human right of obtaining credit in a host country. The Shari’aa
Board in the setting we propose should complement the onsite regu-
latory supervision to make sure that the models used are in fact the
same as advertised and that these models comply with Shari’aa and
that the bankers and their representatives apply Shari’aa when they
‘‘sell’’ these products and services. Unfortunately, the extent of the
Shari’aa Board’s involvement in the operations of many Islamic
banks has been minimal, and their job ends at sanctioning a model
or a product. Unfortunately, the ‘‘Islamic’’ bankers use the names of
these respected scholars to advertise and seek acceptance in the mar-
ket. The question we have is: Does every light bulb we buy have to
have the signature of Mr. Thomas Edison to make it an acceptable
light bulb?
&It is interesting to note that the focus of the scholars was concentrated
on the legal aspects of the contract but did not include some of the ba-
sic requirements that define the substance and spirit of the true RF
banking and finance system. For example:
1.Very little is mentioned about the aspect of social responsibility of
‘‘Islamic’’ RF finance. It is true that the rules put forward by many
Shari’aa Boards and scholars prohibit participation in financing the
businesses that involve the manufacturing or selling of intoxicants,
gambling, illegal activities, or promiscuous activities, as well as so-
cially irresponsible activities such as environmentally damaging in-
dustries, businesses that do not treat their employees and customers
fairly, and institutions that use false advertising to con their custom-
ers. However, one would notice little or no mention of the responsi-
bility of the RF banker to local communities by investing the
deposits gathered from a community back into that community—as
in the U.S. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)—before allowing
bank deposits to be invested outside the communities (and in some
cases, outside the country), depriving the local communities of
the opportunity to help their citizens grow and prosper and to create
job opportunities for all. Also, it is noticed that there is no mention
of treating people equally, without discrimination based on national
origin, wealth, tribal ties, skin color, gender, or language.
2.There was no significant sign that the scholars of the Shari’aa and
the ‘‘Islamic’’ bankers tried to benefit from the vast body of bank
regulations that deal primarily with fairness and respect of human
rights in the communities, as well as to protect those who experi-
enced unexpected and unfortunate circumstances beyond their con-
trol, as we see in the bankruptcy law and codes in, for example, the
United States.RF Banking Model for the 21st Century 251