Islam and Economic Performance: Historical and Contemporary Links

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1292-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timur Kuran
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Prenatal Development ◽  
Financial Behavior ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Ramadan Fasting ◽  
Causal Connections ◽  
Weak Property ◽  
Early Islamic

This essay critically evaluates the analytic literature concerned with causal connections between Islam and economic performance. It focuses on works since 1997, when this literature was last surveyed comprehensively. Among the findings are the following: Ramadan fasting by pregnant women harms prenatal development; Islamic charities mainly benefit the middle class; Islam affects educational outcomes less through Islamic schooling than through structural factors that handicap learning as a whole; Islamic finance has a negligible effect on Muslim financial behavior; and low generalized trust depresses Muslim trade. The last feature reflects the Muslim world’s delay in transitioning from personal to impersonal exchange. The delay resulted from the persistent simplicity of the private enterprises formed under Islamic law. Weak property rights reinforced the private sector’s stagnation by driving capital from commerce to rigid waqfs. Waqfs limited economic development through their inflexibility and democratization by keeping civil society embryonic. Parts of the Muslim world conquered by Arab armies are especially undemocratic, which suggests that early Islamic institutions were particularly critical to the persistence of authoritarian patterns of governance. States have contributed to the persistence of authoritarianism by treating Islam as an instrument of governance. As the world started to industrialize, non-Muslim subjects of Muslim-governed states pulled ahead of their Muslim neighbors, partly by exercising the choice of law they enjoyed under Islamic law in favor of a Western legal system.( JEL N25, N45, O43, O53, P51, Z12)

Theorizing Charismatic Authority in Early Islamic Law*

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-158
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Brockopp
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Long Line ◽  
Charismatic Authority ◽  
Early Islamic ◽  
Do So

In Islamic Studies, charisma has usually been reserved for the study of marginalized individuals. I argue here that charisma may also be applied to leadership among legal scholars. To do so, I join a long line of scholars who have modified Max Weber’s initial insights, and put forth a new, dynamic model of charismatic authority. The purpose of my model is to account for the fact that religious histories emphasize the uniqueness of the originating charismatic event, be that Prophet Muhammad’s revelations, Jesus’ theophany or the Buddha’s enlightenment, while at the same time recognizing that the charismatic cycle never quite ends. In contrast with Weber, I argue that charismatic authority in religious traditions is best understood as a network of influence and interaction through which the routinization of charisma reinterprets and redefines the meaning of the originating charismatic event.

Islam and War: Tradition versus Modernity

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 181-212
Author(s):  
Joseph S Spoerl
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Classical Scholar ◽  
Law Of War ◽  
Critical Method ◽  
Entire World ◽  
Modernist Project ◽  
Early Islamic ◽  
Muslim Scholars

Islamic thinking on war divides roughly into two main schools, classical and modern. The classical (or medieval) view commands offensive war to spread Islamic rule ultimately across the entire world. The modernist view, predominant since the nineteenth century, limits war to defensive aims only. This paper compares the views of two important Muslim scholars, the classical scholar Ibn Ishaq (d. 767) and the modernist scholar Mahmud Shaltut (d. 1963). This comparison reveals that the modernist project of rethinking the Islamic law of war is a promising though as-yet-unfinished project that can benefit from the insights of Western scholars applying the historical-critical method to the study of early Islamic sources.

scholarly journals Ramadan, fasting and educational outcomes

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hessel Oosterbeek ◽  
Bas van der Klaauw
Keyword(s):  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Ramadan Fasting

scholarly journals Explorative Journey Through Hadith Collections

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Orhan Elmaz
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Comparative Linguistics ◽  
Concrete Objects ◽  
Middle Persian ◽  
Southern Arabia ◽  
Early Islamic

The article offers insight into a fresh way to utilise hadith collections beyond criticising their material in terms of their authenticity or discussing their implications for Islamic law. It builds on a digital corpus of collections to represent the wealth of canonical Sunni, Shia and Ibadite traditions. In this first exploration of this corpus, the interconnectedness of early Islamic Arabia with other parts of world is highlighted through an analysis of travelling words, proper names, and concrete objects in a few case studies organised into five sections by geographical area. These include translation, a Wanderwort, and contact through commerce and trade. The methods applied to analyse the material are those of historical and comparative linguistics. The results indicate that exploring linguistic aspects of hadith collections—notwithstanding editorial revision and their canonisation—can inform studies of language change in Arabic and set the course to research the standardisation of Arabic. Key words:      Hadith Studies, historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, Middle Persian, Southern Arabia, Late Antiquity

scholarly journals NEO-SKEPTISISME MICHAEL COOK DAN NORMAN CALDER TERHADAP HADIS NABI MUHAMMAD

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ali Masrur
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Writing Studies ◽  
Link Theory ◽  
Early Islamic ◽  
Islamic Society

<p class="Iabstrak"><strong>Abstract:</strong> <em>This writing studies the ideas of renewed skepticism of Michael Cook and of Norman Calder to the prophetic hadith and to the validity of common link theory. By using the method of comparative analysis, it is found that Cook and Calder are highly skeptical to the prophetic hadith and to the validity of common link theory. Cook and Calder's skepticism even exceed Goldziher's and Schacht's skepticism. Cook and Calder say that common link phenomenon did not indicate that a certain hadith is originated from a key or a common transmitter, but it is the result of a different scenario of the spread of isnād and the result of competition of isnād criticism in the schools of Islamic law </em>(<em>madzāhib</em>)<em> in early Islamic society. Both Cook and Calder hesitate the truth and the validity of common link theory. Therefore, according to them, common link method cannot be used to trace the origin, provenance, and authorship of early hadith.</em></p><strong>Abstrak:</strong> Tulisan ini mengkaji ide-ide neo skeptisisme Michael Cook dan Norman Calder terhadap hadis Muhammad. dan terhadap validitas teori <em>common link</em>. Dengan menggunakan metode analisa komparatif, ditemukan bahwa Cook dan Calder sangat skeptis terhadap hadis Nabi Muhammad. Terhadap validitas teori <em>common link</em>. Skeptisisme Cook dan Calder bahkan melebihi skeptisisme Goldziher dan Schacht. Cook dan Calder berpendapat bahwa fenomena <em>common link</em> tidak menunjukkan bahwa sebuah hadis tertentu itu bersumber dari seorang periwayat kunci atau periwayat bersama, tetapi ia merupakan akibat dari skenario yang berbeda mengenai penyebaran <em>isnād</em> dan akibat dari kompetisi <em>isnād</em> di berbagai aliran fikih Islam (<em>madhāhib</em>) dalam masyarakat Islam awal. Baik Cook dan Calder sama-sama meragukan kebenaran dan validitas teori <em>common link</em>. Oleh karena itu, menurut mereka, metode <em>common link</em> tidak dapat digunakan untuk menelusuri asal mula, sumber dan ke­pengarangan hadis di masa awal.

scholarly journals Ramadan Fasting during Pregnancy and Health Outcomes in Offspring: A Systematic Review

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3450
Author(s):  
Violet N. L. Oosterwijk ◽  
Joyce M. Molenaar ◽  
Lily A. van Bilsen ◽  
Jessica C. Kiefte-de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Quality Score ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Ramadan Fasting ◽  
Negative Effect

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, during which fasting is obligatory for all healthy individuals. Although pregnant women are exempt from this Islamic law, the majority nevertheless choose to fast. This review aims to identify the effects of Ramadan fasting on the offspring of Muslim mothers, particularly on fetal growth, birth indices, cognitive effects and long-term effects. A systematic literature search was conducted until March 2020 in Web of Science, Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar. Studies were evaluated based on a pre-defined quality score ranging from 0 (low quality) to 10 (high quality), and 43 articles were included. The study quality ranged from 2 to 9 with a mean quality score of 5.4. Only 3 studies had a high quality score (>7), of which one found a lower birth weight among fasting women. Few medium quality studies found a significant negative effect on fetal growth or birth indices. The quality of articles that investigated cognitive and long-term effects was poor. The association between Ramadan fasting and health outcomes of offspring is not supported by strong evidence. To further elucidate the effects of Ramadan fasting, larger prospective and retrospective studies with novel designs are needed.

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