“Rethinking Islamic Economics in the Age of Inequalities” symposium was held at Istanbul Medeniyet University on May 17, 2022. Our Rector Prof. Gülfettin ÇELİK also attended the symposium which consisted of three different sessions.
The symposium held in the Conference Hall of the Ziraat Bank Library of our university started at 10:00 AM with the opening speech of Prof. Gülfettin ÇELİK.
Prof. ÇELİK stated that the title “Rethinking Islamic Economics in the Age of Inequalities” is extremely important and draws a framework that needs to be emphasized, and said: “A meaningful issue has been determined as an expression of the deadlock brought by the modern era, and the reconsideration of Islamic economics will be a good example for humanity’s impasse. However, beyond all this, in the “age of inequalities”, first of all, following the agenda closely should be our sine qua non in the process of finding a solution, and we should not ignore the agenda. I think that all the topics in the symposium are very important and make an important contribution to the subject. I hope to meet again in more nuanced and detailed topics, and I greet you all with respect.” and wished the symposium to be beneficial.
The first session which was moderated by Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences Prof. Hamdi GENÇ started with participation of Prof. Feridun YILMAZ and Prof. Mehmet ASUTAY.
Firstly, Prof. YILMAZ delivered his presentation on “Capitalism as a System that Creates Inequality and the Experience of the Pandemic”. Prof. YILMAZ discussed mainstream economic thought, the manifestations of capital accumulation, and the effects of capitalism on consumption habits.
The other speaker Prof. ASUTAY evaluated the test of the global economy in the pandemic in the context of capital movements and income inequality. He conveyed the suggestions offered by Islamic economics to the participants and emphasized the importance of having knowledge about economics.
Melikşah UTKU, the last speaker in the morning session, made a comprehensive presentation on Islamic banking, financial management and potential contributions to economic development in Turkey. Speakers answered the questions of the participants after the session.
After the lunch break, the afternoon session of the symposium was started under the moderation of Assoc. Prof. Faruk BAL, who is a member of Economy Department of our Faculty of Political Sciences. Firstly, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Faruk ASLAN took the floor and talked about “Socio-economic inequalities in Turkey and the importance of developing Islamic Economic Institutions”.
The second speaker of the afternoon session, Dr. Hakan KALKAVAN made his presentation by comparing Islamic Finance and Islamic Economy in the context of economic inequality and socio-economic welfare. The last speaker, Dr. Harun ŞENCAL, on the other hand, made a presentation on the dynamical solution of fiqh in developing global financial markets.
