Sustainable Economic System: What is Missing in Understanding and Implementing the Islamic Economic System النظام الاقتصادي المستدام: ما هو مفقود في فهم وتطبيق النظام الاقتصادي الإسلامي

After 40 years, the inability of Islamic economics scholars to coherently develop a sustainable econo-mic system is indeed a big question mark on the intellectual capacity of the Muslim world. Intro-ducing Islamic banking worldwide did not prove to the world, desperately looking for an alternative system, that Islamic economics offers that alternative economic paradigm and that an economy working on Islamic principles will be a better choice. The focus given to Islamic banking over the 40 years to prove that Islam has a different economic paradigm has turned out to be counter-productive. The claim that Islamic economic principles potentially defines a sustainable economic system has not materialized. Ninety percent of the population in the Muslim world is unbanked and for them, it does not matter if the banking system in the country is Islamic or interest based. In addition, there are between thirty to fifty percent population in the Muslim world suffering from extreme poverty, hunger, starvation and malnutrition and economic deprivation, desperate to see a system that will take care of their miseries.