Sunday, March 21, 2010

Islamic Finance in Canada

OSAP is a 4 letter word in my dictionary. Many muslims keep using this option because they say you don't have to repay the loan for 6 months which are interest free for that period. I'd like to know who is rich enough to pay back thousands of dollars within a 6 months time period? There is one group who are trying to change things by offering no interest loans to students; IANA. There are also some Islamic scholarships for certain careers. As for my kids they paid for their own education, alhumdullilah.

To buy a house there is ISNA and UM Financial and a new company on the block is Ijara which does not ask for a huge downpayment like most do. They say on their website that 5% down or even 0% down is available.

4 comments:

  1. Assalaamu aleikum
    I have no head for figures at all, but it looks like the Islamic Finance sector is really taking off, alhamdulillah. Finally we have options to buy homes and make other investments in ways that don;t involve riba. There's a big seminar on Islamic Finance in T.O., not sure if it is this weekend or next.

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  2. Wa Alaikum Salaam

    You're right..here it is.

    http://events.linkedin.com/UFANA-Conference-2010-Growth-Potential/pub/249925

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  3. as salamu alaykum,

    I just wanted to mention that OSAP is not interest free. I took OSAP for university thinking I would have the 6 months to pay it off after I was done and wouldn't be charged any interest. Well I paid it off within 5 months and surprise surprise they sent me a bill after the 6 month period was over for an additional $50 in interest. I called them and was told that the interest starts accumulating from the day you complete school but they just don't add it on until after 6 months and that this was mentioned in the 'fine print'. Hopefully this will help someone, subhanAllah.

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  4. Wa Alaikum salaam

    Thanks so much for this comment. So OSAP is even more evil than people think it is. Next time when someone mentions this topic I will tell them about your experience. Its time to blow the lid off the myth.

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