Islamic Finance

Islamic banking and economics (IBE) information has been searched in 31 selected DIALOG's Online and CD-ROM databases to assess and compare the amount of literature covered by international databases. An analysis of data revealed that the coverage of IBE literature is not available in any one database; rather it is scattered in a number of databases. Each database has unique characteristics in their coverage pattern, therefore researchers in IBE need to search a number of databases for their research purposes.

A debate on the nature of Riba is currently raging in the Islamic world. Though the debate is an old one, it has been renewed in the twentieth century with the advent of modern banking in

Interest is seen as the additional payment given to owners of capital funds for allowing others to dispose of those funds. Without interest, the capitalist economic system would fall apart.

By Islamic law, all forms of interest are banned. Interest is neither commerce nor a profit; it is therefore unallowed. The institution of interest acts to exploit resources and to keep them concentrated in few hands. Seven verses of al-

In al-

No single development model will work for all lesser-developed countries because of their diversity, though Islamic development strategies may differ in general from non-Islamic strategies. According to Zarabozo, rather than following the Western tradition of economic theory,

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Riba is referred to more than once in al-Qur'an.

Loan capital interest, argues the author, is exploitative and a method of bondage. The underprivileged of a society and the less developed nations of the world suffer and are kept in debt by the institution of interest. The perpetual debt is terribly onerous and draining. Within an economy, the amount of investment undergone is related inversely to the rate of interest--interest rates go down, investments rise. Through increased investment, jobs are created. The same may be extended to a global model--if, internationally, interest rates can be reduced, more of the human race can work.

The Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance was founded in September of 1993. The organization is a non-profit establishment located in London. The goals of the institute are to: 1. Promote Islamic banking by means of conferences, lectures, and similar methods; 2. Educate potential Islamic bankers and insurance professionals; 3. Aid and offer advice on Islamic banking and insurance; 4. Develop Islamic finance tools; and 5. Undertake research on topics relevant to Islamic banking and insurance.