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that concluded that the Christian God and the Muslim God (Allah) are in-
deed the same. This announcement was published inThe Los Angeles Times
on December 3, 2006. We all also discovered in this process of pondering
and soul-searching that we at LARIBA had a way to promote better under-
standing and lasting bridges between the communities of faith: riba/ribit-
free faith-based financing.
LARIBA devoted its Annual Awards and Symposium series of 2002 to
the subject. We asked professors from the University of Judaism in Los An-
geles and a prominent Rabbi in North Hollywood (who has a keen interest
in the field of riba/ribit-free financing) to present the Jewish view. For two
Christian points of view, we invited professors in the fields of lending with
interest charging at Loyola Marymount University to present the Roman
Catholic view, and professors from Fuller Seminary to present the Evangel-
ical view. It was a wonderful and enriching experience that made us under-
stand more fully and clearly the problem of charging for the use (rent) of
money. We also learned the source of the wordusury, which is now defined
as excessive interest—but nobody could answer the question: ‘‘Excessive in
reference to what?’’ In fact, usury was defined long ago as the price one pays
for renting the right to use money. It was wonderful to hear the metaphor of
trying to rent the right of use of an apple, which is impossible because an
apple can only be owned when its ownership right is transferred. That is
exactly the case with money, which is nothing but a measuring tool. It is not
like an automobile, which one can own but can also assign the right of its
usage by renting it. Money is a thing; it cannot be rented. We also learned
that in the early days, if a person of the Jewish faith charged interest, he/she
could not stand as a witness in a Jewish court; similarly, a Roman Catholic
who dealt in interest was denied the right to a Catholic burial.
Faith-based riba/ribit-free (Islamic) banking and finance—RF banking
and finance—is much simpler than it is perceived by the public. It is a con-
cept that makes perfect sense. RF banking is based on the belief that credit is
a basic human right. It is socially responsible, environmentally compliant,
and ethical. RF bankers are trained to make sure that the financing facility
makes prudent economic sense to the family because the decision to finance
(invest) is based on the prevailing actual market prices. Its bankers are
trainednotto help a community member dig a deeper hole of debt, but
rather to help that person get out of debt as soon as possible. RF banking is
a system that commits itself to being involved in real activities, not simply
‘‘renting’’ money in order to make money on money. Its financing activities
involve asset-based or service-based financing—that is, a commodity, a tan-
gible asset, and/or a service must change hands. The primary passion of true
RF banking is community service and development. It is interesting to note
that this is not much different from the foundation of the well-known U.S.xxvi PREFACE