Theory and Practice of Islamic Development Cooperation

Muslims belong to a single Ummah to share the pleasures and pains, and to work hand in hand for material as well as ideological achievements. Such an Islamic ummatic spirit was lost firstly with the fall of the institution of true Islamic khilafah and secondly with the emergence of independent Muslim nation states. Fortunately, the unfortunate happenings in the Middle East led to the realization and need for the revival of the lost ummatic spirit as reflected in the formation of the OIC and its subsidiaries and committees including IDB, COMCEC and so on(1). At the policy level, Muslim Countries (MCs) deliberated on issues related, among other things, to economic cooperation for their self-reliance and development in the forums of OIC and its subsidiaries, although very little has materialized(2). At the intellectual level, interest has been growing in the area of economic cooperation and integration(3) and thus seminars and conferences are being held in the relevant areas(4). Professor Masudul Alam Choudhury's "Theory and Practice of Islamic Development Cooperation" is a valuable contribution in this area of Islamic Economics