The United Arab Emirates' biggest Islamic lender has struck a technology partnership aimed at embedding artificial intelligence throughout its operations whilst ensuring adherence to religious banking principles.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), which holds the distinction of being the world's first Shariah-compliant financial institution, revealed the collaboration with Indian technology services provider HCLTech at the GITEX technology conference in Dubai this week.

The arrangement will see DIB tap into HCLTech's AI consultancy services and relationships with major cloud computing platforms to roll out machine learning systems across customer service, risk management and compliance functions. The bank intends to personalise customer interactions, accelerate internal processes and bolster its governance frameworks through intelligent automation.

The partnership addresses a particular challenge facing Islamic finance: implementing cutting-edge technology whilst maintaining transparency and adherence to religious law, which prohibits certain conventional banking practices including interest charges and speculative investments.

Obaid Al Shamsi, DIB's chief operating officer, emphasised that technological advancement must align with the institution's founding principles. "Innovation has always been anchored in responsibility and purpose," he stated, adding that AI deployment would remain "transparent and in full alignment with Shariah principles."

The initiative reflects growing confidence amongst Middle Eastern financial institutions in artificial intelligence applications, particularly in a region where Islamic banking commands substantial market share and faces unique regulatory considerations.

HCLTech's Middle East head Vineet Shukla indicated the technology firm would apply its AI capabilities and financial sector expertise to enhance DIB's operational efficiency and customer proposition.

The collaboration arrives as traditional and Islamic banks worldwide explore AI's potential to reduce costs, improve decision-making and compete with agile financial technology startups. For Islamic institutions, the additional requirement of Shariah compliance adds complexity to technology implementation—a challenge this partnership seeks to address through what both parties describe as "responsible" AI adoption.

DIB serves as a bellwether for Islamic finance innovation, and its approach to AI integration will likely influence how other Shariah-compliant institutions navigate the technology's deployment.