Charles Tripp - Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism

Writing a book which deals in some measure with the moral problems of debt and repayment has made me acutely conscious of the debts of gratitude that I owe to all those who have helped me in my work. They have been many, both institutional and individual, and I would like to express my thanks to them all for having advised and assisted me along the way.

In particular, I would like to thank the Nuffield Foundation and the Arts and Humanities Research Board for the grants which helped to support my research and to provide the precious time needed for writing, free of teaching and administrative duties. In this respect, I would also like to thank my colleagues in my department and in the library at the School of Oriental and African Studies whose support gave me the time needed to complete this project and whose expertise helped me greatly in my research. I also acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of the staff at the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyah, at CEDEJ and at the American University in Cairo, at the library of the Mu'assasat Al al-Bait, at Jordan University Library and at the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, as well as at the British Library and at the library of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

There are many who have helped me during my research, who have given advice and encouragement and whose own work has sent my thoughts along paths that I might not otherwise have followed. In particular, I stand indebted to Hind and Mohsen Muhammad, James Piscatori, Muhammad Abd al-Halim, Sami Zubaidah, Fred Halliday, Sudipta Kaviraj, Ben Fortna, Kathryn Dean, Bill Hale, Eberhard Kienle, Malise Ruthven and Ali Rahnema. Finally, no book can appear without the confidence of the publisher in the project and in the author. I would therefore like to thank Marigold Acland, Senior Commissioning Editor at Cambridge University Press, for the faith she has shown in my work.

I cannot discharge the debts I owe to all those who have made this book possible, but I hope at least that it can stand as a token of my gratitude to them.