Islam is opposed to and a challenge against all kinds of exploitation, oppression and repression brought upon humanity and has waged its war against want, poverty and hunger since its appearance 1400 years ago. Islam from its very beginning has outright revolted against inequity and injustice of all forms and kinds and at all levels, from individual to social, social to national and national to international.

With this background of Qur'anic teachings and clear directives of Shariah at our hands, let us now turn to the status of interest in the Islamic way of life. In the simplest manner, the Islamic interpretation of interest is that it is a payment on the money lent at a pre-determined rate, irrespective of whether the borrower of the money earns a profit or incurs a loss. It is an established fact that major part of the money available for lending in the modern banking system comes from the affluent and richer sections of the society. The receiver of interest has no role in the earning of his Income by way of participation in the venture of the borrower of his money. Any income, which is not earned by dint of one's own toil is considered unearned and therefore is not due to the recipient. Again, to grab a predetermined fixed income from the borrower irrespective of his earning profit or incurring loss and that without the risk of sharing his miseries is inhuman and therefore un-Islamic. Islam, therefore, considers the institution of interest as an abominable instrument of economic and social exploitation of the have-nots and has declared its total abolition from the arena of human society.

 The unmistaken sign of hope and aspiration has now made its appearance in the horizon; interest-free Islamic banks have emerged; and there is no area of trade, commerce, industry and economic efforts where Islamic banks cannot take its share in the comity of modern international banking.

 It is now time to wind up my humble deliberations. Before I do so, it will be a great failure on my part if I do not make an effort how interest-free banking, even within the modern banking structure, can be implemented in the trade, commerce and industry of our own country. Since I am connected with agricultural financing and have some idea about our subsistent farming communities also, I will confine my endeavor only to the farming sector.

 Our land is pre-dominantly a land of farmers and cultivators— subsistent and marginal—great many of them landless. Bangladesh Krishi Bank with its net-work of about 425 branches all over the rural areas in the country have been making relentless efforts to accelerate the food and other primary productions and thereby to raise the standard of living of common mass who are already in the sub-human level. The burden of bank interest as high as 12% to 13% on this down-trodden and sub-human people is beyond their capacity to bear and they feel more discouraged than ennobled to approach for the loan. I honestly feel, Government of the soil can very well arrange to make this loan interest-free on the justification that the benefit goes to the great majority of the population who constitutes 80% of the total masses and fills the National Exchequer with 70% of the taxes, direct and indirect, to enable the Government run the country. And they are the masses who are life-blood of the nation and are engaged in the main and primary task of feeling and sustaining the existence of the entire nation. To a Welfare State, economic or cash return must be subservient to the social benefit it aims at and no cost to achieve greater benefit for the highest majority should be considered prohibitive. Recently, in the Conference of the APRACA nations held in Dacca, low rather nominal interest has been recommended for the small and subsistent farmers and Bangladesh has been one of the movers of the resolution. In this perspective the Government to bring about a change in the lot of the common man in the rural areas.

 In the aforesaid paragraphs I have made an effort to humbly project my own attitude and outlook on the Islamic banking. It is the eminent thinkers economists and political philosophers present in this august conference who will give a concrete shape for a new road to happiness and prosperity for the toiling and down-trodden masses of the neglected 3rd World and in which the Islamic banking will act as the torch-bearer.

N.B.—Views expressed in this presentation are not necessarily the official views of Bangladesh Krishi Bank.