Finding the economic and religious roots of non-realization of usury-free banking in Iran

After the implementation of the Interest-Free Banking Law in Iran and the emergence of its shortcomings, numerous questions have been raised regarding the challenges of interest-free banking. The main issue is why interest-free banking has not been fully realized in Iran and what Sharia-related and economic factors have contributed to this failure. Do the interest-free banking laws in Iran fully align with the principles of Sharia? Has Iran's economic structure or the banks themselves hindered the complete implementation of interest-free banking? Or has the lack of proper oversight and enforcement of interest-free banking laws led to its incomplete realization? This research, using the method of content analysis of documents and laws, analysis of fatwas (religious rulings) from Islamic jurists, and interviews conducted with jurists, economists, and banking experts, categorizes these issues into two types: surface-level issues (including the domain of laws, executive regulations, and the executors and stakeholders of the banking system) and foundational issues related to the structure of the banks. The study concludes that the primary problem of the country's banking system lies in the structure of the banks themselves, and this structural issue has two fundamental roots. First, the elimination of interest as the central pillar of conventional banking and the lack of a suitable Sharia-compliant alternative in the interest-free banking system. Second, the impracticality of implementing the Islamic contracts designated in the banking system. Therefore, the solution is to establish a different framework for monetary relations.