Critical of Schumpeter's Great Gap Thesis in The Context of The History of Islamic Economic Thought

Abstract

In his cult work titled "History of Economic Analysis", published posthumously, Schumpeter begins his economic analysis with Ancient Greece and defines the 500-year period between 774 and 1274 as the "Great Gap". The thesis, which was put forward with a Eurocentric and one-sided perspective, does not coincide with the historical facts. Because the period that Schumpeter defines as "the great void" corresponds to a dark period for the Western world, but a bright period for the Islamic world. This period is the period in which Europe lived its dark middle ages and the Islamic world lived its bright "Golden Age". While there was no significant development in the Western world in the Middle Ages, the Islamic world witnessed scientific developments one after another. Not only in the field of economics, but also in all imaginable branches of science apart from economics, important works have been put forward. In fields such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry and philosophy, very important developments have been made that shape the world of science. In this period, names such as Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, er-Razi and Ibn Heysem, each of whom were giants, and who enlightened the whole world, including the Western world, for centuries, grew up in the Islamic world. Many Western scientists, thinkers and writers, especially Newton, benefited from the views and theses of Muslim scholars. Although Islamic economics did not systematically manifest as a separate discipline until the modern period, economic issues and concepts were dealt with extensively in Islamic sources. Both in the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an, and in Hz. In the hadiths of the Prophet, the main principles, rules and limits of the Islamic economic theory were clearly revealed, and in the sources of fiqh, the method of fiqh, kalam and mysticism, which are the carrier and interpretive texts of Islam, economic issues were discussed and detailed within the framework of the main principles. Therefore, Schumpeter's "Great Gap" thesis is a product and consequence of his sick Eurocentric perspective and the traditional and prejudiced attitude of the West towards the Islamic world, Islamic concepts and Muslim scholars.