REVIVING THE PROMISE OF ISLAMIC ECONOMICS

First generation Islamic economics promised to create a system with just and equitable economic outcomes, which would be far superior to capitalism and communism. Historical circumstances led the second generation to forget this promise, and to consider Islamic Economics as a minor variant of capitalism. The second generation has been trying to create a sharī‘ah compliant system, where the form is Islamic but the spirit is capitalistic. We need to go back to the roots, and build a genuine Islamic system in form and spirit which is sharī‘ah based, rather than sharī‘ah compliant. By doing this, the third generation can revive the promise of Islamic Economics and create a model economic system which fulfills the promise of the first generation.