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Islamic Foundations of a Free Society

Islamic Foundations of a Free Society

Nouh El Harmouzi | Linda Whetstone | Mustafa Acar | Souad Adnane | Azhar Aslam | Hasan Yücel Başdemir | Kathya Berrada | Maszlee Malik | Youcef Maouchi | Hicham El Moussaoui | M. A. Muqtedar Khan | Bican Şahin | Atilla Yayla

(2016)

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Book Details

Abstract

Islam is growing rapidly both in its traditional homelands and in the West. Some in the West view Islam with a mixture of fear and suspicion. However, it is also fair to say that there is widespread ignorance about Islam, and especially about its relationship to political systems and the economy. Is Islam compatible with a free society and a free economy? Is the fact that many Muslim-majority states do not have free economies or polities a result of an incompatibility between Islam and political and economic freedom, or does it result from an unfortunate series of historical events? What role has past colonialism played in encouraging Muslim extremism? Exactly what does Islam have to say about freedom in economic, political and religious life? This book, written by a range of Islamic scholars, sheds a great deal of light on these crucial questions. It is an important book for those in the West who need to understand Islam better. It is also important for those in Muslim countries who can influence the development of political systems and economic policy. The publication of this book could not be more timely.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
_GoBack 18
Box 1\tThe Sunni–Shiite division 3
Table 1\t2014 Global Innovation Index: top 3 and selected OIC member states 37
Table 2\tGlobal Gender Gap Index (GGI) data for selected MENA countries 105
Figure 1\tPerformance of selected OIC member states in HDI and top three performers (2015) 36
Figure 2\tFemale and male labour force participation across MENA 104
The authors x
Foreword xv
Acknowledgement xviii
Tables, figures and boxes xix
1\tIntroduction 1
Kathya Berrada and Nouh El Harmouzi 1
The contributions of the authors 6
2\tThe condition of social, political and economic thinking in the Islamic world from a classical liberal perspective 12
Atilla Yayla and Bican Şahin 12
Freedom, religion and Islam 12
Can Islam as a religion be separate from politics? 15
The current situation of social, political and economic thought in Islamic countries 18
What are the most basic errors in Muslim thought now and how can they be changed? 23
Conclusion 28
References 29
3\tReason versus tradition, free will versus fate, interpretation versus literalism: intellectual underpinnings of the negative outlook for the Muslim world 32
Mustafa Acar 32
Introduction 32
Miserable outlook of the Muslim world: poverty within abundance? 34
Political and intellectual reasons behind the poor performance of Muslim countries 37
Main schools of thought in the Muslim world 40
Reason versus tradition, Ra’y versus Hadith, free will versus fate, interpretation versus literalism 43
Intellectual conflicts with political roots and implications 50
Conclusion: destructive consequences of the conflict between reason and tradition 54
References 55
4\tWelfare beyond the state: ‘ihsani’ societal-based welfare 58
Maszlee Malik 58
Introduction 58
Functioning individuals and ihsani social capital 59
A benevolent society as an alternative to the state as provider 60
Welfare through waqfs 64
The nationalisation of society: can waqfs be revived? 65
An effective minimal state 67
Conclusion 69
References 71
5\tThe individual, freedom of choice and tolerance in the Quran 74
Azhar Aslam 74
The individual in the Quran 75
Freedom of individual action and choice in the Quran 78
No compulsion 82
Subtexts 83
The Prophet’s Sunna 85
Islam and the state 86
Tolerance and the present-day state of Muslim societies 88
Apostasy 91
Conclusion 94
References 95
6\tEconomic freedom: the path to women’s emancipation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region 98
Souad Adnane 98
Women in development versus gender and development: implications for policy making in the Arab world 99
The economic participation of women in the MENA region 102
Market-friendly policies and their potential for advancing the position of women in the Arab world 106
Gender-sensitive and market-friendly policies: the way forward 109
Women’s economic participation in Islam 111
Conclusion 112
References 113
7\tJihad and political change: a perspective based on Quranic sources 116
M. A. Muqtedar Khan 116
Colonialism and post-colonialism 118
Peace, non-violence and the difficulty of meaningful change 119
Jihad for change 121
Conflicts in the Islamic world 123
The Quran and the way to peace 124
Conclusion 126
References 127
8\tIslam and politics today: the reasons for the rise of jihadism 129
Hasan Yücel Başdemir 129
The problem 129
The political experiences of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers 131
Characteristics of the early period state model 134
Politics as part of Sharia 136
Colonisation and the birth of modern Islamic movements 139
From Pan-Islamism to jihadism 144
The roots of jihadism and its birth 144
The pioneers of the idea of jihadism 147
Living out Islam in a free society 149
References 151
9\tIslam and a free-market economy: are they compatible? 153
Hicham El Moussaoui 153
The foundations of Islam and a free-market economy are not incompatible 153
Explaining the deviation from the pro-market tradition of Islam 161
Conclusion 168
References 168
10\tIslamic finance: between the reality and the ideal 170
Youcef Maouchi 170
Introduction 170
Islamic finance: an overview 171
The origins of Islamic finance: the Sharia 174
The ideal of Islamic finance 176
The reality takes over from the ideal 177
Bringing Islamic finance back on track 180
Conclusion 183
References 185
About the IEA 188