Islam Helps Industries Flourish

“In European countries, workers take a 15-minute smoking break; here we take a 15-minute prayer break,” said Ahmet Herdem, the mayor of Hacilar, a town of 20,000 people in central Anatolia, a deeply religious and socially conservative region which has produced some of the best-known Turkish companies. During this time, you are in front of God, and you can ask him to help improve business and this is good for morale.”

Mr. Herdem said the secret behind the city’s business prowess could be traced to the Prophet Muhammad, himself a trader, who preached merchant honor and commanded that 90 percent of a Muslim’s life be devoted to work in order to put food on the table.

“It is good for a religious person to work hard, to save, to invest in the community,” he continued noting proudly that while bustling cafes are a prominent feature of Turkish life, there is only one cafe in Hacilar, and it is usually empty because everyone is always elsewhere completing a deal.

At the Kayseri sugar factory, one of the most profitable businesses in the region, Rifat Herdem, an adviser to the managing director, said that Islam had played an important role in buttressing profit. He said that in the early 1990’s, the factory was suffering from low capacity while paying steep prices to buy sugar beets because prices were set by the state and a handful of sugar beet producers held a monopoly.

But because Islam commands equal opportunity in business, he said, the factory pushed to expand its sourcing from one sugar-beet grower to 20,000 producers. That, in turn, brought the price of sugar down and helps lift profits. “Because of Islam we were pushed to diversify our supply chain, and this was good for business,” he said.