A Critique of Akhtar’s Model of an Economic Economy

Abstract

In an article entitled “Modelling the Economic Growth of an
Islamic Economy,”l M. Ramazan Akhtar presented a mathematical
model that subjects Allahs attributes to measurement and undermines
the cause of the Islamization of knowledge, which he intended to
serve. In his article, there are several flaws, mistakes, and inconsistencies
that deserve comment and criticism. This paper has examined
critically Akhtar’s model and found it to be neither informative nor
predictive. Before presenting the critique, however, I would like to
comment on some of the general weaknesses of the article.
In the opening paragraph (p. 491), Akhtar says: “Growth depends
on several factors, among them a consistent increase in the amount of
physical goods and services produced over a given period of time.
This is usually taken as an index of economic growth.” Although economic
growth is defined and measured by the increase in the amount
of goods and services produced over a given period of time, it does
not imply that the former depends on the latter. There is no cause and
effect relationship between the two.
In his “Review of the Literature” (p. 492), Akhtar makes a general
statement that Muslim economists use the terms “economic growth”
and “economic development” interchangeably. The economic literature
that has been produced since the early 1960s makes a clear distinction
between these two terms and views economic growth as a
necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for economic development
(Clower 1966). Most Muslim economists hold this mainstream view.
If there are still some using the terms interchangeably, they are the
exceptions.
In the second paragraph on page 495, Akhtar gives an English
translation of Qur’an 39:9. In fact, this is a translation of 41:10-a
serious mistake and not a typographical error.
The last paragraph on page 491 reads: “The hypothesis is examined
theoretically because statistical data for empirical analysis is not available.”
But at the end of this paragraph, he asserts: “Analytical results
show that moral factors make a positive contribution to both income ...