PART Ⅰ Introduction 3
1 The Puzzle of the Middle East’s Economic Underdevelopment 3
2 Analyzing the Economic Role of Islam 25
PART Ⅱ Organizational Stagnation 45
3 Commercial Life under Islamic Rule 45
4 The Persistent Simplicity of Islamic Partnerships 63
5 Drawbacks of the Islamic Inheritance System 78
6 The Absence of the Corporation in Islamic Law 97
7 Barriers to the Emergence of a Middle Eastern Business Corporation 117
8 Credit Markets without Banks 143
PART Ⅲ The Makings of Underdevelopment 169
9 The Islamization of Non-Muslim Economic Life 169
10 The Ascent of the Middle East’s Religious Minorities 189
11 Origins and Fiscal Impact of the Capitulations 209
12 Foreign Privileges as Facilitators of Impersonal Exchange 228
13 The Absence of Middle Eastern Consuls 254
PART Ⅳ Conclusions 279
14 Did Islam Inhibit Economic Development？ 279
Notes 303
References 349
Index 393