With a vast geographical and environmental diversity and unparalleled worldwide natural resources, experts are calling for the revival of efforts towards Islamic integration, asserting that the countries of the Islamic world can achieve economic integration once they unify.
Initially, the international economics expert Dr. Abdel Nabi Abdel Muttalib, former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry for Economic Research in Egypt, confirmed in his interview with “Al-Mujtama” that Islamic countries possess an abundance of natural resources due to the expansive reach of the Islamic world and the spread of Islamic communities across the four continents (Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America). This provides the countries with significant, diverse economic resources and wealth based on the possession of resources such as oil, gas, forests, livestock, manpower, antiquities, and more.
Dr. Abdel Muttalib adds that the Islamic world has numerous potentials for economic integration that can lead to significant economic development. However, we have many initiatives that have not succeeded; for example, utilizing the vast lands in Sudan, which amount to 20 million hectares, to be the food basket of the Arab world, yet this has not been implemented.
Abdel Muttalib: Major powers hinder the integration of our nations despite our capabilities and resources.
The international economics expert attributes this failure to the lack of proper investment of Islamic capital in suitable economic projects, particularly the Gulf capital, and the reluctance to invest in Islamic countries with resources due to some of these countries being in unstable regions such as Sudan and Nigeria or lacking the necessary capabilities.
Dr. Abdel Muttalib points out that foreign colonialism has created problems among Islamic countries to maintain its control and prevent their integration, including exploiting sectarian conflicts. He also explains that there are desires from major powers and multinational companies to prolong Islamic conflicts to control the resources of Islamic countries through the financial surpluses in Gulf countries and resource surpluses in the rest of Islamic countries.
He further emphasizes the importance of leveraging the capabilities and expertise of Egyptians, Tunisians, Palestinians, Indonesians, and Malaysians in any integration efforts in partnership with the Gulf. Additionally, he highlights the need to facilitate communication and connectivity between all Islamic countries after overcoming the language barrier, which may lead some countries that speak foreign languages to prefer foreign partnerships over Arab and Islamic ones due to linguistic and cultural proximity influenced by colonialism.
Economic Unity is the Solution
In turn, academic economist Dr. Ibrahim Al-Taher, in his interview with “Al-Mujtama,” believes that economic unity is the gateway to activating the opportunities for Islamic integration that are currently frozen in the drawers of Islamic economic institutions, paralyzed by differing national policies and agreements that have become mere ink on paper. This is despite the Islamic world possessing an abundance of natural, food, and human resources, as well as wealth and sufficient financial liquidity.
Dr. Al-Taher adds that with the abundance of Gulf money, we can accommodate the dreams of Gulf investors in developmental projects and create an environment suitable for the geography, the phase, and the aspirations for Islamic integration. This can also stimulate some Islamic regimes that fear unity and work to keep organizations like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in a cooperative framework that does not rise to the level of integration and unity of the European Union.
He also points out that there has been a decision to establish the Islamic Common Market since 1988, but with no real implementation that suits the economic crises in some Arab and Islamic countries. Meanwhile, some Islamic countries invest heavily in European and American markets, neglecting the economic crises of Muslims and Arabs.
Escaping Backwardness
According to an in-depth study released by the Saleh Kamel Center of Islamic Economics at Al-Azhar University, titled “Economic Unity of the Muslim Nation,” economic integration among Islamic countries is one of the most important methods to escape the shackles of backwardness. The Islamic countries are considered developing or underdeveloped due to their humiliating dependence on the economies of major powers.Top of Form
Al-Taher: Our crises are due to paralyzed economic institutions and agreements that are mere ink on paper!
The study, conducted by the late Islamic economist Muhammad Abdul Halim Omar, indicates that the Islamic world has the necessary foundations for economic integration for five main reasons. Foremost among these is the unity of the Islamic nation, which is mandated by Islamic Sharia. Economic integration among these countries is considered part of this unity, as Islam is not just a belief but a comprehensive system in which the economy is a crucial element.
Cultural and social homogeneity in all Islamic countries is seen as a significant driving force for the desired economic integration, facilitating closer, faster, and stronger understanding among the people of the Islamic world. Additionally, the advantage of geographical proximity, with most Islamic countries stretching in a geographical chain from Southeast Asia to the Arab Maghreb (Northwest Africa) on the ocean, makes communication and transportation easier.
According to the study, the environmental and climatic diversity within Islamic countries significantly contributes to creating a unified climate and environment, which enhances economic integration and unity, especially given the diversity in resources and capabilities, and consequently in products.
The study emphasized that integration is feasible given the significant potential of the Islamic world combined, much of which remains untapped, such as land and human resources. Additionally, a portion of capital is exported to other countries and flows back into the Islamic world under unfavorable conditions. Moreover, some potentials are not utilized to complete economic processes, with Islamic countries' exports often being raw materials that are re-imported as manufactured goods.
The study proposed five sequential stages to achieve economic integration, starting with the establishment of a free trade area. This would mean eliminating customs duties on goods and services exchanged between the countries participating in the free trade agreement, while each country retains its tariffs on goods from non-member countries. Next, the formation of a customs union would involve agreeing on the free exchange of goods among the member countries without customs restrictions and implementing a unified tariff for dealings with the rest of the world.
Following this, the study suggests the launch of a common market, which, in addition to the previous steps, involves agreeing on the free movement of resources or factors of production—namely labor and capital—between the member countries. Then, there is the establishment of an economic union that includes coordinating economic, financial, and monetary policies and related measures. The final stage is economic unity, building on the previous achievements by unifying monetary, financial, and economic policies, currency, and labor, and creating integrative institutions (such as a unified central bank for the integration countries), a supreme authority for the union, and an administrative body to implement integrative economic policies.
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