MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan said, "We must put into practice as soon as possible interest-free alternative finance models that are in keeping with our values. We must make these models widespread and, to that end, explain and promote them more."

The Goodly Loan Workshop, organized in cooperation between MÜSİAD and İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (İZÜ), was held at the university's International Research and Application Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance (ISEFAM).

In his speech at the opening of the event, MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan noted that gaining access to financial resources or advancing at a certain level of financial strength requires serious effort and power, and said that one of the most important reasons for this difficulty today is the interest squeeze to which banks, seen as the largest source of finance, expose the business world.

Pointing out that interest is the biggest wall standing before business people who build up savings through great effort and want to turn those savings into investment, Kaan said, "Our business person who wants to set up a new business or increase the capacity of an existing one sets out with sincere intentions, but finds himself inside a chain of interest and compounding debt. This both takes away the blessing of the business and prevents earnings from being sustainable. We see that the long-term credit debt used by the private sector in Türkiye has increased very rapidly in recent years. A large part of this debt is provided by banks and non-bank financial institutions. Since the first day we took office we have stated at every opportunity: we must put into practice as soon as possible interest-free alternative finance models that are in keeping with our values. We must make these models widespread and, to that end, explain and promote them more."

Stating that as MÜSİAD they work on alternative models and share them with both the public and policymakers by producing projects, Kaan noted that the MÜSİAD Qard al-Hasan Fund is also one of these interest-free finance projects.

"We Have Institutionalized the Culture of Mutual Aid"

MÜSİAD President Kaan said they are pleased to be carrying on the Goodly Loan tradition and that there is now considerable demand in the field of interest-free finance.

Saying that they have institutionalized the culture of mutual aid with the MÜSİAD Qard al-Hasan Fund, Kaan gave the following information: "In this way we both lift the interest burden from our merchants' shoulders and, by increasing the blessing of our earnings, open the way for new investments. Our fund consists of two separate funds: the Qard al-Hasan Fund and the Social Assistance Fund. The Qard al-Hasan Fund comprises 70 percent of the dues and revenues collected from the members of the fund. From here we meet the short-term borrowing needs of members who apply and whose need is approved. The Social Assistance Fund covers the aid given without repayment to members or, in the event of a member's death, to their spouse and children. Its revenue consists of the amounts to be transferred from the fund and of conditional donations."

"If We Raise Qualified People, the Path of Our Civilization Is Open"

İZÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bulut, for his part, explained that the economic system offered by modern Western civilization has caused most of the world's population to live at the poverty and hunger line.

Conveying that the future of the Goodly Loan in Islamic civilization presents a model of a human being who produces and shares what he produces, Bulut stated that in Islamic culture lending without interest to someone in difficulty and distress is regarded as more beneficial than giving alms.

Noting that in the history of finance Muslim scholars made many contributions to ensuring that world trade was conducted in accordance with legal principles, Bulut emphasized that until the 19th century Muslims structured the world trade system in a way that would not violate the rights of others.

Stating that their most important mission as a university is to contribute to building a system by working on "halal sustenance" and "halal earnings", Bulut made the following assessment: "I hope the coming 4.5 years will be a period in which postponed issues are discussed more substantially. The duty of universities is to produce knowledge and share it with their stakeholders. Moreover, if we raise qualified people at universities, the path of our civilization is open. The essence of interest-free finance is lending without interest. In an environment where there is no inflation, it is a perfectly functioning system. This system is one that will challenge capitalism."