Hawala • Hacker News Board

Re: Hawala

#51

Post by amjd » Mon, Nov 04, 2013, 6:21 PM UTC

wmf wrote: post #49

amjd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's the hypocrisy in that? Perhaps I'm just being dense, but I fail to see the connection.

When paying a gift instead of interest, is the "gift" obligatory by any chance? Is it the same thing under a different name?

Islam forbids interest of all kinds. So if you are taking a gift in lieu of interest, that would be forbidden as well. Of course not everyone follows the rule to the letter but that doesn't change the fact that the rule exists and there are people who take it seriously.

Re: Hawala

#52

Post by bonobo » Mon, Nov 04, 2013, 7:06 PM UTC

mhb wrote: post #45

wmf wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard for me to escape the feeling that Islamic banking replaces usury with hypocrisy, but I guess high-context Cultures could probably make the same argument in reverse.

For a real laugh, check out Shabbat elevators or the eruv: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_elevator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv

I don't think it's appropriate to make fun of somebody else's culture "for a real laugh," but these links were interesting anyway. So, thank you.

Re: Hawala

#53

Post by kimonos » Tue, Nov 05, 2013, 1:26 AM UTC

Very interesting! I find it very helpful to know the different cultures of the world.

Re: Hawala

#54

Post by notdrunkatall » Tue, Nov 05, 2013, 2:17 AM UTC

jholman wrote: post #41

rmc wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be this way with/amoung Christians (in the middle ages). But non-Christians could lend to Christians. That meant Jews were able to lend to Christians. People often did 'hacks' against it, such as using pawn shops. Many cities in Europe have a "Lombard Street" based on this ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_banking )

So San Francisco is not the only city with a remarkably crooked Lombard Street?

I wonder if that is the source of the street's name...

Re: Hawala

#55

Post by notdrunkatall » Tue, Nov 05, 2013, 2:18 AM UTC

bonobo wrote: post #52

mhb wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a real laugh, check out Shabbat elevators or the eruv: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_elevator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv

I don't think it's appropriate to make fun of somebody else's culture "for a real laugh," but these links were interesting anyway. So, thank you.

It's perfectly appropriate, provided you're not Jewish.

Re: Hawala

#56

Post by AsymetricCom » Tue, Nov 05, 2013, 3:07 AM UTC

lfmb wrote: post #43

cup wrote: post #12

I work for quite a big Hawala system (www.bakaal.com.au) and were thinking about implementing bitcoins. Moving through the legislation is the biggest stumbling block.

If you reach the bitcoin community, probably, you will find help. The community is really friendly towards the spread of bitcoin use.

Deflationary pressures tend to do that. I wonder if they're motivated enough to "stimulate the economy"

Re: Hawala

#57

Post by rmc » Tue, Nov 05, 2013, 12:10 PM UTC

notdrunkatall wrote: post #54

jholman wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So San Francisco is not the only city with a remarkably crooked Lombard Street?

I wonder if that is the source of the street's name...

Unlikely. San Francisco is a young city (by european standards), and is younger than when there was Lombard Banks. It's more likely that when people were naming streets they just picked a nice name (or a familiar name), rather than naming it after the local Lombard Bank that was there.