Eliminating Ribba.

As of now, at least one leading commercial bank has taken a commendable initiative by quietly but swiftly converting all its conventional operations into 100% Shariah-compliant, riba-free mode. There is no reason why other conventional banks, insurers and DFIs cannot follow suit when there is nothing in the law that hinders them from doing so. As regards any concern for KIBOR, let it be clear that KIBOR (like LIBOR) is merely a yardstick. Once all the commercial banks in the country start operating on a riba-free mode, then the KIBOR too shall be derived on a comparable basis with reference to those Islamic banks.

The regulators too, instead of patronizing the conventional riba-based transactions, should actively encourage, and in fact, require all those operating such Islamic/Takaful windows to either fully convert themselves into Shariah-compliant mode within a run-off period of twelve months (even...