{writeup; http://bit.ly/AZcrypto} There are two different questions: How to apply Islamic rules to crypto currency within the Capitalist society in which we live? This is entirely different from how to construct an Islamic society, and what would the role of crypto currency be within such a society. I am concerned in this talk with the second question. An Islamic society is based on principles of generosity, cooperation and social responsibility - these are diametrically opposed to greed, competition, and individualism which form the basis of capitalist society. Whereas money is central to a capitalist society and is able to purchase lives of human beings, money plays only a secondary role in an Islamic society. Within money categories, crypto is a privately created money which would be either illegal or useless in a Islamic society. Various kinds of community created money, backed by government guarantees, and used for enhancing lives and welfare of people, would be permissible - It may be possible to adapt crypto for this use, but this would require rethinking and re-engineering.

2. Crypto-Assets Funds through
Islamic Lens
Dr. Asad Zaman
Director: Uloom ul Umran (An Islamic Alternative to Social Science) Al-Nafi Online Educational
Platform http://alnafi.com
For a writeup & video of this talk, see: http://bit.ly/AZcrypto

3. Fundamental Issue: How to Organize Society?
• Economics
• Politics
• Social Institutions: Family, Neighborhood, Community
• Environment: Water, Air, Forests, Plants, Trees
• Other Creations of God: Fish, Birds, Animals
• Relations with other Societies, organized differently.
What is the role of MONEY, within a society?

4. The Grand Deception: Social Science
Use of word science makes two false claims:
• Universal Applicability to all human societies
• Objective validity similar to the laws of physics, across time & space
In fact, social science is EUROCENTRIC: It takes lessons from European
historical experience, and templates for European social organization,
and applies them to all societies.
See: http://bit.ly/AZgdss1

5. Different Questions
Capitalist Society
• What is the role of money within
a capitalist society?
• How does crypto currency work
within a capitalist society?
• How should muslims, living
within a capitalist society, deal
with crypto currencies?
Islamic Society
• What is role of money in an
Islamic Society?
• How would crypto work within
an Islamic Society?
ANSWER: Crypto currency has no
role, and would not be
permissible within an Islamic
Society.

6. The Revolution of Islam
• 14 centuries ago, ignorant and backwards Bedouin were transformed
into world leaders. Islamic Civilization enlightened with world with
knowledge for more than a 1000 years. It developed unique forms of
political, economic, and social organization.
• European barbarians conquered decaying and degenerate Al-Andalus,
steeped in luxuries. They acquired the treasures of millions of books.
Translations of these books ended the dark ages of Europe.
• New knowledge conflicted with Catholic teachings, led to creation of
Protestants, and more than a century of bloody factional warfare.

7. The Great Transformation to Capitalism
• Religious warfare led to need to create knowledge without religious
foundations.
• Secular Modern Knowledge CLAIMS to be universal, objective, based
purely on observations and logic, verifiable by all rational human
beings.
• The Puzzle of Western Social Science: http://bit.ly/AZpss
• The Origins of Western Social Sciences: http://bit.ly/IR3owss

8. Key Elements of Great Transformation
• Production of MASSIVE amounts of surplus. What to do with it?
• Social Norms: Change from self-sufficiency to consumer society.
PURPOSE of life is to maximize consumption!!
• Creation of money, and social compact to honor money.
• Surplus marketed for money, which creates claims on future
purchasing power. PURELY a social construct, valid because everyone
accepts its validity, enforced by governments.
“The Great Transformation in European Thought” http://bit.ly/AZGTET

9. Social Constructs
• Objects which exist due to social consensus.
Among the fresh gods, the biggest is the nation – the dress it wears is
the coffin of religion (Iqbal)
• Imagine a world without countries: By consensus, we agree to
disregard national boundaries and legal frameworks.
• Imagine a world without money.
GOAL of thought-experiment is to liberate our minds from the narrow
boundaries of the market economy.

10. How to think out-of-the-box
Learn about the boxes created by Western education, and spread of
market society: Three Mega-Events Which Shape Our Thoughts: see:
http://bit.do/azgt4
1. Excess Production => Market Society
2. Rejection of Christianity => Positivist Ontology & Epistemology
3. European Global Conquest => Colonized Minds in East
In particular, Social Science is the DEEN of secular modernity, directly
opposed to the FIQH of Islam. Failure to recognize Social Science as
DEEN leads to enormous confusion in Islamic Societies.

11. Market Versus Islamic Society
Market Society
• Money is necessary for survival
• Competition
• Greed
Labor Market requires poverty
EVERYTHING is for sale. Money
can buy everything. Goal of life is
to make money.
Islamic Society
• Social Responsibility
• Cooperation
• Generosity
Human lives are infinitely precious
The most important things are
NOT for sale. Money can ONLY buy
secondary goods.

12. What is Money (worth)?
• Everything: in a market society: Goal of life is pleasure, power, profits.
• Useful for comforts and luxuries, but not for essentials, in an Islamic
Society. Goal of life is success in the Akhira, achievable without
money

13. Types of Money
• Who can CREATE money?
• What are the mechanisms used to create TRUST in money?
• How is the value of money determined? Is this anchor stable?

14. The Capitalist System
The Battle for the Control of Money: http://bit.ly/AZRiba1
Should Government or Private Banks create money?
Currently, in capitalist world, 90% or more money is created by financial
sector. High Finance controls the Western world.
In the third world, financial penetration is lower. 30% of money is
created by private banks.
Crypto is an attempt to break stranglehold of the financial sector, but
does not deliver power to the people.

15. Crypto:
• Who can create it? Private sector entrepreneurs with access to
specialized skills and with low energy costs.
• Mechanisms to create value and trust? ABSENT.
• Value for Islamic World? Negative
See: Future of Money: Cryptocurrencies & Libra http://bit.do/azfom

16. Current Monetary System
• USD is global currency, equivalent to gold.
• System created by Nixon shock in 1971, renouncing Bretton-Woods.
• Creates enormously lopsided global trading system. USA prints paper,
all other countries must increase exports to get this paper.
See: A Lopsided Monetary System: http://bit.ly/AZlms

17. Brief History of Money
• Pre-1850: trading within colonial empires
• 1850-1914 WW1: emergence of gold standard
• WW1-WW2: Transition period, attempts to restore gold standard
• 1944-1971: Bretton-Woods Era: Dollar linked to Gold
• 1971-1990: Floating Currencies; Petro-Dollar is the new gold.
• 1990 onwards: De-regulation, creation of shadow banking and
derivatives. Massive creation of shadow monies, including crypto,
validated by a crooked financial system.
• To have opinions (and to give fatwa) about money, we need to know
this history

18. The Way Forward for the Islamic World
• Create economic and monetary integration (like Europe)
• Create common currencies, fluid borders, the “gold” dinar
• Use labor backed currencies, or petroleum plus labor, or community-
based currencies.
• Use the idea of currency as a public resource.

19. Monetary Dilemma:
Who should create money?
• Capitalist System: Financiers create money, creating massive
concentration of wealth and power.
• Proposed Alternative (MMT): Governments should create money, on
behalf of public. Problem: governments everywhere are corrupt.

20. Islamic Solution: Public-Private Partnership
For details, see: Islamic Monetary Policy: http://bit.ly/AZRiba1
Local Communities should create money, backed by public guarantees.
Money creation must be directed at productive activities.
Job Guarantee Program: Everyone enabled to contribute productively
to society, and provided with sufficient money for this contribution.
Life-Loans: All babies born should be guaranteed money for health,
education, and all basic needs required to become productive citizens.

21. Concluding Remarks
• Islamic teachings launched a revolution in world history 14 Centuries
ago.
• The last revelation of God to humanity is still just as powerful as it
was 14 centuries ago.
• Today, Muslims have stopped looking to the Quran for guidance.
Instead they are looking to the West (crypto, etc.)
• This problem arises because of shock-and-awe of Western
knowledge.

22. The Ghazali Project
• The Ancient Mu’tazila were awed by Greek philosophy, and wanted to
put it on par with the Quran.
• The Modern Mu’tazila are in awe of Western knowledge and want to
put it on par with the Quran: See: http://bit.do/aztmm
• The Ghazali Project is the solution to the problem of the Mu’tazila

23. Three Steps of the Ghazali Project
1. Deliverance from Doubt: Build strong faith in Quran, as the source
of wisdom, far superior to Western sciences.
2. Incoherence of Western Philosophers: Exposing the false
foundations on which Western social sciences have been built.
3. Revival of Religious Sciences: Rebuilding all structures of
knowledge on the powerful and deep foundations provided by the
Quran and Sunnah.
For details, see: The Ghazalian Webinars: http://bit.ly/AZwebinars