| State-owned bank in the United Arab Emirates found a creative way to comply with Islamic law — by not only banning loans with interest, but also embedding a compass pointing the way to Mecca in its credit cards. The bank, Al Hillaj, introduced the card this week to comply with the tenet of Islamic law, or Shariah, which forbids “riba” — charging interest on loans, a practice regarded as potentially encouraging exploitation.
“We continue to see a growing demand, especially in the Middle East, for Islamic banking in general, and more specifically in our case, for cards that are Shariah-compliant in accordance with the tenets of the Islamic faith,” NBC quoted MasterCard spokesman James Issokson as saying...............................................Full Article: Source
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