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Bonn, Germany - Along with his students at the University of Haifa, the clinical psychologist Ofer Grosbard compiled a collection of advice from Qur'anic verses for bringing up children. Journalist Hisham Adem talked to the Israeli lecturer about the practical pedagogy of the Holy Book. How did you come up with the idea for "Quranet"? Ofer Grosbard: The project was an idea and initiative of one of my Bedouin students, Bushra. Last year, a group of 15 Bedouin graduate students studying educational counselling attended my course in Developmental Psychology. One day, Bushra came up to me and said, "What you are teaching us is not going to be of help to us." Bushra said that when she becomes an educational counsellor, a parent may come to her and say, "A demon has entered my child" or something similar. "Do you think that what you have taught us here will be of any use to me then?" "What would he helpful to you?" I asked her. She replied, "The Qur'an." She said that, in the appropriate context, the quotation of a verse from the Qur'an has enormous impact on Muslims. I brought a copy of the Qur'an to our next lesson. I divided the chapters among the students and asked them to locate the educational and therapeutic verses. There are many of these verses in the Qur'an, exhorting individuals to take responsibility, learn the truth, respect others, etc. I also asked them to write a brief story from everyday life for each verse to illustrate how a parent or teacher can utilise the verse to convey a message to their child. Together we collected more than 300 stories, and I added a simple, brief educational-psychological explanation to each one. That was how Quranet came into being. How exactly does Quranet work? The user selects a particular issue from the list of contents and receives the relevant Qur'anic verse. He or she can then study a brief description of an everyday event illustrating how the verse can be utilised to convey a message. The session concludes with a brief educational-psychological explanation of the process. What are the main goals of Quranet? Quranet transforms the Qur'an into a unique educational tool for parents and teachers, making the beneficial power of the Qur'an widely accessible. Moreover, Quranet reveals the beauty of the Qur'an and its respect for human dignity, providing a resounding response to those who exploit the Qur'an to justify terrorism. What exactly does it mean to use the Qur'an as an "educational tool", particularly in terms of fighting radical Muslim extremism? I am a Jew, and although I taught my students psychology, they taught me about the Qur'an, which I had not known before. They showed me its beauty and the way it deals so well with human relations. The essence of the Qur'an is actually human relations and human dignity – the opposite of terrorism. We used it to show parents and teachers what love means in the Qur'an. Did you cooperate with Islamic theologians? Although we worked on the material, we did not cooperate with sheikhs or imams. We are only educators, and I would like to emphasise this as strongly as I can. The students do not pretend to be interpreters of the Qur'an. They simply want to bring the Qur'an to the child and the family. A father who reads the Qur'an to his son is not automatically an interpreter of the Qur'an. Quoting a phrase from the Qur'an to a child – that one should tell the truth, for example – doesn't make you an interpreter of the Qur'an. I emphasise this because we received many responses from the Arab world that talked about conspiracy and our presuming to interpret the Qur'an without actually reading the material – because the book is in Hebrew, and they only saw the website. After we finished our work, we presented it to well-known sheikhs in Israel, England and India and got wonderful feedback. The project has caused apprehension among Muslim circles inside and outside Israel. They consider it Israeli propaganda and a means of manipulating the Qur'an to suit the interests of Israel. First of all, the initiative came from Bedouin students, who did most of the work under my guidance, and it did not have any connection to the State of Israel. I know that in non-democratic countries it may be difficult for people to believe that not everything is political and dictated by the government. It is true that the State of Israel is proud of this project, which presents the beauty of the Qur'an. Why not? Muslims also believe that the Qur'an was given to all humanity. Is it forbidden that I, as a Jew, for example, study it? I would like to encourage everyone who feels that way to read the material and make an honest judgment. Then they will have the right answer. This project is a product of love, not conspiracy. Do you think your project will be able to establish a bridge between the Muslim world and the West? For Muslims, the Qur'an is a bridge between the Muslim and the western way of thinking. Non-Muslims may discover the beauty of the Qur'an. That's actually what happened to me. The Qur'an built a beautiful bridge of love between me and my students. They showed me the beauty of their culture, something I will never forget. ### * Hisham Adem is a freelance journalist. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org. Source: Qantara.de, 27 June 2008, www.qantara.de Copyright permission is granted for publication |
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Qur'an as therapy
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Islamic Banking: Opportunity or Threat?
If implemented correctly, Islamic banking and finance should be able to co-operate and co-exist with any kind of capitalism, while still adhering to ethical guidelines set by Islamic Sacred Law
Islamic banking, which implies the avoidance of interest, has become a substantial industry during the last four decades. One obvious question is whether its emergence further segregates Muslims from Western values and norms, creating a financial ghetto. An alternative view is that as increasing numbers of people in the West are dissatisfied or skeptical about the banking services they receive, and see them as exploitative or even unethical, the emergence of Islamic banking with its own distinctive morality results in Islam projecting a much more positive face.
Many Western bankers view Islamic finance as a curiosity, and perhaps even a business opportunity, but seldom as a threat comparable to that from Muslim extremism. Indeed, Islamic banking and finance can be regarded as a gentler aspect of Islam, and one that lends itself to dialogue between Westerners and Muslims.
Islamic retail financial institutions, including the Islamic Bank of Britain, the European Islamic Investment Bank, and Lariba Bank in California, are now well-established in a number of Western countries. Furthermore, the leading international banks, including Citibank, HSBC Amanah, Deutsche Bank and UBS of Switzerland, all offer Islamic deposits and Shari'a-compliant financing facilities.
There has been much dialogue between the Western bankers working in these institutions and the Shari'a scholars who advise what is, and what is not, permissible. This dialogue extends to insurance, where Islamic takaful companies have become increasingly active, their distinguishing feature being that they do not hold conventional interest-yielding bonds, and that shareholder funds and premiums paid by policy holders cannot be co-mingled, which could result in the former exploiting the latter's misfortune.
As Shari'a is about universal, divinely inspired principles rather than national laws, leading international law firms have also become involved in Islamic banking and finance, as contracts need to be drafted under English or American law in a way that is consistent with Shari'a. Indeed, the main job of the Shari'a committee members who serve on the boards of Islamic banks and conventional banks offering Islamic products is to ensure that new contracts are compatible with Shari'a principles and, if they are not, to pursue a dialogue with the lawyers concerning amendments and redrafting.
The aspiration of many Islamists is to have divinely inspired Shari'a replacing man-made laws, perhaps even the establishment of a universal caliphate under which everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim, should live. Not surprisingly, such an aspiration is unacceptable for most non-Muslims, and indeed for many Muslims, as it denies choice.
Islamic banking and finance can point to the way forward: it is about extending choice, not restricting options. As each institution has its own Shari'a board, Shari'a compliance is effectively privatized, rather than being a matter of national law. Indeed, each Shari'a board passes its own fatwas, or religious rulings, which further extends choice in the marketplace for religious ideas. Religion, of course, flourishes under competitive conditions and Islam is no exception, whereas when it is nationalized, its adherents soon become alienated.
The Islamic Republic of Iran can be regarded as an example of how not to encourage the development of Islamic banking and finance. There, all banking has been Shari'a - compliant since the Law on Interest Free Banking was passed in 1983. Bank clients have therefore no choice but to use the Shari'a system. The banks, however are state-owned and have little autonomy, even in determining what deposit and financing products to offer. They also do not have Shari'a committees, the argument being that this is unnecessary as the law ensures Shari'a compliance in any case.
The result has been that banking development has been slow, there is little financial innovation, and most Iranians do not have bank accounts. In contrast, on the Arab side of the Gulf and in Malaysia, where Islamic and conventional banks compete, Islamic banks have attractive products on offer and a growing client base. Al Rajhi Bank of Saudi Arabia has become the world's largest Islamic retail bank, and its range of services and delivery channels compares favorably with the best that Western banks can offer.
Islamic banking is here to stay, it is an opportunity rather than a threat, and it has an exciting future. Gaps remain-there is no Islamic bank in Israel, for example, to serve its Muslim population. But if the Central Bank of Israel licensed such an entity it could create much goodwill. It might also encourage the Jewish population living there to question whether the operations of their own banks are compatible with religious teaching in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Ultimately Islamic banking and finance is about the emergence of a distinctively Islamic form of capitalism that may co-exist and interact with Western, Chinese, Russian or any other capitalism. Such a development should be welcomed and facilitated, and not hindered or suppressed
Islamic banking, which implies the avoidance of interest, has become a substantial industry during the last four decades. One obvious question is whether its emergence further segregates Muslims from Western values and norms, creating a financial ghetto. An alternative view is that as increasing numbers of people in the West are dissatisfied or skeptical about the banking services they receive, and see them as exploitative or even unethical, the emergence of Islamic banking with its own distinctive morality results in Islam projecting a much more positive face.
Many Western bankers view Islamic finance as a curiosity, and perhaps even a business opportunity, but seldom as a threat comparable to that from Muslim extremism. Indeed, Islamic banking and finance can be regarded as a gentler aspect of Islam, and one that lends itself to dialogue between Westerners and Muslims.
Islamic retail financial institutions, including the Islamic Bank of Britain, the European Islamic Investment Bank, and Lariba Bank in California, are now well-established in a number of Western countries. Furthermore, the leading international banks, including Citibank, HSBC Amanah, Deutsche Bank and UBS of Switzerland, all offer Islamic deposits and Shari'a-compliant financing facilities.
There has been much dialogue between the Western bankers working in these institutions and the Shari'a scholars who advise what is, and what is not, permissible. This dialogue extends to insurance, where Islamic takaful companies have become increasingly active, their distinguishing feature being that they do not hold conventional interest-yielding bonds, and that shareholder funds and premiums paid by policy holders cannot be co-mingled, which could result in the former exploiting the latter's misfortune.
As Shari'a is about universal, divinely inspired principles rather than national laws, leading international law firms have also become involved in Islamic banking and finance, as contracts need to be drafted under English or American law in a way that is consistent with Shari'a. Indeed, the main job of the Shari'a committee members who serve on the boards of Islamic banks and conventional banks offering Islamic products is to ensure that new contracts are compatible with Shari'a principles and, if they are not, to pursue a dialogue with the lawyers concerning amendments and redrafting.
The aspiration of many Islamists is to have divinely inspired Shari'a replacing man-made laws, perhaps even the establishment of a universal caliphate under which everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim, should live. Not surprisingly, such an aspiration is unacceptable for most non-Muslims, and indeed for many Muslims, as it denies choice.
Islamic banking and finance can point to the way forward: it is about extending choice, not restricting options. As each institution has its own Shari'a board, Shari'a compliance is effectively privatized, rather than being a matter of national law. Indeed, each Shari'a board passes its own fatwas, or religious rulings, which further extends choice in the marketplace for religious ideas. Religion, of course, flourishes under competitive conditions and Islam is no exception, whereas when it is nationalized, its adherents soon become alienated.
The Islamic Republic of Iran can be regarded as an example of how not to encourage the development of Islamic banking and finance. There, all banking has been Shari'a - compliant since the Law on Interest Free Banking was passed in 1983. Bank clients have therefore no choice but to use the Shari'a system. The banks, however are state-owned and have little autonomy, even in determining what deposit and financing products to offer. They also do not have Shari'a committees, the argument being that this is unnecessary as the law ensures Shari'a compliance in any case.
The result has been that banking development has been slow, there is little financial innovation, and most Iranians do not have bank accounts. In contrast, on the Arab side of the Gulf and in Malaysia, where Islamic and conventional banks compete, Islamic banks have attractive products on offer and a growing client base. Al Rajhi Bank of Saudi Arabia has become the world's largest Islamic retail bank, and its range of services and delivery channels compares favorably with the best that Western banks can offer.
Islamic banking is here to stay, it is an opportunity rather than a threat, and it has an exciting future. Gaps remain-there is no Islamic bank in Israel, for example, to serve its Muslim population. But if the Central Bank of Israel licensed such an entity it could create much goodwill. It might also encourage the Jewish population living there to question whether the operations of their own banks are compatible with religious teaching in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Ultimately Islamic banking and finance is about the emergence of a distinctively Islamic form of capitalism that may co-exist and interact with Western, Chinese, Russian or any other capitalism. Such a development should be welcomed and facilitated, and not hindered or suppressed
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