Education
Islamic Economics & Finance at a Glance
Though generally thought as a phenomenon of modern times, a notion of Islamic economics/economy must have existed since the ancient times when the first economic activities began because Islam brought genuine perspectives and regulations into every aspect of life.
The theoretical foundations of Islamic economics date back to the time of Ibn Khaldun and Ghazzali. The practices of Muslim societies throughout the history contributed to the development of genuine institutions and systems. However, this field was not quite a distinct discipline then as we understand today. It was rather considered as a part of Islamic philosophy or fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). In fact, the modern-time-classification of sciences did not existed in those times anyway. What’s more, Islamic perspective or understanding already dominated the mainstream science, as many Muslim scholars were building the foundations of sciences. Therefore, there was no need to add “Islamic” prefix to any discipline to identify its “Islamic” version.
The economics, once defined by ancient and medieval Western thought as Oikonomia (home administration), was adapted by Islamic literature under the name İlm-i Tedbir-i Menzil. Later in the mercantilist period this discipline turned into Economy-politique or Political Economy, indicating that this discipline involves the administration of the city beyond the home. Islamic literature once again adopted the counterpart of the term: İlm-i Tedbir-i Medîne.
The positivist paradigm in the post-“enligthment” period caused the economy to turn into “economics” in which the methodology of Newtonian physics were adopted. The social, cultural and political aspects became irrelevant in the new definition of economy. Namely, it became a value-free, non-normative discipline. Economics, as its name implies, tried to explain all economic phenomena through pure mathematical models. New production modes in the aftermath of industrial revolution, along with other developments in the World politics and financial system caused the Neo-classic economics to become the “mainstream” understanding of this science.
Nevertheless, the models based on the Neo-classic economics were failed many times to explain the economic and financial behavior of human being and predict the crises. It has been even accused to be the main cause of the crises, unjust income distribution, social unrests and environmental catastrophes.
However the Marxist/Socialist economics that opposed the market economy was thought an alternative, it was based on the same paradigm as well. In fact, it became history without providing a success story to the World. That’s why the search for a new, sustainable, value-based, participative, collaborative economic paradigm that synthesizes sharing and growth has continued especially after the economic and financial crises
Today, “Islamic economics/economy” is considered as the only satisfactory response to this search, with its well-developed moral and legal foundations and the historical experience.
The modern-time Islamic economics literature that came out at the beginning of 20th century constituted an important catalyst for Muslim countries (especially in India-Pakistan) in their independence and identity building process. These studies aimed to bring about an Islamic perspective to modern time economics, rather than following the classical fiqh methodology.
The importance of Islamic economy arises from not only the rise of “Islamic finance” that showed better resilience after the 2008 crisis compared to conventional financial institutions, but from its potential to provide countless prosperity to the World. Today we cannot talk about a manifestation/implementation of Islamic economy with all the aspects. The process of conceptualization and institutionalization of Islamic economy from 1900s to 1960s (Mith Ghamr Bank in Egypt for instance) have been substituted by efforts to find interest-free channels within the fractional reserve/deposit banking paradigm following to the fast accumulation of oil money in 1970s. This process caused the perception of “Islamic economics/economy” to narrow down to “Islamic finance” as it put much more emphasis on financial sector. As a result, it has put back the development of genuine financial institutions and studying Islamic economics as a whole beyond the Islamic finance.
However Islamic finance happens to be the flagship of Islamic economics today, it is necessary to understand Islamic economy as a whole, to develop genuine institutions and implementations in order to provide sustainable and universal prosperity that the World needs.
Our Education Programs
Masters
Thesis and non-thesis Masters Programs in Islamic Economics and Finance contain comprehensive and multidisciplinary curricula to provide qualified human capital required for development both in theory and practice.
MS program with thesis consists of 21 credit-hours (60 ECTS) coursework and seminar, while the non-thesis program has 30 credit-hours coursework (66 ECTS). MS with thesis is designed for those who target academic career, while the non-thesis is suitable for those working/planning to work in the field and for the entrepreneurs. However thesis is not required in non-thesis MS, a project must be submitted at the end of coursework. A typical MS with thesis can be completed within two years, while it usually takes one semester more to complete the non-thesis MS. the classes are held in the evening period in the non-thesis program.
All those who have an undergraduate diploma can apply for both programs. However, an ALES (Entrance to Graduate Studies Exam in Turkey) score and fair level of GPA are required for the MS with thesis program. The ultimate decision is made following an interview by the admission committee. The candidates are ranked from the highest to lowest in terms of total score and those who have the highest score are accepted, limited to the quotas defined for each program. Some students may be asked to take undergraduate level courses before registration to the normal courses to complete the scientific preparation.
Courses Offered in MS Programs
- Introduction to Interest-Free Banking
- History and Institutions of Fiqh
- Institutional Foundations of Islamic Economics
- Comparative Economic Systems
- Accounting of Participation Banks
- History and Thought of Islamic Economics
- Comparative Finance
- Islamic Capital Markets
- Islamic Insurance (Takaful)
- Theory of Contract in Islamic Jurisprudence
- Arabic-1
- Seminar
- Financial Markets and Institutions
- Money and Capital Market Transactions in Islamic Jurisprudence
- Money and Monetary Policy in Islamic Economics
- Fiqh Thought
- Risk Management in Islamic Finance
- Financial Analysis
- Product Development in Islamic Finance and Case Studies
- Fiqh Muamalat
- Islamic Banking Transactions
- Arabic-2
PhD Program
The first PhD program in Islamic Economics and Finance in Turkey was launched by Istanbul University. Like the MS programs, it has the most comprehensive curriculum among the others. However a Master’s degree in any area is required for the admission officially, those who have Masters in Islamic or conventional economics and finance are preferred.
The program consists of 24 credit hours (60 ECTS) coursework and a seminar. Once the coursework is completed, each candidate must pass the qualification exam, and prepare a PhD dissertation. The students become entitled to “doctor of philosophy in Islamic economics and finance” if their dissertation are accepted.
Courses Offered
- Contemporary Financial Transactions and Interest-free System
- Makasidi Shariah
- Property, Ownership and Market in Islam
- Financial Contracts in Islam
- Economic Growth and Growth Models
- Debt Law in Islam
- Labor in Islam
- Arabic-3
- Seminar
- The Institutional Foundations of Islamic Economics
- Evaluation of Forward Contract in terms of Fiqh
- Factor Revenues in Islam
- Financial Theory
- Risk Management in Islamic Finance
- Interest-Free Finance Standards and Auditing
- Arabic-4
Continuous Education and Certificate Programs
In today’s fast changing world, the certificate programs that give the opportunity to obtain the contemporary knowledge and skills in a short time have become quite widespread beside the formal higher education. Especially suitable to managers and entrepreneurs who have too little time for education in the course of high-speed business environment, these programs provide the education opportunity in many areas. Our center will launch certificate programs in Islamic finance in a near future. In addition to its intensive content, the primary advantage of this program is its flexible nature that allows to be structured and executed according to the participants’ demand.
34452 Beyazıt/Fatih-İstanbul
Tel: 0 (212) 440 00 00