Islam is not simply a "religion" as I have pointed out many times. It is a complete system that is religious and political and military and economic. One of the main points of Islamic economics is that making money from interest (riba) in an account or paying interest on a loan is immoral. I am not talking about usury--excessive interest--here, by the way. Even the 1.5% I get on my checking account is illegal and haraam (forbidden). Here is an example of Islamic thought on the topic:
It is not permissible to put money in riba-based banks except in cases of necessity in order to protect it when there is no Islamic bank. In that case one should only use a current account (i.e., without interest), on the basis of doing the lesser of two evils. The interest that is taken for depositing money in a riba-based bank is haraam and it is riba which has been forbidden by Allaah and His Messenger in emphatic terms...
