About the author: Moin Kermani, ENG., MBA is a founding President of two Islamic Finance Institutions in Montreal and teaches at John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. He previously worked at Alcan Aluminum and British Petroleum Companies.
[Article first published on Ramadhan 1416/January 1996]
“Oh Allah! Make it easy for us in this world and in the Hereafter.” So goes a popular Muslim prayer. The significance of this prayer is that Islam is an integrated religion that deals with both the material and spiritual sides of humanity. Islam offers us a code of ethics, guidelines for conducting all our affairs as well as a system of worship. The five pillars of Islam include spiritual concepts such as Iman (faith), Salat (prayers), and Sawm (fasting). as well as the more socially oriented concepts of Zakat (charity) and Hajj (pilgrimage). Furthermore, there are specific instructions such as: “Allah has permitted trade and forbidden Riba (interest)…” (2:275).
In recent years, much search has been done on the Islamic socio-economic system. which someone has characterized as neither capitalism nor socialism, but a moral capitalism. Interest has been officially banned in Iran, the Sudan and Pakistan and a parallel Islamic banking system has been installed in many countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. Total deposits in the Islamic banking sector are estimated to be $75 billion U.S., and institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank have been established.
In view of the desire of Quebec Muslims to conduct their affairs in accordance with the teachings of Islam, and to create a socio-economic base for themselves, a group of Muslims got together in 1990 and. with the initiative and cooperation of the Muslim Community of Quebec, three Islamic economic institutions were established by 1991.
The fourth annual meeting of these institutions was held on December 9, 1995. These institutions are Qurtuba Housing Coop, Al-Ittihad Investment Inc. and Al-Yusr RRSP association. The objective of these institutions is to provide a vehicle for Mus Ii m investors to invest their funds in their community and obtain Halal income, while financing Muslim services. Qurtuba is registered as a housing co-op under provincial law and provides Islamic financing for Muslims to purchase homes. Al Yusr RRSP association mobilizes Muslim RRSPs and funds Al Ittihad and a stock portfolio of public companies. Al-lttihad has a federal charter and invests in equipment, as well as Muslim businesses.
To date, the community has invested about $I.35 million in nine houses, nine cars and nine computers among other things. Investments were also made in three Muslim businesses, a dollar store, a computer assembly line and a textile operation. A quarterly dividend of about seven per cent per annum has been regularly paid on most of the investments.
We invite all Muslim brothers and sisters to invest in these organizations and to use them to finance homes and equipment. May Allah bless you all for your support.