Section 44January 26, 1990, Sec./Art. 44

Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the following definition of terms is hereby adopted:

(1) Islamic Bank means the bank created under this Act;

(2) Islamic banking business means banking business whose aims and operations do not involve interest (riba) which is prohibited by the Islamic Shari'a principles;

(3) Shari'a has the meaning assigned to it by Islamic law and jurisprudence as expounded by authoritative sources; in the context of this Act, it is construed by reference to pertinent Quranic ordinances and applicable rules in Islamic jurisprudence on business transactions;

(4) Riba has the meaning assigned to it by Islamic law and jurisprudence as expounded by authoritative sources; in the context of banking activities, the term includes the receipt and payment of interest in the various types of lending and borrowing and in the exchange of currencies on forward basis;

(5) Zakat has the meaning assigned to it by Islamic law and jurisprudence as expounded by authoritative sources; in the context of this Act, it represents an annual "ithe" payable by the Bank on behalf of its shareholders and investors in compliance with Islamic Shari'a principles;

(6) Depositor means a person or entity who has an account at an Islamic Bank, whether the account is a current account, a savings account, an investment account or any other deposit account; unless the context requires another meaning, a depositor corresponds to an investor in joint investment of the Islamic Bank;

(7) Current account liabilities in relation to Islamic banking services means the total deposits at the bank which are repayable on demand;

(8) Savings account liabilities in relation to Islamic banking services means the total deposits at the Islamic Bank which normally require the presentation of passbooks or such other legally acceptable documents in lieu of passbooks as approved by the Central Bank for deposit or withdrawal of money;

(9) Investment account liabilities in relation to Islamic banking services means the total deposit liabilities at the Islamic Bank in respect of funds placed by a depositor with that bank for a fixed period of time under an agreement to share the profits and losses of that bank on the investment of such funds;

(10) Other deposit liabilities in relation to an Islamic Bank means the deposit liabilities at that bank other than savings account, investment account, current account liabilities and deposit liabilities from any Islamic Bank or any other licensed bank; (11) Participation in relation to Islamic banking and commercial operations means any agreement or arrangement under which the mode of joint investments or specific transactions shall not involve the element of interest charge other than as percentage share in profits and losses of business;

(12) Share means share in the capital of the Bank or a corporation and includes a stock, except where a distinction between stock and share is expressed or implied.

PENALTIES