Some of these local leaders are first-generation immigrants from the Muslim
world, and they usually resort to checking with their teachers in their home
country. Communication, translation, and familiarity with the local norms,
cultures, and ways of doing business in the United States, Europe, and the
West in general are a real challenge with this group. Others, who can be
considered the new generation of American (Western) imams, are either
raised or are born in the United States. It is our sincere hope that these
imams will bring a new dimension to the study and implementation of Shar-
i’aa that will be useful and beneficial to all.
Community Leaders These are professionals who took a keen interest in
organizing the communities in general and religious services for the commu-
nities in particular. These professionals became the heads of the national
Islamic organizations in America and in the European countries, and the
heads of the local communities in major American states and in countries
such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the rest of Europe.
They mostly are self-educated in religion and are well read. Some of them
have even decided to go to religious seminaries to learn more about the
Qur’aan; in some cases, they memorize all of it and decide to be further
educated in Shari’aa. They usually take a neutral, well-advised position of
not sanctioning any commercial activity, business, or company, because
they are afraid of the repercussions that may impact the whole community
if the company or bank they recommend fails or uses practices that result in
the loss of the community’s investments and assets.
Academics and University Professors of Economics and Finance These univer-
sity professors and recognized research scholars in the field of finance and
economics have invested their life in research in the field^8 of finance and
economics at the highest academic levels. Some of them, by the nature of
their discipline in research and analysis, have attained a very high level
of proficiency and scholarship in the field of Shari’aa and in particular the
science of commercial transactions and business. Many have been critical of
the models used in Islamic banking (the Shari’aa-compliant models devel-
oped in the 20thcentury) as it is practiced in the world. They concluded
that the methods and contracts used may fulfill the requirements of Shari’aa
on paper and in form, but these solutions do not achieve what the spirit and
intent of RF financing was instituted to do.
Dr Abdul Hamid Ahmad Abu Sulayman,^9 formerly Rector of Interna-
tional Islamic University—Malaysia and a Saudi Arabian religious scholar,
stated:
Islamic Banking is a good exampleofafieldwherebasicallythe
Western system has been partially ‘‘Islamized,’’ but in many aspectsRF Banking Model for the 21st Century 237