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Interest,
Inflation and Money Value:
The
approach of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to use ‘interest rate’ as
tool to keep inflation under control should be reviewed because
interest has not only helped regulating liquidity, but has
considerably accumulated Time ...
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Istanbul:
As the economic crunch continues to hit the world, Muslim leaders
held a meeting Monday November 9 to discuss ways of bolstering
inter-Muslim economic cooperation.
"Since the adoption of a series of trade facilitating and trade
financing measures, the increase in volume of trade among OIC
countries has become significant,” Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, told the
meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We
have now reached 16.60 percent going by the latest statistics."
Leaders of the 57-member OIC met in Istanbul to discuss ways of
boosting inter-Muslim economic cooperation following the global
economic crisis.
Issues on the agenda of the one-day meeting include the global
financial crisis and combat against poverty.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the OIC has taken the lead in
launching many projects to realize the potential of the member
countries.
"Establishment of the trade preferential system, trade financing,
promotion of cooperation among private sector institutions and
capacity building activities are some of these projects," he said.
Muslim countries were hard-hit by the economic crisis, that hit the
United States and the world last September.
The
economic growth in the 57-member OIC is expected to drop to 1.2
percent against the impressive 6.1-percent growth before the crisis.
"The
Muslim world has the necessary resources for economic development,”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the meeting.
“Our
joint efforts should focus on growth in Muslim countries, which
needs us to form a partnership among us."
Karzai said the share of Muslim countries in the global economy was
very low.
"Eight out of every 10 underdeveloped nations belong to the Muslim
world," he said.
Addressing the meeting, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed
capitalism for the global economic meltdown.
"The
present economic crisis is due to the capitalist system,” he said.
“The
world needs radical change," he said, describing interest rates as
the biggest and most fundamental problem of the capitalist system.
"The
world system based on usury has collapsed, proving its failure.
Calls have been growing for reforming the capitalist economic system
following the economic crisis.
"We
have to draw up programs based on Islamic economic thinkers. That
way we can guide people to happiness, security, justice and
honesty," said Ahmadinejad.
He
said promotion of mutual and multilateral cooperation could be a
way-out of the current economic crisis.
"The
economic and cultural common grounds in the Islamic countries have
lessened their problems in dealing with global economic meltdown and
continuation of such trend would deepen ties and cooperation among
them."
A
new study by the Banker magazine found that the Islamic banks have
weathered the economic crisis, thanks to its ethical low-risk
approach.
Islam forbids Muslims from usury, receiving or paying interest on
loans.
Transactions by Islamic banks must be backed by real assets -- not
shady repackaged subprime mortgages.
Shariah-compliant financing deals resemble lease-to-own
arrangements, layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or
partnerships.
Investors have a right to know how their funds are being used, and
the sector is overseen by dedicated supervisory boards as well as
the usual national regulatory authorities.
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