The Chairman of Afro Arab Group, Alhaji Abdul Salamui Amadu is advocating for the introduction of Islamic banking in Ghana to help the growing number of Muslim populace.
Addressing participants at the on-going World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain, Alhaji Salamu said the introduction of Islamic banking in Ghana will present an opportunity to the large number of Muslim populace in Ghana to conduct financial transactions in accordance with the principles of Islam.
A subsidiary of Afro Arab Group, Afro Arab Micro Finance operates largely within the Zongo Communities in Accra, with its head office located within the Nima-New Town community. Alhaji Salamu believes the introduction of Islamic banking, through the necessary legal framework will offer institutions such as his to operate strictly as such and provide financial relieves to customers.
The Afro Arab Chairman also called for Ghana to consider becoming a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) so it could benefit from development cooperation with members states as well as seek development support and partnership with the Islamic Development Bank for Zongo communities through the Ministry of Inner Cities and Zongo Development.
Alhaji Salamu was invited to the World Islamic Banking Conference through his Afro Arab Group. He is also a board member the Ghana Gulf Chamber of Commerce – a body which promotes businesses in Ghana and the six gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
This year’s edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference is the 25th anniversary, and it is being attended by over 1,300 participants from over 50 countries
Alhaji Salamu said that even though majority of member states of the OIC are mainly countries with majority of their population being Muslims, Ghana could also follow the lead of other member states whose population are not Muslim-majority, but they have significant number of Moslems like Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon Togo, Ghana joining the OIC
