TORONTO - The Muslim Canadian Congress wants the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. to stop a study considering the introduction of so-called “Islamic banking” to Canada.
The organization, which says it represents Muslim moderates across Canada, has sent a letter to the CMHC asking it to abandon the study.
It calls the study an attempt to scare Muslims into believing they should pay more to the banks and demand less in return as an act of religiosity.
The congress says Imams are warning Muslims not to deal with conventional banks and accuses the clerics of being paid to “herd” Muslims toward a system it says is based on lies and deception.
Islamic financing is based on the principle that no interest is charged and is not widely available in Canada.
Under its principles, a Muslim depositing money at a bank would receive no interest for their deposits.
The congress says it would like to see a better deal from banks for all Canadians, instead of dividing people into religious groups.