Again it is not as black and white as we sometime think it to be. When the mutafaqqah fatwa was given I was thinking the same issues and I had husn e dhan that there must be some reasoning why it came all of a sudden. But When I read the preface of the "Murawajah Islamic Banking" Maulana Saleem clarifies a couple of points in there...(please keep in mind Ml. Saleemullah mentions this, so please no one start to discuss the issue with me ) a. Such opposition had been going on in the local arena in Pakistan for quite sometime now. so Mufti Taqi Saheb db was not unaware of the mas'ala commonly fingerpointed at. Up untill the issue of the fatwa, these concerns were constantly being ignored. hence It was not an unexpected concern to Mufti Taqi Saheb db as such. b. The issue of the collective fatwa, we infact merely a collaboration of the concerns which were already prevalent, and ignored. So this move infact established the stance of the majority of Ulama and Muftiyan of the country to collectively show confidence againt Mufti Taqi db's stance. c. Mufti Taqi db's stance is abundantly clear from his works, thus no formal correspondence was required to get his opinions. However, since the publishing of the fatwa, our stance has become clear, and made better grounds for him to write up a proper answer to the concerns being ignored. d. Another point he tackled (as far as I remember) was that in principle such issue of ones stance is of no disrespect rather only when two considerable stand points come to forefront, then only can one start to compare and contrast the dalail e. Also mentioned that had we started correspondence as many are asking us again and again, our collective standpoint would not have come to limelight, and would have again go hidden in long lasting academic discussions. Now that both stances are known, the discussion can proceed while giving full consideration to both sides. Thats what I can remember... from Murawajjah Islamic Banking .. begining pages. In the least, that is the issue from Ml. Saleemullah Khan Saheb db.