About relook

Relook attempts to look at Islamic Banking and finance from a different perspective. Different means looking at the industry and its practices from a perspective which is independent from conventional finance. This blog is a continuation of the Shariah Based Finance blog and a hopefully more improved version.

The principles of Islamic finance has been around for more than 1400 years but in my opinion, despite the boom experienced  for the past 10 years, Islamic banking and finance has not truly adhered to the rules laid out by the Quran and Sunnah.  The many controversies surrounding the industry are a result of this diversion in practice.

Many argue that in order to compete with the larger and more established conventional financial model, Islamic finance has to have viable alternatives. This is a very sound argument if one wish to compete with conventional finance but I somehow feel that Islamic banking should not be competing with conventional banking. Islamic banking offers solutions which are totally different from those offered by the conventional banking industry. Islamic banking (in its true form) cannot fulfil the needs of conventional banking participants simply because the governing rules of Islamic banking contradict the rules of conventional banking.

Two different products cannot be substitutes for each other. They are alternatives. Hence, Islamic banking is not a substitute for conventional banking; it is an alternative to conventional banking.

Back to the raison d'être of this blog, relook seeks to redefine Islamic banking based on the principles set by the Quran and Sunnah. This blog attempts to rid Islamic banking of its copycat image where it is often seen as rebranding conventional products with Arabic names. This accusation may be a bit harsh but after spending six years structuring (or rather, trying to structure) Islamic banking products, I find myself indulging in ‘hilah’ more than once.

A blog may not be able to change things but at least it will give another view which hopefully will make some people relook at the present state of Islamic banking. I’m not saying the contents of this blog is gospel, I still have very much to learn about Islamic banking and finance but I hope whatever little I write will spur a relook into the workings of Islamic banking and maybe change things for the better.

Wallahualam.

I am contactable at relook.ibf@gmail.com