This research paper provides a theoretical reframing of the objectives underlying Islamic economics and finance. While Islamic finance is largely known for avoiding specific prohibitions—such as Riba (interest), Gharar (excessive ambiguity), and Maysir (gambling)—critics argue that it has become operationally identical to conventional finance. The author argues against this phenomenon of ‘Shariah arbitrage’, where the outward form is Islamic but the substance remains conventional.
The book by Qanit Khalilullah and Sohaib Umar offers a critique of the modern fractional-reserve banking system, arguing that it is the primary engine behind chronic economic instability, inflation, and wealth inequality. The authors propose a radical macroeconomic transition to a full-reserve banking model. This proposal is specifically tailored as a structural panacea for Pakistan’s crippling debt crisis, while simultaneously being framed as a genuine path to establishing a Shari’ah-compliant Islamic financial system.
The number of billionaires has surpassed 3,000, with Elon Musk becoming the first person to hold over half a trillion dollars in wealth. However, this extreme wealth concentration is happening amidst widespread hunger, with one in four people globally facing food insecurity. The issue isn’t just the lavish spending of billionaires, but how they use their wealth to influence politics, governments, and media, undermining democracy and fairness. As US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, ‘We must make our choice. Either we can have extreme wealth in the hands of the few, or we can have democracy. We cannot have both’. This report is about that choice.
Islamic Economics Project 