Islamic Banking in Morroco has featured central to debate.Islamic banks to operate in Morocco has been questioned especially since the Islamist Justice and Development Party won in the latest parliamentary elections.

Among the party’s promises were to establish the first Sharia-compliant bank in Morocco. Indeed, only a few days after taking control of the government, the party’s leader held talks with the president of the Qatar International Islamic Bank regarding opening Islamic financial institutions in Morocco.

According to Moroccan economists, the country has lagged behind the rest of the region in the area of Islamic banking,primarily due to lack of interest from the former government. They suggest that, applied correctly based on other countries’ experience, Morocco could use Islamic banking to further its economic development. For example, Islamic finance could attract more investors from the Gulf.

The governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, Abdelatif Jouahri, said that Morocco’s financial sector is willing to incorporate Islamic banking, and that necessary regulations will be formulated to accommodate it.

According to official statistics, the Islamic banking market is estimated to grow substantially by 2015 to reach $2.8 trillion. The African Development Bank recently released a report in which it analyzed the current situation of Islamic banking in North Africa, its future prospects, and possible ways it can contribute to the development of these countries.