أستراليا: مخاوف من انتشار الأنشطة المالية الإسلامية

طالب "كوري برناردي" - السياسي الليبرالي وعضو مجلس الشيوخ الأسترالي - بالتصدي لانتشار الأنشطة الاقتصادية القائمة على الاعتبارات الشرعية الإسلامية؛ مثل القروض والمنتجات المالية بناء على مزاعم عدم موافقة المعاملات المالية القائمة على الاشتراك في الربح والخسارة بين الطرفين لنمط الحياة الاقتصادية في "أستراليا".

وقال "برنارد" - الذي يسعى للحصول على دعم التحالف بمجلس الشيوخ -: إن التمويل الإسلامي مظهر من مظاهر الشريعة الإسلامية التي أرفضها تمامًا.

وقال أيضًا: يجب ألا نغير نظامنا أو إطارنا القانوني للتوافق مع نظام من القوانين التي لا تتناسب جملةً مع قيمنا الغربية.

وقد لقيت هذه التصريحات انتقاد وزيرة المالية الأسترالية "بيني وونج" - التي أكدت أن التعاملات المالية الإسلامية من المحتمل أن تحتل مكانًا كبيرًا في سوق المعاملات المالية.

وأكدت أن المجتمع الأسترالي مجتمع متفتح ومتسامح، وأنه حصل على مكانته عالميًا من خلال تفتحه وتسامحه وتنافسه مع الآخرين في ذلك، آملةً ألا يتغير ذلك التاريخ في موقف "أستراليا" تجاه قضية الاقتصاد الإسلامي.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Bernardi fears expansion of sharia finance

South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi says he wants to stop the expansion of sharia-compliant loans and financial products in Australia.

Sharia-style banking prohibits the payment and collection of interest and deems that all parties to a financial transaction must share in the risks and rewards involved.

The national taxation board will this week start holding consultation meetings about how Islamic transactions should be taxed.

Senator Bernardi says the financial products are incompatible with the Australian way of life and is seeking support from his Coalition colleagues for his idea.

"Sharia finance is one aspect of sharia or Islamic law and I reject it entirely," he said.

"This extends into a number of areas such as the freedom of religion. It extends into all people are created equal and the equivalence of men and women in society.

"We shouldn't be changing our legal system or our legal framework to accommodate a system of laws that is wholly incompatible with Western values."

Senator Bernardi says he is concerned about sharia law being extended beyond just finance.

"In other nations we've found that an accommodation of sharia finance leads into an accommodation of any number of other areas where sharia is implemented, such as in property disputes, such as in marital separations," he said.

"If there was an indulgence of sharia at any level it would give rise to a parallel system where there would have to be experts which would be sheikhs or muftis that would be ruling on what is compliant with sharia.

"It's like a ball of string that once you start tugging at it, the entire ball becomes unravelled."

But Senator Bernardi says his proposal is not about punishing Muslim Australians.

"If people want to enter into sharia-compliant transactions, [that is] entirely up to them, as long as they comply with our existing laws and frameworks.

"We already have a number of Islamic banks here but what we're talking about is changing our taxation framework in one instance.

"That's what the investigation's going on about."

He says the Liberal Party's position will be determined once the Labor Government reveals its policy.

"Certainly [my colleagues] are happy that we've been made aware of it and they think that there should be a discussion and debate about it," he said.

Finance Minister Penny Wong says sharia finance has the potential to be a big market for Australia and the Government's efforts to explore it are appropriate.

"I do think it's a pity when there are knee-jerk responses to these policy options," she said.

"We are an open and tolerant society. We have made our way and done well in the world by being open and competitive and tolerant.

"I would hope that our attitude on this issue could reflect that history".