This paper presents a systematic literature review of 25 studies published between 2010 and 2021 on the relationship between government budgets and poverty reduction in developing countries. The review identifies a positive relationship between government spending on social welfare programs and poverty reduction. Specifically, increased spending on education and healthcare has been found to have a significant impact on reducing poverty levels. The review also highlights the importance of targeting government spending to specific populations and regions where poverty levels are high, and the challenges and limitations of government spending in poverty reduction efforts, such as corruption and political instability. The paper concludes with important policy implications, such as the need for increased spending on social welfare programs, addressing corruption and mismanagement of government funds, and targeting spending to specific populations and regions where poverty levels are high. The review provides insights for policymakers and practitioners working in the field of poverty reduction, emphasizing the importance of good governance, transparency, and accountability in ensuring that government budgets effectively contribute to poverty reduction.

Finance is integral to civilizational prosperity yet has impacted the global development of recent centuries, proved inherently inconsistent, and created multiple issues, i.e., inequalities. In this regard, Islamic finance (IF) offers solutions. Moreover, contemporary appraisals of the Integration of Knowledge (IoK) methodology represent a novel alternative to extant challenges and issues. The paper’s objectives are, therefore, to propose an IoK model of Islamic and conventional financial (CF) convergence with leverage to fintech and demonstrate the potential of the waqf sector for such convergence and its equivalent revival and reform along such methodological contours. This paper is a methodological contribution. However, library research, critical content analysis, and heterodox methods of concretization, synthesis, and transdisciplinary analytical reasoning substantiate the paper’s methodology. Islamic sources of knowledge, i.e., Qur’an, justify this study’s unorthodox methodology. A background depicts the CF problems and persistent issues that justify alternatives. It is followed by rationalizing IE development via IoK to converge IF and CF. The IoK model developed for IE development follows and is schematically demonstrated as novel findings of this paper to bridge the gap between IF and CF and leverage waqfs’ role and potential. Greater reference to waqf projects institutionalized implications for IF and integration with CF. Further, leveraging waqf and even fintech as an indicator of digitalization within the IoK model has implications for attaining the defined maqāṣid and developing IE genuinely. A conclusion summarizes and provides actionable recommendations linked with the IoK model’s objectives to reform extant IF and conventional practice based on sound Islamic philosophical foundations and maqāṣid-oriented envisioning of IE development.

The contemporary world has reached a critical stage of development that imposes reforms at the highest and grassroots levels. Humanity realized that the current lifestyle increasingly threatens their welfare. Hence, we perceive that the Integration of Knowledge (IoK) methodological approach to reforming the development of Islamic economics, banking, and finance (IEBF) is central to transforming such a conventional approach to life. A reformed IEBF would focus on the maqasid (objectives) of shariah and the SDGs. The qualitative nature of this paper appraises the IoK methodological approach through a methodological pluralism recognizing rational and revelational sources of knowledge. This also involves methods of library research and critical content analysis. Firstly, an introduction reveals the distinctiveness of the IoK methodological approach as a shift from and based on the Islamization of Knowledge (IOK) movement. Its potential to reform IEBF becomes apparent because of common philosophical foundations like IOK’s. We highlight in brief the IEBF compatibility with and to reform via the IoK methodological approach and so attain targeted maqasid and SDGs. Secondly, a review of extant literature explains why the IOK and IE represent the solution to reform IEBF in contemporary times, to overcome mainstream economic, financial, and banking issues, and to fulfil maqasid and SDGs. Thirdly, findings show how the philosophical foundations of IOK represent the basis for future IEBF development via the IoK methodological approach. Moreover, we identify IoK methodological principles to appraise theories for IEBF development in light of the maqasid and SDGs agenda. Lastly, we conclude and provide actionable recommendations.

The world increasingly needs an alternative approach to economic development. This paper endorses the Integration of Knowledge (IoK) approach as the wisdom of humanity through Islamic Economics (IE). A review of relevant literature through qualitative methodologies of library research, discourse and critical content analysis highlights the civilisational practices of integration, how development of economics diverged from such practices and how heterodox approaches reacted to such divergence. A section on learning the wisdom of humanity from each other emphasizes the inevitable historical civilizational integration (IoK) and exchange of knowledge. It follows with a literature review of the development of mainstream economics, how it abandoned such historical civilizational practice and its sound foundations, namely ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology. A highlight of heterodox economics (HE) responses reveals the alternatives to the mainstream-focused positivistic approach to economics. The inadequacy of those alternatives led us to demonstrate Muslim responses and the centrality of IE as a comprehensive alternative heterodox economic approach. The analysis shows how IE grew along Islamisation of Knowledge (IOK) as two parallel and major intellectual iṣlaḥ (reform) and tajdīd (renewal) movements. A brief review of the development of each shows the potential of IE’s IoK methodological reasoning to revive the IoK approach in economics as the wisdom of humanity. The sound IE philosophical foundations, namely ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology, have a major impact in that process. Thus, utilising the core IoK objective within IOK together with IE contributions shape the process of overcoming problems and issues of mainstream economics. Actionable recommendations to practitioners and academics depict how the IE approach to economics could be implemented and sustained along SDGs agenda.

Economic thought always permeated human living. Economic thought and the development of economics as a discipline in the last few centuries made it central to the world order. However, the foundational problems that mainstream economics suffers from led to uncounted crises and issues within the same order that created it. A physicalist ontology, rationalist epistemology, axiological futility, and methodological deficiency are the problems of philosophical foundations of mainstream economics we reviewed in this paper. The methodology of this paper is qualitative and generally adopts the library research and critical content analysis methods to review and respond to identified foundational problems. Muslims islah and tajdid responses to the West and mainstream economics problems and issues found shape in Islamisation of Knowledge (IOK) and Islamic Economics (IE). The recent shift to Integration of Knowledge (IoK) universalizes the appeal and revives the zeal for IE development in light of IoK based on IOK in this paper. A thorough analysis of IOK, IoK, and IE responses to the West and mainstream economics enabled us to appraise it as the alternative and solution to the foundational problems. The paper clarified the way for future research in IE in light of IoK and directed the academia and industry towards economic reasoning based on robust foundations.

This paper investigates the socio-economic role of waqf in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the 20th century to date. Bosnia and Herzegovina waqf endured through various political fortunes and improved the social and economic circumstances of Muslims. A contemporary challenge is to reconstruct this waqf. A new development is the emergence of Islamic Economics. Since 1995, the Waqf Directorate of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (WD-ICBIH), the main authority over waqf, initiated reforms to revive the socio-economic role of waqf and integrate it into Bosnia and Herzegovina development. The study identifies the challenges facing the Waqf Directorate and the development of Islamic Economics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The emergence of Islamic Economics and Islamic Banking and Finance, in cooperation with the Bosnia Bank International, presents opportunities to the Waqf Directorate to achieve its vision and mission. Some avenues for waqf integration into Bosnia and Herzegovina development qualify as commendable efforts of reform, indicate a feasible future for the Waqf Directorate, and gradually address various challenges. The paper concludes with actionable policy recommendations.