ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the impact of regulations against interest, both those externally imposed on individuals and banks, and self-induced ones. It further discusses a developmental paper at the British Academy of Management conference in Belfast. The chapter explores the word ideology in a modified and somewhat unorthodox way. The rational ideology provides the basis for interest-based banking, which in contemporary society may be seen as 'conventional' banking. A study of two Islamic banks showed that the organization of the Shari'ah advisory department—whether elected by management or the shareholders—influenced the views of the consultants. Despite a large—and growing—Swedish Muslim population, no Swedish bank found it worthwhile to engage in Islamic banking. In the spirit of Thomas Aquinas, the Swedish law defines usury with relation to the intentions and occupations of the lenders.