Introduction

Islamic development may sound familiar to many but Islamic development management may not. Islamic development has appeared within at least the Muslim academic circle for almost two decades now[1], but Islamic development management has emerged only about two years ago, beginning 1997. Specifically, Islamic development management evolved from within a group of academics at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia, under a project called Islamic Development Management Project (IDMP), based at the School of Social Sciences. To our knowledge, it is the first project that deals with the new field called Islamic development management.

The IDMP has introduced the Islamic development management field to deal with more than just Islamic development. It believes that not only the development that has to be Islamic, but the management of the Islamic development too has to be so. An Islamic development that is managed unlslamically would not lead to a realisation of a real Islamic development. This is indeed the core problem of Muslim countries today intending a realisation of Islamic development. While advocating and endeavouring the cause of Islamic development, they are constrained by almost the total absence of Islamically-trained development managers. In many cases, there are efforts to realise Islamic development, but conventional development managers using conventional management systems manage them. The result, understandably, appears clearly to be much to be desired.

The IDMP at the Universiti Sains Malaysia aims, among others, at providing solutions to these problems. For this, the IDMP makes itself clear with answers to three fundamental questions. Firstly, the type of development to be managed. Secondly, the meaning of Islamic development management. Thirdly, the best method in making the implementation of the Islamic development management a reality in the present socio-economic and political reality. This short essay attempts to briefly explain the answers to these three fundamental questions.
 
 

The Development To Be Managed

Ideally, the development that is to be managed must itself be Islamic. By Islamic development we mean development whose philosophy and methodology are not confined to scientific, empirical matters and the observable facts alone. It is also contrary to the anti-dogmatic, anti a priori, anti-theology and inclination to value-free stance of conventional development. So are the basic assumptions of the conventional development theory, be it in the neo-classical or radical philosophy, which hold to the belief that the substructure (economy) determines the superstructure (religion, law, culture, social and so forth)[2]; whose wants are unlimited while resources are scarce; that in the development process, traditional society must be abolished[3]; that the development experience of the West is the absolute method that must be imitated by other countries wishing to develop; and that development is the ultimate goal of human life.

Instead, Islamic development goes beyond the knowledge of scientificity {daruri} and mental reasoning {aqli} to encompass abstract knowledge (nadhari) and revealed reasoning (naqli)[4]. Islamic development is dogmatic, receptive to the concept of a priori and theology, and intimately interwoven with Islamic values. The determining factor is religion, the ad-deen, or the superstructure (term used by the radical development theory). Human wants are agreed to be unlimited, but there are ways to limit them. In spite of the acceptance of the scarcity of physical resources, from the perspective of Tawhid, the resources are viewed as in abundance[5]. Destruction of traditional society is unacceptable unless it contradicts Islam. The experience and methods of development of Western countries are seen as not the absolute methods that have to be imitated by others. Development is indeed only a means to attain Allah's pleasure, not the ultimate goal of human existence.

The foundation of the above beliefs lies firmly-rooted in the Islamic worldview (tasawwur), in which the concept of man as the servant ('abdAllah) and vicegerent (khalifatullah) of Allah is the core principle. In fact, the concept of vicegerent manifests clearly that the very nature of man is indeed compatible to the managers of resources in this world[6].

All in all, the development to be managed is the Islamic development itself. It could be defined as a development whose root lies in the Oneness of Allah SWT, whose ultimate aim is the pleasure of Allah SWT (mardhatillah), whose methodology is moulded by shari'ah, and whose time scale encompasses the world of pre-birth (the world of roh), the present world (duniya) and the Hereafter {akhirah).
 
 

The Meaning of Islamic Development Management

As the development must be Islamic, so must the management be. Islamic development management could only be Islamic if both the development and the management are based on Islamic doctrines. It cannot be mixed, as it would be very confusing because, as argued above, the meaning of development in Islam has its own distinctive meaning. But what does Islamic management mean?

Like Islamic development, the basis of Islamic management is the Oneness of Allah SWT (Tawhid) and its root lies in the Islamic worldview. Therefore, in all aspects that relate to management, be it in the decision making process, planning, monitoring, project implementation, communications, or responsibilities between employers and employees, working ethics and so forth, all must be based on principles and guidelines in consonant with Islamic doctrines and worldview. In fact, in all writings on Islamic management, almost none have left Tawhid out of their definition of the field[7]. Mohd Affandi Hassan (1992) even went to the extent of naming his holistic definition of Islamic management as Tawhidic approach. He says:

If this is what Islamic management means, what is then the meaning of Islamic development management?

As development from the Islamic perspective incorporates all aspects of man's life, from spiritual to family, society, state and universe levels, Islamic development management therefore refers to the management of all aspects of man's life, either from the social, economic and political perspective, in the Islamic way. It goes beyond the conventional management that limits itself to organisational, human resource and business management. Instead, Islamic development management covers all human activities, either for themselves, their family, employment and social organisations, at village, district, state, national and international levels. It includes, for instance, such efforts of Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz to clean governmental instruments, as the abolition of unjust taxes. So are the efforts of Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Shafie and Imam Ahmad bin Hambal in their independent reformation (tajdid) works undertaken without the help of the state; the efforts of Imam Al Ghazali in purifying the faith (aqidah) of the people of his time; the efforts of lbnu Taimiyah in attacking blind taqlid and pioneering ijtihad, and the efforts of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi in purifying the teachings of tasawwuf (Yusof Ismail 1991: 5-6). All can be regarded as Islamic development management, as long as they are based on Islamic faith (aqidah} and worldview (tasawwur). All in all, Islamic development management covers all Islamic management related to all aspects of man's life, from spiritual management to the socio-economic and political management, as well as the management of a government[9].
 
 

Islamic Development Management in

Contemporary Socio-Economic and Political Reality

Since Islamic development management requires that both the development and management be fully Islamic, how could it be executed in the present secularly-dominant socio-economic and political reality? All over, development is being dominated by the Western social science philosophy, with either the neo-classical philosophy that has given birth to growth and redistribution- with -growth theories, or radical philosophy that has resulted in the emergence of structuralist and dependency theories of development. Experiences such as in Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, Malaysia or at a micro level in the States of Kelantan and Terengganu[10] have all shown that liberating themselves totally from the philosophy of the western development theories is not an easy task.

In such a situation, should an Islamic State be established first? Mawdudur Rahman and Muhammad al-Buraey (1992), among others, agree with such a proposition. They contend that an 'Islamic organisation' (or in our context, an 'Islamic state') must be established, before a model that includes material, spiritual, ethical and Islamic principles could be realised[11]. So are opinions of a majority of Islamic activists such as that of the Pan-Islamic Party (PAS) in Malaysia[12].

But in reality, even in countries that have attempted the establishment of Islamic states, Islamic development management could not be implemented fully. Pakistan, for instance, has declared itself as an Islamic Republic but its development and development management could hardly be considered as Islamic, except in the management of zakat and Islamic banking[13]. Iran also has attempted the establishment of an Islamic Republic after the revolution in 1979. But its Islamisation of development is said to have gradually returned to the Western version of development. In the early part of the Islamic rule (1979-81), Iran adopted an economic theory called 'divine harmony'[14]. But this was changed afterwards to an Indian-Soviet method[15]. And beginning 1989, the Islamic Republic of Iran changed its development model to that of a China- Saudi Arabia model[16]. At present, it has been regarded that Iran's development model is gradually moving back towards the old life style known in Iran as 'Westoxification' (Amuzegar 1993:328- 329). The Pan-Islamic Party (PAS) too, now in the third term of its rule in the State of Kelantan in Malaysia, has attempted the establishment of an Islamic state. But its development could also hardly be considered as totally Islamic, let alone its development management. With varieties of constraints, especially political constraints it has to face as an opposition party, Kelantan with all its efforts and enthusiasm could only realise some aspects of development, but they still have to be within the framework of the dominant conventional development[17].

All the above examples exhibit that in the present socio-economic and political reality, it is not easy to destroy a secular state and replace it fully with an Islamic one. Similarly, in the present socio-economic and political reality, it is not easy to obliterate completely the conventional development paradigm and replace it with Islamic development. Moreover in managing development, it is not easy to manage development Islamically in its ideal form because it is not easy to establish an Islamic state, Islamic management and Islamic development in a complete and comprehensive manner.

However, the arguments on these difficulties do not in the least reflect a pessimistic view. In the present socio-economic and political reality, the opportunity in realising Islamic development management is not as bleak as above. Even without a complete Islamic state and development, Islamic development management could certainly be realised, though not in its totally ideal state. In the present socio-economic and political reality, Islamic development management could begin with the management of the existing conventional development without having to wait for the emergence of a total Islamic State and development. Managing development in the Islamic way at the moment has to mean moving unlslamic development towards an Islamic one. The main task of Islamic development management at this stage is to Islamise development itself. In other words, it has to be Islamising development rather than establishing Islamic development. It has to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, adopting an accommodative method, minus apologetic and permissive tendencies. What is necessary is the wisdom in injecting dynamic and flexible Islamic principles, as long as they are compatible with Islam.

All these necessitate a systematic and concrete plan and strategy. It cannot be carried out in an ad-hoc, occasional or impromptu manner. It is imperative to have a blue-print or a master plan. As Islamic development is an all-embracing development, the blue-print and master plan must incorporate both domains in an integrated way, i.e. material development must be developed within the context of spiritual development. Managing spiritual development means managing man's iman (faith) and nafs (desire). The iman[18] must be accelerated upwards from the lowest to the highest. So too with the nafs[19]. With these accelerations of iman and nafs, material development will not bring about side-effects as being experienced by conventional development. In fact, spiritual development as the foundation could culminate in concrete and progressive material development. This means that the plan must be integrated into a master plan. And with this integrated master plan, the conventional development could be managed till eventually a complete development is Islamised.
 
 

Conclusion

Ideally, Islamic development management means managing Islamic development using Islamic management methods. But within the present socio-economic and political realities, this is not easy to realise. Conventional development and management are still dominant, while the Islamic State needs to enhance Islamic development and management which does not really exist in its real sense. Islamic development management, therefore, has to be realised by an accommodative and evolutionary approach. Firstly it has to manage development based on conventional ideology, so that gradually such development could be Islamised. For this, a systematic and dynamic plan and strategy has to be formulated, for instance by formulating a master plan and a blue-print that serves as a guideline towards the realisation of a complete Islamic development management.

Notes

[1] Among the earliest literature on Islamic (economic) development was Khurshid Ahmad's article, published in 1979. See Khurshid Ahmad 1979.

[2] For an Islamic critique of this, in particular of S. Husin Ali's opinion, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1987:69-70.

[3] Neo-classical theorist Rostow (1960) for example, believes that all societies wishing to develop must pass the following five stages: traditional society, pre-requisite to take-off, take-off, maturity and mass consumption. Radical theorist Karl Marx suggests the following three stages: pre-capitalist society (characterised by feudalism and Asiatic mode of production without class conflict and therefore static), capitalist society, and post-capitalist society, that is socialist and communist. In both development ideologies, traditional society (Rostow's term) or pre-capitalist society (Marx's term) must be abolished if they wish to develop. The climax of Rostow's and Marx's development is mass consumption and communist society respectively.

[4] For further discussion on these, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1987:20-48.

[5] Islamic development believes that, for instance, Allah SWT has determined the provision (rizq) of every creation, and the measurement to satisfaction (qanaah) is the barakah, not the quantity.

[6] See, for instance. An Nahl 16:10, 14 and Al-Mulk 67:15.

[7] See, for instance, Ahmad Ibrahim Abu Sin (1991), Yusof Ismail (1991), Mohd. Affandi Hassan (1992), Mustafa Haji Daud (1994), Mohd. Shahar bin Sidek(1996) and Wan Liz Ozman Wan Omar (1996).

[8] Mohd. Affandi Hassan (1992) presents his management by shura model in the final part of his writing. See pages 59-74.

[9] However, there is also opinion that the management thinking only refers to the rigorous, careful and practical execution of political philosophy. Management is said to function in formulating plans and arrangements, giving directives and guidelines, and implementing and supervising what is decided by politics. For example, see the opinion of Mustafa Haji Daud (1994:18) as extracted from Ahmad Ibrahim Abu Sin (1991:283-290).

[10] For a discussion on the efforts attempted by the States of Kelantan and Terengganu, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1995, 1996b and 1998.

[11] Mawdudur Rahman and Muhammad al-Buraey (1992) said so when suggesting the implementation of a model to incorporate Islamic doctrines in organisational personnel, motivation and performance evaluation. This Islamic organisation refers to an economic organisation that follows Qur'anic and Sunnatic principles fully.

[12] For a detailed discussion on this, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1996a.

[13] Author's communication with Deputy Auditor-General of the Republic of Pakistan who is also a well-known Islamic economist, Muhammad Akram Khan, March 1998.

[14] The basic premise of the 'divine harmony' theory goes beyond the concept of scarcity and the lack of resource allocation of the Western economic theory. The 'divine harmony' theory instead believes in the concept of plenty and the responsibility of income redistribution. The theory, however, was short-lived, similar to the political career of its writer, Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr.

[15] This India-Soviet method was characterised by economic insularity and inclination to self-reliance, state domination over the economy, rejection of consumerism, and emphasis on import substitution instead of export.

[16] This model is characterised by nationalistic/pragmatic elements, in which capitalist, free market and market economy co-exist with non-capitalist ideology as an absolute reference and political beacon.

[17] Among the constraints are conceptual deficiencies, political constraints, lack of experience, insufficient assistance from the central PAS, absence of Islamic development experts, State-Federal conflicts, and the limitation of the Federal Constitution. For a detailed discussion on this, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1995.

[18] Iman could be divided into five categories. The lowest is iman taqlid, followed by iman ilm, iman 'ayan, iman haq and the highest, iman haqiqat.

[19] Nafs could be divided into seven categories. The lowest is nafs ammarah, followed by lawwamah, mulhamah, mutmainnah, radhiyyah, mardhiyyah and the highest is kamilah.
 
 

References

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Jahangir Amuzegar, 1993. Iran's Economy Under the Islamic Republic, London: I.B. Tauris.

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