Holy Book Banking is an extension of Islamic finance, however, it is based on the teachings of Prophet Moses (PBUH), Prophet Jesus (PBUH), and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Basis for Holy Book Banking: (Quran, 3:84) states:
“Say: “We believe in Allah and in what has been revealed to
us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail; Isaac, Jacob
and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus,
and the Prophets, from their Lord: we make no distinction
between one and another among them, and to Allah do we
bow our will (in Islam).”
Actually, in Islam, Muslims are not supposed to make distinction between God’s Prophets, however, Muslims generally solely focus on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Allah had sent a chain of Messengers to warn and give good tidings with Clear Signs, and some believed and others rejected these signs. (6:48-49) This form of banking requires the concerted effort of Jewish, Christians, and Muslims to work together in an effort to revise the current banking system into a more just and equitable system for all. I believe as we are witnessing a banking crisis looming on the horizon, that this is the opportune moment to introduce Holy Book Banking. This movement is also a movement of peace as all of the People of the Book will come to the table to work together to find solutions for our financial system.
Recently, not only Silicon Valley Bank has hit rocky waters, however, Credit Suisse in Europe also had to be bailed out and was subsequently bought by UBS. Furthermore, several more banks in the United States experienced trouble such as Signature Bank in New York and First Republic Bank in California. The banking difficulties facing the United States and Europe stems from interest -based financing.
Interest financing leads to a false economy, creating instability, inflation, unemployment, and cyclical crashes. Holy Book finance is asset-backed, which creates a real economy with real assets and inventories and promotes stability. According to Taqi Usmani “Interest-based financing does not necessarily create real assets, therefore, the supply of money through the loans advanced by the financial institutions does not normally match with the real goods and services produced in the society, because the supply is increased, and sometimes multiplied without creating real assets in the same quantity” (2011:10). Usmani explains that “This gap between the supply of money and production of real assets creates or fuels inflation” (2011:10). In contrast, Usmani says “Since financing in an Islamic system is backed by assets, it is always matched with corresponding goods and services” (2011:10). Hence, so it would be in the system of Holy Book Finance.
Holy Book Banking is a movement by Muslims, Christians, and Jewish to extract the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Prophet Jesus (PBUH), and Prophet Moses (PBUH) from the Quran, Bible, and Torah and work together to find solutions for our fragile financial system, which is in peril of crashing before our very eyes.
References
The Quran
Usmani, Mufti Taqi (2011). Introduction to Islamic Finance. Karachi: Dar Uloom Karachi.