Islamicity Index: Study not thorough, says Islamic academic

The Islamicity Index conducted by academics from George Washington University, United States is not thorough and did not take into consideration several key criteria.

Dr Ahmad Hidayat Buang, from the Academy of Islamic Studies University of Malaya, said the index is selective as it only covered the areas of society’s economic achievements, governance, human and political rights, as well as international relations.

“It does not take into account personal religious practise. For example, it does not consider if someone performs the prayers five times a day, going to the mosque, the importance of halal and haram. The index does not consider all these,” explained Prof Ahmad Hidayat.

The Islamicity Index has ranked Ireland as the country most faithful to the values of the Koran. This is followed by Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Not a single majority Muslim country made the top 25 and no Arab country is in the top 50.

However, Prof Ahmad Hidayat said there are some truth in the index based on the criteria used.

“For example, we take hygiene, specifically the toilets. Which one is cleaner? The toilets in Islamic countries or non-Islamic countries? In general, the toilets in the non-Islamic countries are cleaner.

“There are elements practised by developed countries and there are elements not practised by Muslim-majority countries. There are some truth in the index, but it is not comprehensive,” he explained.

Prof Ahmad Hidayat also commended Malaysia’s position in 33rd place beating other Muslim-majority countries like Kuwait (42), Arab Saudi (91), and Qatar (111) in the Islamicity Index.

“Try getting rid of the word ‘Islam’ in the list and consider it as an index for the most comfortable countries to live in. I’m sure the rankings will be the same. Malaysia will be ahead of other Muslim-majority countries but will ranked below other developed countries.

Earlier, The Irish Times published a report about the Islamicity Index conducted by Professor of International Business and International Affairs at George Washington University, Hossein Askari and Dr Scheherazde S. Rehman.

According to the index, “Muslim countries do very badly” accusing the countries as using religion as an instrument of power.

Last November Prof Hossein said, “we must emphasize that many countries that profess Islam and are called Islamic are unjust, corrupt, and underdeveloped, and are in fact not ‘Islamic’ by any stretch of the imagination.

“Looking at an index of Economic Islamicity, or how closely the policies and achievements of countries reflect Islamic economic teachings - Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Norway, and Belgium round up the first 10”.