The British government announced today that it will be the first non-Muslim government to issue a sharia-compliant bond.

On the other hand, how “non-Muslim” is Her Britannic Majesty’s Government anyway? David Cameron’s Arabic is coming along in leaps and bounds, as is the Downing Street webmaster’s.

Say what you like about sharia finance, but, given Islamic strictures on debt, I’m not sure the Federal Reserve’s practice of hoovering up U.S. Treasury bonds would be compliant. So Uncle Sam’s sharia notes may be a ways off yet.