M. Amin
Abdullah
The return of Religions
Today,
we are living in a ‘global society’ of crisis. Everything indicates that a
storm is arising. The term ‘crisis’ increasingly becomes an
appropriate signature for our times, ideologically and politically. We are
familiar with words like ‘crisis of employment’, ‘political crisis’
‘ecological crisis’, and furthermore ‘economic crisis’. There is even the
crisis of God. Everywhere a crisis is apparent, except with religion. There is
no crisis of religion. Religion flourishes, sociologist are already
talking about a religious surplus.After the Second World War the political
ambition of the Enlightenment Movement seemed to be fulfilled, as politics
itself finally had emancipated itself from religion. Religion was not banned,
but considered first and foremost as a private or family
affairs. Some analysts believed economical and social modernization led to
degradation of religion as a main factor of human existence. Their belief was
unwarranted. In the modern world, albeit in different ways from early times,
religion and politics continue to combine in important ways from early times,
religion and politics continue to combine in important ways to shape the public
arena in which the many issues about the human predicament are debated and
acted upon.[1]
The economical and social modernization was a global one and simultaneously led
to a worldwide renaissance of religion. Yet, it is not the return of private
forms of religion, but of public forms which irritates and threatens. It
destroys all harmonic visions of an ‘end of history’ which were promulgated
everywhere after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The numbers of voices which
advocate a rethinking of a failed modernity are on the
increase. They are criticizing modernity for they believe agnosticism in the
cause of modernity’s shortcomings. These commentators demand a desecularization,
which means to found society upon a religious basis. This proposal is
common, particularly among those who belong to monotheistic faiths.
The
question of the relation between religion and modernity, religion and the
secular states religion and economy, and also religion and a pluralist society
become more and more problematic. The increased return to of public religions
today threatens the basis of a democratic society and democratic culture. At
the same time, there is a danger of the emergence of new totalitarianism.
Whoever is seriously interested in examining this phenomenon is well advised to
avoid the contradictory dichotomy of religion and politics, modernity and
fundamentalism and to perceive the dialectics of
secularization. Those working with this dichotomies are in
danger of forgetting their own ideological standpoint. This is the reason why
we have to remember that these phenomena are not
a reappearance of a pre-modern ‘medieval’
obscurantism. They have emerged from within the
project of modernity itself. We have to be aware of
being trapped by the dogmatic secularity
or the dogmatic of confession. Thus the return of religion is a
modern phenomenon. This becomes evident if we realize that the members of these
religious movements are embedded in and the result of the process of modernity.
From this point of departure, let us see and observe how the Muslim
theologians respond the current hegemony of the modern and
secular neo-liberalistic economy in all over the world. We need a deep, patient
and continual observation and research in this specific area in order to
accurately grasp what is being seriously thought and practically act in
what is commonly known today as Islamic economics.[2]
The Impatience of Muslim Theologians Facing the Modern
Neo–Liberalistic Economy
Religion
– less economic and political orders were the creation
of the Enlightenment. Human reason is seen as the ultimate mentor in
everything; every sector is autonomous; economic structures are driven by the
pursuit of profit in the context of free trade; political order is balancing of
the interests of various groups in society. Free trade
resulted in a world polarized between rich and poor, internationally and
locally. The easy movement of capital around the world has only made the gap
wider. Balancing political interests is not a realistic goal in a world
dominated by one superpower. All it can hope to achieve is balancing act
between a few rich and powerful nations; it ignores and marginalizes the
interests of all the other nations on the globe. The continuing arms race and
the increasing product and sale of arms are example of political
failure. There is no true participative democracy anywhere, either within or
between nations, thanks to the power games of interest groups.
Can
any of this lead to lasting peace? Everyone doubts it. For true peace we
need a sense of human, moral and spiritual values. We need to
recognize and respect the cultural and religious
identities of individuals in every community. We need to appreciate the
importance of a quest for the common good, both locally and universally, which
will lead to justice and equality. People of religions do not
believe a secular order is capable of delivering this. The
failure of the recent efforts to impose an ecological
discipline on the nations of the world is just one example of how things are
going wrong. The manipulation of international agencies, mainly
powerful countries, is another. Throughout history, religion has been the only
prophetic force to challenge human imperfect efforts at
building communities.
The
relevance of religious belief to the material world is often overlooked, even
by the devout, but any study of the major religions will show that there is a
considerable body of teaching on how believers should conduct their working
lives, undertake monetary transactions and manage their
financial assets. Economic activity involves human
behavior, and this introduces a moral dimension, as humans have choices
and their actions can be a force for good or bad. Seeking divine guidance for
economic decision making can be helpful in making the right choices, and can
ease consciences where decisions affect the lives of others. Economic
governance, whether at national or corporate level, can be a lonely and
thankless task, but if those exercising responsibility feel they are carrying
out their duties on behalf of the Almighty, this can inspire and motivate
themselves and others.[3]
Religion
takes many different guises today, from traditional and institutionally
organized religions to individual spiritualities and eclectic syncretism. There
is, furthermore, an interest in religion again by those who make reference to
classical sources ( in Muslim context, like Abu Yusuf (d. 798) or
Al-Mawardi and Ibn Taimiyyah (d. l328)[4]
in order to point out the shortcomings of injustice, inequality, and
dehumanized type of modern neo-liberalistic economy and make
suggestions about how Muslim might address these burning issues.
Basically, their interest in religion is rooted in serious concern about basic
social principles, such as moral values, the decline of solidarity,
corruption and the knowledge of what it means to be a member of
(global) community. Their return towards religion is beyond
confessionalism or sectarianism, for they recognize religion
as a part of organizing, maintaining and enhancing social living.
Religion is viewed by these people as providing values, world view and goals
for such living. In short, the resources of religion facilitate both of
a critique of the social and a therapy for the individual.
Below is a quote from some of Umer Chapra’s critique,
the most famous contemporary prolific writer on Islamic Economics;
“Conventional
economics, however, took a wrong turn after the Enlightenment Movement by
stripping itself of the moral basis of society emphasized by Aristotelian and
Judeo-Christian philosophies. This deprived it of the role
that moral values and good governance can play in helping society raise both
efficiency and equity in the allocation and distribution of scarce resource
needed for promoting the well-being of all. However, this has been
changing. The role of good governance has already been recognized and
that of moral values is gradually penetrating the economics orthodoxy.
Islamic economics is also reviving now after the independence of Muslim
countries from foreign domination. It is likely that the two disciplines will
coverage and become one after a period of time. This will be in keeping with
the teaching of the Qur’an, which clearly states that mankind was created as
one but became divided as a result of their differences and transgression
against each other (10:19, 2:213 and 3 : 19), if reinforced by justice and
mutual care, should help promote peaceful coexistence and enable mankind
to realize the well-being of all, a goal the realization of which we are all
anxiously looking forward to.” [5]
Responding
to the question, ‘What is the main message of Islamic Economics to humanity?’,
Umer Chapra, a former professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin,
Kentucky and Lexington, remarked:
“The
main message is that the humanitarian goal of achieving the well-being of all
members of the human family cannot be attained by concentrating primarily on
the material constituents of well-being and making maximization of wealth the
main objective of Economics. It is also necessary to raise the spiritual
content of well-being and reduce all the symptoms of anomie, like family
disintegration, conflict and tensions, crime, alcoholism, drug addiction and
mental illness, all indicating lack of inner happiness and contentment in the
life of individuals. The market system as well as central
planning have both failed to lead mankind to such as overall well-being.
It is therefore, necessary to lay down the contours of a new system which could
help optimize human well-being. This is exactly what Islamic Economics is
trying to do.”[6]
Facing
the tremendous social, political and economical changes today, theology,
understood as an investigation into the rational discourse of a specific
religion, can be best characterized as being impatient. Theologians, not
only those of the Islamic faith, share this impatience with intellectuals in
political science and social theory more generally. The impatience arises from
wishing to speak out once more, to be heard in the public arena.[7]
More recently, political, social and legal theorists have also experienced a
silencing – by economics in its neo-liberal guise. For where economics
governs and drives policy these social scientists are relegated to
providing comments on what has passed rather than pioneering new ways of
understanding and thinking about the social body and community at large. The
impatience of both theologians and social scientists to speak out concerns what
is at stake here. This impatience is widely spread in all monotheistic
religions due to its eschatological nature – they conceive themselves as one
further step towards or to an epoch within an absolute fulfillment of time.
Islamic theology calls this eschatological dimension of religiosity as “the
life of the Hereafter”.
The
importance of the Hereafter lays where the concepts of the innate
goodness of human beings and of the Hereafter come in – concepts which
conventional economics ignores but on which Islam and other major religions
place a great deal of emphasis. Because of their innate goodness, human beings
do not necessarily always try to serve their self-interest. There are also
altruistic and are willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of others. In
addition, the concept of the Hereafter does not confine self interest to just
this world. We may be able to serve our self-interest in this world by
being selfish, dishonest, uncaring, and negligent of our obligations towards
our families, other human beings, animal, and the environment. However, we
cannot serve our self-interest in the hereafter except by fulfilling all these
obligations.
Thus,
the serving of self-interest receives a long-run perspectives in
Islam and other religions by taking into account both this world and the next.
This serves to provide a motivating mechanism for sacrifice for the well-being
of others that conventional economics fails to provide. The innate goodness of
human beings along with the long-run perspective given to self-interest has the
potential of inducing a person to be not only efficient but also
equitable and caring. Consequently, the three crucial concepts of conventional
economics- rational economic man, positivism, and laissez-faire – were not able
to gain intellectual blessing in their conventional economics sense from any of
the outstanding scholars who represent the mainstream of Islamic thought. [8]
The Contemporary Development of Islamic Economics
The
basis of Islamic Economics is from the Shariah, so the concepts of
Islamic Finance have been around the origination of Islam itself. The practices
of what we see today have been used throughout the last 1500 0dd years across
the modern Muslim world and beyond. The modern Islamic Finance really
originated in the l960s, escalating with the petro dollar boom of the l970s
when in l975, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) was formed to promote
acceptable financial practices according to Islam. While many
banks originating in the Middle East strictly follow these principles, many
also follow Western practices of finance, with a number following
both practices to cater for both markets. Interestingly, many of
the internationals larger banks (with HSBC, UBS and Citigroup as notable
example) all have Islamic banking arms, both in the Middle East and the West.
The IMF published an article in 2008 which estimated that there are now more
than 300 Islamic financial institutions operating in more than 75 countries at
the end of 2007.
There
are many sceptics about Islamic finance, including in the Muslim community,
and some Islamic economists concerned with redistribution are disappointed
about how the industry has evolved commercially. Nevertheless there is
substance to shariah compliant financial contracts which are about
much more than mere substitution of Arabic word. Islamic finance is treated
seriously by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom which has
issued regulatory guidelines and by the Treasury which has issued a
consultative document on a proposed sovereign sukuk ( sertificate
reflects participation rights in the underlying assets) which will be sterling
denominated. There are already over one trillion dollars’ worth of assets which
are designed as shariah compliant, illustrating the worldwide success
of Islamic finance and its market appeal.[9]
Many
challenges remain and financial products are often works in progress.
Undoubtedly the most valuable contribution of the Islamic finance industry is
the issues it raises about morality in financial dealings, even if all the
questions are not answered. It attempts to reconcile the spiritual with the
worldly, and act as a filter to the excesses of capitalism which all too
often are driven by individual material greed with no social accountability.
There is much that those from other religions and those with no religion can
learn from the Islamic economics and finance experience, and the challenge it
poses to conventional assumptions.
This
short introductory article is not intended to go in detail in discussing the
technicalities of Islamic economy and finance. What I want to underline
here is that an observation and a research on the undergoing process of
religious resurgence during this last decade in the Southeast Asia
countries will lack of its comprehensiveness without
delving into religious activities in the economy and finance. The unique
characteristic of Islamic economic and finance is its inclusivity. It can go
hand by hand with conventional economics . An atmosphere of
peaceful coexistence is there. The notion and the application
of Shariah in economics and finance is strikingly different from the
notion and application of Shariah in family law and court law.
Religion has many dimensions. Taking a religion into public sphere , especially
in the area of economy, seemingly more acceptable and might be
promising for the next generation in the mid of fear of taking
religion into political and public administration arena.
*) A Paper submitted
for the international conference “The Resurqence of Religions in Southeast
Asia: 1997-2011”, ICRS, Yogyakarta, January 7, 2011.
[1]Jose
Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World, Chicago, The
University of Chicago Press, l994, p. 64-66; George Moyser, “Religion and
Politics” , John R. Hinnells (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to The Study of
Religion, New York, Routledge, 2005, p. 423; Martin Riesebrodt and Mary
Ellen Konieczny, “Sociology of Religion”, ibid. p. 136-140.
[2]The
IMF published an article in 2008 which estimated that there are now more than
300 Islamic financial institutions operating in more than 75 countries at the
end of 2007. See Abid Shakeel, “What is Islamic Finance”, http://www.mcb.org.uk/upload/what
is Islamic Finance. pdf. Accessed 31 December 2010. Many books and
articles have been published since three decades ago. See, as an example,
Misbah Oreibi (Ed.), Contribution of Islamic Thought to Modern Economics,
Virginia, International Institute of Islamic Thought, l998; Zami Iqbal &
Abbas Mirakhor, An Introduction to Islamic Finance; Theory and Practice,
Singapore, John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pre Ltd, 2007.
[3]These
voices, and there are still many others, can be heard from Kamran Mofid
in his work Promoting the Common Good: Bringing Economics & Theology
Together Again, London, Shepheard-Wawyn (publishers) Ltd, 2005.
[4]M.
Umer Chapra, “Islamic Economics: What it is and How it Developed”.
http://eh.net/encyclopaedia/article/chapra.islamic, Accessed , Friday, 31
December 2010. Ibn Taimiyyah emphasized that “justice towards everything and
everyone is an imperative for everyone, and injustice is prohibited to
everything and everyone. Injustice is absolutely not permissible irrespective
of whether it is to a Muslim or a non-Muslim or even to an unjust person”
(l961-63, Vol. 18, p. 166).
[5]Ibid
. The italic is mine.
[6]Quoted
from Marcus Braybrooke & Kamran Mofid , Promoting The Common Good:
Bringing Economics & Theology Together Again, A Theologian and an Economist
in Dialogue, London, Shepheard-Walwyn (Publisher) Ltd, 2005, p. 83-4.
The italic is mine.
[7]Michael
Hoelzl and Graham Ward (Ed.), Religion and Political Thought, London,
The Continuum International Publishing Group. 2006, p. 220.
[8]M.
Umer Chapra, “Islamic Economics: What It Is and How It Developed”, Op. cit.
[9]Rodney
Wilson, “Islamic Economics and Finance”, World Economics, Vol. 9.No.
1, January-March 2008, p.192.
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