The Power of the poor Stop the financial terrorism

Abstract

Since 2008 serial of financial crises occurring in big financial institutions and banks, economists have been actively working on and searching for solutions. Several calls have been made to reshape the international financial system under a proposed Britton Woods II system. Some calls identify one or more component of the Islamic Financial system but not in a compressive paradigm. To truly revive the world economy, a new economic consensus is a must. Without giving much attention to the poor, the financial system will continue to collapse because of the lack of innovation of real value-added assets and the continue dealing with bad debts. The purpose of this paper is to review a different approach including the corporate Zakat (or Zakah) and Waqf, as advocated by Islamic financial guidelines, as well as other practiced efforts to enriching the poor. The aim is to determine their appropriateness and adherence as a tool for resolving International Financial and Economics issues. The study tries to present seeds of thought for global solution in which the poor get released first and then global 'good' effect spreads afterward exactly like the 'pay forward' doctrine. As a preliminary study, this paper uses analytical and deduction methods to investigate the current financial crisis (causes and proposed solution) then uses descriptive and historical methodology to introduce these “old” concepts of Islamic Financial systems alive to the present time. Empirical studies supported the role of Zakat and Waqf to solve financial and economic problems and proved the importance of reconsidering the Islamic financial concepts in modernized societies to stop the financial crisis. Key words: Financial crises, the great crash, 'pay forward' doctrine, real and imaginative economy, official development assistance, global economy, enriching the poor, Zakat, Islamic Banks, power of the poor.