Replace the word 'shood'
The word 'shood' is grossly misunderstood, misinterpreted and is being used as a religio-political weapon by vested interested parties with ulterior motives. 'Shood' literally means profit or dividend. But an age-old stigma is attached to the word 'shood' because of money lending business. What has been prohibited in Islam is the practice of 'Usury' which is comparable with 'Dadon' or 'Mohajani' business in our country. In Dadon or Mohajani business, the borrower is forced to pay around ten percent interest per month which amounts to 120 percent per year. As an alternative, the borrower is forced to surrender a fixed part of his crop yield or fish yield to the Mahajan. Islam has categorically prohibited this practice. Nowadays, because of accounting, administrative complications, etc., banks and other financial institutions fix up a rate of return for a certain period, and that return is commonly called 'shood'. This practice and the very word 'shood' is misinterpreted by so-called Islamic banks and cunningly used as a tool. They also fan up religious sentiments among the Muslims on this issue. (I found the interest rates of Islamic banks are the highest. They only use catchy Arabic words to attract the depositors) In the above context, I call upon the government, banks, financial institutions etc. to discontinue using the word 'shood” and replace it by dividend or 'Labbhangsha'.
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