Prince Charles has secured a ground-breaking religious decree from a leading scholar of Islamic studies which will enable Muslims in Britain to fully take part in his Prince’s Trust charity.
The Prince of Wales had feared that Muslims shied away from the trust over concerns that taking loans from the organisation violated their beliefs. Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, a Shariah scholar based in Bahrain, has deemed the terms of the loans acceptable, however, in a move that will permit thousands to take business loans from the trust.
“The trust has been aware of concern expressed by some young Muslims about a possible conflict between these repayment arrangements and the concept of riba, the unacceptable levying of exploitative and unjust interest payments,” reports a spokesman for the Prince. “The wording of the fatwa issued by Sheikh Nizam Yaquby makes clear that young Muslims should feel able to participate fully in the Prince’s Trust loans programme.”
Charles is expected to announce his latest news this week on a visit to Groundwork, an environmental regeneration outfit in Oldham. The fatwa will likely please Muslim leaders, including those the Prince chatted with last week during a stop at an east London mosque.
The heir to the throne took part in the breaking of fast for Ramadan, enjoying typical Muslim fare including faluda, a drink make of milk and rose petal syrup, and kushat, a dish of figs, dates and milk, after addressing the gathered worshippers.
“At a time when traditional values and institutions, above all, the family, are under threat from a range of different outside pressures, a place where we can come together and share ideas, aspirations and feelings is incredibly important,” he said. “Nobody has a monopoly on the truth. To recognise that is, I believe, a first step to real wisdom, and a vital blow against the suspicion and misunderstanding that too often characterises the public relationships between different faiths.
“There is, I believe, far more that unites than divides the different faiths in this country, if only people would spend the time to investigate.”
The vice-president of the mosque, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, thanked Charles for the visit calling him “a patron of Islam in this country”.
“Despite the traumatic events of the past couple of months, Islam continues to attract the attention of the world for all the right reasons,” said Mueen-Uddin.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
