BOOK REVIEW DISCUSSION:RULERS,RELIGION,AND RICHES: WHY THE WEST GOT RICH AND THE MIDDLE EAST DID NOT

Islamic Courses presents:
BOOK REVIEW DISCUSSION: RULERS, RELIGION, AND RICHES: WHY THE WEST GOT RICH AND THE MIDDLE EAST DID NOT
With author Professor Jared Rubin [Co-Director, Institute for the Study of Religion, Economics and Society, Chapman University, USA ]
and hosted by Professor Mehmet Asutay[Director of Durham Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance in the Business School, Durham University]
Date and time: Saturday 20th March 2021 @3pm UK/London - Please adjust to your timezone
ABOUT:
For centuries following the spread of Islam, the Middle East was far ahead of Europe. Yet, the modern economy was born in Europe. Why was it not born in the Middle East? In this book Jared Rubin examines the role that Islam played in this reversal of fortunes. It argues that the religion itself is not to blame; the importance of religious legitimacy in Middle Eastern politics was the primary culprit. Muslim religious authorities were given an important seat at the political bargaining table, which they used to block important advancements such as the printing press and lending at interest. In Europe, however, the Church played a weaker role in legitimizing rule, especially where Protestantism spread (indeed, the Reformation was successful due to the spread of printing, which was blocked in the Middle East). It was precisely in those Protestant nations, especially England and the Dutch Republic, where the modern economy was born.
About the speaker: Professor Jared Rubin [Co-Director, Institute for the Study of Religion, Economics and Society, Chapman University, USA ]
Jared Rubin is an economic historian interested in the political and religious economies of the Middle East and Western Europe. His research focuses on historical relationships between political and religious institutions and their role in economic development. His book, Rulers, Religion, and Riches: Why the West Got Rich and the Middle East Did Not (Cambridge University Press, 2017) explores the role that Islam and Christianity played in the long-run "reversal of fortunes" between the economies of the Middle East and Western Europe. Rubin graduated with a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 2007 and a B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2002. He is the Co-Director of Chapman University's IRES and the former Executive Director and Program Chair of ASREC. His work has appeared in numerous top economics journals.