Qatar in clash with clergy over ruling on investment - Gulf News

QUOTE. Doha - In an unprecedented move, the Qatari Government announced it will take a hard line against imams whose fatwas damage the national economy. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce warned it would take legal action against Islamic scholars and imams who interfere in national economic and financial affairs, causing harm to the ministry and the country.

'We are studying how to seek legal action against those Islamic scholars whose fatwas (edicts) cause immense harm to the ministry,' Shaikh Mohammad Bin Ahmad Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce, said during a press conference.

A hot dispute has raged over the past two weeks after some ulemas (Islamic jurists) and scholars including renowned Qatari imam Ali Saloos said buying shares in companies that deal with interest-based commercial banks is not allowed by Islam. Saloos condemned the practice, prompting many Qataris to avoid buying shares or withdraw their investments from companies listed on the Qatari bourse. UNQUOTE