"Sukuk Bond" is a purely business thing which is good for us any day that is based on Quran and Bible

An economist and lecturer at Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Dr. Austin Nweze, has said the controversy over the introduction of Sukuk Islamic bond was created by mutual suspicion among religious adherents in the country.

He said other than that, Sukuk is purely a business financial system adopted globally as a component of the Islamic financial system anchored on the principle of non-interest.

Nweze in a chat with our correspondent at PAU at the weekend said Singapore, United Kingdom and other non-Islamic states adopted the system based on its merit and not on any religious consideration.

It would be recalled that the Sukuk bond raised by the Federal Government has recently generated debate in the polity with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) kicking against it.

However, Nweze stressed that the system is anchored on usury which both the Qur’an and Bible prohibit.

“Basically what that (Sukuk) means is that it is a non interest financing. You can share profit. It is a profit sharing thing”, he said.

According to him, government’s involvement in matter of religion has fuelled the suspicion and the criticism by CAN.

“If you take that out, it is a purely business thing which is good for us any day. In fact it is based on Qur’an and it is also in the Bible, I think in Psalm four or five which talks about usury. You should not be charging interest. If you go deeper, you will see the relationship between the Qur’an and the Bible”, he added.

Feel Free To Comments Here...