Working in Riba institutions : job may involve interest

Fatawa Question

[Question one] : Dear Ammo Monzer, Assalamu Alykum ! InSha Allah you are well and in the best of conditions ! Since you are a Qatari citizen at the moment, congratulations on winning the competition for hosting the world cup (only if you approved of the bid in the first place, of course). I am e-mailing because I have a very important question regarding a highly interesting job offer that I received. Since all information given me by the company is confidential, I would be glad if you could give me confidential advice, as always J, jazakumu Allahu khayr ! I have been offered the position of CEO for a big western venture capital company that wants to open up an office in the Middle East. As CEO of that organization, my tasks would include building a number of diverse teams to start different companies in the e-commerce business, an area which has yet to take off in the middle east. The company and its investment philosophy is not Muslim. Hence, in their portfolio they have a number of e-commerce projects that do not fit the Islamic moral and business code (for example, e-dating websites). I wonder to what extent that should impact my decision making process to accept or reject that job offer as CEO. I am sure I can refuse to work personally on specific projects (like building a dating website for the Middle East). However, by creating the infrastructure for the company (establishing contacts with Middle Eastern High Potentials and Entrepreneurs, advertisers, etc.) in the Middle East I am basically paving the way for others to embark on projects that I personally would not necessarily work on. My motivation to work for this company is simple : it offers me an immense learning opportunity and also a possibly high financial return. I cannot imagine another job where my learning curve would be steeper. However, Alhamdulillah, I have very good job offers already on the table that do not have such implications (If I reject the offer of CEO, I would start as consultant with McKinsey in Riyadh / Saudi Arabia InSha Allah). Still, from a personal, career, learning and financial perspective, I believe starting with the venture capital company would be bringing me forward more strongly than any other job. I would be very glad if you could offer me a piece of advice on what would be the best course of action for me here. I am sorry to bother you with this question and thank you highly for your precious guidance and support. Jazakumu Allahu Khayr-You have always been there for me over the years and have contributed significantly to my personal development. Thank you very much and all the very best to you and your family InShaAllah ! [Question Two] : Thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. I will definitely pass on your Salams to my family ! Myself, I am currently in Riad-however, only to visit my fiancé (so far, we have only made kitaab back in July 2010). The wedding will be 10 months from now InShaAllah (also in Riad InShaAllah). I would be glad if I could have you and your family as my/our guest on that special occasion. Once the date is set, I will get in touch with you again. I am still working on my PhD, which I will submit shortly InShaAllah (April). After that, I was initially planning to start with McKinsey. However, plans have changed a little after I received the offer from this venture capital company. I was offered to launch and oversee their operations in the Middle East, and additionally be the CEO of their first venture, which is very appealing. I have also told them that “full Shari’ah compliance” of all businesses is very important to me and to the region, and they agreed to abide by those principles. Still, there are a few issues which I am not yet sure how to handle from an Islamic point of view. For example, a big chunk of their business will be to sell clothes online. Clothes can be sold online only if models wear and show them. This applies for male and female apparel. From an Islamic point of view, is it permissible to use pictures of female models wearing different clothes to show off the products, even if that by far exceeds what is regarded as 3awrah by Islam ? Another example is the financials of the company. Even if they don’t take loans because of full equity funding, there is still the problem of getting interest accrued on the accounts of the business. If I am CEO of that company, how liable am I from an Islamic perspective for the interest accrued on the accounts of the company that I manage (even though it will be only a small minority of the shares that will be mine, and even though the amount will actually be negligible because this is not all planned, but rather a possible side effect that comes with having a regular bank account). I would be grateful if you could share with me your point of view on these two issues. Jazakumu Allahu Khayr for your precious support and advice and your patience with me ! Baraka Allahu Feekum, all the very best InSha Allah, Wassalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatu Allahi Wa Barakatuh, Annas

Fatwa

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Publication Date

2010-09-18

Main Subjects

Financial and Accounting Sciences
Islamic Studies

Topics

• Islamic jurisprudence
• Labour
• Usury

No. of Pages

3

Data Type

Fatawa

Language

English

Record ID

BIM-730569

• APA
• MLA
• AMA