We held an AMA in Crypto Royals Telegram group where our Chief Technical Officer, Deniz Dalkilic and Chief Shariah Compliance Officer, Mufti Billal Omarjee addressed the community about importance of Shariah and its application to DeFi. Following is the encapsulated brief of discussion.
Date: 15th July 2021, Thursday
Time: 04:00 PM UTC
Venue: Crypto Royals Telegram group
Host: Ian
Speaker: Deniz Dalkilic (Chief Technical Officer), Mufti Billal Omarjee (Chief Shariah Compliance Officer),
AMA Transcript
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Good Evening everyone, I am pleasured to have Representatives from Marhaba Defi to join our AMA today.
So nice to have you guys @ddnzdd & @shariahexperts with us for AMA Session today.
Shariah Experts LTD:
Good evening and Salamaleikum, its a pleasure to be here!
•Introduction Questions
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Q1) Can you please introduce yourselves as well as Marhabadefi?
Shariah Experts LTD:
I am Mufti Billal Omarjee, I am currently the Chief Shariah Compliance Officer at Marhaba Defi. I graduated in Islamic Theology from Darul Uloom Bury and I am a BA holder in Banking and Law from the London Met University. I did my fatwa training in Blackburn Darul Uloom, all in the UK. I am part of the team that have built Marhaba which is a project that aims to bring halal solutions to the Muslims interacting in the DeFi ecosystem. Done
Deniz:
I’m Deniz based in London. Been a software engineer for about 10 years working on various projects of different size have BSC and MSc in Software Engineering from City University London. Joined Marhaba roughly 2 months ago. I joined Marhaba because there is huge gap in the market to serve the Muslim community and those interested in ethical defi.
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Q2) Please tell us about Marhabadefi in detail and also about $MHB, its total supply, its features?
Deniz:
Marhaba is more than a single product. Its an entire ecosystem that has a range of DeFi products. Some building on existing DeFi “lego blocks” and others completely innovational. We are striving to allow individuals who are keen and interested in DeFi to earn, sell, borrow and yield on DeFi products hence the suite of applications. Our goal is to create an ecosystem where our Sahal Wallet will serve as the gateway and $MHB as the token behind it to power and govern the ecosystem. $MHB total supply will be 1b which has changed from our initial total supply upon more members joining and more brain power contributing to reasons behind it. The token will as mentioned serve as the backbone of the ecosystem and will be put forward in all our products as a way to pay fees, offset fees, earn rewards, stake for perks and more.
•Twitter Questions
Ian | Crypto Royals:
So the First question from Twitter
I read that Marhaba DeFi will bridge the gap between the Muslim community and the blockchain world, but does this mean, that the project is focused only on the Muslim community or are they targeting other communities as well?
From @ysasoma
Deniz:
Marhaba takes Shariah compliance as its main goal and utmost feature. However, it is a”Muslim also” platform meaning its not exclusive and we are very keen to expand to a wider community however as mentioned while keeping Shairah compliance at heart. We are to reiterate a Shariah compliant and ETHICAL defi that aims to be sustainable in the long run.
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Second question from Twitter
DEFI is growing too fast & the likelihood of it being interrupted is very high. What do u think about this & can u be sure that ur project product will be in demand in the long term? $MHB are there any plans to contribute to DeFi’s development?
From @opettttt12
Deniz:
This is true. Hence why we are attempting to offer multiple products within our ecosystem to keep up with market demand and changes. This will continue to be the plan and as a team we want to be as agile as possible to react to market conditions and add value as we go along. We plan to add products as they make sense and expand the product suite with time. All codebase for Marhaba will be audited and open-sourced as we make progress which I believe will greatly contribute to DeFi development in general.
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Third question from Twitter
I found very little information regarding MarhabaDeFi, but what I do know is that you will dive into the NFT world. Will #MarhabaDeFi also create an NFT marketplace on its platform? Can users create NFTs & sell them on your platform later?
From @ritulakim
Deniz:
We will be releasing a full scale litepaper as well as a whitepaper to follow on all our products which will detail how things will work under the hood and explain product line extensively. Yes, it is true we are developing an NFT Marketplace as one of our products. This willl initially run on BSC but have some exciting and innovative ideas to make this marketplace stand out in the crowd. Users will be able to mint, sell, and buy NFTs of course and $MHB will play a key role. I do not want to give away too much but exciting products on our roadmap this being just one.
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Fourth question from Twitter
Marhaba was born to provide Sharia-based DeFi solutions, to include the Muslim community in the whole DeFi ecosystem. But, could you explain how you achieved such a fusion? What strategies did you use to bring sharia concepts to the DeFi world in general?
From @Godpelpa
Shariah Experts LTD:
First of all, you must know that in Islam, every trading method is permissible by default, unless we have a clear proof that something unIslamic is present in that particular trade (for example interest charges). To put it into context, the scholars at Marhaba looked at the products that are being offered in a DeFi ecosystem, and how these products are traded. What ever we think is acceptable from an Islamic perspective, we will keep and what ever we think is not acceptable, we will reject it. So for Marhaba, we will allow only those existing tokens that we feel are shariah compliant to be traded on the platform. For example, we will not allow token created for gambling purposes etc. Similarly, the methods of trading that are unislamic, we will adapt them to make them shariah compliant. For example, conventional forward trading is not shariah compliant, but with few changes to its structure, we could make it Islamic.
Ian | Crypto Royals:
Fifth question from Twitter
Marhaba DeFi brings the first sharia compliant solution to the world of decentralized finance. But what is Sharia? It is the first time that I see this term within finance. What is it and how can it benefit a whole general ecosystem?
From @Alessa199625
Shariah Experts LTD:
Shariah means a way of life. Muslim believe that this way of life has been revealed by God though His Messenger. The objectives of shariah is to protect the religion of an individual, to protect his wealth, his life, his honour and his sanity. Hence, a Muslim will have to follow certain rules to achieve these objectives in his/life. For example, He will have to perform certain acts of worship to protect his relation with God. He will have to stay away from intoxicating substance to protect his sanity. He will have to be trading in certain ways to protect his wealth and the wealth of others etc
So in essence, having shariah compliant solutions in DeFi, will help Muslims to trade in a way that is line with their faith. But at the same time, it will benefit other people who are not Muslims, by bringing to them solutions that are ethical to everyone.
Deniz:
Just to add to Mufti Billal’s answer. Shariah based Islamic Finance is on an exponential growth path whereby 2024 to be valued at $3.89T, currently sitting at $2.88T. If we take that into perspective and lack of Sharia products in the crypto market, Marhaba is striving to bridge the gap and tap into a niche but liquid market.
•Live session
Q1.Hukae_AbC:
Hello
The Marhaba platform will host an open marketplace built on the Binance Smart Chain to facilitate and promote contemporary Islamic Art and Calligraphy, my question is, what is Team Marhaba’s strategy to spread awareness of Islamic Art Globally?
Deniz:
We have a very well experienced marketing team who are I believe and trust are beyond amazing at their job. A marketing plan is being put together to push our products out there and attract users and lliquidity. As we move forward we will be making announcements on our plan of action so please stay tuned and follow our channels.
Shariah Experts LTD:
Outside of the crypto world, we have also something called ethical finance which in UK alone is worth £14billion. This tells us that people are in need of ethical trading solutions especially in the age of where fighting global warming is important, it is therefore imperative to bring adequate solutions to those wanting to trade in a way that is respectful of the planet and people.
Q2.kouba ba:
Assalamualaikum sir.
How do you ensure the safety of User Funds and How do you assure us that you are not RUGPULL after the pre-sale?
Deniz:
We will have every contract audited by firms such as Certik. All our code is open-sourced and will be verified on chain. We will provide transaction hashes for events such as liquidity lock up without an ability to override. Trust is our utmost principal in an ethical platform and we will do whats necessary to protect that value.
Q3.Julia Murad:
Currently the technology is changing every second, is Marhaba afraid in the future its project will be lagging behind new projects with newer technology? Does Marhaba have a plan for this?
Deniz:
Yes. We are as mentioned earlier an amalgamation of DeFi products. We will continue to be and evolve with the market to serve user demands. Given the agility and experience in our team we are confident in keeping up with market demands and changes.
Q4.Khokan Rana:
Is your project a local project and a global project ? Can anyone uses your services from anywhere in the world? Is there are any restrictions of using your service???
Deniz:
Project is global as well as the team members. We have members in Saudi, Indonesia, UK and Australia. We do not intend to limit any of our users and it will be a free platform for all to use.
Q5.Edward:
Based on my research, I read that the Smart Contracts play an important role in the Marhaba Ecosystem as they follow the principles of Islamic Trade, however, can you tell me how you adapted those tenets into each smart contract? How can they recognize the laws of Islamic Trade.
Shariah Experts LTD:
Marhaba has a team of shariah scholars who will be assisting in the development of the respective smart contracts.
Thank you
End of AMA Transcript
About Marhaba DeFi
Marhaba DeFi is a platform built to embody the true spirit of an “Inclusive DeFi” by promoting participation finance, where all communities, including the ones from the Islamic World, can benefit from the benefits of DeFi.
Based on the tenets of Blockchain such as trust, transparency, and security; Marhaba DeFi has encapsulated universally applicable principles of Shariah into those tenets of Blockchain to render a suite of offerings.
Marhaba DeFi was founded with the vision of bringing a “Muslim also” platform, rather than making it an exclusive “Muslim only” offering.
We are a diverse team of researchers, technocrats, influencers, islamic fintech experts & business entrepreneurs, who came together to ensure that Marhaba DeFi prevails in a manner that will impact society as a whole, essentially bridging the gap between the Faith-Conscious Communities and the Blockchain world.
Read more about Marhaba DeFi here:
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