Islamic Finance Grown by Western Debt Crisis

(Reuters) - Chicago native Mariam Khan never considered Islamic banking until her husband moved the family to Dubai in 2007. But the 36-year-old housewife is a believer now as the Western debt crisis deepens. Her husband opened a family account with HSBC Amanah, the Islamic arm of international bank HSBC.

"When I look at the damage that an interest-based system has done to the U.S. and Europe, I can see why God forbids riba (interest) in Islam," she said. "I'm not particularly conservative as a Muslim but I definitely feel safer within Islamic banking."

It is a sentiment that proponents of Islamic finance, which is based on religious principles including bans on interest and pure monetary speculation, hope will spur unprecedented growth of their industry as a safer, more stable alternative to conventional finance.