http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Nobel-Peace.html?em&ex=1160971200&en=2aa5403563508d85&ei=5087%0A
My typical semi-incisive comments:
"Usury" was previously defined as money-lending & considered sinful.
Money-lending is verbotten/forbidden apparently by both ancient
Judaism and by the initial European Christianity.
So, Jews notoriously became the lenders to non-Jews.
See a dictionary's definition of "jew."
Shakespeare's Shylock ("pound of flesh") is sort of considered as
sympathetic--that's how baddd it became.
The vice-versa, however, has not been so well-publicized; though it's
apparently fact, Jack.
In some reading about "interest" &
"usury," I discovered that Jews borrowed at interest from non-Jews.
Well, as Western civilizations developed,
"reasonable interest" became the legal, customary and generally
unsinful norm.
"Usury" in the U.S. is now considered an illegal high interest.
A possible explanation of why some Arab etal Muslim culture(s) are
(imho) regressive:
Money-lending as such contemporaneously is sinful and illegal.
Apparently, banking "fees" are a euphemistic way around the Koranic
injunction.
Nevertheless, apparently growth & development are thus stymied.
This has got to be a serious handicap of the people by a not well
adapting religion.
7th Century does not equate with 21st Century: Therefore some
adaptation is pragmatic necessity.
I've read in USA TODAY of a Muslim bank(s) here in the U.S., which
sounds like a credit union, or a co-op bank, and thus apparently a very
good thing.
And it's hard to argue against this Nobel Prize awarded success.
I think the Swedes/Norwegians are sending-out/implying a rational
worthwhile hope/message.
.
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