“Islamic Economics represents a new approach to economics and to the problems of human society, as it is based on a distinct worldview and a vision of man, society and history”, says Professor Khurshid Ahmad, chairman of the Islamic Foundation, UK. He made the remarks during his lecture on "Global economic crisis and the role of Islamic Economics” at the Islamic Development Bank, (IDB), headquarters, earlier in the week, where he was honored in recognition of the Foundation’s winning the 2011
IDB Prize in Islamic Economics for over four decades of contribution to the field.
Whether or not to adopt the principles of Islamic school of banking and finance has triggered serious discussions in different parts of the world, in Europe, in particular. A recent IMF study suggests that Islamic banks were least affected by the global financial crisis mainly due to their asset-based financing principles. According to Professor Khurshid, Islamic banking has shown a 10 to 15 percent annual growth while its conventional peer, much bigger in volume yet impacted by the crunching
global economic crisis, has been growing at a rate of less than one percent a year.
“The Crisis has already devastated lives of millions not merely in America and Europe, but all over the world. This situation constitutes a wake-up call and wake-up, we must”, says the founder of the institution which has been following up Islamic Economics and interfaith dialogue in Europe. The renowned Pakistani-born Muslim scholar insists that, as a solution to the prevailing economic crisis, Islamic Economics demands not perpetuation of the status quo but a well-defined transformation of the
economy and the society. He further underlines the importance for Islamic banks to shift from a Shari’ah-compliant position to a Shari’ah-based position, a strategy that, as he views, would enable them to move from a debt-based economy to a viable risk-sharing and equity-based participatory economy.
On the process of adopting Islamic banking and financial services in Europe, Professor Khurshid elaborates: “The issue is now receiving attention at the level of Bank of England and the Regulatory Authority. We have been sharing with them the real differences between Conventional and Islamic Banking. So, I think it is an important development.”
Throughout his long years of service, Professor Khurshid Ahmad has won many prestigious international awards including the King Faisal International Prize. In 1988, he became the first of the thirty individuals and four institutions that have so far won the IDB Prize in Islamic Economics. Having authored 44 titles of books in English and 35 books in Urdu on the subject, he takes pride in the solid decades-long cooperation between his institution and IDB. More than half of the orientation
activities and programs by his foundation are conducted in collaboration with IRTI, IDB Group’s Islamic Research and Training Institute, and in partnership with some British academic institutions and community organizations.
The Islamic Foundation, UK, was founded in 1973 to promote a better understanding of Islam in the European Continent and to become a reputable center for dissemination of Islamic knowledge to all communities. In the year 2000, it established the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, MIHE, where tens of students and scholars have successfully completed their post graduate studies in Islamic Economics.