Australia will soon have its first Islamic bank. What does this mean, and what are the challenges?

Wed, 6 Sep 2023 18:40:04 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/australia-will-soon-have-its-first-islamic-bank-what-does-this-mean-and-what-are-the-challenges-201867>

"Islamic banks have become an integral part of the financial system in many
Muslim-majority countries, as well as in nations with sizeable Muslim
minorities such as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Australia is poised to join them. From mid-2024, Islamic Bank Australia is set
to offer Australia’s 813,000 Muslims a banking service aligned with their
religion’s strictures against profiting from interest or investing in harmful
industries such as alcohol or gambling.

The fundamental distinguishing feature of an Islamic bank is its adherence to
Islamic, or Sharia, law. As such, Islamic banks differ from their counterparts
in four main ways: they do not charge or pay interest; they don’t engage in
property speculation or activities such as derivatives trading; they do not
invest in businesses that are deemed unlawful by Islam; and they typically
appoint a second board specifically to oversee their compliance with these
rules.

Why do these rules and conventions exist, and how do they work in practice?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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