subject: Prohibition of interest in Islamic Finance [print this page] Another attack on the prohibition of interest came in 1989 through a fatwa (Islamic legal opinion) from Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the grand mufti of Egypt and head of the top Islamic university, al-Azhar, who said that simple bank interest is permissible in Islam, while excessive interest rates constitute riba (usury) and thus forbidden. Tantawi added that legitimate instruments, including high-yield government bonds and interest-bearing saving accounts are compatible with Islamic Shari'a. Tantawi's fatwa represented the minority view, and provoked considerable discussion among the Muslim community in Egypt and around the world.
