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Pure economic theory ignores ethical values but in Islamic society these are seen as essentially recreated entities of the social order. Islam presents its worldview not as a pluralistic value but as one that calls for the organisation of social and economic order around its well‐defined precepts, principles and instruments. The relationships between these are explained both philosophically and logically. Islamic social choice formation using syllogistic deductionism is demonstrated.

The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze assumptions and the appropriateness of the most dominant strategic decision-making theories within the Islamic cultural context as an attempt to develop an Islamic decision-making framework.

This paper adopted the integrative literature review approach as a research method (Torraco, 2005). This method allows the researcher to evaluate and syndicate the relevant literature to, critically, review and expand on the theoretical foundation of the topic and, hence, develop new theoretical perspectives and views.

Based on the critical review of the decision-making theories from an Islamic perspective, Islamic culture confirms the behavioural decision theory as the most appropriate approach to make strategic decisions in organizations. In addition, the study reveals that mutual consultation and consultative decision-making (Shura), based on knowledge and Islamic ethics, is the principal Islamic approach to strategic decision-making.

The developed Islamic decision-making framework will, significantly, assist management practitioners, managers and policy makers in both private and governmental organizations to improve their decision-making skills through adopting the Shura approach in decision-making.

The paper expands the boundaries of knowledge in managerial decision-making through developing an Islamic decision-making framework. This theoretical framework brings new insights and open new opportunities of thinking on Islamic decision-making among business scholars and represents fundamental grounds for future research in cross-cultural management in the area of managerial decision-making from an Islamic perspective, which is rare among scholars of management.

Discusses social choice formation in the Islamic institutional framework. This involves the technical formalization of the institutions of consultative decision making and knowledge formation in these institutions: processes which are respectively called the Shura and Ijtehad. Knowledge generated in the form of decision rules is transmitted to the socio‐economic order in accordance with the tenets of Shariah. Herein, knowledge‐function is shown to undergo an interactive and discursive form of revision, changes or affirmation. Shows that knowledge‐function interactions formulate the Shuratic process, an essential characteristic of which is treatment of ethics and morals relating to specific issues at hand in the midst of the polity‐market interactions. Examines mathematically several stability and equilibrium conditions of the social welfare function established on the basis of the Shuraticprocess. The problem of social consensus formation against social conflict resolution is taken up in the same interactive social choice model.

In considering the role of ethics in Islamic economic and finance theory, it is necessary to understand the nature of ethics as human behavior derived from the foundation of Tawhid (oneness of Allah=unity of the divine law) through the transmission medium of the Sunnah (guidance of the Prophet Muhammad). These are together taken up as the basis of spiritual guidance in Islam – hudal il-mutaqqin (Qur'an, 2:2). This foundation of Islamic epistemology in concert with the medium of epistemological discourse among the learned participants establishes the idea of a System and its embedded circular causation relations in view of the ethics in the Qur'anic world-system. It is also necessary to understand how ethics, as so derived from the epistemological roots and processed through the ontological investigation of values and directions for rule setting pertaining to given issues at hand, establish the premise of the shari'ah along with its ijtihadi (foundational Islamic investigation for rule setting) extensions.

A comparative and critical examination of the methodology, goals and history of development of the field of Western social sciences in Islamic perspectives is presented. Economics is treated as a parallel case study in this respect. It is shown that the field of Western social sciences was the outcome of the revolt against the Church in the eighteenth century by the scholastic school to sever science from religion. Ever since, it has gained momentum also under the Cartesian philosophy of empiricism. Thus, the age‐long advance of the social sciences has shown increasing independence within each of its sub‐disciplines. An inward looking hegemony developed among the various sub‐disciplines. Such developments have made it increasingly difficult for the treatment of ethics and values as integrable elements in social investigation. The essence of a human analysis of social problems is thereby, misunderstood in modern social science analysis. The philosophy, nature and methodology of social investigation in Islamic framework are examined. It is argued that the Western concern with dichotomy between science and religion is not applicable to Islam. Consequently, there is a good possibility for studying social problems by an integrated approach among all the sub‐disciplines of the social sciences. This gives rise to an interdisciplinary study of social issues and problems and the development of a generalised social equilibrium system in the Islamic framework. We have developed one such comprehensive model endowed by its intrinsic Islamic ethics and values emanating fundamentally from the dynamic Quranic essence of the Unity of God in the working of the universe, “Al‐Tawhid”. The key principles and instruments are developed. The central role of the “shura” in functionally endowing the integrated study of social issues, is studied. In this context, the study of Islamic economics as one of Islamic political economy is examined. A specific economic problem in this area is explored. It is concluded that the approach of the Islamic social investigation and of Islamic political economy is what the future generation of social and economic thinkers will be working towards.

The objective in this paper is to show that a generalised theory of development financing in Islamic context assumes a detailed general equilibrium approach to the solution of the following interrelated problems: The objective criterion of Islamic development co‐operation is recognised as the optimisation of an underlying ‘ummatic’‘shura’‐based social welfare function in the sense of social consensus formation. This social welfare model is implicitly invoked here, not explicitly formalised. The reader is referred to the glossary of Arabic terms used in this paper.

Reliance on statistical data on trade and development for Islamic countries cannot forecast the state of the future state of reconstruction of the Muslim World in this field. The limitation here is due to the age‐old debility of the Muslim World to project any significant economic, social and institutional transformation in the light of her own communal interest and self‐reliance. Thus the past economic data on trade and development variables show no pattern of future change. Forecasting with these data simply projects the past state of the Muslim World into the future. For these reasons, a model of reconstruction and transformation of the Muslim World on Islamic grounds necessitates reliance on normative issues. Yet these are issues that are First theoretically modelled and then empirically investigated for viability according to survey data.

There is a dearth of literature dealing with Islamic education that embeds the notion of democratic citizenship education for at least two reasons: firstly, democratic citizenship education is not always considered as commensurable with Islamic education and secondly, Islamic education is aimed at producing just persons, whereas democratic citizenship education aims to engender responsible citizens.

My approach is philosophical/analytical and argumentative.

I argue that the two concepts do not have to be considered as mutually exclusive and that cultivating just persons invariably involves producing responsible persons. Hence, as my first argument I show that through the practices of Islamic education, which is just action (ijtihād), deliberative engagement (shūrā) and recognition of the other (ta`āruf), democratic citizenship education has the potential to enhance the pursuit of a doctorate on the basis that the latter connects with multiple forms of enactment. My second argument relates to offering some sceptical encounters with a doctoral candidate, in particular showing how just action (ijtihād), deliberative engagement (shūrā) and recognition of the other (ta`āruf) were manifested in our encounters. Drawing on the seminal thoughts of Stanley Cavell (1997), particularly his ideas on ‘living with scepticism’, I argue that doctoral supervision in the knowledge fields of democratic citizenship education and Islamic education ought to be an encounter framed by scepticism.

Although I combine philosophical and narrative inquiry, I do not consistently accentuate various dimensions of the latter – that is, narrative inquiry, as well as drawing on other cases of my supervision.

I envisage that the commensurability argued for between democratic citizenship education and Islamic education can impact the supervision of doctoral candidates.

I point out that supervising students sceptically might engender moments of acknowledging humanity within the Other (autonomous action or ijtihād), experiencing attachment to the Other’s points of view with a readiness for departure (deliberative engagement or shūrā) and showing responsibility to the Other (recognition of the other or ta`āruf). In turn, I show how sceptical encounters along the lines of autonomous action, deliberative engagement and responsibility towards the other connect, firstly, with liberal education and secondly, the possibilities of such encounters for Muslims involved in advocating for just and/or responsible action.