“My Islamic Faith Prevents Me From Paying Interest on My Student Loans”

73

Yes, of course it does.

“My Islamic Faith Prevents Me From Paying Interest on My Student Loans,” Huffington Post, April 24, 2015

Question:

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Dear Steve,

I had two citi-student loans and at some point in time within the last 5 years they went to Navient (Sallie Mae)

I recently called to ask if I could get a lower pay-off amount as the original loans were 32K and now they are up to about 64K because of deferment and interest. They said no and I believe these may have been private loans.

My conditions have changed. I was born into Islam, but never knew much about my religion. Since 2012 I have been learning more about my faith and it is strictly forbidden in my faith to have dealings with interest.

I am offering to pay off the original amount I owe however due to religious reasons would like them to recognize that my awareness and conditions have changed from the time of originally accepting the loan with Citi-Student Loan Corp and not even with them at Sallie Mae.

Can I get the interest wiped out and close this account and case with just paying the original amount borrowed?

I am in the Seattle, WA area are there attorneys that you can direct me to that can help?

Amir
student-loan
Answer:

Dear Amir,

Yes, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding the Islamic approach to interest. You might enjoy reading Debt & Religion: A Look at the Islamic View of Debt With Imam Asal.

Asking any lender to adjust their terms and conditions after the fact for religious reasons is just not going to happen.

You’ve also learned a painful lesson, the damage caused by deferment is enormous. Most people think it is an innocent time not to make payments and get a payment vacation. In fact it just puts the debt in turbo and the interest causes the balances to explode.

I have observed Sallie Mae, now Navient, settling more loans, click here, but you’ll need expert assistance to get yourself in the right spot to settle them. If you just call up and ask, they will generally say they don’t settle. However, people are receiving offers in writing from Navient without asking when they are significantly delinquent.

The next issue is if you will have the money on hand to settle. You’ll need to either need to payoff the settlement in one payment or three or four.

If you don’t have funds available to do that then you might want to talk to your mosque about Zakat, “a muslim charitable fund that followers may ask for help from in order to repay problem debt. Zakat is a obligatory charity for Muslim followers.” – Source

But even considering all those facts above, if your faith is guiding your repayment then you’ll have to seek wise counsel on how to deal with what the the Imam told me. He said, even those that borrowed with interest, are obligated to repay their entire debt and if they don’t they will prohibited from entering paradise when they die.

How you overcome that little issue is above my pay grade.

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cheongyei
cheongyei
8 years ago

These ‘victims’ seem to do everything they can to victimize others.

JacktheRipper
JacktheRipper
8 years ago

We need more “Steves” in the world. These muslims need to learn, civilized people don’t have to bow to their violent and deluded beliefs. They cannot trump good action and morality with their psychopathic faith. It is not our job to degrade our better selves to accommodate islam’s 6th grade mentality. Sadly, this muslim here seems to represent the majority, who think that because they choose to live in darkness and retardation, we too must do the same. I beg your murderous pardon, but I have to disagree.

Jim Aroyo
Jim Aroyo
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

We also don’t have to bow down to Christofascists in this country who want a theocracy.

JacktheRipper
JacktheRipper
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Agree. They may not be nearly as dangerous as the radical muslims, but they present their own challenges for secularists. Let’s take care of the killers first, then we’ll worry about the pests.

omg!
omg!
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

The Bible Belt is made of leather and it’s studded with rusty nails.

Sharon Patro
Sharon Patro
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

While we are focused on the killers Muslims will continue to grow in numbers in this country and with the help of liberal judges, sharia law will have invaded our country right under our noses.

JacktheRipper
JacktheRipper
8 years ago
Reply to  Sharon Patro

You may be right. But the people in this country still have a voice. And if we make enough stink maybe we can turn this thing around. Europe is probably gone, but there’s still hope for us in America and Canada. We need to stop muslim immigration and create new anti-sharia laws. I wish we could get rid of their mosques too, it’s where these vipers meet and strengthen their cause against us. It’s all so seditious, these nazis don’t belong on planet earth.

Sharon Patro
Sharon Patro
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

I agree with you but I no longer believe that enough people in this country have the balls to raise a stink. Most people in the U.S. are focused on what the government can give them rather than keeping their independence and freedom.

JacktheRipper
JacktheRipper
8 years ago
Reply to  Sharon Patro

It’s a Marxist takeover of America. No morals, no country.

Sharon Patro
Sharon Patro
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

Absolutely.

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago
Reply to  JacktheRipper

We need to plant Arab and Persian Christians in the mosques to let us know what is going on. They would have to have fake names and be educated in how to pretend to be Muslims. They have the most to gain from our eradication of shariah.

milt w
milt w
8 years ago
Reply to  Sharon Patro

Just means that we must concentrate on moderate terrorists also .

Any person who reads and believes any of the outright stupidity proven in their book of many faces is guilty by association.

Saw on some libtard program naming the contributions made by Islum . Unfortunately 1 of the M&M’s said the world is sitting on 2 mountains and the space program is made up by the great Satan.

I switched when the justification for wife beating and pedophilia was started up.

tallron
tallron
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Another moral relativist asshole heard from.

gager
gager
8 years ago
Reply to  tallron

Atheist morals are objective not subjective. Have you ever heard of Aristotle? Excellent moral teachings.

Susan
Susan
8 years ago
Reply to  gager

Jeffrey Dahmer, an infamous serial killer and atheist sentenced
to 900 years in prison, said “if a person doesn’t think that there is a God to
be accountable to, then what’s the point of trying to modify your behavior to
keep it within acceptable ranges?”. He brutally killed seventeen men and boys,
dismembering them, storing their parts and indulging in cannibalism and
necrophilia. I know he seems a little out of
place with these group of leaders however his quote says a lot about atheist
and a lot about how our society is failing because of it, Mao Zedong, blamed for the death of between 20 and 67 million of his “comrades”., Pol Pot, remember the killing fields,
and Joseph
Stalin; In total, estimates of the total number
murdered under Stalin’s reign, range from 10 million to 60 million. His
government promoted atheism with mass propaganda in school, and held a terror
campaign against the religious. He crushed the Russian Orthodox Church,
leveling thousands of churches and shooting more than 100,000 priests, monks
and nuns between 1937 and 1938. I am guilty of some cut and paste so save the comments.

zeus
zeus
8 years ago
Reply to  Susan

this, sir or madam is called “an appeal to an unqualified authority”. if dahmer also said, ” lentils are yummy” it holds no more weight than if i said it, as neither he nor i are experts on lentil yumminess ( but i do make a mean lentil soup) .. dahmer was a monster and also blond, therefore blondes say, ” if a person….” his is an opinion not representative of anything other than his own .
Penn Jilette well known atheist an libertarian may be a better spokesman for atheist morality. mao,stalin,pol et al were monstrosities with tangential links to atheist theory and again they are in a subset of dictators from whom one can’t draw a real trend or causality or predictive inference based on this alone .. but keep in mind that Pham van dong or whoever was premier of vietnam during 75-79 no doubt a fellow atheist and communist invaded cambodia to stop the khmer genocide while the Protestant/Abrahamic world did nothing and stalin liberated ALL the extermination camps in Poland while christians who knew about the goings on did not interviene to stop it .

Susan
Susan
8 years ago
Reply to  zeus

I will agree with that the free world waited to long to take down hitler and allowed many genocides to take place and there is no excuse for that. The Crusades waited to long to stop the march of islamic killers and close to 300 million died at the hands of muslim slaughters and now are doing nothing while IS and all the jihad groups have picked up the black banner of death and are slaughtering non-muslims unfettered . Many people want something done but the free world leaders are living in fear or have been bought out by the Saudis. In America you have a muslim (p)resident and your government is staked with the muslim brotherhood. Atheist, I actually used to be one, aren’t trying to conquer the world nor are Christians. Suggest for now that we keep our eye on the real problem Islam. We can discuss whether you believe or not in a better world after islam is destroyed.

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago
Reply to  Susan

Why do we need to discuss it at all? In the America that I love, your religion (or lack thereof) is your own business.

gager
gager
8 years ago
Reply to  Susan

You confuse lack of morals with atheist. Most atheist have better morals than theists.

Susan
Susan
8 years ago
Reply to  gager

Ever heard of Jesus, an excellent moral teacher.

gager
gager
8 years ago
Reply to  Susan

I know exactly who jesus is and that’s why I prefer Aristotle. You will never know aristotle.

omg!
omg!
8 years ago
Reply to  tallron

From the high moral ground you can throw out low grade insults such as “asshole”? Surely piety has more refined vocabulary.

mjazzguitar
mjazzguitar
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

When Messiah comes we won’t have much of a choice about a theocracy, will we?

Dale Netherton
Dale Netherton
8 years ago
Reply to  mjazzguitar

There is no Messiah.

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago
Reply to  Dale Netherton

Who knows. Time will tell. In any case, how about as much respect for our Christian brothers and sisters and their beliefs as the forced respect imposed by law for the islamofascists?

Dale Netherton
Dale Netherton
8 years ago
Reply to  sandra schmidt

Everyone knows if they look at the lack of evidence and the thousands of years of false prophesies.

Kmeares
Kmeares
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

OR the atheist wackos who want to ban all religious belief starting with CHristianity and then maybe remembering there’s another religion in the world.

Warren
Warren
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

The Christians have at least learned that you can’t burn people at the stake anymore which is more than what you can say about the Muslims. Worst case is that Westboro church and a handful of nuts who kill an abortion doctor. Yes it is annoying to have those Jehovah Witnesses ringing your door bell because they want to convert you. But that is better than having Islamists kicking your door down because they want to decapitate you.
I don’t believe that God exists, but I believe that Atheists, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and whatever have to unite against our common enemy that murderous cult of Islam.

No Quarter
No Quarter
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

You do that Jim.

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Why don’t you go consort with your bearded, scruffy, rapist, pedophile buddies then, Jimmy? Pamela has the right to control the content on her site. She owns it.

It is your Muslim BFFs who want a theocracy. Those of us on this site are from many different faiths and no faiths. We just don’t like the socio-political system shariah with its discrimination against women, gays, and non-Muslims. If you support that, you don’t belong here.

CJP
CJP
8 years ago

If someone does not believe in paying interest, then they need to save up the money and pay cash instead of borrowing it. I am sure that is not against their religion.

Sharon Patro
Sharon Patro
8 years ago
Reply to  CJP

I payed my way through college that way. It was hard and I did without a lot, but I did it.

roccolore
roccolore
8 years ago

How long before Hamas-CAIR goes after the loan company?

Jim Aroyo
Jim Aroyo
8 years ago

Did it bother anyone here that Donald Trump filed bankruptcy four times, not only avoiding paying interest but principal as well? Of course, that’s ok in Muslim hating right wing land.

tallron
tallron
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Let’s get rid of bankruptcy laws and re-institute debtors prison. I’m sure your lefty cohorts will love that.

Madame_deFarge
Madame_deFarge
8 years ago
Reply to  tallron

Only if the new debtors prison allows them to come in and take all personal possessions while you are incarcerated. If inherited goods then they are even more pleased. That lamp Granny left you was to go to the general good.

mjazzguitar
mjazzguitar
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

He can go bankrupt.
But then he’ll go to hell.
And none of us said it was okay.

joker
joker
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

What has Donald Trump to do with price of fish?

milt w
milt w
8 years ago
Reply to  joker

The smell is similar?

Kmeares
Kmeares
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

And democrats can commit felonies in office and the leftys will cheer when his wife runs for President.

SCREW SOCIALISM
SCREW SOCIALISM
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Islamofascist, hijacking, beheading, stoning, gay teen hanging loving leftard sez what?

milt w
milt w
8 years ago

And that only covers the wedding parties what happens when they lose their tempers?

milt w
milt w
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Not Really…Trump is as big an empty airhead as is every fox “news” investigative reporter.Say only what is put out by the muSlime in charge of the gayest white house ever.

He doesn’t even realize that when his Chicago day jobs are public he could end up with the ISIS hug and flying lessons.
Until they realize that moderate moslime are only moderate until they get caught they will not be considered MSM or like Science of stupid wanna be’s.
Moderate muSlimes rank right up there with the cheques in the mail and trust me from a used car salesman.

Warren
Warren
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Perhaps people were stupid to lend him money after the first time.

Susan
Susan
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

Poor Jim you just don’t get it. It is the death cult of Islam I hate. Muslims are the first victims of this evil and when they follow their religion they become criminals. Just take a look at the ME and parts of Africa.

Raphael
Raphael
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim Aroyo

jim, first, im no fan of the Donald. i think hes a sleaze. i find it funny that you are ripping on him for not paying interest in his corporate bankruptcies and talking about muslim hating in the same comment. Muslims dont pay interest. its against the policy of Islam…there are actually government programs that allow them to get no interest loans based on their faith. just find it a bit odd you mixed those 2 issues.

mjazzguitar
mjazzguitar
8 years ago

Love the conclusion.

omg!
omg!
8 years ago
Reply to  mjazzguitar

The suicide vest is free and cancels your student debt -an irresistible offer.

milt w
milt w
8 years ago
Reply to  omg!

Only if you first demonstrate how it works at the local mosqe during all 5 prayers and only if you have 4 more witnesses to help you do it with 4 different vest’s. .

omg!
omg!
8 years ago

If a muslim uses Bank of America, or whatever, to deposit their money as savings, do they refuse to accept any interest added to the money by the bank?

joker
joker
8 years ago
Reply to  omg!

Of course not because according to them it is allah’s willing. For a Muslim a banana is curved and often straight. Well they should take either banana in their asses or other places.

SCREW SOCIALISM
SCREW SOCIALISM
8 years ago
Reply to  omg!

omg! AKBAR!

Rachel
Rachel
8 years ago

This is funny.

milt w
milt w
8 years ago
Reply to  Rachel

Right , I never realized that you could get a loan while on welfare but then I have always worked for a living and not once have ever felt that the world owes me anything for free. That said the loan company should put a lean on ISIS (Ignorant Stupid Interbred Slobs).

Rachel
Rachel
8 years ago
Reply to  milt w

LOL – love your new acronym for that breed 🙂

SCREW SOCIALISM
SCREW SOCIALISM
8 years ago

Our Infidel faith and LAWS compel us to throw your thieving lifted jihadi ass in jail.

Now YOU are paying Infidel Jizzya.

LOL!

SCREW SOCIALISM
SCREW SOCIALISM
8 years ago

Your Islamic faith ends where our Laws begin.

YOU have to pay taxes.
YOU have to pay your bills.
YOU have to pay your debts.

Otherwise LEAVE America and LEAVE your property for sale to satisfy your debts – and never darken ours shores again.

INSHALLAH!

jon wright
jon wright
8 years ago

Interest is not allowed to be charged by a Muzzlem but a Kafir not under laws of Islam should be allowed to charge interest,especially if the Muzzlem getting the loan was made aware of the interest beforehand. Islamic Law states the loan MUST be paid back.

Big Knobby Ones
Big Knobby Ones
8 years ago

THE IRS, Obola, and the US Goobermint may allow Muztards to get away with a lot of crimes but when the Muztards start stealing the God of the Goobermint (money) they are going to crack down hard on the Muztards.

PA1974
PA1974
8 years ago

You should have pointed out the problem your religion has about paying interest BEFORE you borrowed the money. If I understand Sharia Law correctly, not paying the money back is the same as stealing and the penalty under Sharia Law for stealing is having your hand chopped off. So if you really want to follow Sharia Law, do it all the way!

Dale Netherton
Dale Netherton
8 years ago

Interest is a rational way to pay for money you borrowed. Some dumb decree that says you should not have to pay it ignores the facet of reality that you must pay for what you have, such as money that is borrowed.

RiverFred
RiverFred
8 years ago

Waive the interest if he agrees to move to the Middle East and never come back to the USA.

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago
Reply to  RiverFred

Yes, that would be an excellent savings in the long run.

Sharon Patro
Sharon Patro
8 years ago

Too bad, you agreed to pay the loan now pay it freeloader.

Gene Sokolowski
Gene Sokolowski
8 years ago

I’m certainly not an expert in Islam, but….. I don’t think it is against the religion to pay interest, but that it IS against the religion to LEND money and CHARGE interest. This belief led to the success of Jewish banking.

john
john
8 years ago

i was born in to this world with brown hair .,…. now that its grey i dont want to pay tax on purchases i make nor do i want to pay the interest on my loan on my house …… ill be out side waiting with my unicorn for your decision

St. Michael Defend Us
St. Michael Defend Us
8 years ago
Reply to  john

Exactly!

Dave from San AntonioD
Dave from San Antonio
8 years ago

Oh…so “now” the individual decides they want to follow islam…to try and not re-pay interest on a loan. If they were “born into islam”, then they should already know about “Islamic loans” and the idea of paying interest…yes overcome that “little issue”…;)

AlanfromNY
AlanfromNY
8 years ago

My response to this scumbag would have been “Hey asshole, if you didn’t have those beliefs at the time you borrowed the money, then we don’t care what your beliefs are. You will repay us with interest or you can pay your lawyer to defend the lawsuit where we will do all we can to ruin your credit rating, garnish your salary, seize whatever assets you own and make your life as miserable as you scumbags make the lives of infidels who are forced to live in proximity to your Musim Shiiteholes.

Juanita
Juanita
8 years ago

This is an interesting ruse to try to get out of paying a debt. I wonder if this young man has a car loan that he is paying interest on or if he has the full amount he will need if he wishes to buy a home. Furthermore, I wonder who or what entity would loan him money with an agreement that he will not be paying any interest.

His “quandry”, however, is one that cuts across religious lines. So many young people think that they should be excused from their financial obligations because “of circumstances”.

A big problem in this country is that people simply cannot accept when they cannot afford something. Hence,they borrow money through credit cards, student loans and loans of other types. Indeed our nation is in debt to the tune of over 18 trillion dollars. Forty cents of every dollar the government spends is borrowed.

In the current economy, it is simply foolish for students to put themselves in huge debt especially if they are borrowing those amounts of money to prepare for a career with traditonally low salaries.

Everybody does not have the resources to go to an Ivy League school with large tuition and fees and accompanying expensive life style.

Many students live at home during their years in school, go to the local or state college whose cost are much lower, and work part-time to cover their expenses. In the summers, they work full-time.

Other students go to community college for the first two years and then transfer to
a more expensive, but excessively so, institution.

There are still students who take time out to earn the money they need if they see that they are going to have a shortfall.

The point is that no one has a right, whether ostensibly ground in religion or and other “rationale” to live above his means and then complain or indignantly try to wrangle a way out when the debt comes due.

steveyuhas
steveyuhas
8 years ago

I think this is marvelous – let’s do away with federal student loans for everybody since Muslims don’t think they should have to pay them back. The fewer Muslims in school, the less impact the Muslim Student Associations (Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas) will have on the student body. The fewer the hyper-observant Muslims, the better the education opportunities will be for the whole of the university.

Vicki S
Vicki S
8 years ago

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!

sandra schmidt
sandra schmidt
8 years ago

People who refuse to pay their debts raise the cost of borrowing for everyone. Another loser, wanting something for nothing.

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