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Prague: International conference on Islamic banking Via Radio Praha : Islamic banking is today the fastest growing segment of the financial system, and is also considered a more honest and fairer alternative to conventional banking. Cihad Erginay is the Turkish ambassador to Prague, and head of the local group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which organized the event. �There was great interest on the subject from our Czech colleagues, Czech bankers and journalists who kept asking us about it and expressed their interest because they saw that Islamic banks were not as affected by the economic crisis that we see today. That led us to think that it could be interesting to organize such a conference. And as you can see from the participation, there is great interest in the subject.�   ( source )

Ireland: Becoming a hub for Islamic finance Via thejournal.ie : Ireland is one of many countries which has begun to look at Islamic finance as a way to help rebuild the financial services sector. Already Ireland is a base for 20 per cent of Islamic funds based outside of the Middle East, and the plan is to expand that even further. �To someone like myself who has no particular expertise in the area, Islamic finance looks like a good fit for Ireland,� T�naiste Eamon Gilmore told an audience during a speech last month. (...) However while the government is doing a lot to encourage Islamic finance at an international level, this isn�t filtering down to Ireland�s 49,200 Muslims. Ireland�s two biggest banks, Bank of Ireland and AIB, both confirmed that they don�t offer Sharia-compliant personal banking to customers. This means customers who wish to bank according to their religious beliefs cannot take out mortgages, loans or have savings accounts.  ( source )

Germany: Malaysians to bring Islamic investment Via DW : Islamic investing represents a 1.2 trillion-euro market. Now one Malaysian firm wants to bring the trend to Germany. Others have tried and failed before, so it could be a struggle. Confident and professional, the female chief executive of Malaysia-based CIMB-Principal recently gave a press conference in Frankfurt about the only registered Islamic investment fund in Germany. With uncovered hair, red lipstick and silver earrings, Noripah Kamso said, "I want to share the new i-word with you. It doesn't stand for iPad, iPhone or inflation�but for Islamic banking." ( source )

France: Paris seeks to become Islamic finance hub in Europe Via Zawya : A report prepared by KFH-Research stated that new global markets are seeking to join the main players in the Islamic financing industry and services, such as France. France is working relentlessly to make numerous legal and organizational reformations to facilitate the offering of Islamic financial services and products. The report added that there is great potential for growth in the field of Islamic financial services in France, since France seeks to become a hub for Islamic banking in Europe. It noted that 1.5 million clients are willing to use Islamic banking tools and products, which equals USD 18.2 billion. In addition, French authorities have offered strong support to develop Islamic banking services, not to mention the high number of Muslims living there who seek Islamic banking services. However, the report mentioned that some legislations need to be amended. ( source )