Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology
Neoliberal economic theorists posit that the economic sphere is to be differentiated from the social world and governed by its own rationality that is distinct from religious, ethical, social, or political considerations. My article explores how the issuance of fatwas in the contemporary Muslim worl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of World-Systems Research |
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| Online Access: | http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/843 |
| _version_ | 1819211014456999936 |
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| author | Omer Awass |
| author_facet | Omer Awass |
| author_sort | Omer Awass |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neoliberal economic theorists posit that the economic sphere is to be differentiated from the social world and governed by its own rationality that is distinct from religious, ethical, social, or political considerations. My article explores how the issuance of fatwas in the contemporary Muslim world discursively compete with neoliberal capitalist ideology by embedding religious ethics in economic discourse. First, I contextualize this analysis with a historical discussion on how the Muslim world was incorporated into the capitalist world-system, a process that peripheralized their established economic and cultural practices. Then, I examine the contemporary fatwas on commercial transactions that are issued by an international Muslim organization. My overall argument is that the Islamic moral economy proposes financial arrangements that represent alternatives to capitalist financial practices, which are the standard modes of operation in global financial institutions. Such practices pose a challenge to Muslim economic ethics and law, a challenge that Muslims are trying to negotiate using traditional legal practices such as the fatwa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T06:20:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c6406af58bb46bebd2db6bee5dbc518 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1076-156X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T06:20:20Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of World-Systems Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c6406af58bb46bebd2db6bee5dbc5182022-12-21T17:57:13ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghJournal of World-Systems Research1076-156X2019-03-0125114516810.5195/jwsr.2019.843779Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal IdeologyOmer AwassNeoliberal economic theorists posit that the economic sphere is to be differentiated from the social world and governed by its own rationality that is distinct from religious, ethical, social, or political considerations. My article explores how the issuance of fatwas in the contemporary Muslim world discursively compete with neoliberal capitalist ideology by embedding religious ethics in economic discourse. First, I contextualize this analysis with a historical discussion on how the Muslim world was incorporated into the capitalist world-system, a process that peripheralized their established economic and cultural practices. Then, I examine the contemporary fatwas on commercial transactions that are issued by an international Muslim organization. My overall argument is that the Islamic moral economy proposes financial arrangements that represent alternatives to capitalist financial practices, which are the standard modes of operation in global financial institutions. Such practices pose a challenge to Muslim economic ethics and law, a challenge that Muslims are trying to negotiate using traditional legal practices such as the fatwa.http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/843CapitalismColonialismEmbeddednessEthicsFinanceLawPolitical EconomyWorld-Systems Theory |
| spellingShingle | Omer Awass Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology Journal of World-Systems Research Capitalism Colonialism Embeddedness Ethics Finance Law Political Economy World-Systems Theory |
| title | Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology |
| title_full | Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology |
| title_fullStr | Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology |
| title_short | Contending with Capitalism: Fatwas and Neoliberal Ideology |
| title_sort | contending with capitalism fatwas and neoliberal ideology |
| topic | Capitalism Colonialism Embeddedness Ethics Finance Law Political Economy World-Systems Theory |
| url | http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/843 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT omerawass contendingwithcapitalismfatwasandneoliberalideology |