Paper Money is Unislamic

I must thank Lew Rockwell for a link to this excellent and short article: an Islamic judgement on paper money.

The conclusion is stark:

"It is not acceptable. It is a violation of the contract. If this is done with premeditation and no responsibility is accepted, it amounts to pure theft. Theft is punishable in Islam.
To use the note to transfer it to other people, falls under all the restrictions that we have expressed before, with an added element. You are dealing with the promissory note of a known thief who does not admit his guilt or past obligations."

Read the full text here.