Abstract: The backwardness of many contemporary Muslim countries is blamed by some writers on various aspects of Islamic beliefs and behavioural injunctions. It is shown in this paper that many of these arguments are based on flimsy grounds. The issue of whether Islam is an obstacle to development is dealt with. An attempt is made to introduce a better explanation for underdevelopment of many Muslim countries (at least in the Middle East area). Historical-institutional factors are emphasized. A case is made that, given the unique institutional nature of Islam, foreign domination (by the Ottoman Empire and later by European colonialism) resulted in stunted institutional development in the former territories of the Ottoman Empire, which is a basic reason for the present backwardness.
Publication Year: 1980
Publication Date: 1980-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 43
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