Poverty & Inequality

Islamic Views of Poverty and Inequality

Zaman, Asad (2018) "An Islamic Approach to Inequality and Poverty" Journal of King Abdul Aziz University: Islamic Economics Vol 31 No. 1 pp 69-92 (January 2018). See also: Lecture AM11 for detailed explanation and video

We argue that ways of thinking about poverty changed dramatically due to the Great Transformation in Europe, which created a market society. These ways spread to the rest of world due to colonization and global conquest of Europe. The market society requires a labor market, which de-humanizes people, turning them into commodities. This, and other related changes in attitudes toward wealth and poverty, are the source of the difficulties created by poverty and inequality. An Islamic approach requires re-creation of society on the basis of generosity and cooperation, values which are anti-thetical to greed and competition. We sketch a three dimensional approach to resolving problems created by inequalities and poverty, based on spiritual, social, and institutional components. In each area, the source materials of Islam and Islamic history provide ample guidance and precedent for a radically different approach to these problems.

JEL Classification Codes: P4, I3

See also, closely related paper: Asad Zaman, Arif Naveed, and Ateequr Rahman: "Wealth as an Indicator of Socio-Economic Development, Islamic Views," Chapter 6, Towards A Maqasid-al-Shariah Index of Socio-Economic Development, Palgrave Studies in Islamic Banking, Finance, and Economics, 2019, ISBN 978-3-030-12792-3