A world expert calls for systematic consolidation of Islamic values, norms and parameters in an economy in a problem-solving manner

Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, an associate Professor, College of Business Administration at the University of Bahrain, said that Islamic economics possesses tremendous potentials; however, harnessing the benefits from that potential requires systematic consolidation of Islamic values, norms and parameters in an economy in a problem-solving manner.

He was featured among the 500 most influential people who make up the Islamic economy (ranked 190 in 2018). He was interviewed last month by Islamic Economics Project magazine (Moral Reflections on Economics) based in Karachi. The full interview can be read at https://islamiceconomicsproject.com/omar-farooq/

Dr. Farooq told the magazine that despite its high potential and relevance as well as high expectation of many, Islamic economics might not have reached a degree of development yet to be able to make a systemic impact on our economies.

Dr. Mohammed is optimistic about the Islamic finance and Islamic capital markets in 2021, expecting that most economies in the Muslim world will post positive and improving growth rates. He called on to those working in Islamic economics to develop the field analytically and focusing on real-world challenges than merely on theoretical edifice to avoid the trap in which mainstream economics fell and became largely delinked from the real economy.

Dr. Farooq said it is important to recognize that Islamic economics cannot be a discipline isolated from the economy in the context of the real-world politics and governance. It cannot be merely a micro-enterprise. He stressed the need to establish the Islamic economy because guided by Islamic parameters it has a strong moral and ethical foundation to broadly serve and benefit people.

He stressed that modern mainstream economics is routinely unable to predict, explain and solve recurring problems of the real world, explaining that Islamic economics, to be relevant and effective, must focus on identifying, understanding, and targeting real economic challenges than focusing on mathematized and analytical elegance of the discipline.

Dr. Farooq pointed out that his critical appraisal of traditional economics and its unrealistic assumptions made him turn to the study of Islamic economics that looks at the transformative human potential. He also emphasized that despite the strong success of Islamic finance in contemporary time, to adequately benefit from Islamic finance, it needs to be embedded in a compatible Islamic economic system.

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Farooq holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Tennessee and M.A. in Applied Economics from UCF College of Business, both in the USA. Was associated with the University of California Berkeley as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Worked as Assistant Professor of Economics at Western Illinois University and later as Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at Iowa Wesleyan College. He also worked as an Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at Upper Iowa University. He served as the Head of the Center for Islamic Finance at Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) before joining UOB. An expert in economic development, and financial markets and institutions, both conventional and Islamic. He has published many research papers in the field of economics and finance, from both conventional and Islamic perspectives.