The world’s first airline compliant with Sharia law has been unveiled in Malaysia.

Rayani Airlines, a new low-cost airline, says it strictly follows Sharia rules “based on guidelines by relevant authorities”, according to managing director Jaafar Zamhari.

Speaking as the firm launched its maiden flight , Mr Zamhari announced the rules include mandatory hijabs for female Muslim cabin crew, while non-Muslims must wear “a decent uniform”.

Prayers will be recited before the departure of each flight - while alcohol is strictly forbidden and any food and beverages provided will be halal, according to local news outlet Astro Awani.

Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Show all 45 1 /45 Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-3.jpg A crying woman is escorted to a bus for relatives at the Beijing Airport after news of the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane Getty Images Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-2.jpg Officials in Kuala Lumpur say they have still detected no trace of the jet Reuters Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-5.jpg Taiwan has sent three coast guard patrol ships, several P-130 military transport planes and a frigate to join in the search, and will dispatch another frigate to join in the search Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane v3-malaysia-4.jpg A soldier looking out for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane from a Taiwan Air Force C-130 military transport plane over the South China Sea Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-3.jpg A Royal Malaysian Navy Fennec helicopter prepares to depart to aid in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane over the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-2.jpg Taiwan Navy's La Fayette-class frigate Cheng De prepare to leave Tsoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane web-malaysia-2-reuters.jpg A woman writes a message of support and hope for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 on a banner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Reuters Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane web-malaysia-1-getty.jpg Vietnamese Navy's Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Le Minh Thanh speaks to reporters Getty Images Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane 13MarchMalaysiaFORweb.jpg.png Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane search-5.jpg People from Vietnam tie messages expressing hope for family members and those on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane search-3.jpg Vietnamese Navy's Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Le Minh Thanh (R) points at a map to show the area where Vietnam is conducting search activities for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in Phu Quoc island Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane search-1.jpg Commander Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar (L), Lieutenant General Dato' Sri Ackbal bin Hj Abdul Samad (2nd L), Malaysian Defence Minister, Minister of Defence & (Acting) Minister of Transport Dato' Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (2nd R), and Malaysian Defence Forces chief Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin discuss their strategy during a search and rescue mission flight in Kuala Lumpur Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane search-2.jpg Rescue members use binoculars to look for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malysia-ap.jpg Tough questions: Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein insists Malaysia will not give up until the plane is located AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane malaysia-twin-20140311.jpg The search for missing flight MH370 continues (left) as the image of two Iranians travelling on the flight with stolen passports is displayed on a screen at the Interpol headquarters in France AFP/Getty and AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane v2-Malaysia-EPA.jpg EPA Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane v2-malaysia.jpg A Malaysian police official displays photographs of the two men who boarded the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight using stolen European passports AFP/Getty Images Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Crew members of a Vietnamese Air Force helicopter walk upon returning from their search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A Vietnamese Air Force helicopter lands at Ca Mau airport after searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner The mother of missing Firman Chandra Siregar (R) is comforted by a relative as they wait for the news of the missing plane at their house in Medan, Indonesia Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Two men look out window inside a Vietnamese Air Force plane during search and rescue operations for a missing Malaysian Airlines flight, off Vietnam's Tho Chu island Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Ships are seen from a flying Soviet-made AN-26 of the Vietnam Air Force during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over the South China Sea Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Chinese students hold up a signed banner calling for more help for relatives of victims from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane in Beijing Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Cameramen and photographers taking aerial pictures during a search flight over the southern seas off the coast of Vietnam for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A journalist takes pictures of an ethnic Tibetan delegate after she was given a placard to hold outside the Great Hall of the People before the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing. The placard reads 'Pray for the passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370' Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Personnel from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) scanning the seas about 140 nautical miles north-east of Kota Baru, Malaysia, for any signs of the Malaysia Airlines plane which went missing Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Oil slicks seen from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) plane scanning the seas about 140 nautical miles north-east of Kota Baru, Malaysia, for any signs of the Malaysia Airlines plane which went missing Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner An iPad is used as an equipment to support orientation by a military official inside a Vietnamese Air Force plane during search and rescue operations for a missing Malaysian Airlines flight, off Vietnam's Tho Chu island Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Malaysia aviation authorities say the search for the missing jet will not stop until the aircraft is located: 'There is no time frame in the search operations' Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner An Indonesian relative of victims from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 grieves at the Soekarno Hatta airport in Jakarta before departing for Kuala Lumpur Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Vietnamese military personnel prepare a helicopter for a search and rescue mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 off Vietnam's southern coastline, at a military base on the southern island of Phu Quoc Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, Det 2, assigned to the guided-missile Destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91), lands aboard Pinckney during a crew swap before returning on task in the search and rescue for the missing Malaysian airlines flight MH370 at sea in the Gulf of Thailand Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Hugh Dunleavy (C) Head of commercial - Malaysia Airlines speaks to media at Lido Hotel in Beijing Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Taiwanese Buddhist nuns and monks and Malaysian monks praying for those on board the missing Malaysian Airlines' aircraft at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Admiral Datuk Mohd Amdan Kurish, Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, looks at a radar screen while searching for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane in the South China Sea AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Vietnamese air force crew stand in front of a plane at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam before heading out to the sea area between Vietnam and Malaysia where a Malaysian airliner vanished AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Malaysian coast guard ship during search and rescue operations for a missing Malaysian Airlines flight off the coast of Malaysia EPA Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Admiral Mohd Amdan Kurish (left) briefs his officers before the start of searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane at Pasir Puteh in Kelantan, Malaysia AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A patrol vessel of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane off Tok Bali Beach in Kelantan, Malaysia AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A member of the Chinese navy stands next to Chinese navy warship "Jinggangshan" as it prepares to leave for the search and rescue operations of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Reuters Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A view of oil slicks spotted in an area of the South China Sea near Tok Bali Beach in Malaysia's Kelantan state Reuters Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Members of a Special Assistance Team from Malaysia arrive at a hotel where relatives of passengers of a missing Malaysia Airlines plane are meeting in Beijing, China. A total of 22 aircraft and 40 ships are combing the South China Sea to locate the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet EPA Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Members of a Special Assistance Team from Malaysia arrive at a hotel where relatives of passengers of a missing Malaysia Airlines plane are meeting in Beijing, China EPA Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner A Vietnamese air force pilot at the controls during the search and rescue operations AP Indyplus gallery: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Missing Malaysian airliner Senior management spokesman for Malaysia Airlines, Ignatius Ong (right), speaks during a press conference in Beijing, China EPA

The airline currently only provides domestic flights, but plans to expand its network internationally over the next year.

Mr Zamhari mentioned plans to introduce routes in the Middle East and flights for the Umrah and Hajj, which are annual pilgrimages taken by Muslims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Plans for a UK-based sharia-compliant airline are also underway, with the launch of Firnas Airways set for next year.

Firnas Airways, founded by Bangladeshi businessman Kazi Shafiqur Rahman, seeks to combine a “Sharia-compliant approach to funding, alcohol and food with a more upscale cabin product than available to many Islamic destinations”, reports Bloomberg.

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Other airlines that comply with some Sharia laws include Emirates, which does not serve pork products on its flights, and Etihad, which has a travel prayer before take-off.

‘Sharia law’ refers to the legal framework based on the moral and legal code of Islam. Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, with over 61 per cent of the population identifying as Muslim.

According to an international Pew Research Centre poll of Muslims, 86 per cent of Muslim Malaysians surveyed agreed Sharia should be the official law of the land in their country.