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Magister Artium - MA / Our time has been called the age of economics; the social philosopher Edmund Burke first used this term to characterize the eighteenth century, which was his own century and also the century of Adam Smith, but this expression has since become even more appropriate. While in the middle ages the beliefs that divide society and set large blocks of people at war with each other were theological in nature, in our time the great ominous divide between peoples is based on differing philosophies of economics (Lux, 1990:1). Economists are now key advisors to governments, presidents, prime ministers, and even autocrats and dictators, in addition to their obvious and expected place in the world of business, banking, and finance. The celebrated twentieth-century economist John Maynard Keynes gives an apt description of the influence of economics in our time: “The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood.” (Lux, 1990:1). The analysis presented in this study spreads over four chapters followed by a concluding chapter and the bibliography. For the full understanding of the need of this analysis and where it comes from; the methods that are followed; the literature used; the normative framework for evaluating the different systems, a brief survey is presented in the first chapter. The second chapter argues the need for an economic system that functions economically and morally; one that satisfies the criteria set by the widely accepted theory on justice by John Rawls. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages, but especially the moral and practical shortcomings, of the current dominating global system, Capitalism, based on short-term human vision and planning, and a preliminary critical moral assessment thereof, is given in chapter three. The fourth chapter briefly presents the Islamic economic system as a possible alternative, more reliable, economic system, claiming to depend on divine knowledge. The strengths of this system are pitted over against the shortcomings identified in Capitalism and the possible viability of the Islamic system is tested against the criteria of John Rawls’ theory of justice. The concluding fifth chapter summarises the outcomes of the investigation and presents some recommendations for a viable economic philosophy and system for the future. / South Africa

Tradition is characterised by the dynamics of simultaneous innovation and continuity. The Islamic tradition is a case-in-point where its internal elements are reconstructed through transmission, reception and interpretation. A vast body of texts, rituals and institutions, I contend has been subject to scrutiny and modification by Muslim scholars. Muhammad al-Ghazali’s works are examined, alongside those of his predecessors and peers, in this study for the purpose of establishing the facets of continuity and innovation in his thought. Twentieth century Muslim reformers such as al-Ghazali were heirs of the turath (Arabo-Islamic heritage) constructed over a period of 14 centuries. The tendency of tajdid (renewal) is implicated in a web of authoritative texts, juristic methods and moral norms. Calls to revive the practice of ijtihad (independent judgement) to interpret Islamic law, enveloping ethics and politics, were motivated by the search for the authentic spirit of Islam in the past. This search was also accompanied by the recovery of the ideal norms contained in the texts of the Shari’ah (the way). Reformist thinking since the eve of the twentieth century has privileged the maqasid al-Shari’ah (objectives of the Shari’ah) to varying degrees. In this study, I consider a range of Muslim scholars from the classical period until the present who espoused the ethos of tajdid. Moreover, I seek to propose an alternative reading of tradition contrary to the account of a dynamic modernity and a static tradition. The application of tradition as a concept of interpretation in this study seeks to situate al-Ghazali’s thought in the broader current of tajdid part of a vibrant past. I aim to provide a thick description of the works of al-Ghazali as an important example of a reformist venture maintaining the continuity of tradition. Additionally, the examination of a diversity of Muslim scholars aims to illustrate the patchwork composition of tradition in the past and the present.

Title Constraints on Islamic Banking Within European and Czech Legal Framework Author Hynek Mádl Keywords Islamic banking, credit, Sharī'ah board, Murabaha, Musharakah Summary Islamic banking is a sector of financial market which was formed in the 1970s and since then, it has spread outside Muslim countries too. The difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking is in the fact that all activities of Islamic banks shall be consistent with the principles of Islamic law. The submitted thesis aims to find and analyse obstacles of implementing Islamic banking, resulting from its singularities, in the European and Czech legal framework. In the introduction, the author shortly describes theoretical principles of Islamic banking and ways in which contemporary practices of Islamic banks have deviated from these principles. The next part of the thesis lays out individual characteristics of Islamic banking. Using the examples of specific finance models (especially Murabaha and Musharaka financing), these features are assessed from the viewpoint of their compliance with legal regulation of banks and their activities. The process in which a bank provides financing to its clients by acquiring and disposing assets, which such financing applies to, is considered to be the most disputable element of Islamic...

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African retirement fund industry, financially sound and well regulated includes a private savings sector and government employees provided for with a near fully-funded retirement arrangement, but approximately three-quarters of the population reach retirement without adequate savings and are dependent on a government social assistance grant programme. One of the broad objectives of government retirement policy is to encourage individuals to provide adequately for their retirement needs and that of their dependents. The retirement funding system has been codified in the Pension Funds Act of 1956. The only investment guidelines that trustees of retirement funds had to follow was Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act, which prescribed maximum limits for investments of funds in the various asset classes but provided very little guidance on appropriate investment strategies. The new draft Regulation 28 compels trustees to draw up carefully considered investment strategies. The South Africa Muslim population, though two percent in number has a significant impact on the economy. This report investigates how Regulation 28 collectively with the new draft regulation can be modified to comply with the tenets of the Muslim faith i.e. Shari'ah (Islamic law) requirements. Perhaps the most significant distinction is investment in equity instruments are the main avenue available to Muslim investors for wealth creation, as Islamic law forbids interest. Islamic Commercial Law differs from conventional Western Finance, the most significant difference being the prohibition of riba (interest), commonly equated to interest in conventional finance. However, there are Muslim scholars and thinkers who are not convinced about equating interest with riba with some challenging the riba interest equation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die finansieel sterk en goed gereguleerde Suid-Afrikaanse Aftreefondsindustrie sluit 'n privaat spaarsektor in en voorsien aan staatsdienswerknemers 'n aftreeplan wat byna ten volle befonds word. Ongeveer twee derdes van die populasie bereik egter aftrede sonder voldoende fondse en is van die regering se Sosiale Bystandsfondsprogram afhanklik. Een van die bree doelwitte van die regering se aftreefondsbeleid is om individue aan te moedig om voldoende aan hulle en hulle afhanklikes se afreebehoeftes te voorsien. Die aftreefondstelsel is in die Pensioenfondswet van 1956 gekodifiseer. Die enigste beleggingsriglyne wat deur trustees van afreefondse gevolg moes word is Regulasie 28 van die Pensioenfondswet. Hierdie riglyne het maksimum limiete vir die belegging van fondse in verskillende bate kategoriee voargeskryf, maar het baie min leiding ten opsigte van die geskikte beleggingstrategiee voorsien. Die nuwe Regulasie 28 konsep verplig trustees am weldeurdagte beleggingstrategiee op te stel. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Moslem populasie, alhoewel net 2% van die totale populasie, het 'n beduidende impak op die ekonomie. Hierdie verslag ondersoek hoe Regulasie 28 in samewerking met die nuwe Regulasie 28 konsep verander kan word am aan die Moslem geloofsleerstellings, bv. Shari'ah (Islam wet) se vereistes te voldoen.

Islamic banking in the United States of America, became recognized as an alternative to expand into the market of traditional Muslim consumers, living in the United States. Because of strict regulatory guidelines, no Islamic banks exist in the United States. Instead, conventional banks, Islāmic banking windows (IBW) and other financial institutions offer Shari‘ah compliant products by modifying classical Islamic contracts or attaching a rider to define contract verbiage. This study reviewed techniques of adapting contracts used for Shari‘ah compliant products in the United States to determine if the contracts maintain the true characteristics of the original classical Islamic contracts. Contracts in Islamic sacred law provide protections by ensuring wealth is not wasted, and no injustice is performed by either of the contracting parties. Wealth protection and justice are the inherit characteristics of contracts in the Islāmic law. Any changes or modifications may void or decrease the protections provided in Islamic law. This research reviewed the theoretical aspects of contract modifications, by analyzing the procedures used for the derivative Shari‘ah compliant product contracts used in the Islamic finance industry in the United States. Data was evaluated and compared with the requirements of classical Islamic contract equivalents, to determine the effects of these changes. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Phil. (Religious Studies)