ABSTRACT
Although development has different meanings for different people, one meaning seems generally accepted: development means change. In the Islamic perspective, however, change is not taken for granted - at least not in all spheres of development such as the cosmic universe and the physical and moral laws which do not change over the years. Muslims believe that there is something in the total system of life that does not change and is not subject to modernization. Other things, of course, are expected to change and their development and modernization are encouraged. Thus, it is very important at the outset to thoroughly understand what is subject to change and what is not, from the Islamic point of view. This distinction is the crucial difference between the Islamic and the non-Islamic models and ideals of development.
