The changes wrought by the onset of the Arab Spring uprisings in early 2011 have significantly altered the landscape of north Africa– both politically and economically. Before last year’s events, authoritarian governments in many of the north African countries affected had either restricted or refused to promote Islamic finance for political or ideological reasons.
However, the uprisings that surged and rippled across north Africa during 2011 enabled hitherto unknown Islamist parties to emerge from the shadows and take centre-stage in the country’s new political arena. In October 2011, Tunisian moderate Islamist party Ennahda claimed victory in the first free elections brought about by the Arab Spring and now dominates the government that came to power. Hot on its heels, in November 2011, Morocco’s moderate Islamist party, Justice and Development, was elected to lead the country's new coalition government. Perhaps most significantly, in June 2012 Mohammed Morsi was sworn in as Egypt’s first Islamist president.