Islamic Banking

As I understand of Banking, it is mainly mere lending of money to people and paid back with interest. Whereas the Islamic bank should be lending money to people without interest because that is prohibited in Islam. Nevertheless, how the Islamic bank can thrive without the interest. Who will invest on such a deal that is without a profit?
The experts say it’s profit-sharing of investors and the borrower, include the operational funding of the banks. There is also ‘risk-taking’ involved this way. Therefore the Muslim investors still resort to conventional capitalist system of banking, though only modified with a minimal interest, which is still a ribah in a strict sense.
In Islam, there is the so-called zakah and sadaqah system (that is, an obligatory and voluntary donation, respectively). In Shia Islam, there is even khums system which is very much the same with zakah and sadaqah but only a bigger amount of money given.
My point is, the Islamic bank should be lending money to poor or needy people so that they can have the capital to put up business or investments to better their lives - without interest. After paying the capital, and the people have made their lives economically and financially capable, they should be giving back the favor done to them by paying zakah/sadaqah/khums to the Bank, which needs funding to finance its operations and further help other needy people.
The bank, of course, should be checking first the viability of the project proposals or feasibility studies submitted by the borrowers to minimize the risks involved. There should be a systematic procedure to ensure that the investments are productive and viable so that the project will not be a failure.
This way, there would be more and more poor people helped and uplifted from their plight and consequently capable of giving donations, and lesser and lesser people would be needing help. Until there would be no more needy and everyone would then be giving zakah/sadaqah/khums to the bank as a funding for any eventuality.
Hence, the bank should be a public/government-operated agency and not supposed to be a private one. Therefore, it should no longer be called a bank anymore but I think it should be called a Treasury (Bayt al-Mal)
Banking should be abolished from the vocabulary of Muslims because there is no use anymore. It would be remembered only as the institution that has made poor poorer, and the rich richer.
Tax should also be mentioned here. Islam is about all aspects of human’s life. And taxation is like banking; it should be abolished and replaced with the Islamic system of zakah/sadaqah/khums.
This is the true Islamic system. There is no such thing as profit-sharing or risk-taking. Only to please Allah.

Why Shiaism?

WHY I BECAME A ‘SHIA’ MUSLIM?

Initially, it was very hard to accept or understand Shiaism. The first disagreeable concept I encountered during my earliest inquiry was that the First Caliph Abubakr was not supposed to be the first Leader/Caliph/Imam. To me, it is simply unbelievable. So I just shrugged off the thing about Shiaism. Perhaps there are some more other issues about Shiaism that I could not understand, but the Caliphate of Abubakr was enough for me to refrain from entertaining the explanation about Shiaism. I could not accept that the close friend of Rasulallah could have usurped the leadership of the Muslims after the death of the Prophet.
However, when I read the book of the foremost modern revolutionary thinker, Dr. Ali Shariati (Election or Selection), I happened to understand the conflict between the Shiites and the Sunnis. Consequently, I got interested to learn more about the issues of the Shia-Sunni differences. So I researched from both the books of the Shias and the Sunnis. The subjects I have come to understand and accept (then practiced) could not have been realized without my reading from the Sunni books itself.
For example, the combination of Zuhr and Asr prayers, and the Maghrib and Isha prayers. I have been a believer of Shiaism for some years before I performed the combining of prayers. It was because I have read from the Sahih al-Bukhari (the most authentic book of the Sunnis after the Holy Qur’an) that “the Prophet prayed Maghrib together with Isha without any reason at all.” This phrase is enough to convince me the truth of the Shia’s combining of prayers. “Without any reason at all” cannot be disputed anymore, regarding the combining of prayers.
The standing on prayers without the hands folded. Just the same with the combining of prayers, I did not practice the unfolding of hands years after I accepted the belief of Shiaism. I still followed the Sunni way. However, when I have read from the Qur’an itself that on praying, we have to stand straight, then it proved once again the claim of the Shiites. Straight means no folding of hands, just straight.
The Imamate. I have also read from the Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that there will be 12 leaders after him from the family of Quraish. Now, if we think of 12 leaders from his family, there is no school of thought in Islam with12 leaders but the 12 Imams of Ithna Ashari Shiites, no more than 12 nor less. Moreover, I have also happened to read prophesized from the Bible that there would be 12 Princes from the seed of Ishmael. And that further strengthened my belief of Imamate.
The temporary marriage or mut’ah, The Awaited Mahdi, etc. will be dealt with in the future.