 In this module, we shall look at Islamic banking and finance in the context of Islamic economics or in the context of Islamic economic system. The title is Islamic banking and finance in an Islamic economic context. We shall learn the difference between an Islamic economy and the Islamic banking and finance system and of course we would be learning about some Islamic economic institutions and the role of Islamic banking and finance in an Islamic economy. So these three things are focus of our learning in this module. Islamic economy and Islamic economics. What are they? A lot of students, they have actually asked me this fundamental question. Is there any Islamic economy in the world? And my answer has always been it depends how you define an Islamic economy. And before we go into that detail, I would like to give you a very simple kind of view on the notion of Islamic economy and Islamic economy is the one that operates on the principles of Islam governing economic activities. Now an Islamic economy may not be confined to just one country. It could be a global phenomenon. So an Islamic economy may exist on a global level with the reference to the activities which conform to the Islamic principles governing economic activities. Now Islamic economy is a generic concept and it's not only a concept. This is an aggregation of the activities in compliance with Islamic principles. Some people they refer to Islamic economy with reference to the Halal sector. Hence they call it Halal economy or Islamic economy. In my view, Halal economy is only a segment of Islamic economy. Islamic economics on the other hand side is the study of economic actors within an Islamic economy. And these actors may be individuals in which case we would be referring to Islamic microeconomics. It could be institutions in which case we might be referring to Islamic institutional economics or it could relate to the economy as a whole. And that could be a subject matter of Islamic macroeconomics. So Islamic economics is actually a discipline. It is a study of the economic behavior of Islamic economic actors. Islamic economy is something which is happening in the world in the form of Halal economy, Halal sector, in the form of Islamic banking and finance and in the form of so many other activities which fulfill the Islamic requirements for doing business and other economic activities. So this is actually Islamic economy or Islamic economics as two concepts. And there are Islamic economic institutions. Of course the most important Islamic economic institution remains the state. Then we have social sector within an Islamic economy. Private sector plays an important role in an Islamic economy as well. And of course we have some international arrangements, international institutions within an Islamic economy. All these Islamic economic institutions, they must play their roles for the benefits of an Islamic economic system to accrue. The role of Islamic banking and finance within an Islamic economy could be mobilization of savings, financing economic activities. And I must emphasize that this is not the role of Islamic banks to contribute to social goals like poverty alleviation. And this is something very important and we should look into it with care. Division of savings, of course, this remains an important objective and important activity of Islamic banking and financing is a core activity. However, when it comes to social sector objectives, there are other Islamic economic institutions which should play a role there. It can play a role. Social sector institutions like OCAF, they should play a role over there as well.