tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131025574611096464.post4902084417246183686..comments2010-05-30T02:21:21.065-07:00Comments on ARCHITECT: "Interest-free-banking": the Spirit for it to succeed.Shafiq http://www.blogger.com/profile/00287434235399611500noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131025574611096464.post-86393352367851943372010-05-30T02:21:21.065-07:002010-05-30T02:21:21.065-07:00ALLAH condemns usury, and blesses charities. ALLAH...ALLAH condemns usury, and blesses charities. ALLAH dislikes every disbeliever, guilty. Lo! those who believe and do good works and establish worship and pay the poor-due, their reward is with their Lord and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. O you who believe, you shall observe ALLAH and refrain from all kinds of usury, if you are believers. If you do not, then expect a war from ALLAH and His Last Messenger, Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.). But if you repent, you may keep your capitals, without inflicting injustice, or incurring injustice. If the debtor is unable to pay, wait for a better time. If you give up the loan as a charity, it would be better for you, if you only knew. (Al-Baqarah 2:276-280).<br /><br />Usury (in the original sense of any interest) was at times denounced by a number of religious leaders and philosophers in the ancient world, including Plato, Aristotle, Cato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, Aquinas, Muhammed (p.b.u.h., Moses (p.b.u.h.), Philo and Gautama Buddha.<br /><br />Since the rate of interest charged on a loan is a compound rate, the growth in the money supply and the consequent need for economic 'growth' increase exponentially. A dollar invested at 10% compound interest would be 'worth' $1.1 after one year; $1.21 after two years; $2.59 after ten years; $117.39 after fifty years; $13,780.65 after a hundred years; and around $2.473,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000,000 after a thousand years—which is about ten trillion times the weight of the Earth in gold (at its current value). Imagine trying to collect the interest on that.<br />It is little wonder then economies based on usury eventually collapse.<br /><br />Our love of money not only causes us to make decisions that are not in our own best interests, it also leads to usury—the charging of interest on a loan.<br />Nothing wrong with that, one might think (particularly if you are the lender), everyone does it. Why should others not pay for the use of one's money? At the very least we should receive a sufficient return on our investments to keep up with inflation —and if we can make a bit more, why not?<br />But it turns out that the lending of money at interest is one of the principle causes of inflation in the first place. And, as we shall see, fuels many of humanity's other crises.Shafiq https://www.blogger.com/profile/00287434235399611500noreply@blogger.com