Global Intifada

Excerpts from “A Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire”

“Another important provider of loans in Istanbul and the Anatolian urban centers were the cash vakifs, pious foundations established with the explicit purpose of lending their cash assets and using the interest income to fulfill their goals. These endowments began to be approved by the Ottoman courts in the early part of the fifteenth century and had become popular all over Anatolia and the Balkan provinces by the end of the sixteenth century. In addition to the cases mentioned by Jennings and Gerber for Anatolian urban centers, an inventory of vakifs in Istanbul undertaken for the year 1570 also points to the large presence of cash vakifs. The survey also showed that the cash vakifs of Istanbul lent at the constant rate of 10 percent per annum. (p 81)

“Not surprisingly, a lively debate developed during the sixteenth century within the Ottoman ulema regarding whether the cash vakif should be considered illegitimate. The cash vakifs were opposed by those who believed that only goods with permanent value such as real estate should continue the assets of a pious foundation and that the cash vakifs contravened the Islamic prohibition of interest. The majority of the ulema, however, remained eminently pragmatic and the view that anything useful for the community is useful for Islam ultimately prevailed. During the heated debate, Ebusuud Efendi, the prominent, state-appointed religious leader (seyhuislam) of the period, defended the practice from a purely practical point of view arguing that abolition of interest taking would lead to the collapse of many pious foundations, a situation that would harm the Muslim community.” (p 82)

The book goes on to describe how one of the Sultans himself ordered that such practices be attached to the awqaaf.

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