Makkah Imam Calls for Islamic Common Market

[bamalli]

Makkah Imam Calls for Islamic Common Market

15 March 2008 — Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah
and a member of the teaching staff at Umm Al-Qura University, has called for
the establishment of an Islamic common market.

Delivering his Juma sermon at the Grand Mosque yesterday, the imam said the
proposed market should follow the teachings of the Shariah, keeping away
from interest-based financial dealings.

Many international financial organizations have started adopting Islamic
financing systems after the latter proved successful in terms of achieving
substantial profits, Al-Shuraim said, adding that the Qur'an and Sunnah have
explained the basic principles for financial transactions.

Ezzuddin Khoja, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of the Islamic
Financial Banks, said Islamic banks in Arab and Muslim countries alone now
handle more than $250 billion.

Islamic bank deposits in the Gulf rose by 29 percent to $58 billion in 2005
compared to the previous year. Islamic finances worldwide are estimated at
about $450 billion, he explained.

Islamic and traditional banks apply different rules.

The Islamic banking system does not depend on loans and offers a variety of
products such as murabaha, mudaraba, musharaka, ijara and istisna based on
profit and loss sharing.

The Islamic banking system began in Saudi Arabia and Prince Muhammad
Al-Faisal and Saleh Al-Kamil have played a pioneering role in promoting it,
Khoja said.