The Islamization of economics seems to be done ‘dichotomously’ between
the conceptual (theoretical) and the empirical dimensions.
- In the conceptual
part, Islamic economists attempt to find Islamic justification based on Quranic
verses over certain theories.
- While in the empirical part, Islamic economists
just utilize and apply the common statistical methods into an Islamic/Muslim
case, assuming no contradiction to Islamic heritage.
Syed Farid Alatas (2006) observed, Islamic
economics as empirical theory has not done much. It remains within the
fold of Western modernist discourse in terms of theoretical concerns and
methodology, and has therefore failed to offer alternative princples to
modernization and dependency on the dominant paradigm.
Sardar (1988;
2002) also warned that,
“Islamic economics is little more than one huge attempt to cast Islamic
institutions and dictates, like zakāh and prohibition of interest, into a
western economic mould. The dominant models guide the analysis
and shape the inquiry: everything is compared and contrasted with
capitalism and socialism, highlighting the fact that there is an underlying
apologia at work.”
Islamic economists often get trapped into the conventional
paradigm. They may actually be contributing to the ‘westernization of
Islam’, by fitting Islamic teachings into the neo-classical framework rather
than the opposite.
(Haneef, 2005) At most, the current development of Islamic economics is working
within the boundaries of neoclassical theory, with some adjustments to
incorporate teachings/norms/values that reflected certain requirements of
Islam.
Choudhury (1999, 1) also argues that:
“In recent years when Muslim scholars wrote on Islamic economics,
they had to turn to mainstream economic theories and clothe these up
with a palliative of Islamic values. But no new challenge was posed
on the epistemological beginnings of a new field of analytical and
scientific study. There was no demand from the Muslim scholars
to well-define a distinctive field of Islamic economics. The Muslim
scholars thus approached the study of Islamic values in neoclassical
economic models of behaviour and resource allocation without
questioning either the value-orientation of neoclassicalism or the
possibility of treating Islamic values in such otherwise value-free
models of economic behavior, pricing and allocation.”
As a result,
Islamic Economics has become almost a sub-discipline of conventional
neoclassical economics, without Islamic justification.
References : methodology of Islamic economics :Overview of present state and future direction. International Journal of Economics, Management & Accounting 19, no. 1 (2011): 1-26
