Capitalism and Islam

Islamic capitalism was active during the Islamic Golden Age and Arab Agricultural Revolution, where an early market economy and form of merchant capitalism took root between the 8th–12th centuries. A vigorous monetary economy was based on a widely-circulated currency (the dinar) and the integration of monetary areas that were previously independent. Business techniques and forms of business organisation employed during this time included contracts, bills of exchange, long-distance international trade, forms of partnership (mufawadha) such as limited partnerships (mudharaba), and forms of credit, debt, profit, loss, capital (al-mal), capital accumulation (nama al-mal),[1][failed verification] circulating capital, capital expenditure, revenue, cheques, promissory notes,[2] trusts (see Waqf), savings accounts, transactional accounts, pawning, loaning, exchange rates, bankers, money changers, ledgers, deposits, assignments, the double-entry bookkeeping system,[3] and lawsuits.[4] Organizational enterprises independent from the state also existed in the medieval Islamic world, while the agency institution was also introduced.[5][6] Many of these early capitalist concepts were adopted and further advanced in medieval Europe from the 13th century onwards.[1] Some have argued that these economic activities laid the foundations for the development of modern capitalism.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Jairus Banaji (2007), "Islam, the Mediterranean and the rise of capitalism", Historical Materialism 15 (1), pp. 47–74, Brill Publishers.
  2. ^ Robert Sabatino Lopez, Irving Woodworth Raymond, Olivia Remie Constable (2001), Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents, Columbia University Press, ISBN 0231123574.
  3. ^ Subhi Y. Labib (1969), "Capitalism in Medieval Islam", The Journal of Economic History 29 (1), pp. 79–96 [92–3].
  4. ^ Ray Spier (2002), "The history of the peer-review process", Trends in Biotechnology 20 (8), p. 357-358 [357].
  5. ^ Said Amir Arjomand (1999), "The Law, Agency, and Policy in Medieval Islamic Society: Development of the Institutions of Learning from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century", Comparative Studies in Society and History 41, pp. 263–93. Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^ Samir Amin (1978), "The Arab Nation: Some Conclusions and Problems", MERIP Reports 68, pp. 3–14 [8, 13].
  7. ^ Heck, Gene W. (2006), Charlemagne, Muhammad, and the Arab roots of capitalism, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3110192292
  8. ^ Nolan, Peter (2007), Capitalism and Freedom: The Contradictory Character of Globalisation, Anthem Press, p. 277, ISBN 978-1843312802

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