Intellectual Discourse (Journal)
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Is Islam an Obstacle to Development? Evidence to the Contrary and Some Methodological Considerations
Get PDFThis paper investigates the relationship between value systems and economic development. Beginning with Weber, many social scientists, especially in the West, have expressed the belief that Islam is an obstacle to development. This is, in turn, used to explain widespread underdevelopment in almost all the Muslim countries. The intellectual root of their argument is Weber's assertion that the Protestant ethic was responsible for the development of capitalism in western countries. This study tries to show that works of Weber, Sutcliffe, and Parkinson are flawed on methodological and substantive grounds. Work done by Muslim social scientists in response to such claims has even more serious flaws than that of their western counterparts. In the present investigation, using data from a study carried out in Kelantan by Prof. Zeyauddin of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology IIUM in 1992, the author attempts to show that development may assume a different meaning in a traditional Muslim community, and despite the less developed status of an area, the people may be as ambitious and motivated as any people in the world
The Nature of Human Disposition: al-Ghazālī's Contribution to an Islamic Concept of Personality
Get PDFThe paper provides a critique of contemporary psychological models of human nature and highlights the contribution of al-Ghazālī towards a better conceptualization of human disposition. A brief outline of the philosophical foundations of the three major psychological approaches–Freudian psychoanalysis, Skinnerian behaviorism, and Rogerian and Maslowvian Humanism– are provided. Consequently, the metaphors they adopted for human nature are discussed. The paper also highlights the shortcomings of these models by looking at their practical implications, particularly for psychology of personality. The last part of the paper dwells on al-Ghazālī’s contribution to an Islamic abstraction of human disposition and personality
Conflicts in the Horn of Africa and their Consequences on Sudan's Stability and Security
Get PDFArmed conflicts in the Horn of Africa have been raging in that region for the last forty years with tragic consequences for human life and for economic advancement. These conflicts have three different, but overlapping dimensions: the intrastate, the interstate, and the global levels. The conflicts are of a decided relevance for the Sudan, and particularly to the rebellion in the southern Sudan. The lack of security and stability in southern Sudan forced hundreds of thousand southerners into neighbouring countries, especially Ethiopia and Uganda. Likewise, the Sudan hosted hundreds of thousands Eritreans, Ethiopians, and Ugandans caught in the crossfire of their national conflicts. This development not only created a heavy economic burden on these relatively poor and economically underdeveloped communities, but led to strained political relations among governments. The Sudan has deep-seated security concerns emanating from the tragic developments in that part of the world. It is argued that one practical step to defuse the situation is to look for political solutions for essentially political problems. The next step that follows logically from the first step is to establish economic cooperation arrangements with a view to creating a future economic community in that African region
The Domestic Origins of Sudan's External Debt Crisis
Get PDFDomestic factors played a significant role in Sudan's external debt crisis which emerged in the early 1980's. Personal rule and related political survival considerations undermined on-going economic adjustment programmes and prompted heavy external borrowing. Borrowing from abroad went unchecked because of the absence of an effective debt management system. It was also fuelled by economic corruption and the decline of cotton, Sudan's principal export crop. The absence of an effective debt management mechanism and economic corruption were a product of the lack of political and fiscal accountability in the context of personal rule
Islam in Africa: Proceedings of the Islam in Africa Conference. Edited by Nura Alkali, Adamu Adamu, Awwal Yadudu, Rashid Moten and Haruna Salihi
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Distorted Images of Islam: The Case of Former Yugoslavia
Get PDFSince the 1980s, the former Yugoslavia has witnessed increasing distortion of images of Islam in academic publications, media, and public life. This process has been connected with the changes in power structure in Serbia, and with the new ideological orientation of the Serbian leadership which opted for national exclusivism (ethno fascism). The Muslims have been portrayed as a threat to the realization of the Serbian hegemonist project. In order to mobilize domestic public opinion against the Muslims and to justify future acts against them in the eyes of the West, the Serbian leadership needed an image of Islam as a totalitarian, inherently violent, and culturally alien system on European soil. Such a distorted image has been provided by some influential Serbian orientalists, the Orthodox Church, and some historians. Due to these distortions, these Serbian intellectual circles have become accomplices in the crimes committed against the Muslims in former Yugoslavia during 1992-1995
