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A Note on Islamic Economics
characterizing certain universal economic practices as un-Islamic.... From Maududi
onwards, the moral discourse of Islamic economics has cultivated the view that the
behavioral standards of Islam are fundamentally at odds with those of the West.‖
Professor Kuran then continues his delusional claim that ―the civilizational clash that
Islamic economics is fueling is often misconstrued as a collision of old and new .... In
trying to strengthen the Islamic identity of Muslim communities as a means of breaking
their nonreligious solidarity patterns, today‘s Islamic fundamentalists are attempting,
then, to perform a task at which the earliest Muslims failed‖ (p. 440). Nowhere in the
paper attempt is made to demonstrate the existence of the ‗nonreligious solidarity‘ of
today‘s Muslim communities which Islamic economics is presumed to be trying to
break.
The selective reading of Islamic sources, history, and history of thought and
unwarranted inferences in Professor Kuran‘s criticism take much more space to
address than is available here, nevertheless, one point is worth noting: Professor
Kuran does not seem to be aware of the universality of the message of Islam.
The fact is that the unity of mankind and of the creation is so emphasized in the
Quran and Ahadeeth that Muslim philosophers consider the Unity of Creation as a
corollary to the axiom of Tawheed (the Unity of the Creator); as the Quran states:
"IóMGH ¢ùØæC ‟EG º≧ã©H ‟H º≧≤≪N ÉE" . Moreover, the position of the Quran and
inducing efforts at integration and unity of mankind is so strong that all the moral and
ethical rules can be interpreted as being addressed to this objective (see A.A. Shakir:
Individual and Social Responsibility in Islamic Thought, Ph.D. dissertation, New
York University, 1966 (pp. 167-175). Also see Tariq Ramadan, Western Muslims and
the Future of Islam , Oxford University Press, 2004.) All the ‗dos‘ relate to behavior
that promotes integration of the humanity and all the ‗don‘ts‘ are those that lead to
disintegration. It is a misjudgment to accuse scholars named in Professor Kuran‘s
article as attempting to prevent assimilation of Muslims ―into the emerging global
culture.‖
Surely Professor Kuran is aware of major Western economists who are severe
critics of globalization because of its unequal benefits and harms. Do these people
also qualify as ‗Muslim Fundamentalists‘? Are all those economists who criticize
economics because it ignores ethics and morality also ‗Muslim fundamentalists‘?
Professor Kuran uses dissonance between behavior of Muslims and the rules of
economic behavior prescribed by Islam as an evidence that ―it is impossible to live up
to the ideal of Homo Islamicus.‖ He does not seem aware, or willing to acknowledge,
that there are Muslims, in and out of the Muslim countries, who live according to
Islamic values and follow all the rules of behavior prescribed by Islam. Moreover, he
seems unwilling to consider other explanations for deviation between actual and ideal
behavior. Islam, neither in its sacred sources nor in its history, rejects the possibility of
such deviation between actual and ideal behavior. Indeed, both the Quran and Islamic
history acknowledge and record the kind of behavior mentioned by Professor Kuran
(see the example given by »ÑF øH ≨DÉE in note 35). Aside from the fact that the Quran
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