Every once in a while I like to use this space to explore a controversial topic that upon closer examination has a fairly simple explanation.

When news that the federal government was going to get Canada’s big banks to offer halal mortgages as part of the new budget, the proverbial poop hit the fan on social media. I won’t get into specifics, but the comments were mostly derogatory, none of which were based on facts.

First of all the word “halal” is not a synonym for Muslim or Islam. It is an Arabic word that means “permissible”. And in the context of Canada’s Muslims it means permissible according to their faith.

The opposite of halal is haram, which means it is not permissible according to the Islamic faith.

One example of haram is the charging or paying of interest, or riba. According to the Islamic faith, Muslims are not permitted to either pay or charge interest, which means they cannot issue or take out loans or mortgages as non-Muslims do. This prevents them from using traditional western financial institutions. It is also why an estimated 50 per cent of Muslims rent as opposed to own a home.

Those who wish to own a home have three options. There is a rent-to-own model in which the lender buys the asset and leases it back to the customer over a set period. The payments go toward the capital and provide a profit for the financial institution.

There is a form of partnership with the lender which involves both parties owning the property until the equity is gradually transferred and the partnership dissolves.

And there is a credit system in which the ownership is immediately sold to the customer, with profits included in the final offer.

In all three arrangements, the lender factors in an additional charge over and above the actual cost of the home, which usually ends up being more than the interest would be. All three arrangements are risky and often make it prohibitive for many Muslims to own their own home.

By expanding the availability of halal mortgages, the federal govern-ment is hoping to make them more accessible to the average Muslim.

It does not mean that Muslims are going to start getting “free” mortgages. They won’t have to pay interest in the common sense of the word, but they will still have to pay a price associated with getting a mortgage should they be approved in the first place.

The aim of the federal government is to get Canada’s big banks to establish mortgage products that are halal and therefore permissible according to Islam. It won’t cost you or I anything. It will, however, cost the person getting the mortgage, not in interest maybe, but in other charges. After all, banks are in the business of making money one way or another. Whether it’s halal or interest shouldn’t matter to them.