Muslims have to compromise parts of their religion for home loan

Monday, February 24th, 2020

A Christchurch man is struggling to get on the housing ladder because New Zealand’s banks don’t offer sharia-compliant loans.

Hisham El Zeiny has lived in New Zealand for 21 years but is unable to buy his own home, partly because paying or receiving interest is forbidden in Islam and the country’s banks don’t offer alternative finance options.

The 66-year-old, a former imam of the El Noor Mosque who now works as a cooking and Arabic tutor, said Muslims view the process of making money through lending as “usury”. Read more

Additional reading

News category: New Zealand, News Shorts.

Tags: Home loans, Muslims

Fifth Gospel Living – book review

Simple, sweet, sometimes heart-breaking, and always invigorating, Fifth Gospel Living is the latest publication from Fr John O’Connor and his Food for Faith ministry. It comprises stories of personal encounters with God. The 96 reflections are the result of a Read more

Treaty of Waitangi should be considered as a covenant relationship

A hīkoi opposing the Treaty Principles Bill has made its way to Wellington. Those who took part in the hīkoi, along with supporters around the country, both Māori and non-Māori, consider the Bill to be a betrayal of the commitments Read more

Christianity stands on threshold of new Reformation

Keynote speaker Tomáš Halík (pictured) a leading Catholic intellectual and author from the Czech Republic, says Churches must transcend national, religious, cultural boundaries A new reformation for the 21st century must transcend “the current forms and boundaries of Christianity,” resist Read more

CathNews New Zealand