The Yorkshire Building Society is to introduce a mortgage which is compliant with Sharia law.

Up to now the double stamp duty imposed on mortgages has prevented members of the Muslim community from purchasing their homes. But after Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in the Budget his intention to resolve the problem, the Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society moved in.

The stamp duty problem exists because Islam forbids the payment or receipt of interest.

A mortgage which is considered Islamic is one involving a financier buying the property and then selling it on to the buyer who makes instalment payments for the repayment.

The Yorkshire Building Society aims to launch the product by the end of the year.

Iain Cornish, Yorkshire's marketing manager, said: "We are a national building society with a presence in many communities where there is a high proportion of Muslims."

The development of the new mortgage follows moves by other financial institutions such as the HSBC and the Yorkshire Bank, who have set up departments, specifically tailored, to serving the needs of their Muslim customers.

Sher Azam, a representative of the Council for Mosques in Bradford, welcomed the move.

"This step will be greatly appreciated in the Muslim community as it gives recognition to our way of living."