CALL FOR PAPERS

ISLAMIC ECONOMICS WORKSHOP – IV

“Social Justice from the Perspective of Islamic Economy”

April 2-3, 2016 / Istanbul

The fourth Islamic Economics Workshop will be held by the Association for Science, Culture and Education (ILKE); the Scientific Studies Association (ILEM) and the Turkish Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics Association (IGIAD) in Istanbul from April 2-3, 2016. The topic of the workshop will be on “Social Justice from the Perspective of Islamic Economy.” In the evaluation of the applications for the workshop, which will be hosted by the Islamic Economics and Finance Department, Istanbul University, papers that discuss social justice and relative subjects from the perspective of Islamic Economics will be given priority.

Under the rule of the dominating economical order, income injustice increases every passing day; poverty has become a universal problem; inhumane working conditions, inadequate wages, social insecurity and an unhealthy labor market have all continued to persist till this day. Many states are also unable to produce policies capable of meeting these demands. Characteristics of the current capitalist policies that make it unable to provide social justice, which, on the contrary, are reinforcing this injustice and preventing the economic and social welfare from reaching the large masses have been criticized by Muslim scholars for years. Claims that an alternative theoretical and practical economical order has been developed within the framework of Islamic principles follow these criticisms.

On the other hand, the experiences obtained in societies under the rule of Muslim governors do not seem to promise an alternative social justice understanding. In addition, the behaviors of Muslim individuals within their economic life are mostly shaped by the necessities of the daily economic conditions rather than by the conducts of Islam that stand with social justice. At this point, when we take into consideration the aim of the studies produced under the topic of Islamic economics in the 1960s and its close relation to the notion of social justice, that is, despite the studies that were conducted in the later years which were more interested in the area of finance, it becomes clearer that the topic of social justice needs to be discussed again in a more well-founded manner.

In this context, the fourth Islamic Economics Workshop aims at holding discussions that approach issues closely related to social justice from the perspective of Islamic economics. The objective is to gather academicians from various parts of the world conducting studies in this area to examine the causes of the current social and economic injustice in an in-depth and realistic manner. Also they are gathered to conduct a collective study on how to form a theoretical basis for a social justice understanding based on Islamic principles for which alternative mechanisms are to be included, in addition to the kind of concrete solutions that are to be developed within this understanding. It is expected within this framework to receive discussion papers focused on the following questions or similar questions of your own choosing:

Main causes and effects of today’s social injustices.
Measures taken in order to provide the social justice in a global or local scale and their effect/successes ratios.
Social justice discussion and prominent topics.
The contribution of Islamic economics perspective to social justice discussions.
How is the issue of social justice understood and practiced in Muslim societies today?
The effects and results of the economic policies practiced in today’s Muslim societies regarding social injustice.
How can social justice today be handled in an Islamic perspective?
Principles and mechanisms to provide social justice within the framework of Islamic economics.
Measures to remove class differences and income injustice within an economic order based on Islamic principles.
What kind of a social justice is constituted by issues like the institution of Zakah, the prohibition of usury, the promotion of sadaqaat and infaaq, and the prohibition of luxury and waste, etc.?
How can the principal and institutional characteristics of Islamic economics continue its existence within the current economic system?
How should the distribution and redistribution dynamics be structured for a fair economic life?
What are the sources, causes and effects of poverty in today’s Muslim countries?
How can struggle against poverty be handled from an Islamic perspective?
What should be the parameters determining the taxation, social justice and minimum wage policies in the context of Islamic economics?
What are the repercussions of development-based economic policies applied in Muslim societies in regards to social justice?
How should the distribution of the labor market be conducted as a social policy element?
What kind of solutions can be offered to the current debt crisis of households and governments from the perspective of Islamic economics?
Paper summaries studying these questions or similar ones can be sent to www.islamiceconomy.org until November 15, 2015. The due date of the full texts of the summaries that receive acceptance will be January 31, 2016. The final acceptance for participation in the workshop will be determined after the examination of the full texts. Travel and accommodation expenses of those whose participation are approved will be met by the organization.

The paper summaries should be between 250-400 words. The papers are to include the full name of the author, the institution he or she works in, a correspondence address, phone number and e-mail address. The full texts of the summaries should not have been previously published. As in the case of former workshops, the papers to be presented in this workshop will also be published thereafter.

The names of all previous scholars and contributors to the Islamic Economics Workshop can be accessed from the following link. Furthermore, the papers presented within the workshop are published into a book through editorial reading to make the outputs of the workshop permanent and to also contribute to other studies and discussions in the field of Islamic economics. The papers of the first workshop were published under the titles of İslam İktisadını Yeniden Düşünmek in Turkish and Islamic Economics: Basic Concepts, New Thinking and Future Directions in English. The papers of the second workshop were collected into a book with the title of İslam İktisadı ve Piyasa in Turkish. The papers presented within the scope of the third workshop whose topic was “Labor in Islamic Economy” will be published by Gower Publishing under the title of Labor in an Islamic Setting: Theory and Practice.

The fourth Islamic Economics Workshop calls for a collective study to scholars among graduate and postgraduate students who promote new perspectives, attach importance to both theoretical and field works, pays attention to methodological issues and adopt an interdisciplinary vision, and are competent in their respective field.

You may contact us through iew@islamiceconomy.org for your questions.

Important Dates

Application and Submission of Summaries: 15.11.2015

Declaration of Preliminary Acceptances 25.11.2015

Submission of Full Texts: 31.01.2016

Declaration of Acceptances: 20.02.2016

Declaration of the Exact Schedule: 15.03.2016

Workshop 2-3.04.2016

Contact Information:

www.islamiceconomy.org

iew@islamiceconomy.org

+ 90 216 310 4318