Quantum of literature, lectures, articles and conferences in India, on Islamic Banking is amazingly enormous; so much so, that sometimes it is felt that the country and its governance is just making it ready to facilitate Islam to shower the bliss of its Shari’ah finance and banking system unto the countrymen. We rejoiced the Kerala experience, but the Apex Court quickly made it short lived.
My feeling is that in our over enthusiasm, we emphasized ‘name’ more than the ‘cause’; that is “Islamic” banking, rather than “Interest-free” banking; or “Islamic” finance rather than ‘equitable’ finance. We failed to learn some lesson from the bitter ground realities prevailing in this country of ours, wherein very complex and resistant factors, forces and elements have been working overtime to scuttle any advancement of Islam.
Second thing is: Why do we use word “Islamic Banking” for a system which in fact is (Islamic) trade and business; former being in the interest of common man, and the latter one, to serve almost the interest of affluent class – businessmen, traders, investors, industrialists, capitalists and money-game-players.
Z.A. Mansoorie