Self-Interest, Homo Islamicus and

I. Introduction
Homo economicus, the Economic Man, represents a rational human being formalized in certain social science models, especially in economics, who acts in self-interest to achieve in a goal-oriented manner. As John Kay puts it, "He is self interested, materialistic, and obsessed with calculating his worth." In the world of economics textbooks, "... he is the mainstay of economic life." The edifice of modern economics is built on the foundation of Homo economicus, where the behavior of this creature is assumed to be ascertained in the positivist tradition of social science.
Islamic economics, and its offshoot Islamic finance, are built on the foundation of Homo islamicus, the Islamic Man, which is claimed to be distinctive from Homo economicus. However, the Islamic financial institutions emerged as part of the Islamic banking movement, where interest (traditionally equated with riba) is regarded as prohibited and the underlying behavior of the constituent members, Homo islamicus, is assumed as part of an idealized society, imbued with Islamic values and commitment. Indeed, the accumulating experience of Islamic financial institutions is pointing to the reality that the idealized Homo islamicus seems to be behaving more like Homo economicus.
The distinction between the two constructs is important because often it is used to make the case that Islamic economics is fundamentally different from conventional economics. This claim of distinctiveness is made without considering (a) whether the positive economics (reflecting “what is”) is essentially different from Islamic economics; and (b) whether Islamic economics also acknowledges understanding economics at two levels: positive (what is) and normative (what should be). This essay briefly explores why the assumed distinction between the two constructs of human behavior is narrowing, or the real gap between the two is much narrower than commonly claimed or understood. The particular focus of this essay