Islamic finance should be promoted based on value, economic growth, humanity’
The immediate past Secretary of the Islamic Financial Board of Malaysia, the apex standard setting body of Islamic banking in the world, Dr. Bello Lawal, has advised that the Islamic financial system be promoted based on its economic values for the public. He stated this while delivering an opening speech at the ongoing Arewa Islamic […]
The immediate past Secretary of the Islamic Financial Board of Malaysia, the apex standard setting body of Islamic banking in the world, Dr. Bello Lawal, has advised that the Islamic financial system be promoted based on its economic values for the public.
He stated this while delivering an opening speech at the ongoing Arewa Islamic Finance Summit in Kano that started on Wednesday.
“Because Islamic finance system if you want to argue it, globally you will see that in many jurisdictions, in many jurisdictions especially Malaysia, the customers of Islamic banks and Islamic Financial institutions are not only Muslims.
“They adopt it because they see the value in it. Because based on the Shari’a that guides the operation and philosophy of Islamic banking is for mankind, is for everybody.
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“So, it should be promoted based on its value and what it adds to the economic sector. It is so doing that you can attract both Muslims and non Muslims to the system.
“If we are talking about financial system from its economic value and what it adds to the system, then Islamic finance is more fit and more relevant to real economic development than the conventional financial system” he stated.
Also mentioning some of the values of the Islamic Financial system, he stated that it is corruption-free and does not give access to corrupt practices describing it as a good solution to the current situation of the country.
“We know the ranking of our system and why we are suffering’ in Nigeria is because of the corrupt system, bribery and corruption has eaten into everything in the country.
“Islamic finance is inherently founded based on the principles of justice, fairness, equity, in addition to which when practiced by a Muslim is an act of worship.
“The nature of contracts that are being deployed to structure instruments that are available for infrastructural development are definitely corruption-free” he added.
In his address, the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II described the initiative of holding the summit as good especially with the current situation of poverty and hardship that is predominant in the North.
He promised to contribute in the promotion of the Islamic finance system which is seen as more human that exploitative.
On his side, the organizer of the summit, Mudathir Adesanya explained that it is organized to call on the North as a region to take advantage of the Islamic finance system to develop it’s economy.
“The people of the region majorly don’t know about the Islamic finance system, we want to create that awareness.
“We are talking about how they can actually do their businesses and the contracts they can go into, people that are actually losing their businesses, the SMEs, we want them to start using the Islamic finance system.
He described the high interest and unfair sharing of losses in the conventional finance system as very exploitative, unlike the Islamic finance system that is fair to all parties involved in a deal.
Speaking on behalf of the Kano state governor Abba Yusuf, the Commissioner for Religious Affairs in the state, Sheikh Tijjani Awwal, described the Islamic finance system as solution to the lack development, poverty and hunger in the region.
He also announced that the Kano state government is in the process of issuing the first SUKUK, ab Islamic finance bond for infrastructural development, in the state.