Islamic banks -- a new approach for economic cooperation

To look at Islamic banking's place in the economy, one needs to see both the historical and the technical sides of the picture. Muslims have recently become more spiritually conscious, and thus more anxious to implement an Islamic economic system in their countries. The problem of interest has always hurt Muslims, for they can neither invest nor obtain funds without getting stuck in the trap of this un-Islamic institution. Much can be learned from Egypt's experiment with an Islamic financial system in 1963. One account that system offered was a savings and credit account. After such accounts were made available, people began to save notably more. Another account offered was an investment account (similar to a German savings-fund mechanism) in which the bank and the entrepreneur cooperate as partners and share profits. A third account was a social service fund. Fed primarily by zaka income, this fund assisted the needy. It is quite difficult to harmonize Western economics and