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 A national council of Islamic economy has been founded in Tunisia with the aim of facilitating the development of the country’s Islamic financial system. The council, whose board has 28 members, was officially launched on Thursday, May 10, businessesnews website reported. Add Comment  The Tunisian government is looking to issue the country’s first sovereign Sukuk this year to finance the budget deficit incurred during last year’s uprising. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the CEO of Al Baraka Banking Group, revealed that the government is currently in talks with banks with regards to a potential issuance. “They are very serious about it,” he added. Al Baraka Bank is also currently consulting the Tunisian government on Islamic finance, although it was not revealed if the bank is also providing consultation on the Sukuk.
 The Arab Spring revolutions that have so far seen the toppling of three of the Maghreb’s most intransigent dictators caught spark in Tunisia and it appears the country is about to trigger another revolution in the region: Islamic finance.
A poll released by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center last Friday shows that the majority of Tunisians, 61% feel that Shari’ah should be a source of legislation, but not the only one.  Retail and investment banks that offer sharia-compliant services are savouring the opportunities emerging in post-revolutionary countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The prospect of providing budgetary support for governments and the increased power of moderate Islamist parties bode well for the development of sharia-compliant finance, bankers say. In all three countries, Islamist groups were suppressed for decades and Islamic finance struggled to gain traction.  Sharia-compliant funds had been proving increasingly popular until the global financial crisis and then the Arab Spring frightened off investors and stymied private equity activity in the Middle East.
Fundraising volumes have collapsed, with not a single sharia fund raised so far this year, acacording to data provider Preqin.  Qatar, the world’s fastest growing economy, and Abu Dhabi are luring bond investors keen to cut their investment in markets closer to Europe’s debt crisis.
The average yield on Persian Gulf bonds fell three basis points, or 0.003 of a percentage point, this month to 4.719 percent yesterday, 12 basis points off the lowest ever level reached on Aug. 2, the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC Conventional US Dollar Bond Index shows.  Behind the resolutions, the statements and the rhetoric of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) at the recent 36th Annual Meeting which was held in Jeddah on June 29-30, were some commendable suggestions from member countries aimed at speeding up the efficiency and effectiveness of the bank.
 Takaful Insurance companies around the world especially in the Middle-East, North Africa and South Asia have set a target of $12billion USD premium generation from takaful insurance for 2011 as the demand by Muslim populations across the globe for the products are on the rise. Takaful insurance operators at the sixth Annual World Takaful Conference held in Dubai predicted a $12 billion USD premium income from Takaful insurance this year. The $12billion projected premium from takaful insurance represents 31 per cent increase from the $9.15 billion income generated from the Islamic products in 2010
 A bank owned by the son-in-law of deposed Tunisian leader Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali has been placed under the control of the central bank, Tunisian state TV said on Thursday. Ziytouna Bank, Tunisia's first Islamic bank, started operating last year. It is owned by Sakher Materi, Tunisia's most prominent businessman despite being only in his early 30s. Materi's Princesse Holding contributed 51 percent of the $30 million starting capital.
 Zitouna Takaful is born. It is a limited company whose future subscribed capital is 15,000,000 dinars.
The company's purpose in Tunisia and abroad is to operate in accordance with the principles and values that it has adopted and for which it was established, particularly those relating to Takaful and Re-Takaful: | 
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