The doctrine of "Islamic economics" entered debates over the
social role of Islam in the mid-twentieth century. Since then it
has pursued the goal of restructuring economies according to
perceived Islamic teachings. Beyond its most visible practical
achievement--the establishment of Islamic banks meant to avoid
interest--it has promoted Islamic norms of economic behavior and
founded redistribution systems modeled after early Islamic fiscal
practices.
In this bold and timely critique, Timur Kuran argues that the
doctrine of Islamic economics is simplistic, incoherent, and
largely irrelevant to present economic challenges. Observing that
few Muslims take it seriously, he also finds that its practical
applications have had no discernible effects on efficiency, growth,
or poverty reduction. Why, then, has Islamic economics enjoyed any
appeal at all? Kuran's answer is that the real purpose of Islamic
economics has not been economic improvement but cultivation of a
distinct Islamic identity to resist cultural globalization.
The Islamic subeconomies that have sprung up across the Islamic
world are commonly viewed as manifestations of Islamic economics.
In reality, Kuran demonstrates, they emerged to meet the economic
aspirations of socially marginalized groups. The Islamic
enterprises that form these subeconomies provide advancement
opportunities to the disadvantaged. By enhancing interpersonal
trust, they also facilitate intragroup transactions.
These findings raise the question of whether there exist links
between Islam and economic performance. Exploring these links in
relation to the long-unsettled question of why the Islamic world
became underdeveloped, Kuran identifies several pertinent social
mechanisms, some beneficial to economic development, others
harmful.
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