Islamic Economic Thought And The New Global Economy

The paper examines the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the views of a number of classical Muslim scholars with respect to the unity of mankind and its implications for integration of the world economies through increased specialization and division of labor and removal of restrictions on the free flow of goods, services, labor and capital. It then discusses the extent to which these teachings and views fit within the framework of the New Global Economy. It argues that the philosophy ingrained in Islamic teachings and the writings of Muslim scholars considers the promotion of justice to be indispensable for achieving the desired integration of the world economies. The paradigm of the New Global Economy, unfortunately, lacks this commitment to justice. Hence the resistance to globalization. The author argues that Muslim countries should, nevertheless, support globalization, but should simultaneously struggle for the injection of justice in its paradigm. This will, however, not be sufficient by itself. They should also strive for introducing greater justice in their own economies and also adopt a number of measures that would help them meet successfully the challenges of globalization.