MOSCOW – Russia on Friday formally launched Islamic banking, a move thathas sent a wave of joy to the Muslim community.
Reports said President Vladimir Putin signed the law on Islamic banking onAugust 4 this year to launch the system in the country with 25 millionMuslim population.
The Muslim community in Russia has thanked the president for thisinitiative and said that Islamic banking has become the need of the hour.
Some Islamic financial institutions were already working in Russia, but nowfor the first time Islamic banking has been launched at the official level.
Initially, Islamic banking is available in the Muslim-majority regions ofTatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya and Dagestan. If the programme issuccessful, it will be implemented across the country.
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The Muslim population has been demanding Islamic banking for a long time,but the Ukraine war and Western countries’ pressure on Russia’s economycaused delay in its launch.
The Islamic banking operates under Sharia law which strongly discouragestransactions involving interest.
