أيرلندا: أيرلندا في طريقها لتصبح محورًا للاقتصاد الإسلامي

- خبر من مصادر إنجليزية.

كشفت بعض التقارير الصحفية أن النظام المالي الأيرلندي شهد تطورًا إيجابيًّا في السنوات الأخيرة بتقديمه الاقتصاد الإسلامي للعمل على إعادة بناء قطاع خدمات التمويل.

وتعد "أيرلندا" مركزًا للتمويل الإسلامي بنسبة 20% للتمويل خارج الشرق الأوسط، في ظل بلوغ المعاملات المالية الإسلامية سنويًّا 1.3 مليار دولار، وبزيادة 15-20% سنويًّا.

وقد أكد "يحي حسين" - عضو المؤسسة الإسلامية بـ"أيرلندا" أنه سيكون إيجابيًّا أن يستطيع المسلم القيام بالمعاملات المالية طبقًا للتعاليم الإسلامية، خاصةً في ظل عدم توفير البنوك الكبرى للمعاملات الإسلامية. المصدر: شبكة الألوكة.

يرجى الإشارة إلى المصدر عند نقل الخبر – شبكة الألوكة.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Ireland is becoming a hub for Islamic finance – but what exactly is it?

IT IS ONE of the few bright spots in the Irish financial system in recent years.

As many financial institutions across Ireland, Europe and America continue to flail in the aftermath of the economic crisis, the Middle East has emerged relatively unscathed – and ripe for pickings.

Ireland is one of many countries which has begun to look at Islamic finance as a way to help rebuild the financial services sector. Already Ireland is a base for 20 per cent of Islamic funds based outside of the Middle East, and the plan is to expand that even further.

“To someone like myself who has no particular expertise in the area, Islamic finance looks like a good fit for Ireland,” Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore told an audience during a speech last month.

But what exactly is it – and why is the Irish government so interested in it?

What is Islamic finance?

Islamic finance means that banking and financial products compliant with Sharia law. Individual interpretations of this can differ; some people can be stricter or offer more literal interpretations than others.

However the basic Islamic teaching is that paying interest on loans or overdrafts, or receiving interest on savings, is forbidden. It also rules out investing in unethical areas like gambling, weapons, alcohol, and adult entertainment.

It is forbidden to buy insurance, but there is a debate over whether credit cards are permissible.

The global Islamic finance industry is currently valued at around €1.3 billion, and growing at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent per year.

However while the government is doing a lot to encourage Islamic finance at an international level, this isn’t filtering down to Ireland’s 49,200 Muslims.

Ireland’s two biggest banks, Bank of Ireland and AIB, both confirmed that they don’t offer Sharia-compliant personal banking to customers. This means customers who wish to bank according to their religious beliefs cannot take out mortgages, loans or have savings accounts.

“It makes a difference in how people live their lives. Muslims want to be able to do business or make large purchases like everyone else, but in a lawful way according to their belief system,” Yahya al-Hussein of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland told