The debate on Riba and interest in the 20th century

A debate on the nature of Riba is currently raging in the Islamic world. Though the debate is an old one, it has been renewed in the twentieth century with the advent of modern banking in Muslim countries. The Sunduq at-Tawfir Affair brought the issue of interest to the fore of politics in Egypt early this century. The discussion that ensued amongst intellectuals in Egypt defined the parameters of the larger Riba debate to come. The Egyptian Civil Code of 1949 attempted to address some of the issues that emerged out of the Sunduq at-Tawfir debacle. Though many concessions were made to debtors, the Civil Code's injunctions ultimately allowed for lenders to impose interest. Muhammad Abu Zahra laid out the conservative arguments against the Civil Code's allowance of interest. The debate on Riba also raged among scholars like Ibrahim Zaki al-Badawi and Abd ar-Razzaq as-Sanhuri. Badawi's 'The Limiting Theory' helped inform the Civil Code of 1949, though the author's later 'expanded theory