Why non-Muslims are converting to sharia finance

THE HALAL restaurants established by Muslim migrants in Britain quickly inspired an almost religious following among non-believers. Now a similar conversion may be under way in banking. Al Rayan Bank, Britain’s biggest sharia-compliant retail bank by assets, says around one in three of its customers is non-Muslim, up from one in eight in 2010. The Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME), another halal outfit, also has a following outside the faithful: the “vast majority” of customers are not Muslims.

A bank prohibited from paying interest might seem an unlikely choice for savers. The practice is banned under sharia. Instead, Islamic banks invest deposits and return a cut of the profits, which amounts to much the same thing as far as many savers are concerned.