Islamic Banking

The write-up, “Islamic Banking: An Anathema to Civil Society”, by Ather Farouqui (EPW, 7 May 2011) deserves praise for exposing the nefarious designs of Islamists in India to use banking as part of their agenda to advance the cause of “pan Islamism”. These forces are committed to ensuring the hegemony of militant Islam or Wahabi Islam in India. They cannot accept a secular Indian polity and society.

The nature of Indian society, its demography and the huge Muslim population are among factors responsible for the success of Indian secularism. Of course, Indian secularism has its share of contradictions and shortcomings. However, at its worst it is better than any system proposed by the Islamists. Despite their best efforts, the Islamists have not been able to run down or dismantle this secular regime by suggesting their alternate model to Indian Muslims, who have already learnt a bitter lesson in history after the formation of Pakistan.