172 The American Journal of J larnic Social Science Vol. 8. No. I, 1991 

Book Review 

Religion, Economics and Social Thought 

By Walter Block and Irving Hexham (eds.). Vancouver, BC: 
The Fraser Institute, 1986. 

This is a wide-ranging and fascinating collection of papers dealing with 
the impact of religion on what may be called the social economy. It is an 
ecumenical volume in that it begins with the Catholic Church then considers 
severaJ forms of Protestantism, then goes on to discus Judaism, and finally 
considers Islam. It should be clear that the volume is predominantly "Christian," 
but the effort to include the other monotheistic religions is very welcome. 

One difficulty in reviewing this volume is that many of the papers are 
informative but not representative of the religious traditions they represent. 
Thus A. M. C. Waterman's piece describes a particular phase of Anglican 
social thought, and the same is true of the one by Paul Heyne. Perhaps an 
overview is po ible only for those movements which are no longer active, 
a in Ronald Preston's fine contribution on Christian Socialism in Britain. 
I must confess some surprise on finding the vigor with which any perceived 
defect of the market was defended. 

For Muslims, some of the most interesting points about this volume are 
to be found in the instances of active politicians who took strong religious 
stands. Abraham Kuyper's vision of neo-Calvinism is the outstanding example 
in the paper by Bob Goudzwaard, but Waterman's presentation of Prime 
Minister Margaret Thatcher's views are equally revealing. Of less practical 
import, but nonetheles equally intriguing, is the account by John Yoder of 
the "First Reformation" in Czechoslovakia as well as the reasons for the neglect 
of this movement-lack of political support, linguistic distance from We tern 
Europe, and an ab ence of shared doctrinal formulations. 

The description of Judaism and the Market Mechanism by Meir Tamari 
provides many parallels with Islamic market supervi ion, and there is even 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991 173 

note of a “normal price.” The relationship of Judaism with capitalism is left 
in an unsatisfying form. While the enthusiasm of scholars like Warner Sombart 
is discounted, it is not clear how the relationship should be properly viewed. 
Susan Feigenbaum’s comment hits the crucial issues directly: 

Professor Rivkin addresses two issues significant alike for Jewish 
theologians and practitioners. Does Judaism dictate a specific 
economic, social, and/or political system?; and is Judaism 
compatible with capitalism? To the first question, he concludes that 

it is pointless to ask of a critically minded scholar what 
Judaism teaches about economic, social and political 
systems. A state (is) legitimate so long as that state (does) 
not require that Jews abandon their belief in a single 
God or their adherence to God’s two-fold Law. 

In response to the second issue, Rivkin argues that 

Judaism in its medieval form was not a religion for 
capitalist entrepreneurs . . . its central religious values 
were incompatible with capitalism. . . . [A] radically 
new form of Judaism [Progressive or Reform Judaism] 
said “Yes” to modernization and westernization; “Yes” 
to capitalism’s promise of overcoming scarcity; “Yes” 
to the free-choosing, risk-taking individual, and “Yes” 
to scientific and critical thinking. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the comments or the discussion that follows 
do not provide enough evidence for the reader to come to any conclusion. 

Imad Ahmad provides a clear and liberal interpretation of “Islamic Social 
Thought,” but the focus is mostly on economics. Hanna Kassis gives a 
sympathetic comment which, among other things, notes how “the first 
university in the Western world was founded in Muslim North Africa by 
a woman.” Dean Abdul-Rauf finds Imad Ahmad‘s presentation somewhat 
lacking in spiritual force. The most interesting point in the exchange between 
Ahmad and Abdul-Rauf concerns the proper interpretation of bkuma and 
has considerable import. I quote this important point at length: 

Dr. Abdul-Raufs claim that the Qur’an gives some men broad 
authority to govern others is based on an incorrect translation of 
some very important verses. The word ?zukama in the verses he 
cites (458; 5:45, 47, 49) means to judge not to rule. It is indeed 



174 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vd. 8, No. 1, 1991 

incumbent upon all Muslims called upon to judge in accordance 
with justice and God's will. By no means does this give the state 
any authority at all to invent legislation. In fact, the Qur'an is quite 
explicit: 

. . . If anyone's trial 
Is intended by God, thou hast 
No authority in the least 
For him against God. . . . (5:44) 

If Muslims must judge with justitx and in accord with God's will 
as expressed in the Qur'an, then they must condemn the actions 
of government more often than endorse them. No state is nxdated 
as such in the Qur'an. The requirements put upon those with 
authority are the same as those put upon all Muslims. 

Nor does the hadith stating that "even if you are three you should 
appoint one of you to be in charge of you" support the view that 
the state has any superiority over its citizens. The hadith referred 
to is the same as that given in Chapter 243 of Muslim, in 
the Book of Prayer: 

(1417) Abii Sa'id al Khudri reported Allah's Messenger 
(may peace be upon him) as saying: When there are 
three persons, one of them should lead them. The one 
among them most worthy to act as i m h  is the one 
who is best versed in the Qur'an. 

It is evident from the context that this is a statement on the 
appointment of a prayer leader and not the establishment of a state. 
Its Occurrence in the Book of Prayer makes the validity of this 
interpretation hear. 

I hope readers will find it worthwhile to probe this issue more deeply. 

On the whole, this is a very good compilation, well worth having in 
one's library. 

Salim Rashid 
Dept. of Economics 
University of Illinois 
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois