Yearly Archives: 2009

The Subtle Nature of Riba, – by MOHAMMED ROBBANI – INSIF The Institute of Islamic Finance London

It is a common practice to equate the English word ‘Interest’ with the ancient Arabic word ‘Riba’. However, this simple correlation disregards the subtle nature of Riba… THE TERMS ‘INTEREST’ AND ‘RIBA’ ARE NOT ENTIRELY SYNONYMOUS The meaning & definition of Interest appropriate for our purposes is the one in common use, which happens to be a “surcharge on the …

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Financial Offences in Islam – by Muhammad Ibn Wazir

Islam has laid down a number of laws governing human conduct to ensure the wellbeing of society. A good part of these rules are of a financial nature, governing financial transactions and prohibiting certain undesirable practices such as usury, hoarding and bribery which militate against economic justice and fairplay. Needless to say, Islam envisages a just economic order where all …

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Slumdogs and Revolution

The film Slumdog Millionaire after already having won several international awards has gone on to win no less than eight Oscars. No film, it appears, has ever provoked so sensational an international response as this one. What on earth is all this about? The question arises because on the surface it seems to be no more than an average rags-to-riches …

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LTTE versus Democracy

In my article Lasantha and Democracy in the Island of January 21 I argued that the LTTE is loosing the war because it practices dictatorship while the Government is relatively democratic, which fits in with the fact that in the modern era wars are invariably won by the more democratic side. I argued further that the explanation for what looks …

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