IslamicFinance.de

The attempts to offer conventional financial products in Afghanistan are perceived as yet another foreign attempt to challenge basic tenets of the Afghan society. This perception - shared not only in the countryside but also by sectors of urban society - is fuelling resentment and distrust among people. As a consequence, the already meager financing in the rural areas, where 75% of the population lives, is drying up and almost non-existent. This is undermining any meaningful economic and social take-off. Within this landscape, Islamic finance and takaful represent a necessary tool to address the population's discomfort with the conventional approach, ease cultural tensions and creatively mend social relations.