Pakistan: spot the difference

The author discusses the similarities and differences between Pakistan's Islamic banking operations and the operations of Western capitalists. The main tenet that drives Islamic banking is that profit and loss should be shared by the both the financier and the loan-taker--the risk is always to be taken on collectively. This is a tenet absent in much of Western banking. Islamic finance is in this respect close equity-financing as it is known by conventional bankers. The author mentions the emphasis placed in Islam on individual character and personal virtue. Personal conduct, puts forth the author, is a cornerstone for the Islamic economic system and for Islamic social organization in general. In Pakistan, nearly 10% of deposits are in Islamic institutions and there is a drive to make available more such institutions.