Murabaha is largely a semantic hand wave that really doesn't fundamentally differ from the credit/mortgage model we have. The lender makes profit, frequently there are late fees, the government gets involved if the loan is not repayed (with varying consequences based on the country), the underlying asset gets seized etc. The major difference is that you don't call the profit 'interest.'

It's really basically just a way for Islamic countries to claim that they are adhering to Sharia law while not being completely left in the dust because credit is so completely vital to a modern economy.

In addition to what wdewind said, the restriction on charging interest and late fees is problematic. What to do about defaults and late payments? In the Gulf, the solution is to put debtors in prison.