SHARIA LAW AND USURY

Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law (Sharia) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the payment or acceptance of interest fees for the lending and accepting of money respectively, (Riba, usury) for specific terms, as well as investing in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to its principles (Haraam, forbidden). While these principles  were used as the basis for a flourishing economy in earlier times, it is only in the late 20th century that a number of Islamic banks were formed to apply these principles to private or semi-private commercial institutions within the Muslim community.

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CHRISTIANS AND USURY

Usury (pronounced /ˈjuːʒəri/, comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, “interest” or from the Latin usura “interest”) originally meant the charging of interest on loans. This included charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change. After interest became acceptable, usury came to mean the interest above the rate allowed by law. In common usage today, the word means the charging of unreasonable or relatively high rates of interest. The term is largely derived from Christian religious principles; Riba is the corresponding Arabic term and ribbit the Hebrew one. The primary focus in this article is on the Christian tradition.

The pivotal change in the English-speaking world seems to have come with the permission to charge interest on lent money: particularly the 1545 Act ‘An Acte Agaynst Usurie’ (37 H.viii 9) of Henry VIII in England (

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ROBIN HOOD THE HERO OF THE HOMELESS AND OVER TAXED

In popular culture Robin Hood is typically seen as a contemporary and supporter of the late 12th-century king Richard the Lionheart, Robin being driven to outlawry during the misrule of Richard’s evil brother John while Richard was away at the Third Crusade. This view first gained currency in the 16th century, but it has very little scholarly support.[15] It is certainly not supported by the earliest ballads. The early compilation A Gest of Robyn Hode  names the king as “Edward,” and while it does show Robin Hood as accepting the King’s pardon he later repudiates it and returns to the greenwood.

THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM – POLICEMAN AND TAX COLLECTOR.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is an important figure in the legend of Robin Hood, and the archenemy of Robin and his Merry Men. The holder of the office of Nottingham’s Sheriff, it is his task to capture outlaws such as Robin Hood, either to ensure the safety of trade routes through Sherwood Forest, or to keep them from poaching the King’s deer. In some stories, the Sheriff of Nottingham is portrayed as having a lecherous desire for Robin Hood’s lady, Maid Marian. He is widely considered to be the principal villain of the Robin Hood stories, appearing frequently, alongside such enemies of Robin Hood as Sir Guy of Gisbourne or Prince John (though rarely both).

RICHARD THE LION KING LION HEART

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Ireland, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was known as Cœur de Lion, or Richard the Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.[1] The Muslims (referred to as Saracens at the time) called him Melek-Ric or Malek al-Inkitar (King of England).[2]

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Knights Templar Banking History

The Knights Templar Order became an extremely powerful entity during the Middle Ages. When a man joined the Knights Templar he took an oath of poverty and his wealth and lands were donated to the Knights Templar order. The first donation of land was given to the Templars in 1127 by Count Thybaud of Champagne at Barbonne-Fayel, fifty kilometres north-west of Troyes. Further donations of money and land were given to the Knights Templar order by nobles and Kings. The Knights Templar were also given certain privileges, for example, King Alfonso I of Spain granted the Knights Templar exemption of tax on a fifth of the wealth taken from the Moors. Various Popes also gave privileges to the order. The Knights Templar order therefore became extremely wealthy and became involved in Knights Templar Banking activities.

Knights Templar Banking – Usury ( money lending )

The Knights Templar banking activities led to their involvement with Usury. Usury was a form of money lending where an initial charge was made for a loan, or interest was charged on the repayments. The increase of the Knights Templar wealth in turn led to becoming involved in banking which in turn brought even greater wealth into the Knights Templar order. Their financial power due to their banking activities led to great political power in all of the countries in Europe of the Middle Ages.

Knights Templar Banking – the decline of the order

The Knights Templar banking activities increased their financial wealth and political power. Powerful monarchs went to the Knights Templar treasurers to obtain loans to finance their interests which included financing the cost of mounting a war. This was the case of King Philip IV of France (1268-1314) who was already heavily in debt to the Knights Templar when he requested a further loan to finance a war. The request was refused and a furious King Philip mounted an attack on the Knights Templar order. Pope Clement V initiated enquiries into the order and thousands of Knights Templar were arrested across Europe on charges of heresy. Anyone found sheltering a Templar was under threat of excommunication. This led to the decline of the Knights Templar Banking activities and the order itself.

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/knights-templar-banking.htm

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Religious restrictions on interest

Most early religious systems in the ancient Near East, and the secular codes arising from them, did not forbid usury. These societies regarded inanimate matter as alive, like plants, animals and people, and capable of reproducing itself. Hence if you lent ‘food money’, or monetary tokens of any kind, it was legitimate to charge interest.[8] Food money in the shape of olives, dates, seeds or animals was lent out as early as c. 5000 BC, if not earlier. Among the Mesopotamians, Hittites, Phoenicians and Egyptians, interest was legal and often fixed by the state.[9]

Banking was never condemned by the early Christians. The early Christian movement largely spread amongst the urban business-classes in the first few centuries; they were a band of shop-keepers, traders and small businessmen. Callistus, who later became Pope Callixtus I had a career as a slave in charge of a bank which apparently failed. It seems clear that the Roman Catholic Church was not at this stage totally opposed to earning a reasonable living by taking interest; money changing must produce some profit if it is to succeed as a business, and Callistus’ Christian clients undoubtedly expected some return for their deposits.[10]

The Church’s attitude hardened by the 3rd century, by which it had ceased to be an illegal sect largely confined to the urban business class; it had become the official religion of the empire embracing in some way all the social classes within it. As for general social conditions, the rich were the moneylenders who were in a position to take advantage of the situation when the ever-increasing tax demands in the last declining days of the Empire crippled and eventually destroyed the peasant class by reducing tenant-farmers to serfdom. It was only too evident that usury meant exploitation of the poor.[11]