02-01-2005, 07:53 AM
Dear All
The first modern experiment with Islamic banking was undertaken in
Egypt under cover, without projecting an Islamic image, for fear of
being seen as a manifestation of Islamic fundamentalism which was
anathema to the political regime. The pioneering effort, led by Ahmad
El Najjar, took the form of a savings bank based on profit-sharing in
the Egyptian town of Mit Ghamr in l963. This experiment lasted until
l967 (Ready l98l), by which time there were nine such banks in the
country. These banks, which neither charged nor paid interest,
invested mostly by engaging in trade and industry, directly or in
partnership with others, and shared the profits with their depositors.
Thus, they functioned essentially as saving- investment institutions
rather than as commercial banks. The Nasir Social Bank, established in
Egypt in l97l, was declared an interest-free commercial bank, although
its charter made no reference to Islam or Shariah or Islamic law. The
IDB was established in l974 by the Organization of Islamic Countries
-OIC- but it was primarily an inter-governmental bank aimed at
providing funds for development projects in member countries.The IDB
provides fee- based financial services and profit-sharing financial
assistance to member countries. The IDB operations are free of
interest and are explicitly based on Shariah Principles !
Regards
Nawaz
info@parvez-video.com