Structural-Functionalism, Stratification and Historical Background of Islamic Economic Thought

Abstract

A thorough analysis of the Islamic economy requires a multi-disciplinary analysis of the political, religious, and ethical aspects, and how they influence the workings of the economy. Islam is both a religious and a political community. The differences between religion and politics in Islam are not clear-cut. Islam does not admit separation between church and state. This factor makes Islam an appropriate area of study, not only to theologians, but also to sociologists, political scientists, economists, lawyers, historians, and philosophers. Some basic economic conceptual foundations of Islamic systems in connection with the Shari'a, or the legal basis, are discussed. As a multifaceted religion, Islam, at times, has been formulated not only by the reformers and intellectuals, but also by social classes whose interests are no longer nourished by a romanticized, glorious past history. Rather, these social actors wish to locate themselves within a global world with access to work, social mobility, and status opportunities. This framework will allow readers to identify the reasons and the procedures by which different Islamic economic systems, or modes of economy, have been derived from a single source which is acceptable to all Muslims.