In a bid to create a level-playing field for Shariah-based banking, a new draft law in Bangladesh will prohibit conventional banks from offering Islamic banking services. Under the proposed Islami Bank Company Act-2024, banks that wish to provide Shariah-compliant banking must either form a subsidiary or adjust their business model. Currently,...
Kenya has marked a significant milestone by listing its first Islamic bonds, worth $23 million, on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). President William Ruto inaugurated the Shariah-compliant bonds, known as Sukuk, and introduced by Linzi Finco Trust Islamic. The move is part of Ruto’s initiative to enhance affordable housing through ...
Ugandan President Yoweri Museven has inaugurated the national operations of the country’s first interest-free commercial Islamic bank. He highlighted its potential to boost Uganda’s financial sector and attract Muslim investors. Salaam Bank received its license in September, following parliamentary approval and Museveni’s end...
AUGUSTA, Maine – An American bank in the state of Maine has introduced Islamic mortgages to comply with Sharia law. Androscoggin Bank took more than a year to develop the Islamic mortgage program in collaboration with community organizations and an expert in Sharia-compliant lending. The bank also hired Ayesha Baye, an Ethiopian immigran...
ANKARA (AA): Efforts are on to make Hong Kong’s markets more conducive to Islamic finance, Chief Executive John Lee said on Wednesday as he met the Indonesian business community in Jakarta. “We strive to enhance our financial market’s diversity, including in Islamic finance. Over the past decade, we have created a conducive platfor...
GENEVA (AA) – Islamic giving plays an increasing role in helping the forcibly displaced people, a UN refugee agency official said on Friday. At the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Khaled Khalifa, a senior advisor to the High Commissioner and UNHCR representative to Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, launched the fifth Isla...
MOSCOW (AA) – Russia has started a pilot project on implementing Islamic financial practices in several regions with Muslim-dominated population. The experiment will take place in Dagestan, Chechnya, Bashkiria and Tatarstan and will last for two years. After that, the authorities will decide on the suitability of the Islamic model for Ru...
NEW DELHI (AA) – An eminent Islamic economist and Indian scholar, Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi has passed away at the age of 91 in the US, Muslim organizations have confirmed. Siddiqi, an alumnus of India’s renowned Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and widely recognized for his work in Islamic economics, was the recipient of the prestigiou...
KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank has launched the country’s first Islamic Sharia-compliant account called Halal. Prominent Muslim personalities attended the launch event held in the country’s capital Kampala. Percy Lubega, head of business development at the bank, said: “We have today launched th...
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will hold its annual meeting in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh from Wednesday. The four-day meeting will start under the main theme of “Beyond Recovery: Resilience and Sustainability” and will be attended by ministers from 57 member countries and representatives of Islam...
