Because many Muslims interpret the Quran as forbidding taking or paying interest on loans, the Islamic world has developed a different system of mortgages. Last month, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency became the first government entity in the United States to approve Islamic-style mortgages. Normally in the United States, a homebuyer borrows money from a bank, which takes a lien on the house, and the borrower, over a period of years, pays back the loan with interest. In the Islamic system, known as Murabaha financing, the state buys a house and resells it to the buyer at a higher price that includes the down payment and monthly payments. The buyer then pays monthly installments that are almost identical to a 30-year fixed rate loan.