While complimenting EPW for bringing the current debate on Islamic banking in India to its readers (“Islamic Banking: An Anathema to Civil Society”, EPW, 7 May 2011), one cannot help but comment on the poor grasp of the author of the issue.
On the central theme of the article the author writes, “…levying interest is prohibited by the Qur’an. However, it must be stressed that this applies to the practice of usury and not bank interest, as modern banking did not exist when Islam came into being.”