74 Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies4-1&2 (March 2011) Meeting with History: A Conversa tion with Prof. Khurshid Ahmad ( ƾŧơ ƾȈNjǁȂƻ ), An Islamic Economist and Activist Mehboo b ul Hassan * The emergence of Islamic banking and financial institutions as a potential counter part ofconventional banking and financial institutions can be regarded as one of the manifestations of the Islamic renaissance in the present world. It should be remembered that Islamic banking and finance is only one twig of Islamic economics which itself is a branch of the Islamic tree. The knowledge of Islamic economics is historically determined and is closely interwoven with the Islamic socio-political revival or simply the Islamic renaissance movement. What we know today about Islamic economics, perhaps the very existence oftoday’s Islamic banking and financial institutions owes a great deal to the endeavors ofMuslim thinkers and activists over the last three centuries; from Shah Waliullah to Ahmad Shaheed; from Sir Ahmad Khan and Jamaluddin Afghani to Muhammad Iqbal and M. A. Jouhar to Manazir Ahsan Geelani, M. Uzair, Anwar Iqbal Qureshi and Mawdudi; and from Mawdudi to Umer Chapra, Khurshid Ahmad and Nejatullah Siddiqui. Khurshid Ahmad is a creative thinker and activist who’s aim is to promote an Islamic approach for living. His thoughts are derived from his multidisciplinary knowledge ofscience, politics, history, philosophy, sociology, education, and international relations, and his focus on Islamic economics is distinctive. Prof. Khurshid has been involved in the development of Islamic economics since the 1950s, working for the revival of Islamic thought both at national and international forums. His comprehensive work on the Islamizing of Muslim life, the economy, and society at large has been widely acclaimed amongst intellectuals and the academia for its strong arguments, force of conviction and forceful approach. His integration of Islamic perspectives and principles with applied economics in a coherent and reasoned discourse occupies a distinct position in the Islamic intellectual world, and has directly or indirectly benefited all major developments in Islamic economics. The present study explores Professor Khurshid Ahmad’s biographical accounts and family background towards a deeper understanding of his thought and vision of Islamic economics. It is presented in the form of an interview based on specific questions we asked in academic meetings with the professor during the year 2009 at the Institute ofPolicy Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan. The author would like to express his gratitude to the director and staff of IPS for providing the facilities and support for these meetings. イスラーム世界研究 第 4 巻 1– 2 号(20 11 年 3 月)74–1 23 頁 Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies, 4-1&2 (March 2011), pp.74–123 * Assistant Professor Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre, University of Karachi, Pakistan. Interviews with the Precursors of Knowledge (3)