Gold as a currency in Islamic finance?

Many advocates of Islamic banking suggest using gold as a replacement for the money created through the interest rate mechanism. While Islamic banks could be allowed to use gold deposits (by way of selling gold for cash), they must return the depositors’ gold or keep it for safe custody. Furthermore, Islamic banks can not extend credit to their customers as they will not be able to use the depositors’ gold (by selling it for cash) to offer financing to those who may need it. This will, in turn, have implications for economic growth. It is important that the governments take a proactive role in implementing this proposal. As the government of Malaysia is developing tools for liquidity management for Islamic banks, gold dinar may not be an entirely abstruse concept.