entrepreneur

The rise and fall of innovation in the Muslim world Going back to the past to save the future. Islamic Institutions and the Global Economy As a member of the Department of Economics at prestigious Duke University in North Carolina, U.S., Timur Kuran published an insightful analysis of the current state of commerce in the Middle East in a treatise called The Scale of Entrepreneurship in Middle Eastern History: Inhibitive Roles of Islamic Institutions. In this academic analysis, Kuran carefully details the wide acceptance and practice of commerce for centuries until the Middle Ages when the Muslim Empire collapsed and the region returned to nation states ruled by tribal leaders, a form of government that has lasted until modern times. The question Timur Kuran attempts to answer in identifying “Inhibitive Roles of Islamic Institutions” is complex: Why has a culture that has sought engagement with others throughout its history, and why has a culture that has valued and encouraged entrepreneurship, now falling further behind as the rest of the world advances through the use of increasingly sophisticated technology? law provides numerous examples of business “best practices” including honesty, integrity and transparency.AbuTaqiyya employed these principles as he grew his commercial empire spanning a broad geography. In addition, Ismail Abu Taqiyya provides the means to collect capital that can be used to launch and grow other commercial enterprises. So, this innovative merchant from Egypt engages others across boundary lines and provides the financial means for business development and growth. Kuran, in his thesis, makes a compelling case that Islamic law, while encouraging entrepreneurs to “[When the prayers are ended]…disperse and go in quest of Allah’s bounty” according to Quaranic doctrine, Islamic law fails to provide the means to collect the resources required to turn innovation into entrepreneurship that, ultimately, generates a profit and grows a culture. The Prophet Muhammad preached that “On Judgment Day, faithful and trustworthy merchants will sit with prophets and martyrs,” yet the merchant class in the Middle East remains small and the drive and ambition to create and innovate, to turn ideas into businesses that improve the lives of others, runs counter to the Islamic principles of fatalism and bid’a – the rejection of innovations from “outsiders.” Fatalism is a fundamental tenet of Islam. It might be translated as “What will be will be” in Western terms.This belief that a life is pre-destined and “what will be will be” diminishes the value of taking the risks required to innovate. Indeed, entrepreneurs do encounter risks throughout the development of concept to business. Tukar also points to the Islamic principle of bid’a – the reflexive rejection of innovation from the non-Muslim world that inhibits the expansion of a commercial class throughout the Middle East. Despite the obvious commercial benefits of engagement within what has become a global economy, the concepts of fatalism and bid’a have contributed to nations in the Near and Middle East in not keeping pace on a commercial level with countries like China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and other nations that have experienced phenomenal commercial growth in just a few decades. The world of commerce changed from personal connectivity to impersonal, corporate connectivity. Kumar identifies the source of the problem. The world of commerce changed from personal connectivity to impersonal, corporate connectivity. Let’s examine more closely the success of Ismail Abu Taqiyya. Abu Taqiyya maintained personal relationships with the “franchise” owners with whom he created mutually-beneficial partnerships. Again, Islamic 8 www.digitaldaya.com