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What did hold back the Middle East? The Thesis of the Long Divergence Revisited ما سبب تأخر الشرق الأوسط؟ عود على بدء أطروحة "البون الشاسع"

In: Lectures in Islamic Economics and Finance, Selected From Wednesday Seminars-08 محاضرات في الاقتصاد والتمويل الإسلامي ، مختارة من حوارات الأربعاء - 08

Author

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  • Abdul Azim Islahi

    (Islamic Economics Institute King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The Middle East, beginning from the mid-seventh century C.E. nearly a thousand years, experienced remarkable progress, strong economy, high standard of living, and brilliant cultural and scientific activities. Then started a period of fall which continued for about four centuries. It is the same period when Europe made tremendous progress in the field of science and technology, politics and economics. The investigation into the causes of the rise of the West and decadence of the Middle East is a very pertinent theme. Although there are several studies related to the subject, still disagreement exists on the real causes of decline. The context of the present paper is a recently published book entitled The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East by Timur Kuran. The gist of the Long Divergence is that when the West gradually made the transition from medieval to modern economic institutions, corporations, banks, and big trading companies, which could assemble greater capital and survive longer, played the vital role in its development. Since certain provisions of Islamic Law seemingly result into fragmentation of assets, in the opinion of Kuran, they proved impediment in the way of accumulation of capital and continuation of corporations, hence responsible for the fall of the Middle East whose dominant population is follower of Islam. The present paper contends this thesis. It holds that in the Middle East the conditions were not ripe for the rise of such modern economic institutions. The thesis of the long divergence is amusing and a novel explanation but at the same time a partial and simplistic analysis which ignores the deep rooted causes of overall decline including economic. The fault of this thesis is obvious from the fact that under the full implementation of Islamic law, the region made enviable development for about a thousand years, as noted above. Again the twentieth century developments in the Middle East proved inaccuracy of this thesis. Now the Middle East has big corporations, banks, investment trusts, industries, commercial exhibitions, etc. at the same time increasing adherences to the Islamic Law. The paper adopts a holistic approach to explore the real causes of the fall of the Middle East. كان الشرق الأوسط، ابتداء من منتصف القرن السابع الميلادي ولألف سنة تليه تقريبا تحت حكم المسلمين، وقد شهد في تلك الفترة تقدما ًملحوظًا، اتسم باقتصاد قوي، وارتفاع كبير في مستوى المعيشة، ونشاط ثقافي وعلمي بارز. ثم بدأت فترة الضعف والانحدار التي استمرت أربعة قرون. وفي الفترة نفسها بدأت أوروبا تعيش تقدما كبيرا في مجال العلوم والتكنولوجيا والسياسة والاقتصاد. إن دراسة أسباب تقدم الغرب وانحطاط الشرق الأوسط في تلك الفترة الزمنية هو موضوع اهتمامنا وقد أنجزت سابقًا دراسات مشابهة في فترات زمنية مختلفة. ويوجد خلاف كبير عن الأسباب الحقيقية لذلك الضعف والانحدار. وهذه الورقة هي رد على كتاب صدر مؤخرا بعنوان (الانحدار الطويل: كيف ساهمت الشريعة الإسلامية في تخلف الشرق الأوسط؟) من تأليف تيمور كوران. خلاصته أنه عندما بدأ الغرب تدريجيا في الانتقال من اقتصاد العصور الوسطى إلى الاقتصاد الحديث، كانت الشركات، والبنوك، والمؤسسات التجارية الكبيرة، تتسم بقدرتها على تجميع رؤوس أموال ضخمة ومواجهة التحديات لفترة أطول، وبالتالي تمكنت من لعب دور حيوي في التنمية. ويظن تيمور كوران أن بعض أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية تؤدي إلى تجزئة وتفتيت الأصول المالية والثروة، وبالتالي كانت عائقا في طريق تراكم رأس المال واستمرار الشركات، وبالتالي فهي مسؤولة عن تخلف الشرق الأوسط الذي أغلب ساكنيه هم من المسلمين. تتبنى هذه الورقة أطروحة أن الظروف في الشرق الأوسط كانت غير مهيأة لنمو هذه المؤسسات الاقتصادية الحديثة، وأن أطروحة الانحدار الطويل هي قصة مسلية وشرح روائي وفي الوقت نفسه هي تحليل جزئي وتبسيط مخل يتجاهل الأسباب الحقيقية للتخلف العام بما في ذلك الأسباب الاقتصادية. إن خطأ هذه التصور هو واضح من حقيقة أنه في ظل التطبيق الكامل للشريعة الإسلامية حققت المنطقة تنمية تحسد عليها لفترة حوالي ألف سنة. ومرة أخرى أثبتت تطورات القرن العشرين في الشرق الأوسط عدم دقة هذه الأطروحة.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdul Azim Islahi, 2014. "What did hold back the Middle East? The Thesis of the Long Divergence Revisited ما سبب تأخر الشرق الأوسط؟ عود على بدء أطروحة "البون الشاسع"," Chapters of books published by the Islamic Economics Institute, KAAU or its faculty members., in: Islamic Economics Institute (ed.),Lectures in Islamic Economics and Finance, Selected From Wednesday Seminars-08 محاضرات في الاقتصاد والتمويل الإسلامي ، مختارة من حوارات الأربعاء - 08, edition 0, chapter 22, pages 269-300, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute..
  • Handle: RePEc:abd:ieibch:767
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mr. Juan Sole & Andreas Jobst, 2012. "Operative Principles of Islamic Derivatives: Towards a Coherent Theory," IMF Working Papers 2012/063, International Monetary Fund.
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