This research seminar is convened by Dr. Sami Al-Daghistani (Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University).
We invite researchers to submit proposals for a seminar exploring the ethical and cosmological foundations of economic thought across Islamic intellectual traditions. The seminar examines how Muslim scholars have understood wealth, ownership, exchange, production, and livelihood within broader conceptions of morality, divine trust, and human flourishing.
Over recent decades, Islamic economics and finance have attracted considerable attention from scholars and practitioners. The field has been variously understood as a “third-way” economic system, part of wider Islamization efforts, and a discipline within the social sciences. These different approaches have generated debates about its scope, methods, and relationship to classical Islamic sources. Despite the growth of scholarship on Islamic economics, the relationship between classical ethical frameworks and modern Islamic economics remains underexplored. This seminar addresses that relationship by asking: What are the ethical-economic principles of classical Islamic thought? What is the nature of ownership? What is the purpose of wealth? How is the human being situated in relation to economic resources and the lived environment? Is the economy primarily a sphere of competition, or one of trust and stewardship?
The seminar brings together researchers working in Islamic studies, moral philosophy, economics, law, history, politics, and the social sciences. It is structured around two interrelated perspectives:
(1) Re-examining Classical Economic Cosmologies
This part of the seminar invites papers examining economic life within the scholarly disciplines of the Islamic tradition, including jurisprudence (fiqh), legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh), theology (kalām), philosophy (falsafa), Sufism (taṣawwuf), moral literature (adab), and works on microeconomics (kasb) and macroeconomics (kharāj and amwāl).
Topics may include:
- Ethical-economic genre in classical Islamic tradition
- Commercial law and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh)
- Fair conduct and character (adab and akhlāq)
Epistemological gaps between classical and modern economic thought in Islamic tradition
(2) Critiquing and Reimagining Modern Islamic Economics
This part of the seminar invites papers examining the emergence and development of modern Islamic economics and finance. Contributions may draw on political economy, sociology, critical theory, postcolonial studies, decolonial thought, and other relevant fields.
Topics may include:
- Theories and methodologies of modern Islamic economics
- Islamic political economy
- Gender and economics
- Decoloniality and Islamic economic thought
Background Paper
Applicants should review the full background paper before preparing their abstracts to ensure that their proposals engage with the seminar’s scope and objectives.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstracts should not exceed 400 words and should outline the paper’s research question, argument, methodology, and contribution.
- Please include a short biography of 200–300 words covering your academic background, research interests, and key publications.
- Submissions must be original and must not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
- Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers of 6,000–10,000 words according to the timeline below.
- For referencing style, please follow the citation style used by the Journal of Islamic Ethics and the Studies in Islamic Ethics book series. The guidelines are available at: https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/Author_Instructions/JIE.pdf
Review Process
All submitted abstracts and full papers will undergo a review process conducted by the academic review committee, led by Dr. Sami Al-Daghistani. The committee will collectively decide which submissions are accepted or rejected, based on specific criteria, including the following:
- Submissions must fall within the scope of the seminar and clearly outline the key research questions, the research gaps being addressed, the methodological approach, and the anticipated contribution.
- Papers must demonstrate critical engagement with relevant previous studies. Submissions should aim to advance the field, rather than replicate or merely paraphrase existing research.
- Papers are expected to explore new research frontiers, provide rigorous and in-depth analysis, and contribute original scholarly knowledge of added value to the topic under discussion.
Languages
- Abstracts, biographies, and full papers may be submitted in English or Arabic.
Important Dates
- December 31, 2026: Deadline for submitting abstracts and biographies.
- January 15, 2026: Notification of accepted abstracts and invitation to submit full papers.
- April 30, 2027: Deadline for submitting full papers.
- May 31, 2027: Notification of accepted papers and invitation to attend the seminar.
- September 14–16, 2027: Seminar at CILE, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.
- October 20, 2027: Submission of revised papers for peer review and publication.
Financial Support
CILE will offer authors of accepted papers:
- Travel and accommodation during the seminar.
- Open-access publication costs.
Contact Details
- Abstracts should be submitted via the online form:
- For inquiries about the call, please contact Dr. Sami Al-Daghistani, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, at sami.al_daghistani@ctr.lu.se
- For inquiries about the Journal of Islamic Ethics and the Studies in Islamic Ethics book series, please contact jie@degruyterbrill.com