Haj Saeed bin Ahmed Al Lootah, founder of Dubai Islamic Bank, dies

Prominent Emirati businessman Haj Saeed bin Ahmed Al Lootah who founded the world’s first Islamic bank, the Dubai Islamic Bank in 1975, died on Sunday, June 29.

Apart from establishing societies like the Dubai Consumer Cooperative, Al Lootah who was born in 1923, also established the S.S. Lootah Contracting Company, a joint venture with his brother Sultan in 1956.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as well as Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of Dubai Executive Council, took to Twitter to express their condolences.

حط رحاله عند ربه اليوم الحاج سعيد أحمد آل لوتاه.. أنشأ أول بنك إسلامي في العالم، وكان تاجراً عصامياً له بصماته في اقتصاد دبي..له يد طولى في الخير.. وهو أب للكثير من الأيتام .. عرفت فيه عقلاً راجحاً وحكمة وسكينة.. رحمك الله.. وتقبل عملك .. وألهم أهلك الصبر والسلوان .. pic.twitter.com/SOKzXl9meq

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 28, 2020

“He was a self-made businessman who has had his imprints on Dubai’s economy,” said Sheikh Mohammed adding the Al Lootah was “best known for his philanthropic work and as a father of many orphans.”

“I knew him as a rational and wise man. May Allah the Almighty rest your soul in peace and accept his deeds, and grant his family patience and solace,” noted Sheikh Mohammed too.

In a similar tribute to Al Lootah, Sheikh Hamdan tweeted: “He established the world’s first Islamic bank in 1975 and launched charitable educational institutions and left an exceptional footprint in sponsoring orphans that will remain immortal in the memory of many.”

ودعنا اليوم الحاج سعيد أحمد آل لوتاه … جمع بين الريادة الاقتصادية وأعمال الخير الجليلة. أسس أول بنك إسلامي في العالم في عام 1975 وأطلق مؤسسات تعليمية خيرية وترك بصمة استثنائية في كفالة الأيتام ستبقى خالدة في ذاكرة الكثيرين. رحمه الله، وألهم أهله وذويه الصبر والسلوان. pic.twitter.com/3crtc82HOq

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) June 28, 2020