The Keralite community of Jeddah celebrated the release of “Islamic Banking,” a book written by KTM Kutty, at the Red Sea Palace Hotel recently. The book is the first of its kind to be released in the Malayalam language.
Prof. Muhammed Azmi Omar, director general of the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) at the Islamic Development Bank, released the book by handing it to Alungal Muhammed, CMD of Al-Abeer Medical Group.
Prof. Omar gave a presentation on the fundamental principles of Islamic banking and called upon the Indian government to make use of the system to boost its economy and exterminate poverty in the country. He talked about transparency in the contracts of Islamic banking, in which everything is explicitly spelled out, and the presence of a third party to ensure Shariah compliancy by Islamic banks.
He stressed the need to avoid using the word ‘Islamic’ while introducing interest-free banking systems in a country like India where anything relating to Islam is sensitive. He also gave an overview of the status of Islamic banking around the globe. Although India has the largest number of Muslims, it is difficult to establish an Islamic bank in the country because of the monetary policies of the Reserve Bank of India that mandate that any company that lends money must declare the interest rate of the institution.
He concluded his presentation by telling the audience that the current status of Islamic banks is in no way perfect because the process of perfecting the system is still an ongoing one.
The book was reviewed by A.M. Sajith of Malayalam News who said the book was a must read for all Malayalees who wish to understand the fundamentals of Islamic banking. The book gives a very good introduction to the topic, he wrote.
Muhammed of Al-Abeer gave a speech praising the effort of the author and encouraged the audience to take further steps in making interest-free banking a norm in our community. Sulaiman Faisi, a mentor of IDC, urged the participants to read the book, at least, three times so that they understand the concepts thoroughly.
“Every Muslim should understand the concepts of the Islamic monetary system,” Faisi said. He seconded the view of Prof. Umer saying that the word Islamic should be removed from Islamic banking to smooth the way for its entry into countries like India. “The Qur’an is meant for all human beings. So is the monetary system in Islam. It is not confined to Muslims,” he added.
The author, Kutty, shared his experiences in writing the book. The program was attended by representatives from different cultural organizations, the IDB and the media.
