Abu Dhabi’s government-owned Al Hilal Bank plans to open Kazakhstan’s first Islamic bank in December, starting with two branches, and wants to expand to other former Soviet Union states.
Note that leaders from Islamic nations have referred to Shariah finance as “missionary work” in the past. In this case, a government-owned entity is pushing Shariah finance internationally. This is more evidence that Shariah finance is not about the free market. It is about centralized control of the economy by a non-market-based authority…
