Global Financial Capital vs. Islamic Concept of Wealth: The Question of Ideological Dominance

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare global financial capital with traditional concept of wealth in theory of Islamic economics & finance as perceived in Islamic discourse, so as to analyze the dominance of the former over the latter in the light of ethos of Islamic thought. To do this we have evaluated the features and have found substantial differences between the ideological, historical, institutional and political specifications of the two. Islamic jurisprudence knowledge on trade & finance focuses on fair exchange of existing stock of real wealth while preserving the religio-socio-cultural order; on the other hand modern financial knowledge prioritize unprecedented capital growth irrespective of its disintegrating impact on any traditional and/or non-market entity. Therefore, practicing Islamic finance under the dominance of global capital raises serious questions regarding the possibility of disintegration of Muslim communities by subjecting their physical & natural resources to the forces of global financial capital under the pretext of Islamic finance.