ABSTRACT
The high prevalence of financial exclusion alongside high adherence to Islam in the Arab MENA region (see Gallup World 2010) might lead us to examine whether the two are related, making it crucial to analyse the link between religiosity and financial exclusion in this region. Global Findex data reveal that, amongst the reasons given by individuals for not having a bank account, religious factors were the third-highest reason for not having an account in the MENA region, amounting to 12 per cent of unbanked individuals and around 17 million people in total. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the potential role of Islamic finance in increasing financial inclusion and therefore reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity in this part of the world, which is plagued with below-average economic development and is home to more than 190 million poor people, which translates to more than half of its population.1
