From Free Life, Issue 26, December 1996
ISSN: 0260 5112

The content of this book is just a list of other works, divided into headed sections, on various economic topics. The main interest is therefore in the title and the sections - the fact that there IS such a subject as Islamic economics will seem strange to anybody who thinks of economics as a purely deductive/observational study. Is there an Islamic physics, an Islamic chemistry, an Islamic biology? Apparently not, but these other sciences are 'objective' whereas economics inevitably involves some consideration of human relationships and manipulation or behaviour. So perhaps there is an excuse for religious comment on economic relationships.

In fact, with the usual complacency and arrogance of religious leaders, attempted interference with economic processes on religious grounds is quite usual - Christians have tried it (and still do) as well.

The clue to the present-day Islamic attitude is the primacy of the family in Islamic religious theory of appropriate behaviour. Just about every other social activity has to be subservient to this requirement. For instance, a Muslim girl once explained to me that being obliged to wear restrictive clothing and obey onerous rules of social contacts was not at all repressive of Muslim women. These rules were the result of consideration for men who were less likely to be tempted from their family duties by attractive women who should be unavailable. Similarly with inheritance. The girls of a family are only entitled to half of what the boys can inherit, but this is because the girls can spend all of their money on themselves if they want to but the men have to use theirs to support the family. She was content with this - though, of course, a lot of "westernised" Muslim women are not.

Consequently economic efficiency in the sense of the optimum distribution of resources for market satisfaction is not of primary importance. It is not merely acceptable, but almost obligatory, that an individual in charge of resources should think of how this can benefit his own family rather than what in the West is regarded as fair competition. This accounts for apparently corrupt practices being quite acceptable, even obligatory.

Lending money at interest is not approved. If interest is charged then anything above a low nominal rate should be devoted to "helping the poor" rather than individual enrichment. This basic value system does make a difference in practice - if it is followed.

In practice, though, most Muslims believe they are being corrupted by the West and its fascination with the consumerist economy. As usual, it is the hard working and moderately prosperous middle-class Muslims who are most perplexed by these developments. They see the Sheiks more-or-less completely corrupted by their wealth (fortuitously derived from the geographical accident of oil deposits) which gives easy access to Western luxuries such as fast cars, gambling, drink, and loose women, whilst the poor are apparently exploited as very low-paid or despised unemployed immigrants in the corrupting western economies. A serious temptation to turn to fundamentalism.

A study of Muslim economics might well provide a better understanding of, and consequently ability to deal constructively with, Muslim regimes and the significant Muslim minorities in many western countries. The stresses involved in the contact between the two cultures are set to be a serious consideration in the near future - and understanding rather than confrontation is surely preferable.

Paul Anderton