ABSTRACT
Despite the criticisms, a coherent Islamic response to the conditions has not been forthcoming and instead Muslim thinkers (and nations) have increasingly conformed to the same deterministic methods evident in the current politicaleconomic paradigm. Taqlid (imitation), aql (reasoning) and qiyas (analogy) have therefore been used to draw parallels with the Washington Consensus, which in so doing has removed a degree of flexibility to deal with conditions in the locality. Given its non-hierarchical nature (other than God) along with the schools of thought and a variety of cultural influences, Islam is in fact in a strong position because of its diverse nature. However, this would continue to depend on the use of ijtihad in promoting a balance between external interaction and the needs of society. The practicality of this will be addressed in the following sections before introducing the comparative models and the case of the oPt.
