Today sees the establishment of the first UK Islamic bank, The Islamic Bank of Britain.
The setting up of the bank follows a campaign by UK moslems who have long wished to have mortgage and other banking facilities which avoid usury or the paying or receipt of interest. The bank will buy property and lease this to the eventual owners, rather than the more usual practice of borrowers securing a loan which they use to buy property, subsequently repaying the loan with interest.
Usury is not in accord with early Christian teaching too. So will the Islamic Bank of Britain find a stream of Christian customers coming through the door? I suspect a great interest in its activities will come from a very different group, the security services.