We’re not inventing something new. We’re restoring something ancient.
We serve the ummah (the worldwide Muslim community) first, and remain open to all who respect the rules. We hold to principles that do not change: no riba (interest), halal in all we do, land protected for the greater good, and wealth that stays with the community.
The problem
Wealth moves out of our communities faster than it can be built within them.
Land, markets and trades that once belonged to the whole community were sold off to private owners, and the guilds that protected skilled work were outlawed by new laws. Muslim communities today have few institutions of their own that hold land, keep money circulating and train skilled people.
In the modern market, ten thousand people buy from one. In the market of Madinah, ten thousand buy and sell from ten thousand. One drains wealth out of a community. The other keeps it circulating.
Where we are going
A community that sustains itself and shares its prosperity
The word for it is ‘umran, from the root meaning to build. It carries development and prosperity together, and it comes from people cooperating, collaborating and coordinating their work.
We are working toward a community with institutions it owns and governs: land held in trust forever, a marketplace that is halal (permitted in Islam) and free of riba (interest), and guilds that train people and protect skilled work.
When our community prospers, we share that prosperity with the community at large.
The three institutions
Three institutions, one community
Waqf
A waqf (say “wahkf”) is property that is given away permanently for the public good. Think of a park that can never be sold or turned into something else. It stays in the community’s hands for generations.
- Can be land, markets, mosques or workshops
- People may use it, but no one can sell it or keep it for themselves
- Run by the community, for the community
Suq
A suq (say “sook”) is a public marketplace owned by the whole community. Anyone can set up and sell, with no rent or fees on the trading floor. The market earns its keep by renting out extras like storage and workshop space.
- A free trading floor: no rent, no tax
- A service area that rents storage, delivery and workshops
- A lodge for traveling traders, with the favor returned when locals travel
Guilds
A guild is a group of people in the same trade, such as bakers, builders or tailors, who share workshops and equipment and train the next generation. Members cooperate on the tools and still compete on the work.
- Shared warehouses, workshops and machinery
- Masters train apprentices and keep quality high
- Members support one another and own their work
Picture it
A community built on all three
Start with a plot of land in a neighborhood in South Florida, given to the community as a waqf so it can never be sold. It belongs to everyone, and everything else grows on it.
On the land, a public market
A covered hall open to any neighbor who wants to sell, with no rent on the trading floor. Farmers, bakers, tailors and importers trade directly with one another. Storage, cold rooms, delivery and workshops are rented to traders at fair rates, and that rent keeps the market running.
Beside the market, the guilds
Carpenters, cooks, tailors, drivers and software builders each share a workshop, a commercial kitchen, equipment and a warehouse they could never afford alone. Masters teach apprentices, standards protect quality, a common name vouches for the work, and members look after one another in hard times. People become owners of their work, not employees of someone else’s.
Across the country, a network
A lodge for visiting traders, offered as hospitality and returned in kind, links this market to the next town’s. Each new chapter plugs into the same network, so a business that starts in one neighborhood can sell in all of them.
- Landholds it safe, in trust forever, for every generation to come
- Marketfills it with open, fair trade where neighbors buy and sell as equals
- Guildsbuild on it with skilled work, shared tools and trained apprentices
- Communityowns it, governs it and shares the gains with everyone around it
Build it with us
We help communities build it for themselves
We are building what our communities deserve and what the world needs: land held safe for good, markets where neighbors trade as equals, and trades that give people ownership and dignity.
If your organization, mosque, school or neighborhood wants to establish a waqf, a public market or a guild of its own, you do not have to start from nothing. We offer our research, our teaching and our network, in part or in whole, from a first conversation to a finished plan.
How we can help
- Teach the modelWe explain it in plain language to your board, your members and your neighbors, so everyone starts from the same understanding.
- Study your placeWe help you research your local economy: who buys, who makes, which trades are strong and which are missing, so what you build fits where you are.
- Bring the right people togetherWe connect you with scholars, local officials, tradespeople and community organizations who can shape the work and hold it accountable.
- Help you build locallyWe help you identify a property and structure it as a waqf, so it stays in the community’s hands for good.
Proof it works
The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul
One of the largest covered markets in the world began as a waqf: land given to the people of Istanbul for good. Building started in 1455 and it became the model for markets across the Ottoman world. Today it has 61 covered streets and 29 inns for traveling traders, and more than 30,000 people work there.
Here in South Florida
The work we are doing at home
South Florida is where we live and where we are starting. We want to help build a community that holds more of its own wealth, trains its own people and looks after its own neighbors. This is how we are going about it.
Backing local startups and nonprofits
We support new businesses and community organizations across the area with guidance, introductions and a plain framework for building on fair, interest-free partnerships.
Working toward a public market
We are working toward a first souq in South Florida: a place where neighbors trade directly, with a free trading floor and fair rates for the services traders need.
Working toward the first guilds
We are working with skilled people to form guilds that share workshops and equipment, train apprentices and protect quality, so ownership of the work stays with those who do it.
Looking for land to set aside
We are looking for property that can be given as a waqf, and for the families and groups who might give it, so the land stays in the community’s hands for good.
Research and teaching
We study the local economy and teach the model through articles, talks and workshops, so more people can understand it and take part.
Connecting people who want to build
We bring together scholars, tradespeople, officials, funders and neighbors who want to build something lasting here.
Get involved
Four ways to take part
Benefactors
Fund the work and the markets, land and guilds it will sustain for generations.
Waqf Establishers
Give land or property to be held for the community for good, as a waqf.
Skilled Professionals
Share your trade or profession with the guilds, help set quality standards, or support the research.
Articles
Just economics, fair dealings, and true community building
Write to us
Questions, introductions and offers of help are welcome. We are based in South Florida, United States.