One of the measures announced in Gordon Brown’s pre-election budget was a concession to Islamic banks.

“Under Islamic law”, explained the Times (17 March), “the receipt and payment of interest is forbidden, so Sharia products are structured differently. Islamic deposit accounts are operated on a profit-sharing arrangement, under which the bank invests customers’ money in Sharia compliant investments and then shares profits with customers”.

This meant that the money received by depositors was taxed as a dividend. Gordon Brown’s concession consists in treating it from now on, for tax purposes, as interest.

The Christian Church, too, once used to condemn interest. Or rather, it condemned usury since the word “interest” derives from the Mediaeval Latin word “interesse” which was one of the ways round the ban: “interesse” was the compensation that could be charged if the money lent was not repaid on time.