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Description: The seminar traces a history of Islamic economic thought, starting from medieval sources to the present day. We critically evaluate research, classical Quranic concepts, the Muslim interpretations and the practices of Islamic economy. Many of the course readings are recent, applied research papers, as well as original Arabic texts translated in English. The goal is to expose students to the frontier of applied research in the field of Islamic economy, in order to assist them in identifying opportunities for making their own scholarly contributions in the field. Students are expected to produce a presentation and a research paper related to the topics of the seminar.
General Bibliography
I. Schneider, T. Hanstein (eds.), Beiträge zum Islamischen Recht V, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2006, pp. 141-174.
M. Iqbal, Islamic economic institution and the elimination of poverty, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, 2002, cap. I.
M. Iqbal, Islamic perspective on sustainable development, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, 2005, cap. II.
Requirements
The requirements of the seminar are threefold:
1. class participation;
2. response papers: critique of the week’s reading, exploration of variable, application of theories presented in the readings. Students writing papers for a given week will be expected to lead the discussion. Students should post their response papers by 8pm on Sunday evenings in the “Moodle” of the course;
3. research: each student will prepare a presentation and write a paper on a topic to be agreed upon in advance.
Lecture method: 5 sessions, each 6-7 hrs.
Program
I. Introduction to Islamic Economics
1. Religious roots and historical background
2. Sources
3. Methodologies of research
4. Questions: charity and moral economy in Islam
II. Basic principles of Islamic law and finance
1. Principle of ibāḥa aṣliyya
2. Prohibition of ḥarām activities
3. Prohibition of ribā, ġarār and maysīr
4. Principle of “risk sharing”
III. Gold and religion
1. Generosity in the Quran
2. Institutionalization of charity
3. zakāt in Islamic law
4. Moral dimension of poverty
5. Sufism and poverty
6. Poverty in Medieval Islamic societies
7. Pious foundations, endowments, waqfs
8. Charity in the Internet era: e-zakat
IV. Evolution and market trends of Islamic banking and finance
1. Islamic economy and radicalism
2. Development of Islamic capital markets
3. Current structure and development of the Islamic finance sector in the MENA region – facts and figures
4. The global financial crisis and Islamic finance
5. The “Arab spring” and Islamic banking
V. Major financing techniques and instruments
1. Interest-free deposit accounts
2. Sharia indexes
3. sukūk: case studies
4. Microfinancing
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