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Box 1 The Sunni–Shiite division

Table 1 2014 Global Innovation Index: top 3 and selected OIC member states

Table 2 Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) data for selected MENA countries

Figure 1 Performance of selected OIC member states in HDI and top three performers (2015)

Figure 2 Female and male labour force participation across MENA

The authors

Foreword

Acknowledgement

Tables, figures and boxes

1 Introduction

Kathya Berrada and Nouh El Harmouzi

The contributions of the authors

2 The condition of social, political and economic thinking in the Islamic world from a classical liberal perspective

Atilla Yayla and Bican Şahin

Freedom, religion and Islam

Can Islam as a religion be separate from politics?

The current situation of social, political and economic thought in Islamic countries

What are the most basic errors in Muslim thought now and how can they be changed?

Conclusion

References

3 Reason versus tradition, free will versus fate, interpretation versus literalism: intellectual underpinnings of the negative outlook for the Muslim world

Mustafa Acar

Introduction

Miserable outlook of the Muslim world: poverty within abundance?

Political and intellectual reasons behind the poor performance of Muslim countries

Main schools of thought in the Muslim world

Reason versus tradition, Ra’y versus Hadith, free will versus fate, interpretation versus literalism

Intellectual conflicts with political roots and implications

Conclusion: destructive consequences of the conflict between reason and tradition

References

4 Welfare beyond the state: ‘ihsani’ societal-based welfare

Maszlee Malik

Introduction

Functioning individuals and ihsani social capital

A benevolent society as an alternative to the state as provider

Welfare through waqfs

The nationalisation of society: can waqfs be revived?

An effective minimal state

Conclusion

References

5 The individual, freedom of choice and tolerance in the Quran

Azhar Aslam

The individual in the Quran

Freedom of individual action and choice in the Quran

No compulsion

Subtexts

The Prophet’s Sunna

Islam and the state

Tolerance and the present-day state of Muslim societies

Apostasy

Conclusion

References

6 Economic freedom: the path to women’s emancipation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

Souad Adnane

Women in development versus gender and development: implications for policy making in the Arab world

The economic participation of women in the MENA region

Market-friendly policies and their potential for advancing the position of women in the Arab world

Gender-sensitive and market-friendly policies: the way forward

Women’s economic participation in Islam

Conclusion

References

7 Jihad and political change: a perspective based on Quranic sources

M. A. Muqtedar Khan

Colonialism and post-colonialism

Peace, non-violence and the difficulty of meaningful change

Jihad for change

Conflicts in the Islamic world

The Quran and the way to peace

Conclusion

References

8 Islam and politics today: the reasons for the rise of jihadism

Hasan Yücel Başdemir

The problem

The political experiences of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers

Characteristics of the early period state model

Politics as part of Sharia

Colonisation and the birth of modern Islamic movements

From Pan-Islamism to jihadism

The roots of jihadism and its birth

The pioneers of the idea of jihadism

Living out Islam in a free society

References

9 Islam and a free-market economy: are they compatible?

Hicham El Moussaoui

The foundations of Islam and a free-market economy are not incompatible

Explaining the deviation from the pro-market tradition of Islam

Conclusion

References

10 Islamic finance: between the reality and the ideal

Youcef Maouchi

Introduction

Islamic finance: an overview

The origins of Islamic finance: the Sharia

The ideal of Islamic finance

The reality takes over from the ideal

Bringing Islamic finance back on track

Conclusion

References

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