The economic policies proposed under the banner of "Islamisation" in Pakistan include executive decrees on Zakāt (poor-due), Ushr (tithe), judicial changes that helped to halt land redistribution to the poor, and perhaps most importantly, elimination of riba (defined by activists as interest charged on loans and securities).[1] Perhaps the foremost exponent of Islamisation among Pakistan's rulers—General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq[2]—advanced a programme in 1978 to bring (according to Zia and his supporters) Pakistan law in line with the principles of Sharia law.[1][3]
Conceived in late 1977 and carried out during his reign, the programme came in response to an upsurge in Islamic activism, and the problems and controversies associated with the policies of Zia's predecessor, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zia's stated intention was to "eradicate the scourge of interest" on loans and securities,[4] and create an "interest-free economy".[3] On January 1, 1980, approximately 7,000 interest-free counters were opened at all the nationalized commercial banks, making Pakistan the first country in the Muslim world with Islamic banking.[3]
However, in spite of the public support allegedly demonstrated for it (and other Islamisation policies) by the 1984 Islamisation referendum and the programme's initial gains and success, it failed to achieve international targets and to meet commercial interactions with other major international banks.[3] Islamic activists were also displeased that Zia's ordinances and proclamations did not ban interest paying accounts.
Zia's successors were not as active in their pursuit of Islamisation. While conservative Prime minister Nawaz Sharif publicly supported Islamisation, his economic policies focused on privatization and economic liberalization.[5] Many Pakistani economists and business people worry that attempting to impose an Islamic economy on Pakistan would have "devastating economic, political, and social consequences for the country",[6][7] though others (such as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Ishrat Husain), have termed fears of Islamlisation "absurd" and based on Western stereotypes. Islamisation has continued through the efforts of the Islamic courts Zia created, including activists on the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court, although it was given a setback when the government of Pervez Musharraf came to power and pressured a number of activist judges to retire.[4]
- ^ a b Haq, Ziaul-. "Islamization of Economy in Pakistan (1977-1988): An Essay on the Relationship on Economic and Religion". Zia-ul-Haq. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ^ "Islamization Under General Zia-ul-Haq | Islamization and Implementation of Islamic Laws in Pakistan". Story Of Pakistan. 2003-06-01. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
- ^ a b c d Mehboob, Aurangzaib (2002). "Executive Initiative I" (PDF). Islamization of Economy. Islamic Studies. pp. 682–686. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ^ a b Hathaway, Robert M.; Lee, Wilson, eds. (2006). "Pakistan's Superior Courts and the Prohibition of Riba" (PDF). ISLAMIZATION AND THE PAKISTANI ECONOMY. Woodrow Wilson International Center or Scholars. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ See: Privatization in Pakistan and Economic liberalisation in Pakistan
- ^ Hathaway, Robert M (2004). Hathaway, Robert M; Lee, Wilson (eds.). ISLAMIZATION AND THE PAKISTANI ECONOMY (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
Many economists and members of the business community worry that an attempt to impose an Islamic economy on Pakistan could undercut this progress and have devastating economic, political, and social consequences for the country. ... Fears about the Islamization of the country's economy, asserted the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Ishrat Husain, in the January 27 conference's keynote address, are absurd, and serve merely to underscore the clichés and stereotypes of Pakistan and Islam widely held in the West. `Most of the assumptions and premises on which the hypotheses about the Islamic economic system have been constructed are serious flawed` ...
- ^ Noman, Omar (2004). "The Profit Motive in Islam: Religion and Economics in the Muslim World" (PDF). In Hathaway, Robert M; Lee, Wilson (eds.). ISLAMIZATION AND THE PAKISTANI ECONOMY. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. p. 77. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
adopting a comprehensive mandatory Islamic system ... makes no political or economic sense ... proponents for Islamic economics have not made any rigorous case of how adopting their recommendations would accelerate growth, reduce poverty, or improve the status of women. The arguments tend to be purely on grounds of piety, not socio-economic performance.