The Political Economy and the Perennial Underdevelopment of the Muslim World

M. Shahid Ebrahim (), Seema Makhdoomi and Mustapha Sheikh ()
Additional contact information
Seema Makhdoomi: Bangor University
Mustapha Sheikh: Leeds University

No 12011, Working Papers from Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales)

Abstract: The ongoing political turmoil in the Muslim world necessitates an investigation of the factors leading to centuries of underdevelopment. This essay studies the various perspectives (for and against) attributing Islam as a factor holding back the progress of the Muslim economies. We critically appraise why ‘Islamic’ banking is not truly Islamic to identify: (i) the retrograding outlook of the jurists (fuqaha’); and (ii) their flawed ijtihad (interpretation or deduction of the divine sources of law) as the prime factors responsible for the paucity of development of financial instruments, markets and institutions. We also scrutinize the cooption of the jurists by the ruling elite, thereby legitimizing their autocracy. Finally, we conclude the paper recommending the rectification of these issues to develop institutions fostering economic growth and development.

Keywords: flawed ijtihad; economic underdevelopment; 'hilah (ruse); intellectual stalemate; riba (Islamic injunction protecting property rights). (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G20 O16 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2012-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/business/research/documents/BBSWP12011.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bng:wpaper:12011

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alan Thomas ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).