Discourses on Development and the Muslim World
Farouk Abdullah Alwyni, Muhammad Syukri Salleh

Abstract
Development is one important issue facing most Muslim countries today. Although there are different stages of development, all of the Muslim countries at this time are considered as developing countries as per the United Nations (UN) country classification. However, it is important to note here that actually the discourses on development used to differentiate countries between developing and developed have been debated for a while. One critical discourse contends that even those countries considered developed are actually still developing, considering that all countries are basically reacting and evolving to cope with different challenges in their own respective economies. In view of the above, this paper attempts to assess discourses related to development in developed countries as well as developing ones (including Muslim countries). This paper will also review the present state of the Muslim World that is relatively lagging behind, and what should be done about that. The research methodology applied will be based on literature review related to discourses on development, and some empirical evidence related to those discourses. The paper shows that actually each and every country has its own unique approach to develop, and there will not be a one size fits all development discourse for many different countries in the world. Learning from the history, Islam, as a belief system, made a significant role in transforming the early Muslims from backward nations to the most developed ones at that time. In addition, there has been an endless quest in developed countries themselves for more social justice and for more meaning of life. Therefore, the paper argues that formulating Islamic-based development discourses will benefit not only the Muslim world (to make it better their present state of development) but also a global community (to make a more just and humane world).

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