A SYSTEM IMMUNE TO CRISES

Ibrahim Warde, adjunct professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, who is visiting Baku at the  invitation of Deputy Foreign Minister and Rector of the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy H. Pashayev, to lecture at the Academy's summer school, discusses the issue of finance in Islam in an exclusive interview with R+.

-Why do you study Islam exactly? What drew your attention to this religion?

-Islam is a philosophy, there is no gainsaying that. Islam calls upon people to avoid extremes. And this is good. Naturally, there are some shortfalls in the research of Islam and the main reason for this is the deliberate pursuance of schemes aimed at discrediting Islam. In contrast to other religions, including Christianity, finance plays a leading role in Islam. I study Islamic finance. The Muslim world has its own particular forms of finance, such as Murabaha and Mudarabah, which act as kinds of banking institutions, in other words, they loan money. In Islam, lending for interest is a deadly sin but, in order to survive and function, these institutions must secure some degree of profit for themselves. But there are certain limits here. Unfortunately, the established rules are never observed in matters of Islamic finance. I think that observation of the rules which Islam prescribes in this field would help to create a positive image of the religion in the West. In general, Islamic finance is a system which is immune to crisis. There are positive values everywhere in the world. But they are depreciating because they are gradually becoming secular. I study Islamic finance and can therefore say with certainty that it embodies principles of justice, equality and support of the poor by the rich. This helps to promote a positive image of both Islamic finance and the global economy.

In addition, Islam's view of the world economy is generally positive; in other words, Islam does not have a negative view of trade or wealth. Of course, there are limits to everything. Issues of economy, wealth and trade are defined and linked to spiritual values.

- Are these views of Islam and Islamic finance similar in all Muslim countries?

- In all these countries, Islam is an extremely important factor. However, there are national specifics in every Muslim country about both Islam and about the financial practices encouraged by the religion. Different views prevail, for example, in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Azerbaijan and Malaysia. In some countries, Islamic finance is more secular. There are fundamentalist Islamic countries too, which are building a different type of system...

- What can you say about Islamic finance in Azerbaijan?

- Islamic finance in Azerbaijan hinges on several specific factors. Firstly, Azerbaijan is in transition from a socialist to a capitalist system. And during its relatively brief period of independence, Azerbaijan has had no major problems with Islamic finance. Thanks to the country's rich oil and other natural resources, a special system of Islamic finance can be created here. In Azerbaijan, the modernization of Islamic finance lags behind that of other countries. Azerbaijan should monitor the experience of Malaysia and Central Asian countries to avoid their mistakes and carry out its own reforms. Azerbaijan has every opportunity to promote Islam as a more positive, more modern religion.

- Why is Islam sometimes the victim of negative propaganda? This creates a bad image of the religion in the West.

- All religions have their positive and negative aspects. I think that all religions have things in common. However, there is bias from some people too. Unfortunately, Islam receives mainly negative coverage; it is often associated with terrorism and negative stereotypes and generalizations are formed about it.

But I must say that in recent years, the economic situation in many Muslim countries has improved and investment is beginning to flow there. And in the light of the global economic crisis, the financial institutions of the West are more inclined to move towards the Islamic model. The reason is the existence of religious conditions and restrictions in the Islamic financial system. And this builds trust between the West and Islam. It seems to me that Islam can introduce ethics and spiritual values into the finance and economic sectors. Looking at the traditional financial system, we can see that it is positive about anything that can yield a profit. On the other hand, under the Islamic financial system, an ethical yardstick is applied to the financial system. In other words, there are bans and restrictions. And this makes management easy too. It is a very good model.

- How reliable are the forecasts of an inevitable clash between religions in the future?

-Unfortunately, we too often find reports of that type. There are many people of that type in the United States particularly. Using the words of Samuel Huntington from the well-known analytical work 'Clash of Civilizations', the world is seen as an arena for the clash of religions and civilizations. Fortunately, these views are held by just a small number of people, not by the majority. I do not think that this discourse predominates at the moment. However, the downside is that when people discuss something for such a long time, the probability of it happening increases. This worries us. There has always been a general proclivity towards the negative in the world. That is why the danger of a clash between religions is always real. At the very least, religion is a very ticklish issue. If we look at international developments since 11 September, we will see that the propaganda of religious extremism is on the rise. People should be careful on this issue. There is a need to promulgate views in a manner which focuses people on the positive, not the negative aspects of religion.

- Protests against the identification of Islam with terrorism are common in Azerbaijan too. When will this misguided trend cease?

- It is a completely unfair attitude. Elements that can be interpreted as an inclination towards despotism or extremism can be found in the postulates of any religion. It is simply that some critics of Islam try to create an impression that this is characteristic only of Islam, although calls for self-sacrifice exist in all religions. This desire of the critics of Islam is precisely their most odious characteristic.