nBY ABDALGHANY AOUESKHANOV
Shaykh Rumi said once upon a time that only a hypocrite can say: What is Halal is not possible.
Unfortunately but not unexpectedly there had been some Muslim intellectuals who began to criticize the Kelantan Government for deciding to give people choice between pieces of paper and gold and silver coins; one of most passionate among them - let’s remember the name for history books - is Syed Akbar Ali, prominent Malaysian columnist, blogger and part-time banker. With total disregard to the established Fiqh on the matters of Money, Zakat and Riba, he posted a lengthy article in his blog called “Dinar Kelantan”. The article is replete with historic accounts of how paper money in the past was introduced in different places and times as promissory note redeemable in gold, silver or other tangible commodity hence, according to his ‘expert opinion’, paper money came to us naturally as a result of perfection of the monetary system. With a typical banker’s mentality Syed Akbar doesn’t go father to conclude that all fiat money experiments in the past, be it in Ancient China, Europe or Mamluk Egypt, had brought inflation and decline of the living standard of general public and eventually brought down the ruling class. And of course he doesn’t want to talk about modern paper money which is nothing but a toilet paper printed at will, robbing everybody especially those with low and fixed income, and causing havoc all over the world. Yet Syed Akbar has cheeks to say he is not against gold dinar. So one half of his brain says - paper money is fraud, the other persists - paper money must be good. It could be schizophrenia.
And we saw another capitalist pundit, the University Malaya’s Economics and Administration Faculty senior lecturer Dr Zuraina Yusuf, who is very worried that if all Kelantanese use money mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah “…there will be no space for the banks to keep the coins, the Kelantan people would then have to buy new purses and wallets to store their gold and silver coins”. Is she serious? Shouldn’t she be dead concerned with the Federal Reserve’s newly created trillions of dollars out of thin air and not where we are going to keep our coins?? In our pockets! In our houses! In Wadiah institutions! We will circulate and invest them and pay Zakat!
One day before long ‘when the shit hits the fan’ and all paper currencies become ‘surat khabar lama’ and banksters will be chased off on the streets, Dr Zuraina will have to burn her PhD certificate and change her disgraced profession to a noble one. And Syed Akbar Ali too. I would sincerely suggest him to become a bus driver and paint his bus in words “Paper Money is Fraud” on one side, and “Banks are Criminals” on the other. Maybe then future generations will pardon him.
While Muslim economists with PhD from third class Western universities are pessimistic about the return of the Shariah Currency the most brilliant Western financial experts have enthusiastically commended the Kelantan’s decisive step towards a sound monetary order.
Max Keiser, brave and witty US economic analyst, broadcaster and ex-stock broker, posted the news about August, 12 in his website which is viewed by millions of his fans around the world. It was Max Keiser who said it recently on record: “The days of fiat currencies are numbered. Only the one who is sadist to himself can still hold on paper money”. In of the episodes of his TV show “Keiser Report”, a weekly financial news and analysis program aired on Russian TV network “RT”, Keiser interviews the Dutch filmmaker who made the documentary “Time for Change” that included substantial material on Pak Zaim Saidi and the Dinar movement in Indonesia (see the second half of the episode).
Another brilliant American expert, Peter Schiff, the author of the book "Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse" also posted the Dutch film “Time For Change” at his PeterSchiffChannel in Youtube. Interestingly, Schiff posted only the part of the movie featuring Indonesian gold dinar movement.
Of course not all economists and intellectuals in Malaysia have been sold out. In this country we too have big caliber scholars and intellectuals who could see through the 12th August the dawn of the new era. Prof. Dr. Kameel Meera of International Islamic University Malaysia defended the Kelantan government’s initiative in his article posted in the 30th August issue of “The EDGE” magazine.
Dr. Prof. Mahmood Sanusi, who taught for decades Islamic Law and Finance in IIUM and later in INCEIF, too does not trade his Deen for establishment’s favour or safe retirement. In a recent talk at a private function Dr Sanusi said that today, when we have dinar and dirham easily available, if the mahr for marriage is paid with paper money the marriage is not valid. Prof. Sanusi belongs to the family of noble Ulama, his father was the grand mufti of Singapore until at one point the Singapore government pressed him to adjust the Eid dates according to the secular calendar, the alim refused to compromise the law of Allah even to a minute and had to leave his position.
US financial analyst and investor, now based in Malaysia, Saeed Haqq, wrote this excellent piece of wise reasoning.
May Allah gather Muslims who desire His Deen, which is Muamalat. May Allah make Muslims pay Zakat according to the Sunna of His last Messenger, that is with 'ain, like dinar and dirham, and to be taken by the hand of sultan.