The anatomy of Usury

Samir Abid Shaikh, the former Secretary General of the International Association of Islamic Banks, has produced a truly remarkable book. Most fields of knowledge today are conceptually out of reach for interested laymen who are puzzled as to where to begin. Indeed, since the recent worldwide economic crisis there is much discussion about Islamic finance and usury and, arguably, many wish to understand this area better. Shaikh’s book is a fantastic place to start. Like another excellent Muslim work before it, Banking: The Root Cause of the Injustices of our Time, authored by Abdassamad Clarke, (Diwan Press: 2005), Shaikh’s book spans a comprehensive history of money and usury, modern economics as well as an introduction to Islamic Sacred Law related to usury and financial instruments – all of which must be digested before one can make sense of them as a whole. The author begins with a history of religious perspectives on usury, focusing on the Abrahamic religions. Through this he shows how a unanimous interdiction slowly gave way to the current state of affairs where Islam remains the only religion to prohibit usury in practice. One might argue and say: what is so bad about usury? Shaikh’s step-bystep breakdown of the history of money, the rise of usurious banking, and its current exploitation of everyone, from third-world farmers to first-world homeowners will convince every uncle who has ever asked their religious nephew, ‘must Islam really be against banking?’