Piety and Ethical Foundations in Islamic Moral Economy

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions for this Special Issue on "Piety and Ethical Foundations in Islamic Moral Economy", which explores the intersection of Islamic ethics, faith, and economic practices in shaping sustainable development, finance, and charitable institutions.

Development is increasingly recognized as a multi-dimensional process that extends beyond economics and finance to include cultural, institutional, and ethical factors. Among these, faith and religious values can play a fundamental role in shaping economic behavior, policies, and institutions. Since the late 1970s, scholars have sought to endogenize ethics and faith within economic analysis, giving rise to a moral and ethical dimension in developmentalism.

The Islamic moral economy has long been positioned as an alternative ethical framework for development, aiming to bridge the gap between economic progress and faith-based moral imperatives. However, despite the global rise in Islamic finance, there is an ongoing debate about whether contemporary Islamic financial institutions truly reflect the developmentalist and social justice aspirations of Islamic economics. Many argue that Islamic finance has largely remained within the commercial banking model, failing to serve grassroots developmental objectives. This Special Issue seeks to critically analyze and conceptualize the role of piety, ethics, and faith-based economic principles in shaping development and financial institutions within Islamic economies.

This Special Issue aims to explore how piety and ethical principles in the Islamic moral economy influence financial practices, developmental policies, and charitable organizations. It will examine the role of Islamic social finance institutions, such as zakah, awqaf, and Islamic charities, in advancing economic empowerment and sustainable development. It will also address the theoretical and practical challenges in operationalizing the moral economy vision within contemporary Islamic finance and charitable sectors.

By bringing together scholars from diverse backgrounds, this Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ethical, theoretical, and institutional frameworks shaping Islamic moral economy today.

We invite original research articles and reviews covering (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Islamic moral economy and developmentalism focussing on theoretical perspectives on integrating Islamic ethics into economic and financial systems.
• Islamic charities and social finance and their roles in acticulating zakah, and awqaf in promoting socio-economic development.
• Islamic finance and developmental impact, evaluating whether Islamic banking and finance contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
• Piety in economic practices from faith-based motivations in shaping financial behavior, investment strategies, and economic policies.
• Islamic institutional economics and the potential of Islam-based finance (as opposed to merely Shariah-compliant finance) in aligning with the vision of Islamic moral economy.
• Regulation and governance focus on the impact of regulatory frameworks on Islamic financial institutions and charitable organizations in ensuring adherence to developmentalist objectives.
• Comparative perspectives examine the role of Islamic moral economy in relation to other faith-based or ethical economic systems.
• Empirical case studies explore the impact of Islamic charities, social finance institutions, and developmental policies in specific countries or communities.
• Islamic banking and the charitable sector interface examine how Islamic financial institutions engage with the charitable sector and their role in enhancing financial inclusion and achieving developmentalist goals.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor (aavdukic001@dundee.ac.uk; f.khaleel@napier.ac.uk; tareq.moqbel@regents.ox.ac.uk) or to the Assistant Editor of Religions (zena.zeng@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Alija Avdukic
Dr. Fawad Khaleel
Dr. Tareq Moqbel
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Islamic moral economy
• piety
• ethical finance
• Islamic charities
• Islamic finance
• developmentalism
• Islamic institutional economics
• zakah and awqaf
• faith-based development
• social justice in eco-nomics