are looking at. It could be a main stream bank that has incorporated Islamic accounts or even whole departments in its offerings.  Even with Muslim-controlled banks of this nature, you generally do not have to be Muslim to conduct your banking business with them any more than you have to be a secularist to deal with secular capitalist banking. If you want to know my sources or you want more details, I refer you to my volume 8-2, chapter 9.  You can find that on < lulu.com > under e-books.

I apologize for the strange way in which the text overlaps the left margin.  It has something to do with copying it from that book. It will not budge, try as I may.  That brings with it the difficulty that I cannot edit the material across the border while in the editing mode, for I cannot see it.  If you, my reader, have any advice on correcting this, please offer your help. I am not proud, at least not in this respect.  Even this morning my 11-year old granddaughter Asia Tanis had to advice me on a certain procedure. The first time she served as my advisor was eight years ago. She was three at the time!

Blind Condemnation

There are many Westerners, including Christians, who look at

the proliferation of sharia banking in theWest with ColdWar eyes.

They see an ever-advancing Islamic bulldozer that they fear will

eventually take over the banking and business sector along with the

rest of life. Hence, sometimes without doing any careful analysis as

to its merits and demerits, they simply condemn it and implicitly

put their stamp of approval on the secular banking establishment.

16 The attitude of these Christians is as astounding as the

shamelessness of capitalism’s economic captains and as amazing as

the failure of the US Government to monitor these developments

before they unfolded. Blindly prefer that kind of raw secular system

over a system that puts ethics at the front, ethics, moreover, that

show affinity with Christian thought?

Patrick Wood's Miracle
Patrick Wood, founder of an online magazine, The August

Review, published a long harangue that begins with a Biblical quotation.

Then comes a description of sharia and its banking system,

all in a spirit of the crudest hostility. Then the story about

howWestern banking systems are incorporating sharia into their

operations. And then the clincher: “International bankers have

long ago proven themselves to be completely amoral when it comes

to money. They bankrolled the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918 just

as blithely as they bankrolled Hitler in the 1930’s.” And this

“Christian” prefers that raw amoral system to one that has some

ethical balls?! Without any responsible analysis and comparison? It

really is unbelievable. If I did not believe in “miracles” before,

Wood has just forced me.

BanC

Connections with Terrorism?

True, Wood did allege connections between sharia banking,

Wahabi school of Islam and even terrorism. Initially I was instinctively

inclined to doubt that, given his wild kind of presentation

and the merger in process with the Western banking systems.

Surely, I first thought, Western banks would be aware of such connections

and guard against them. Upon second thought, ifWestern

banks supported the Bolsheviks and the Nazis, what would prevent

them from supporting today’s terrorists? If the bottom line is not

ethics or service but money…. Wood totally puzzles me. If he

rejects sharia banking for their connections with terrorism, why

would he support the “amoral”—his own term— Western system

that had similar terrorist connections in the past if not in the present?

Things just don’t add up!

Islamic Banking (3)

Post 32  

While the last two posts presented you with two different Nigerian viewpoints on Islamic banking, today I begin to share with you some of my own perspective.  My material is laced with quotations from my book Christians and Muslims: Parameters for Living Together (Vol. 8-2 of my Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations, ch. 9.  Remember, you can access it free of charge from  < www.lulu.com > by just typing  < jan h boer >).  Since it is both a rather complicated and important subject, I will be dealing with it in a number of posts, though I have not planned it well enough to predict how many.  

Wisdom of Islamic (and Canadian) Economies

That Chapter 9 begins with a quotation from Amr al-Faisal, a board member of a holding company that owns several Islamic banks and other financial institutions:

The ugly side ofWall Street is exposed; it’s always been there but

covered by a layer of glamour that is now stripped away. We are

more conservative and sober in our investments. That used to be

considered a handicap. Now it’s considered the height of wisdom (p. 313).

I know, quoting is a kind laziness, something that will get me nowhere, as the saying goes.  But I did want to share this quote from the midst of the recent economic tsunami—November, 2008.  If you did not know the origin of this quote, you might have surmised that the speaker was describing the Canadian situation at the time.  Canada, too, had been more conservative in its investment policies and was sometimes sneered at by its more adventurous cousins south of her border, but it came out of the tsunami with comparatively flying colours, more so than any other major Western economy.  It turned out that “adventurous” really was a mask for recklessness, a feature that Islamic banking allegedly avoids.  OK, so laziness will get me nowhere, but a bit of patriotism won’t hurt.  With those overwhelming and boastful neighbours to our south, our Canadian self-image needs such a lift occasionally.  So far the digression.  Phew! Got that off my chest!

Why the Call for Islamic Banking

Returning to Nigeria, why would her Muslims clamour for Islamic banking?  That call was heard from way before the recent tsunami and way before anyone had ever heard of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the scholarly chief of the Central Bank of Nigeria who is currently spearheading the drive for Islamic Banking.  For the latest here, I encourage you to check the internet under headings like “Nigeria: Islamic (or: Sharia) banking” and you will get an eyeful. 

A Nigerian Muslim scholar, Ibrahim Sulaiman, explains what initially prompted the call of Sharia banking:

  

Colonialists found a viable legal and economic system in place in what became Northern Nigeria. The British undermined the sharia legal system and largely replaced it with foreign British Common Law.  That is indeed what happened, but not only in the legal world. Sulaiman explains that the same process took place in economics. The British replaced the indigenous Muslim economic system with capitalism. Among the educated elite with their colonialized mentality, the Muslim approach to economics was slowly forgotten. He wrote, “If Nigeria does not know the nature of the Islamic economic system, then she has an obligation to learn it with a view to applying it. Ignorance of a system which still influences the lives of the majority of this nation’s people is an unspeakable national disgrace. Must anyone be surprised that Nigeria has sunk into an economic disaster?” Please turn to volume 4 of my series, appendix 6, where Sulaiman argues for Muslim corrections to Nigeria’s economic system. Among others, he proposed that Muslims must create a Muslim banking system (pp. 314-315).

Call for Decolonization

Having written that 8-volume series as well as a tome of a doctoral dissertation on colonialism in Nigeria and a couple of other books on related subjects (see the Boeriana page on my  < SocialTheology.com > ), I can vouch for the accuracy of Sulaiman’s explanation.  That’s exactly what happened.  And that’s a major reason I am sympathetic towards the Muslim call for Islamic banking, for the Nigerian experience is a common one where, over the decades and even centuries, capitalism in its colonial and subsequent editions suppressed Islamic economics and imposed its own Western system. Many Muslims now have woken up from their slumber and recognize the poison pill they had been dealt.  The call for sharia banking is at least partially a call for the continuing liberation of the Muslim world from colonial shackles. 

Need for Christian Support

Though Christians largely supported colonialism in the past, they have since come to recognize colonialism for what it really was and therefore now recognize it as an evil arrangement that should never have been and that they should never have supported to begin with.  Since Christians now sympathize with all attempts at undoing colonial situations, including those practiced by non-Western nations, they should also be more sympathetic towards the Islamic banking movement, since that is part of the de-colonization movement, of the liberation that Sulaiman is talking about.

Liberation, de-colonization, allowing a people their own culture are today recognized as issues with which Christians would naturally sympathize. They have become part of our “common sense” or “shared values” that few people will challenge today. That being the case, Islamic banking should get a more sympathetic ear from them. 

Of course, this is not the only issue.  Others will follow in succeeding posts.  Curious? Stay with me.

Islamic Banking: Campaign Of A CBN Governor Or Kano Prince

Post 31

The previous post featured an article on Islamic Banking in Nigeria by my friend Dr. Aliyu Tilde, a Nigerian Muslim journalist.  Today I feature an article with quite a different perspective by Ifeanyi Izeze, also a Nigerian.  The next post will be written by yours truly. I will give my perspective on the subject.   At this very point, this is a hot issue in Nigeria right now.  A Nigerian correspondent friend of mine is currently forwarding numerous articles on the subject to me.  However, it is also causing debate in the West, where it is a growing institution.

So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome:

Ifeanyi Izeze

Honestly, the controversy the said commencement of Islamic banking in Nigeria has generated was not only unnecessary but caused because the man in charge could not decipher that the disposition and carriage of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should be entirely different from that of a Kano prince who sees himself as an emir in waiting.

Sanusi Mischief? 

Most Nigerians think the Islamic finance concept was ‘crazy’ simply because of the way the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has gone about it with pronouncements and attitudes that painted a hidden sectional agenda. The timing and spirit behind Sanusi’s disposition obviously paints a picture of mischief. Initially, I belonged to this group until I studied the principles of the banking model.

 
Keeping Religion out of Banking

Lending money to people without interest is also in the Bible so there is nothing Islamic about lending money without interest. It is also biblical. But the question is why not outrightly call it interest- free banking system? Must it be Islamic banking or Christian banking or some other kind of religious banking? We must not bring religion into our political setting or our economic life. This is what we have to guard against as a people with common destiny except we are not. 

Sanusi for himself, government or Islam?

Although the concept of a non- interest banking system might be a very good idea, it’s introduction obviously has proven to be wrongly timed by the CBN governor.  Judging by the displayed disposition of the CBN governor, it would have made a better sense if he had done this advocacy for Islamic banking as a religious leader rather than as a federal government official.  There is need for Sanusi to come out and tell the nation whose errand he is running and for who he speaks; is it for himself, Islam, or government of Nigeria?

Christian Opposition

We all should be concerned that this act coming now is further tearing us apart along ethno-religious lines. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has already called on government to stop Sanusi “before he throws Nigeria into financial and even religious fire.” The PFN is afraid that the primary interest of the CBN Governor as far as this Islamic banking matter is concerned is nothing other than positioning Islamic religion and pushing sharia agenda to the front doors of most Nigerians. While some Muslims see others’ (Christians) refusal of Islamic banking in today’s Nigeria as a distaste for Islam. This situation would have been avoided if Sanusi had seen himself more as the CBN Governor than a Kano prince and an emir in waiting by his pronouncements and displayed arrogance.

Bad timing

All well meaning Nigerians should strongly condemn the attitude of the Central Bank governor more so at a time like this in Nigeria when we are still battling to douse the tension created by the last ‘political’ crisis with all the evident religious manifestations. This obviously is an insensitive and reckless act of the highest order coming from such a high ranking officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Militants Seize It?
The CBN found no other time to talk about Islamic banking except this time of Boko Haram menace? How do you ensure that extremist organisations shall not hijack the entire concept and capitalize on that to further intimidate Nigerians -Christians and Moslems alike?  If Sanusi is not playing mischief, why name it Islamic banking rather than what it is: merely non-interest banking? The saying that you leave the messenger and take the message cannot apply here at all because the messenger and his disposition is as important as the message itself.

Setting Standards

The draft framework for this banking concept was issued in March 2009 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The objective of the framework was to provide minimum standards for the operation of non-interest banking in Nigeria while serving as an exposure for comments, suggestions and/or inputs by stakeholders. The suggestions and/or inputs from stakeholders never came. More than two years after, Sanusi the CBN governor released the final guidelines which cover only non-interest banking according to Islamic commercial law and jurisprudence and has been campaigning for it as if he is on a jihad.

Necessary Distinctions

Fair enough, in the revised guidelines, the CBN recognised two types of non-interest banking: non-interest financial products and services based on principles of Islamic commercial jurisprudence, as well as financial products and services based on any other established rules and principles. So why not introduce all forms of the concept together at the same time? Unfortunately, even if the CBN turns today to introduce the other variants of the non-interest banking concept, people on the other side of the divide can never trust the sincerity of such action because they will only see it as a damage control measure.
 

Pro-People Policy

The Central Bank said it was introducing Islamic banking in order to open up the financial space to those who were locked out. “Financial inclusion is a major challenge. Almost 50 percent of adult Nigerians do not have access to capital. What is keeping them out? Many things. But to the extent that non-interest banks can address some of the reasons for their staying out, we should encourage them,” said CBN deputy governor (financial systems stability), Kingsley Moghalu, while assuring Nigerians on the genuine intentions of introducing the Islamic variant of non-interest banking.

 

The CBN seems to be elusive of the fact that while there is a need to redefine the function of capital, it is equally necessary to ensure that such redefinition is not seen to favour one religion over another because it’s not only in the Islamic faith that we have Nigerians who have been excluded from the conventional banking system. Go to Okija shrine, you will find people (pagans) who have been denied access to capital for whatever reasons. You see what I mean?

Islamic Banking in the West

It is irresponsible of the CBN governor to allege that those opposed to the introduction of Islamic banking in Nigeria are not conversant with current happenings in the world as the system is being practised in the United Kingdom and other countries of the world dominated by Christians. He should have told us how that model of banking is doing in those countries. He deliberately dodged that.

What is the point of this banking concept in a developing country which is struggling with mere social amenities? Who will support it and with what resources. The problem with us Nigerians is that we always like to cite countries that are well ahead of us. The government will soon remove subsidy from petroleum products and it tends to hike tariffs on non-available electricity, where will the money come to subsidise for Islamic banking or are we going to get the monies from outside and under what conditions?

Some advanced European and Asian countries may have Islamic banks, but such banks are never the prime movers of those nations’ economies. At best, such non-interest banks are heavily subsidised either by the host state or some oil-rich Middle East countries that want to promote the initiative.

Threat of Corruption and Failure

In a developing capitalist economy like Nigeria, those who may “donate” their heard-earned monies for Islamic banking may never be those who earned their money through honest means. If dishonest people “donate” start-up funds for Islamic banks, we may eventually have situations where depositors’ monies evaporate like during the early and mid 90s’ banks in Nigeria. And above all, taking monies from dubious sources defeats the entire concept of Islamic banking which stipulates that all monies used for transactions must come from honest earnings.

A report last June by the New York-based Wall Street Journal warned that “Islamic banking has not necessarily produced great returns. Regulators must do a thorough job before approving any application for Islamic banking.” Quoting Junaid Bhatti, part of the team that set up Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the report said “the first Sharia-compliant bank approved by the Financial Services Authority has been a big disappointment. Sharia-compliant banking products have been a flop in Britain.”

Impractical

Those who are well-informed on the matter would agree that there is no market for Islamic Banking in Nigeria yet or anywhere in Africa and this is the truth. The current gimmick is merely political. The banking system is too sophisticated and given the human mindset, very difficult to practice. It’s like communism, very nice ideas, but a failure in practice. Only in countries in which Islamic Banking is heavily subsidised by the state, has it been practicable.

For whatever reasons Sanusi is just deceiving Nigerians and seeking to divided them on such a very emotive issue.

IFEANYI IZEZE IS AN ABUJA-BASED CONSULTANT ON STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATION (iizeze@yahoo.com)

Aliyu Tilde: Islamic Banking

Post 30--:

This post is a republication of an article written by Dr. Aliyu Tilde, a Nigerian Muslim journalist  friend of mine that he published on his own blog.  Though I am a Christian missionary and would normally be expected to reject his arguments,  I support much of his discussion.  The next post will feature the opinion of another Nigerian writer with a different perspective. That one will be  followed up with comments of my own in the next post. 

You may be wondering why I devote a whole three posts to the rather unknown subject of Islamic banking and that in a foreign country.  Well, we are living in the global city (as against village) where what happens in one country is likely to affect people in other countries.  Islamic banking may not be tbe most known of subjects, but it is up and coming, even in the West.  I refer you to Chapter 9 of Volume 8-2 of my series Studies in Christian Muslim Relations, which you can access free of charge at < www.lulu.com >.  Furthermore, Nigeria makes a significant case study of Christian-Muslim affairs, since it has around 65-70 million of each! There is no configuration like it in the entire world. It is the world's laboratory for these affairs. 

 OK, brother Aliyu, the mike is yours.  Go to it....

Nigerian Bishops and Islamic Banking, Plus the Missing Link

I will not be surprised if this essay is short in the end because honestly there is little to add to the blind statements circulated daily around the country in the name of ‘debate’ about ‘Islamic’ banking, which the country, we are told, must ditch for the sake of its ‘unity’. The whole wahala (trouble) about Islamic banking is mounted on the defective tripod of debate, Islam and unity, which are poorly joined by the clandestine glue of self-interest.

Debate is about objective reasoning. But there is no reason in this one, much less objectivity, at least not to my hearing so far. The speakers opposing the motion of Islamic banking have failed to make a single point, economic or constitutional. Instead, they flaunt threats, as if intimidation will earn them the points which only reason could accord.

There are also reservations about the characterization of the interest-free banking as ‘Islamic’. Many learned people, including some prominent Muslim scholars in Nigeria, would readily argue that interest and usury are not synonyms. But even if we grant that interest is usury, then Islam is not innovative in forbidding it. Christianity and Judaism have earlier condemned strongly. Categorizing it as ‘Islamic’ also gives the feeling, albeit a subtle one, that the contemporary interest-based financial institutions, including the World Bank and the IMF that have aided the proliferation of misery in the world, are Christian. We must not fall into this trap of the bigotry. Let us keep in mind that the West has abandoned many teachings of Christ (blessings be upon him) long ago, just as the Muslims have long abandoned an equal quantum of the teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Very bad followers of the trio – Moses, Jesus and Muhammad – inhabit the world today. Oh Heaven. Come to our rescue.

The third leg is the ‘unity’ of Nigeria that is often used to justify any self-motivated clamor. We have seen this before in the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conferences) question of the 1980s. It was said that the country would be divided if it becomes a member of the organization though Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Uganda and so many Christian dominated countries did not give up to the ghost when they took the OIC membership pill. Nigeria must be a strange beast, therefore. The reaction was the same when the country contemplated taking an interest-free loan from Islamic Development Bank. Again, the cry was Nigeria does not need the Bank since it is ‘Islamic’. It should take it from the IMF where, as someone put it, the country finally paid $16billion on a $5billion loan, and still owed the debtors $28billion. But it is cool in the eyes of our Bishops because IMF in their misconstrued judgment is ‘Christian’.

And now it is the turn of interest-free banking that is now a global financial product to reincarnate that blind dissonance. Our ears, again, are deafened by the fallacy of the 80s. Here we go again: ‘This is a plan to Islamize Nigeria’ ‘It is Boko Haram banking’ ‘Nigeria will be divided’. Evidently, a visitor from Mars will not fail, upon hearing these statements, to declare that Nigeria is a haven for imbecility and mischief. A simple survey of the so-called Islamic banking will reveal that it is practiced by ‘Christian’ banks in ‘Christian’ nations like Europe and America, the principal mentors of its antagonists in Nigeria. As if to silence the Christian leadership in Nigeria, the Vatican press published an article extolling the merits and successes of Islamic banking two weeks ago. Poor Vatican! It does not know that Nigerians could be more Catholic than the Pope.

I will plead with my Christian brothers that we the laity should not listen to our local leaders on this matter. Reason should prevail. It is high time someone bold enough among our brothers rise to the occasion and tell the clerics these simple facts:

“Please separate economics from politics, for God’s sake. Give to the bank manager what is to the bank, and to PDP what is to Caesar. Transact here, and cheat there. Mixing the two could be a lethal cocktail. Embrace the teachings of Jesus by condemning usury in all its ramifications. Follow the Vatican and establish your interest-free banks or let the Central Bank of Nigeria the breathing space to perform its statutory duty of issuing license of the same genre to whoever is interested and qualified. Christianity does not take its measurements from Islam. So do not make Islam to determine Christianity. Opposing Islam and Muslims in Nigeria does not always qualify anything as Christian. Christianity, like Islam, is a religion based on values, principal among them the abrogation of all forms of human exploitation, of which usury plays the major role in the prevailing world economic disorder. Not a fly would die in Nigeria because a bank or two have adopted an interest-free product as part of their portfolio.”

These are the words I am waiting to hear from the bold Christian who would publicly come forward and call the clerics to order. A Soludo who initiated the product, an Iweala that is respected even by the oyinbo, just any name they can trust. Why not a word from President Jonathan? If there is none, then I cannot help becoming sick. Please check me at the emergency ward.

But some ‘Christian’ banks in the country cannot afford to wait for that brave voice. Driven by the Smithian principle of profit, every week one of them is approaching the CBN for a license for Islamic Banking. I believe, before long, all the ‘Christian’ banks in the country would buy the product to the dismay of the Bishops.

I join those who are intelligent enough to know that Nigeria will not break up for the sake of interest-free banking. It may break up, perhaps soon, but on different grounds. I will enjoin all well meaning Nigerians not to engage in the futile exercise of defending ‘Islamic Banking’ in the face of opposition from our Christian fathers. They should continue to embrace the Shafi’ite logic: the lion is feared though it is silent, but the dog is stoned in spite of it's barking. Let us not bark at any visitor to our house. He may be a friend. It is the statutory duty of the apex bank and I am satisfied with the quantum of energy it is expending to explain, notwithstanding the deafness of its audience, that it is not a matter of religion but business, unusual though.

Muslims must not confuse the clerics with Christianity or our Christian brothers. The clerics are billionaires. Recently, one of them boasted that he is a billionaire and that “there is nothing anybody can do about it!” Yes Bishop. What can ordinary souls like me do about it? My Christian brothers and me are not billionaires. We are only struggling to make ends meet in Nigeria. Aha.

The clerics, it seems, are in an unholy alliance with the interest-based banks to extort ordinary Christians. The banks are where the bishops and pastors safely keep, and profiteer through interest banking, the millions they harvest from their fellowship weekly. As billionaire depositors, how much interest do they earn daily? Oh! That is the missing link in the ongoing debate on Islamic banking. In a vicious way, opposition to anything Muslim serves as a lubricant to this extortion engine. It is expected to impress the followers and make them more susceptible to increase the returns of their billionaire bishops. Thus in Nigeria Islam has become an interest-free product of primitive accumulation that makes Mr. Bishop and Mr. Bank Manager smile every Monday morning.

Finally, when all is said and done, with the ‘debate’ on ‘Islamic’ banking in a ‘united’ Nigeria long forgotten, one indisputable fact would remain: both Muslims and Christians, in America or in Nigeria, are victims of the present free-for-all financial institutions that are based on interest and speculations. It should therefore be an area of mutual interest, not mutual discord. Fighting this exploitation should be a joint project for Muslims and Christians in Nigeria with common sense.

But I am sad to note that for many in my country Nigeria, sense is not common.


Bauchi, Nigeria
6 July, 2011