Interest and gharar in Islamic banking

Abstract

Islamic banking is relatively unknown to us. Although Islamic banking is only a segment or a 'niche' of the overall banking industry and banking market, its significance is rising steadily, and it will play an important role in the near future. Islamic banks, especially in light of the latest economic and political developments in Serbia (Etihad's acquisition of JAT, the project 'Belgrade Waterfront', etc.) are not so far away from the Serbian banking system, so it is necessary to understand the basic forbidden categories in it, which is the main topic of this paper. Interest and gharar, which is a category in Islamic banking that is much broader, more comprehensive and more ambiguous than risk or speculation, are discussed in details.