Money matters
They
say an Englishman’s home is his castle but for Muslims living
in Britain, getting on the property ladder can be a complicated matter.
Having a mortgage means taking on a loan and paying it back over a long
period, with interest. This places Muslims who want to buy their own homes
in a dilemma, since Islam bans them from either paying or receiving interest.
Called riba, interest (as it’s usually known) is thought to be immoral as the money does not go towards the cost of the property but is a means of making the lenders – usually banks and building societies – rich. That is considered unacceptable as it is said to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
A very high proportion of people in Britain own their own homes, so many Muslims end up taking out a mortgage anyway but would prefer to have an alternative way of raising the money. Some banks have responded to this demand by setting up ‘Islamic mortgages’ where, instead of interest, the lender charges rent while the mortgage is paid off. This is considered a fair payment rather than riba (usury), which Islam would consider exploitative.
Many of these mortgages actually cost more than normal mortgages. Not only that, because the buyers do not actually own the property until the end of the agreement, they end up paying stamp duty twice.
Muslims face other difficulties in the financial world. Some question whether it is acceptable to work in banks or financial institutions at all, because the whole system is based on making money from interest. Others wonder if it is permitted to own a credit card – some imams say this is all right if having a credit card is a necessity and as long as you pay off the debt each month so interest is not charged. For most students, the only way they can get through university is to take out a student loan. Most advisers say this is acceptable under Shariah law, however it is preferable to try and borrow from family and friends.
Gambling is also forbidden by the Qur’an as it is considered corrupt. Yet the National Lottery, based on gambling, gives a lot of money to charity. Many Muslim organisations have refused money from the National Lottery because they are not happy with its provenance. Unfortunately, as government funding for charities has diminished, they often find that this means turning down much needed cash that could help people in Muslim communities who really need it. However, some scholars would say that if the money is used for social, welfare and community projects, and not for building or maintenance of mosques, National Lottery money could be used.