Islamic Ethics and the Finacial Crisis

Would Islamic ethics have prevented the financial crisis of 2007 from ever happening? To answer this question, one must first understand what caused the economic crisis. However, this can be part of the problem. The immediate origins of the crisis seem to be the growth of the subprime sector. Unqualified lenders were given housing loans that they would soon be unable to pay. When the housing bubble burst, countries that invested heavily in subprime instruments lost billions of dollars. Now, leaders from many religions are calling for a system that is more just and less greedy. Muslim countries have the responsibility to create a financial system that is not subsumed by the Western system, which relies heavily on interest. When people see that co-ops and other financial projects and tools can suit their financial needs, they will be more willing to move away from a capitalist system. However, citizens and government must work together to make changes.