What is the ruling on taking an interest-bearing loan of 20,0 pounds from British banks to pay for a house, with the intention of returning only the principal amount without the increase, and is this permissible on the pretext that the contract is void, or that it is spoils from the disbelievers, or that they caused the questioner to be displaced?

It is not permissible to enter into a usurious loan contract, even if it were possible to avoid paying the interest, because the mere contract itself is an acknowledgment and acceptance of usury. It is also not permissible for a Muslim in lands of disbelievers, even if they are at war with Muslims, to betray their people or act treacherously with their wealth, because that is a breach of the covenant of security. Allah Almighty says: "And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have made it" and "O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts." Furthermore, such an act undermines the religion and turns people away from the path of Allah.