Numerous Muslim nations are planning to create a barter system in order to circumvent economic sanctions imposed on Iran and Qatar. Following a summit in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia’s prime minister said that his country, in addition to Iran, Qatar and Turkey, would begin trading amongst themselves in gold and increasingly use local currencies as opposed to the greenback. The US re-imposed sanctions on Tehran following President Donald Trump’s decision in May of last year to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Sunni Muslim Gulf nations two years ago imposed an embargo on Doha over its ties to the Islamic Republic and alleged support for terrorist organizations. The announcement comes as Britain, France and Germany – all parties to the nuclear accord – are attempting to implement a financial mechanism called INSTEX that would allow for continued non-dollar trade with Iran. Among the other topics discussed at the Islamic summit – attended by senior representatives from 20 countries but which was notably boycotted by Riyadh – were the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; India’s controversial new citizenship law that opponents claim discriminates against Muslims; the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar; and China’s detention of some 1 million Uyghurs.