The U.S. Treasury Department has announced it will cooperate with Harvard University to teach government agencies involved in the banking industry how to do “Islamic financing,” which involves investing only in companies that follow strict Islamic doctrine, WorldNetDaily.com has reported. Critics of the move are planning a protest outside the Treasury Department, according to CNSNews.com.

The move was prompted due to the increased demand for Islamic financing.

“It is becoming increasingly popular, having reached $800 billion by mid-2007 and growing at more than 15 percent each year. Wall Street now features an Islamic mutual fund and an Islamic index,” WorldNetDaily.com reported.

Prominent Muslim leaders are calling on followers of Islam to engage in this practice, called Sharia-Compliant Financing by some.

“The collapse of the capitalist system, which is based on usury and securities rather than commodities in markets, shows us that it is undergoing a crisis and that our integrated Islamic philosophy – if properly understood and applied – can replace the Western capitalism,” said Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawki, a religious leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical organization based in Egypt, according to CNSNews.com.

Critics of the practice argue that Islamic financing will benefit radical Islamic companies and banks tied to extremism, as they are most likely to strictly follow Islamic doctrine in their business practices.