Turkey ‘falling behind’ on Islamic banking
Islamic banking is struggling to make progress in the Turkish financial sector, causing the country to miss out on the profits of its Arabic oil-rich neighbors, analysts claim.
Turkey’s inherent distrust of Islamic banking practices means that the largely secular government has so far failed to issue interest-free Islamic bonds ? a move that would allow the EU candidate country to bring in significant Islamic investment from the Middle East.
Islamic banking practices require compliance with Shariah law, which forbids the accumulation of interest among other restrictions.
In recent years, the niche banking sector has grown significantly in the Arabic countries of the Middle East, and the financial industries of European nations including the UK have also pledged to provide better services for Muslim investors.
Economic observers believe that Turkey’s failure to keep up with the trend could mean that it miss out of significant amounts of foreign Islamic investment, with other European countries benefiting instead.
Legislation designed to bring some Islamic banking practices to Turkey has so far stalled.
