The Russian government is working to establish an Islamic bank in the country, the head of the Financial Markets Committee of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, announced on Friday.
Anatoly Aksakov made these comments at an event in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
He said they were consulting with business leaders and Muslim representatives in Russia regarding the establishment of an Islamic bank, adding: “We are also in discussions with Arab countries to establish such a bank.”
With the Muslim population in Russia expected to reach 30 percent by 2033, Islamic banking is gaining in popularity.
Experimental operations for Islamic banking in some regions of Russia, such as Tatarstan, Chechnya and Dagestan, began on September 1, 2023.
