Islamic Financial Services
From The Report: Qatar 2026
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Qatar’s Islamic finance sector has become an important component of the country’s broader financial system, supported by the expansion of sharia-compliant banking, takaful (Islamic insurance) and sukuk (Islamic bonds) issuance. The sector benefits from a well-established regulatory framework and institutional participation, helping position Qatar as a key player in regional Islamic finance markets. Amid the ongoing conflict and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, these foundations are supporting stability and continued activity across the sector. Qatar’s sharia-compliant industries are poised to gain from the resumption of government-led development initiatives, supporting domestic growth and continued integration into global Islamic banking markets. While the IMF’s February 2026 Article IV Mission to Qatar anticipated 4% real GDP growth in the medium term, the outbreak of the Iran conflict that same month led to some shorter-term revisions. Nonetheless, backed by a strong financial sector, non-hydrocarbons resilience and LNG production expansion, longer-term forecasts remain positive for the sector.

This chapter contains an interview with Fahad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Group CEO, AlRayan Bank.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Building momentum: Growth in Islamic banking is reinforcing Qatar’s position as a leading centre for sharia-compliant finance
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Qatar’s Islamic finance sector has become an increasingly important component of the country’s broader financial system, supported by the expansion of sharia-compliant banking, takaful (Islamic insurance) and sukuk (Islamic bonds) issuance. The sector benefits from a well-established regulatory framework and strong institutional participation, helping position Qatar as a key player in regional Islamic finance markets. Amid the ongoing conflict and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, these foundations…

Analysis

Digital horizons: Government support, a mature Islamic finance ecosystem and rising demand for financial services are creating opportunities
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The development of digital finance is a pillar of Qatar’s medium-term development programme, the Third Financial Sector Strategic Strategy (FSS-3). Running from 2024-30, this roadmap seeks to boost financial technology (fintech) in general, while its cross-cutting emphasis on developing Islamic finance means the FSS-3 offers support for Islamic financial technology in particular. This governmental backing is combining with a raft of other advantages and dynamics to accelerate growth in Qatar’s…

Interview

Taking the lead: Fahad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Group CEO, AlRayan Bank, on Islamic banks pushing the sector’s digital transformation
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Interview: Fahad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Group CEO, AlRayan Bank, on Islamic banks pushing the sector’s digital transformation How does the recent growth of Qatar’s Islamic finance sector shape its next phase of development in financing and retail banking? AL KHALIFA: Reaching QR393bn ($104.8bn) in Islamic finance assets by the first quarter of 2026 confirms the sector’s role as a structural pillar of Qatar’s financial system, shifting the focus from scale to the quality and direction of…