Islamic Economy

This book is devoted to the social and economic history of the western Anatolian city of Bursa in the 17th century. During this period, Bursa was a major Middle Eastern center. The study examines the economic activity of the city (commerce, crafts and banking) and attempts to evaluate the role of the
waqf in this sphere.The author has based himself primarily on legal documents preserved in the city's archives.

A major concern of this book is whether a decline occurred in the Ottoman Empire at this time. The author concludes that this is primarily true for the end of the century, but that this decline was cyclical rather than long-term. The author also points out that the gap between East and West was not as great as is often assumed.

Current statistical data shows that almost all Muslim countries are facing economic
and social problems such as the spread of poverty, mounting outstanding external debt
due to compound interest and widespread unethical behaviour. Some contemporary
scholars relate these problems to the oppression and the crippling policies of former
colonial administrations, while others point to the governmental incompetence and
corruption that triggered the last Arab spring. However, this paper contends that
although the above mentioned issues may have served as catalysts that led to the
worsening of socio-economic situation in many countries, the main reason for the
overwhelming problems plaguing Muslim countries is their neglect of many Islamic
financial and socio-financial duties, including zakah (alms) which is conceived to
spread ethical behaviour, eliminate riba (interest), empower the poor and needy and so
reduce and may even end poverty. This study aims to demonstrate how zakah, as a
socio-financial tool, can help promote sound standards of ethics, generate funds to
counter external borrowing endorsed by anti-poverty programmes, empower the poor,
and eradicate poverty in Muslim societies. This paper uses a secondary source based
meta-analysis of books, articles, journals, annual reports, and websites, besides
referring to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) whenever necessary.
The findings show it is imperative that zakah to be recognised as an effective sociofinancial
tool to counter the ills currently plaguing Muslim societies. Adequately
managed and distributed zakah can help to promote good ethics, overreliance on
external borrowing, empower the poor and end their poverty hence, resulting in a just
and a caring society.
Keywords: zakah, socio-finance, ethics, riba, poverty alleviation, caring society

The institution of Waqf has played a significant role of providing opportunities in sharing the
government’s fiscal needs and improving the communities and nation welfare throughout Islamic history. Waqf
have a potential to became one of the important devices regarding the socioeconomics realms in Muslim societies
which will benefit the communities in term of education, health care, national security, transportation facilities, basic
infrastructure, foods and job opportunities. The main objective of the current study is to explore the conceptual
framework in improving the share waqf (waqf corporate) and identifies the uniqueness of the share waqf in
Malaysia. In addition this study is to investigate the contribution of this type of share towards communities and
nation welfare. The methodology of this study is a qualitative research based on the document analysis of relevant
references. The interesting finding of this study indicates that the proper implementation of share waqf is very useful
in developing the economic well being of the communities and nation especially if there is participation among
GLCs.

The Priority Problems and Solutions of Zakah Management
in Banten and South Borneo Using AHP. The aim of this study is to map the priority problems and solutions in the management of zakat by using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process). Results of a study reveals that there are three kinds of priority issues and solutions zakat management divided by stakeholder agencies (stakeholders) zakat, i.e regulators, zakat organization (OPZ), muzaki and mustahik . The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model at Banten and Jakarta give a same priority score, i.e. the institution for solving problem in zakat management is OPS
dan regulator solution priority is amil sertification

ABSTRAK

Keberlangsungan bisnis di sektor UKM tidak terlepas dari strategi yang berorientasi pasar dan inovasi produk guna meraih keunggulan bersaing. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh orientasi pasar dan inovasi produk terhadap keunggulan bersaing. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah survei, melibatkan 35 orang sampel penelitian secara purposive non random sampling yang difokuskan pada restoran/kafe yang mengusung tagline cita rasa mancanegara di Jalan Margonda Raya Kota Depok. Alat analisis yang digunakan berupa uji asumsi klasik, uji validitas dan reliabilitas, uji korelasi parsial dan berganda, uji regresi, uji t dan uji ANOVA.      Penelitian menemukan bahwa orientasi pasar dan inovasi produk berkontribusi pengaruh terhadap keunggulan bersaing sebesar 85,3%. Model persamaan regresi linear berganda, Y = 13,702 + 0,542 X1 + 0,314 X2.  Berdasarkan uji hipotesis disimpulkan bahwa variabel orientasi pasar perpengaruh positif terhadap keunggulan bersaing, demikian pula variabel inovasi produk berpengaruh positif terhadap keunggulan bersaing. Bagi pelaku bisnis UKM sangat perlu untuk memberikan atensi dalam mendesain strategi peningkatan keunggulan bersaing melalui penekanan pada strategi yang berorientasi pasar dan inovasi produk.

Kata kunci: Orientasi pasar, inovasi produk, keunggulan bersaing, UKM

"Interest-based financing presents a number of pitfalls to individuals, business firms, as well as governments. Each of these pitfalls alone constitutes a compelling reason for abandoning this hazardous mode of financing and replacing it with financing on the basis of risk sharing, such as the mudarabah and musharakah. The major pitfalls include the inherent inefficiency of lending at interest, the profoundly destabilising effects it has on economic activity, and the crippling indebtedness of nations, firms, as well as individuals that it brings about. The paper investigates these shortcomings, and recommends utilising risk sharing partnerships as a way of avoiding the pitfalls of interest-based financing. (18 pages)

Stock price forecasting models are equally important for investor decisions in the western market as well as in the Islamic market. Both dividend discount and earning-based valuation models use interest rate as a fundamental measure to reflect the present value of future dividends and earnings respectively. In general terms, stock prices are forecasted based on the correlation between stock return and interest rate. However, in an Islamic, interest-free economy, no such correlation is available. This paper suggests that an interest-free economy could realize the principle of market efficiency more efficiently and would render stock prices more related to economic realities. In other words, stock prices would capture the real growth component of the concerned stock, rather than the speculative and artificial ones. It is argued that such an economy provides more accurate indicators to investors as to where to direct their funds for potential growth at a rate higher than the market cap...

This article discusses the commercial, socio-economic and legal dynamics of slave trading in Egypt on the basis of papyri from the AH third-fourth/ninth-tenth centuries CE. Particular focus is given to the activities of slavers, the networks of professional slave traders, the socio-economics of slave acquisition, and commercial dynamics at slave markets. Much of the discussion draws on the contents of five contemporary papyrus documents that are presented, translated and annotated in the appendix.

As Sharia law deals with what is lawful and unlawful or permitted and prohibited acts pertaining to all the major aspects of life-and that includes commercial law covering businesses and private transactions, riba or (interest) 1 has been one of the most widely known and discussed subjects. This paper, without going into the core subject of what constitutes interest, will directly engage with the penal aspect of riba in Islam i.e. the penal consequences and what type of punishments it may carry or has been prescribed by Sharia. There has been extensive discussion on the topic of interest or usury known as riba in Sharia, yet little has been discussed, at least outside the academic context, on the other aspect-the Shar'i (Islamic legal) consequences of committing riba offences, notably the punishment and the Islamic penal code surrounding the involvement in the act of undertaking riba transactions. While there has been no question on the theological / spiritual consequences for those committing Islamically major criminal act such as involvement with riba-whose unlawfulness with absolute certainty been stipulated in the Quran 2 , the extent of punishment and penalty applicable to those committing riba related offenses has been debatable (or subject to lengthy discussion). The debate has been more in the specifics of setting practical punishment terms and limits in organised format of penal code/legislation that defines the type of punishment, fines etc to be imposed on participants in acts of major Sharia crime (acts classified as crime by Sharia) such as murder, theft, adultery, riba, drinking etc. In Sharia, major acts of crime that are seen to have effects in the public sphere outside the theological sphere, i.e. impacting the public good or public order (which includes public image of * Sharia Scholar, Independent Sharia Compliance; lecturer/teacher of Hadith and Fiqh, London, UK. Acknowledgment: This paper was written following queries from lawyers/law students on the not so widely discussed topic-the penal aspect of interest/riba in Sharia. The most recent request came from Sholom Toron, law student at Birkbeck, University of London which became the final trigger to pen on the topic.

This report answers questions: What information is available about the types and amounts of investments in infrastructure and development capital financing being made in DFID / CDC / PIDG geographies by institutions operating on Islamic finance principles both within these markets and globally? What are the barriers to further investment in these geographies?

ÖZET
İslam ekonomisi tartışmaları XX. yy. ikinci çeyreğinde Hindistan’da başlamıştır. Günümüzde de devam eden bu tartışmaların temel kodları, Kur’an-ı Kerim ve Hz. Peygamberin nübüvvet öncesi ve sonrası dönemlerinde yaptığı uygulamalarda saklıdır. Bu amaçla çalışmada, öncelikle Arap toplumunun geleneksel yapısı, ticaret anlayışı ve Hz. Muhammed’in peygamberliği öncesi iktisadi olaylarla olan etkileşimi ele alınmaktadır. Daha sonra, İslam İktisadının felsefi ve ahlaki yönü, İslam ekonomisi söylemlerinin hangi koşullarda ortaya çıktığı ve hangi yönde evirildiği konusunda tarihselci bir yaklaşım yürütülmektedir. Son olarak ise, iktisat biliminin laikleşmesi ve İslam Ekonomisi ve İslami Finans üzerine yapılan tartışmalar irdelenmektedir.
ABSTRACT
The discussions on Islamic economy started in the second quarter of 20th century in India. The basic codes of these controversies ongoing nowadays are implicit in Qur'an and the practices of the Prophet in the periods of before and after being prophet. To this end, this study is dealt with traditional structure and business sense of Arab society, the interaction the Prophet Muhammad with the economic events before his being prophet. Later, an historical approach is put forward to about the philosophical and ethical aspect of the Islamic Economy, under which conditions the discourses of Islamic economics have emerged and in which way it has been evolved. Finally, the secularization of the science of economics and the discussions on the Islamic Economy and Islamic Finance are examined.

Post the first amendment of Religious Courts Bill that provides wider authority toward Religious Courts in investigate and decide Islamic economics disputes has responses, whether support or pessimistic, especially among Religious Court judges themselves. This paper examines the Gorontalo Religious  Courts judges response about their authority in resolve Shariah economy disputes. This paper is a qualitative descriptive
research and the data was collected using observation, interviews and document reviews. The finding of this study revealed that the Gorontalo Religious Courts judges
response well to trust laws in handling disputes Shariah economy. In other words, in principle, they are ready to handle disputes Islamic economics. Readiness, such as: the
handling disputes Shariah economy is Religious Courts judges authorities and it is a professional responsibility as a judge; Religious Courts formed a special judge to handle falling out or cases of Shariah economy, and Religious Courts judges provides knowledge of Shariah economy without trainings or workshops.

This article discusses how an Islamic insurance (takaful) model has been implemented in two CIS-countries (Russia, Kazakhstan) in recent years. The author examines legal regulation of takaful in countries where a special legislation on takaful was not adopted (Russia) or is in draft form (Kazakhstan). The author also notices inconsistent use of Islamic finance and takaful terminology by legislators in Kazakhstan. In the case of Russia the article tells about a number of attempts to set up takaful business in the absence of specific legal regulation for such type of insurance. Special attention is paid to the attempts to launch of takaful products (non-life insurance) by Evro-Polis company in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation) in 2012.

The case of PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) investment once became public attention. Not only does it harm its customers, the country also must bear the company's loss. This loss is caused by the investment practice into low-quality stocks. The company neglected the good investment principles and prioritized more on the personal interest. This article aims to describe and define the pump and down phenomena in the investment of PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya. To top it off, the article analyzes the pump and down phenomena based on the Islamic economy law principles. This is a doctrinal legal research with case study approach. The results show that pump and down is a transaction activity of an effect in manipulative way. This model is characterized by rising price (uptrend) because of a series of stock purchase transaction in a fairly big amount so the rising reaches the highest price level, then the reduced price is too significant. They aim at gaining big profit so they can re-purchase the stock in a cheaper price. This pump and down phenomena in PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya investment case is not in line with the Islamic law principles. The investment model in this schema contains several elements i.e. maisīr, najasy, gharar, ghisysy, ihktikar, and tadlīs. Kasus investasi PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) sempat menjadi sorotan publik. Selain merugikan nasabah, negara juga harus menanggung kerugian perusahaan. Kerugian ini muncul akibat praktik investasi pada saham kualitas rendah. Perusahaan disinyalir mengabaikan prinsip-prinsip investasi yang baik dan lebih mengedepankan kepentingan pribadi. Artikel ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan fenomena pump and down dalam investasi PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya. Artikel ini juga bertujuan mesdeskripsikan pump and down dalam kasus Jiwasraya. Artikel ini juga menganalisis fenomena pump and down tersebut berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip hukum ekonomi syariah. Artikel ini merupakan hasil penelitian hukum doctrinal dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Pump and Dump merupakan aktivitas transaksi suatu Efek secara manipulative. Model transaksi ditandai dengan naiknya

With many women receiving tertiary education, more women have become significant income earners and have the opportunity to save. As a result, more women are expected to become eligible payers of zakat on wealth. This paper examined payment of an important zakat on wealth – zakat on banking deposits among Muslim women in Selangor and Federal Territories. Specifically, the paper examined the demographic profiles between those that paid zakat and those who chose not to pay. Characteristics such as age, education level, employment status, marital status, monthly income, zakat channels, and resident areas were examined to determine the main drivers behind their payment of zakat on banking deposits. Next, the paper explored the level of zakat literacy among the respondents. We assumed that zakat literacy plays important roles behind the payment of zakat on deposits given the advancement of the deposit products. In measuring this, we adapted measurement of financial literacy as introduced by OECD namely awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours.  In achieving these objectives, a survey among  Muslim women respondents was conducted in Klang Valley.  Findings indicated that age, education level, employment status, annual income per month, zakat channels, annual zakat payment and residential areas played important roles in influencing payment of zakat on banking deposits among the respondents. Meanwhile, among the dimensions of financial literacy investigated, only age and monthly income were found to have  positive correlations with zakat awareness and behaviour. Surprisingly, the correlations between age and zakat knowledge and skills were found to be significantly negative. It is expected that this study may help zakat institutions to understand their women zakat clients and guide them to develop appropriate program of zakat literacy suitable for women of various demographic profiles.

Subject area of research: Islamic Economy, Islamic Social Finance, Islamic Banking
Keywords: Women, zakat, banking deposit.

Attending to the rise of halal economy and particularly halal certification initiatives in the region and globally, this paper asks why and how third-party certifiers would gain credibility and authority, and what does authority have to do with the work of entrepreneurs in the sector. Drawing on fieldwork conducted between 2012 and 2015, and interviews with entrepreneurs and a private halal certification agency in Kyrgyzstan as well as their accreditors in Kazakhstan, I pay close attention to the collective meaning-making deliberations that revolve around questions of what makes goods and services halal and also what makes one a 'good Muslim'. Certifiers and entrepreneurs come to form what I call a valuation circuit. In these circuits, they construct shared understandings of ethical and behavioral norms for market actors, create and reinforce binaries around halal and haram, and rely on the transnational network of religious authority as they attempt to valuate and measure compliance to halal standards.

Gelecekte nasıl bir Türkiye’de yaşayacağımızı, bugün nasıl bir
ülke tasavvur ettiğimiz belirleyecektir. Bu nedenle bu çalışmanın
temel motivasyonu “Geleceğin Türkiyesinde nasıl bir ekonomide
yaşamak istiyoruz?” sorusudur. Geleceğin Türkiyesinde arzulanan
bir ekonominin inşa edilebilmesi, ancak sağlıklı ve tutarlı bir gelecek
vizyonuna sahip olunmasıyla mümkündür. İLKE İlim Kültür
Eğitim Derneği olarak Türkiye’nin gelecek vizyonuna katkı sağlamak
maksadıyla hazırladığımız “Geleceğin Türkiyesinde Ekonomi”
raporu Türkiye’nin arzulanan toplumsal ve maddi refah düzeyine
ulaşabilmesi için geleceğin ekonomisinin sahip olması gereken niteliklere
dair ipuçları sunmaktadır.
“Geleceğin Türkiyesinde Ekonomi: Sorunlar, Eğilimler ve Çözüm
Önerileri” raporu, kısa dönemde yaşanan ekonomik dalgalanmalar
yerine, “sosyal adalet, maddi refah ve sürdürülebilir üretim ve
tüketim” perspektifinden uzun dönemi belirleyen yapısal özelliklere
odaklanıyor. Elinizde bulunan çalışma, küresel trendler, sosyal
adalet ve ekolojik denge, demografik dinamikler ve geleceğin iş
gücü, İslami finans modeli, geleceğin küresel ticaretinde Türkiye
ve geleceğin ekonomisinde stratejik sektörler gibi kritik konuların
ele alındığı “Geleceğin Türkiyesinde Ekonomi” Raporunun ana
çerçevesini ve içerdiği 12 vizyoner öneriyi ele alan özet rapordur.

A few years ago the world suffered from a financial turmoil which emerged in the United States of America, Europe and Asia. It made a large population redundant; many businesses shuttered down and reduced consumption, production, purchasing power, GDP and leading many economies into deep recession. Consequently poor and middle class people found difficult to survive. In the beginning of the financial crisis many suggestions were propounded by economists, policy makers and bankers to reduce its impact. Several policies were implemented to combat against financial crisis yet billion of people are suffering from poverty and hunger. Prophetic teaching is a complete code of life; in its guidance there is a set of teachings which govern financial issues of the society and the market. This paper aims to explore the measure suggested in the light of the Hadith and the Quran

April 9, 2020 marks the 40th Anniversary of the martyrdom of one of the most brilliant scholars of the late 20th century, Ayatullah al-Sayyid al-Shaheed Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, RidhwanuAllahi ta’aala ‘alayh. Al-Sayyid al-Shaheed was an extraordinary and unique genius whose personal and intellectual accomplishments as a believing and practicing Muslim serve as example for others striving for perfection intended for humans by their Creator.

While the writings of al-Sadr were quite timely and important in his own time, understanding them at the present is crucial as the search for alternative socio-economic paradigms that can more effectively respond to the problems of humanity has intensified. In all of his discourses, al-Sadr was a first-rate logician who accorded logic and objective truth central and active roles without losing an opportunity to display the passion of his belief that Islam provides solutions to problems societies face.

Al-Sadr’s writings constitute an integrated and interrelated whole. Singling out a specific topic in exclusion of analysis of how it is related to his philosophy does not do justice to him, to his writings or to his readers. That said, this paper is a modest attempt to provide a brief commentary on a number of al-Sadr’s brilliant insights in presenting the theory and practice of Iqtisad (Islam’s vision of ideal economy). The point bears emphasis that this paper is not a commentary on the entirety of the views of al-Sadr’s on Iqtisad; to do some degree of justice to his views requires volumes. The paper instead focuses on some of his insights—those that economic analysis itself discovered years after him, with the purpose of indicating that the Iqtisadi contributions of al-Sadr and his genius deserve far deeper and more intensive scholarly treatment than they have received so far.

Bu çalışmada Dünya değerler araştırması, Dünya Bankası ve CIA
Factbook verileri kullanılarak iki farklı dönemde (2005-2009 ve 2010-
2014 dalga dönemi) Müslüman nüfus oranı, kişi başı GSYİH ve
enflasyon değişkenlerinin aileye güven, komşuya güven, tanıdığa güven,
dini kurumlara güven, hayır kurumlara güven, patiye güven,
parlamentoya güven ve bankaya güven üzerine etkisi yatay-kesit veri (48
ve 54 ülke için) analizi kullanılarak incelenmiştir.

"Discussions of the benefits of risk sharing tend to be confined to benefits at the company level. These include remaining debt-free and the fact that capital, unlike borrowed funds – apart from listing, legal and other fees – comes at zero cost. What tends to be overlooked is that the use of risk sharing also brings major benefits to society at the macroeconomic level. Specifically, it contributes to the realisation of the leading economic objectives of government stabilisation policies. These include an efficient allocation of resources, full employment, stable prices, robust growth, a more even distribution of wealth, and greater cyclical stability. Thus, channeling capital into investment by means of risk sharing in preference to borrowing at interest can significantly alleviate the macroeconomic problems currently plaguing most industrialised economies.

Статья посвящена анализу практического опыта реализации исламской модели страхования в России. Рассматриваются
причины неудачи ранних проектов по созданию исламской страховой компании. Основное внимание в статье уделено созданию линейки исламских страховых продуктов на базе ОАО ИСК «Евро-Полис».

Shariah Banks as Islamic financial institutions and as the indicators of Islamic economic strengths should not depend upon the power of Islamic emotions and capital only in their efforts to develop themselves. In fact, there are many things that they can do. One of which is by strengthening social capital, as what is believed by world funding boards, such as IMF and World Bank, in order to minimize crises and increase the economic condition of the community.

This study aims an evaluation of snows of “Participation Banks” which operates in Turkey with regards to “Islamic Profit Theory”. “Harvey at al. Lineaity Test” is used to study. Monthly time series between December 2005 – June 2016 is used for the test. Firstly the test is performed on a part until February 2014 for a healthy explanation and it shows that the serie is linear. But, linearity is broken down when the next part is added, the domestic disturbances are observed at that time which influences participation banks. At this stage, It is shown that firms take care about Islamic sensibilities but it is possible that investors and depositors can be affected from the risk of general situation which has natural risks –even firms abstain from the risks of activities.

Over the last two decades, Turkey has been going through significant
transformations which might be studied under diverse rubrics. The focus in this paper is on
the emergence of a new bourgeoisie which is overwhelmingly religious; its aim is to describe the
motives behind the attitudes of religious business people and to discuss the contribution of the
Gülen movement. The paper begins by clarifying relevant concepts that appear vague – such
as ‘Islamic Puritanism’ and the ‘Islamic work ethic’ – following the particular interpretation
by Wilhelm Hennis of Max Weber’s familiar ‘Protestant ethic’ thesis. Rather than looking for
mechanical causal relationships, this paper focuses on life goals and ways of living, and discusses
the Gülen movement’s contribution to the way of living related to economic activities (the
movement is considered as a new interpretation of Turksih Islam and strongly influenced by
Sufism). Next, the institutional and moral sources enabling an enterprise culture are discussed.
This paper considers the transformation in Turkey to be securely founded on the moral sources
and suggests that Turkish Islam might be considered as a source enabling a particular type of
entrepreneur, and that this type is helpful to Turkey’s modernisation project as it anticipates
membership of the European Union.

One of the major footprints of global financial crisis in 2008 is the widespread criticism regarding the fundamentals of current global financial system. This situation has led to questioning of existing economic order and the development of alternative ones. The rise of Islamic Financial system, an ideal in tandem with muslim’s beliefs and ethical principles to be achieved as a response to the current finacial order that gave rise to income inequality and poverty, has surfaced as a result of the aforementioned problem. In line with this aim, great deal of financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies have been established and are operating around the world. Begining in a modern way since the 1960’s, financial assests in Islamic Finance currently stands at 1,7 trillion USD as of 2013 with an annual growth rate of %17,6. As the progress goes further, so does the criticism about this economic system. Using heavily debt based instruments and duplicating the existing economic system are some of these top criticisms against it. Among all these developments and criticisms, existing of institutions that have strict ties with Islamic Principles is one of the major succesful outcome of this economic system. As an example Akhuwat, established in Pakistan in 2001, is one of these institutions that functions in exact contrast with dominant economic order. In this paper, it will be examined that how Akhuwat operates and differentiates from others and what it can offer as a role model.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how Islam as an ideology view at issues of poverty with individual solutions, instead of solving it with average prosperity in the stage. This paper also describes how the individual poverty solutions solved by Islam through the mechanism of distribution of wealth. View of poverty and income inequality of the socialist-communist and capitalist ideology is also presented as a comparison with Islam.
Description method for describing the view of Islam in the distribution of such property is used with a review of the literature that has addressed the same theme. Diagram used at the end of the article as a visualization of the distribution of wealth in Islam.

Se trata de un breve manual de historia económica islámica preindustrial construido alrededor de una pregunta: ¿por qué una civilización tan brillante en la Edad Media vio truncado su desarrollo en la Edad Moderna, y fue finalmente fue sometida por Occidente? El foco de atención se sitúa en las condiciones internas de partida, es decir, en la religión. El carácter legalista del islam aparece como la principal fortaleza de la civilización musulmana en los primeros siglos, pero también, con el tiempo, como la principal rémora para su desarrollo. Desde esta perspectiva, el texto aborda varios aspectos de la vida económica, política y cultural del Islam: los Estados, la estructura del poder, los grupos religiosos, las ciudades, el comercio, la propiedad de la tierra, los mercados de capital, la ciencia, la devoción popular y la guerra, entre otros. Y también las relaciones con Occidente.