Toward a New Framework of Islamic Economic Analysis (2020)*

Abstract

Despite a profusion of literature, efforts to develop Islamic economics as a discipline have not brought about anticipated results. This paper argues that it is the absence of clarity on what would make economics “Islamic” which impedes the development of Islamic economics. To fill that absence, this paper proposes three conditions under which an economics can be considered “Islamic”, and then defines the scope of Islamic economics and its methods. Finally, this paper suggests three implications which, taken together, entail that developing Islamic economics and building its body of knowledge is less complicated than was feared. *This article was first published in the American Journal of Islam and Society 37, no. 1-2 (2020): 103-122