Milestone·Modern
Islamic Banking Movement Begins
- Date
- 1963 CE1383 AH63 years ago
- Place
- Mit Ghamr, Egypt
- People
- Ahmad al-Najjar
In 1963 CE, economist Ahmad al-Najjar started a small local savings bank in Mit Ghamr, in the Nile Delta. The bank operated without interest, following Islamic rules on riba. It offered profit-sharing deposits and loans for small projects. The experiment ran for a few years before it was closed, but it inspired the modern Islamic banking movement.
Why it matters
It is widely regarded as the start of modern Islamic finance, which later grew into a global banking sector.