Innovative ideas in WORLD FINANCE !

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_32/b3946141_mz035.htm The above is a more specific reference and not from an Islamic source. I actually posted the other link with the idea that people might read several, most, or even all the linked articles. Islamic banking is incredibly innovative and a possible boon to mankind in that it eliminates the inherent inflation (THEFT) necessarily and unavoidably involved with fractional reserve banking. My only quibble with it is the notion it should have to conform with Islamic practices. It is a good idea be it Islamic or not.

"Islamic Banks: A Novelty No Longer Lenders that avoid charging interest, in line with Koranic rules, are spreading -- even among Western institutions."

Hello Red, Sorry it took so long to get back to this discussion. Our dog Rollo is requiring alot of T.L.C. these days. Anyway, I'd like to respond to this in two parts, if I may? First, thank you for posting this. Sometime back, I read a very disturbing article (I think on Jihadwatch) that indicated that in some way, when someone converted to Islam, that they relinquished all rights to their personal property. This seemed outlandish to me, so I endeavored to investigate it further. Not surprisingly, I never found any other mention of this. Your having posted the article today shed much light on the prior article I read. These Muslim lenders are seemingly creating a lease scenario, meaning that ultimately the organization of Islam will own all the tangible assets that are financed by these Sharia loans. From the standpoint of this happening under the power clutching grasp of a religious organization, I find it extraordinarily dangerous. Especially, since I have been long proclaiming that since the 1970s wake-up call of the eventual transition away from petroleum products, thereby leaving the heart of the Muslim world in the predicament of having to eat sand, that the ultimate goal of the socio-political elite of the Middle East would have to figure out some way of accumulating land rights in more fertile regions, without raising too much suspicion. Hence, the assertive conversion campaign in Indonesia! Anyway, this tidbit goes a long way toward explaining the mechanism alluded to in the earlier article. As to the second part: This is not so unlike a "Reverse Mortgage". I also found the hypocricy of charging 'fees' in lieu of interest almost comical. That's simply semantics! Bottom line is that no one, is going to lend people vast amounts of capital unless there is something in it for them. In this case, the end game is the accumulation of tangible assets. This simply means that the organization of Islam is patient. If Muslims (or anyone else for that matter) was truly altruistic, they would simply give their fortune away. Or, if they wanted to promote personal responsibility, they would 'grant' it with clearly defined conditions. The fact that the article references a percentage of the recipients of these loans are non-Muslim simply indicates that this is a scheme, where the end-game is not defined.

Eagle! Good to see you again. Nah, my spots won't wash off. As to those stocks, they have gone down enough I'm starting to dribble a little back into it. I'm not jumping in with both feet, yet. I did test the water with my little toe, yesterday.

Watch out for the amazonian piranha if you dip anything else in!!hahaha... very unstable still from this one's eye!

Unstable market? Yes. Profitable so far? Yes! Time will tell.

I've got to admit I've not read any of the Torah in a long time and then not seriously. Thank you very much for telling us about the Jewish custom along the same lines. I've got to agree with you that the version of business loans as you describe is not going to catch on.