Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, has ended a program he once encouraged. The program was intended to increase home ownership among minority groups. The loan program has only provided three mortgages. Pawlenty cited religious freedom as the reason for shutting down this Sharia-compliant mortgage program. Post resource Sharia-compliant mortgage program in Minnesota ends by MoneyBlogNewz.

Mortgages in Minnesota without interest

The African Development Center and Minnesota’s state housing agency got together last year to start a new loan program. The program is for those who follow Sharia law and are low- to moderate-income families. The mortgages are called both “Islamic mortgages” and “Sharia mortgages.” It is against their religion to pay interest which the borrower does not have to do with the program. The borrower would pay the state for the home at a higher rate than the state would buy the home. Payments are the very same as a 30-year fixed mortgage would show. Nevertheless, there is no interest being paid on them. There was a larger program that this program came from. This larger program wanted to increase home ownership among minority groups.

If Governor Pawlenty gets his way, there will not be Sharia loans much longer

Upon finding out about the details of the Sharia loan program in his state, Gov. Pawlenty ordered it shut down. This decision had many asking questions. Pawlenty’s spokesperson said:

"This program was independently set up by the Minnesota state housing agency and did not make any mention of Sharia Law on its face, but was later described as accommodating it," he wrote in an email. "As soon as Gov. Pawlenty became aware of the issue, he personally ordered it shut it down. The United States should be governed by the U.S. Constitution, not religious laws."

A government decision on how tax dollars are spent comes only from the government. That is its right. The Sharia-compliant financial products are not outlawed by the governor in this. There cannot be state programs that support this. He does not think it is right.

What a judge states about Sharia law

In a recent Florida court decision, a judge ruled that Sharia law could be used to adjudicate conflicts between Muslims. Lawmakers are very concerned about this. Several states are considering legislation that would ban the use of Sharia law; some commentators are calling the recognition of this religious law tantamount to "silent jihad" against the United States. Christian, Sharia and Jewish laws are all observed in the U.S.. As long as the state and federal law are not being violated, it's recognized. As long as religion isn’t being imposed on somebody, observing it is not against the Constitution. Even Pawlenty admit this. He said, “The Constitution was intended to protect people of faith from government, not to protect government from individuals of faith.” In the case of the Sharia-compliant mortgages, it appears that Pawlenty does not want his state taxpayer dollars used to offer home ownership to religiously compliant Islamic residents.

Articles cited

Swamp Land

swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/03/25/is-there-a-double-standard-in-tim-pawlentys-disavowal-of-sharia-compliant-mortgages/

Minnesota Public Radio

minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/02/28/islamicfinancing/?refid=0