Islamic Gold Dinar - Myth and Reality

There has been an increasing amount of publications, conferences, even a campaign, about the re-introduction of the Islamic gold dinar. The proponents of this idea, known as the denarists, particularly active in Malaysia, advocate that this country as well as the whole Islamic world “urgently” return to the Islamic gold dinar (Meera, 2002, pp.88-89). They argue that if this return is achieved, nearly all the ills of modern economies such as rampant inflation, credit crunches, stagnation, unemployment etc., which they associate with the present paper money system, would be significantly reduced. Some scholars also argue that since the Prophet  used coins, it would be only appropriate for Islamic countries to transform their currencies into gold dinars. In short, what the denarists are...