Islam,Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Background

Entrepreneurship is important for economic development in both developed and developing countries (Dvouletý, 2017; Urbano et al., 2019). It is a means of employment creation, poverty and inequality reduction, and empowerment (Doran et al., 2016). However, despite its importance for economic development, scholars argue that socio-spatial dialectics shape entrepreneurial intentions, behaviour and outcomes because the entrepreneur is considered to be a ‘socially embedded’ economic agent (Mitra & Basit, 2019). In this context, religion is assumed to shape the sociocultural values of a society. Religiosity and social networks are viewed as important determinants of entrepreneurial intentions (Sudarsono et al., 2021). There is, however, no consensus of researchers over the definition of religiosity. For some ‘the practices of religion are not only integral parts of one’s culture, but in many situations, they define the core of a cultural belief system of the members of the society’ (Mathur, 2012). For others, it is ‘the quality or state of being religious’ (Meriam Webster, 2021) and affiliation to the religion, of being involved in religious activities and strong religious beliefs that is of significance.

Religiosity is ‘an element imagined by an individual from his heart, the vibration of his conscience, and his personal attitude’ (Jan & Shafiq, 2021). It is ‘a person’s beliefs about the existence and attributes of God’ (Huber & Huber, 2012). Religiosity, as a factor impacting different facets of an individual’s life has been studied widely. However, how it shapes the entrepreneurial process and how it affects the mental processes (intentions, motivations and perceptions) that directly relate to entrepreneurial development have not been adequately examined. Consequently, we need more research on how religion shapes the lives and work of entrepreneurs living in different environments and institutional contexts. We need to investigate whether religion has a distinct interpretation and varying modes of cultural implementation that affect entrepreneurial behaviour, outcomes and the emergence of entrepreneurial institutions.

Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Sidek et al., 2018), and it is expected to grow by 35% within the next 10 years; from 1.7 billion Muslims in 2020 to 2.2 billion by the year 2030 (Abdullah et al., 2020; Ali & Yazid, 2019). This suggests the increasing importance of Muslims for the global economy. Islamic practices—as a way of life for Muslims across countries and communities—impact the cultural, social, geo-political and economic aspects of enterprise development and entrepreneurial practices. As such, Islam considers entrepreneurship as an economic activity that is based on ethical and moral foundations. In Islam, the profit motive is considered legitimate and moral when it is free from interest (Riba), greed, speculation, exploitation and as long as it is not the ultimate objective of the entrepreneur (Kayed & Hassan, 2010; Pistrui & Fahed, 2010). Islamic entrepreneurship is therefore a blend of religious and economic dimensions. Islamic philanthropic concepts such as alms, Ehsan and charity (Zakat) support the entrepreneurial ventures, including the development of social enterprises (Hassan & Hippler, 2014). The concept of waqf ¹ (i.e., religious endowment) underpins the concept of social entrepreneurship in many Islamic countries. The religious notion of Barakah ² (blessing from God) can be termed as an extension of religious commandment, guarantees prosperity through entrepreneurial venture over paid-employment avenues (Rauf, 2012). The concept of Islamic entrepreneurship has experienced growth over the past decade (Khalique et al., 2020), and there is an increasing trend of Islamic products that are Shariah Complaint in many countries.

The purpose of this special issue is to bring the theoretical and empirical contributions on Islamic Entrepreneurship to the centre stage of critical discussions of entrepreneurship, economic and social development. A key objective is to answer the question of how the Islamic belief of an entrepreneur and a structure of economy based on Islamic principles engender entrepreneurial practices in any country or region. Mere digits cannot represent the true picture of Islam-led entrepreneurship development to religious inclination to adopt Islamic modes of enterprise development. We need insights, cases and numbers to ask the ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘when’ questions related to Islamic entrepreneurship as a major belief system in this world.

Focus of this Special Issue

In this special issue, we provide a platform for the elaboration of theoretical and empirical research on Islam, entrepreneurship and development. We look for novel and exemplary research addressing the issues focusing on the topic.

Possible focal themes and sample research questions for this special issue are outlined as follows: