[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Patricia

There's a lot more to it, actually. Islam strictly prohibits usury. So an observant muslim can't lend or receive interest payments. So there are now various Islamic financial instruments available, which allow believers to comply with Sharia law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking

Incidentally, it's not clear how far the Judeo-Christian scriptures actually allow usury:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury
http://www.tentmaker.org/lists/UsuryScriptureList.html

That was the same way in Europe in the Middle Ages, Christians could not receive interest payments.

But your comments on banking actually supports my main point. Most of the ebooks on offer are not deemed suitable for Muslim values. Which probably is why Amazon does not offer them "officially".