I have read articles of Dr. Waquar Anwar in Radiance Viewsweekly and I take this opportunity to congratulate you for this crusade to imbibe Qur’anic values in trade and commerce.
I am aware of the efforts made by Jamaat-e-Islami. Their insistence on Government of India to start Islamic Banking is commendable. But I often wonder as to how does it benefit the Muslim masses? No doubt, it will carry the message of a shift from debt to equity and elimination of riba, leading to various advantages in the troubled economy all over the world.
I am also aware about Jamaat-e-Islami’s efforts to start micro-credit/finance through Sahulat Microfinance Society in various cities. This effort, I am sure, shall go a long way in assisting ‘micro’ Muslim population to become self-employed.
I feel that Muslim organisations should plead with Government of India to open windows in the existing financial institutes/co-operative banks to lend interest-free loans with a rider that not only they will pay back the loan amount in a stipulated time but also in view of interest-free loans these borrowers shall deposit and save at a later stage, interest-free amounts with lending institutes. Alternatively the administrative costs should be met by the Government of India.
Dr. Phiroz A. Poonawalla
Pune, M.S