"We are now at a crossroads in our history as an ummah. Never in the history of the ummah ... have we faced such great odds,”
"While the nations of the West basked in the glory of their global ascendancy, Muslim nations were largely consigned to what people term 'the Third World,"
These are the words of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in a speech to attendees at the recent World Islamic Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur.
On the face of it, these words seem reasonable, for Muslims to start to raise the standard of life in their societies. However such words from Muslim rulers are starting to ring hollow. Such words have been repeated for decades. For this reason more and more Muslims are asking questions about why Muslims find themselves in the position that they are in.
Abdullah Badawi mentioned in his speech that in the Muslim world 50% of the population lives on less that $2 a day. This means that there are a huge amount of Muslims living in desperate poverty. Many Muslims question how could this be so? The Muslim world has vast resources, of all types. It has oil, gas, minerals, vast areas of land suited to agriculture, as well as many other sources of wealth. It is beginning to dawn upon Muslims that it is not annual conferences to discuss economic initiatives that will change the lives of the poor amongst the Muslim Ummah. Rather a more radical change is needed.
Muslim Rulers In Awe of Western Economies
From his words it is clear that Abdullah Badawi and other Muslim rulers look to the West as a guide to follow. The hope being that if the West is doing something that allows them to progress, perhaps if the Muslim world follows, it too can achieve what the West has. This thinking is flawed, yet Muslim rulers and those around them persist in carrying such ideas, even after having seen these ideas fail time after time.
The fact of the matter is that the Western nations believe in secularism and the capitalist ideas that spring from it. For this reason they move in all aspects of life on a single basis. Their way of life believes in making economic activity the most important of issues in life. Therefore it is not surprising to find that Western nations have the greatest share of the world’s wealth. They use all means foul or fair, from doing straight deals, to spilling blood in order to bring wealth back to their countries. When trying to imitate the west the rulers in the Muslim world ought to consider the words of Muhammad (saw).
“Whosoever does an action that is not from our matter then it is rejected.”
It is a sad fact that the rulers of Muslim countries are in awe of the West. For this reason economic successes in the West are magnified and exaggerated in their minds. They do not appreciate that 13% of the US population is considered to be below the poverty line. It is only the elites in such countries that truly enjoy vast wealth. Most of the population in capitalist countries are heavily in debt and have to work hard to survive. They are far from economically prosperous. Is this the shortsighted vision that they have for Muslims across the globe? Where the rich will amass great wealth whist the poor continue in a miserable cycle of poverty.
Only the Khilafah Will Bring Prosperity to the Muslim World.
The rulers in the Muslim world cannot see beyond what the west has to offer them. They have little, if any confidence in Islam as a way of life. Their minds have been prepared by the kafir colonialist to view Islam as only a spiritual matter. They have been taught to hold the West and its ways in high esteem and as the only path to follow for progress.
Whilst the rulers of the Muslim World continue with their tired conferences, Muslims are sensing that all that western inspired economic policies that are being offered to them will end in more misery for the Ummah. They will only serve to enrich some corrupt individuals whilst the rest of the Ummah suffers. If Muslims choose what the west puts forward to them, they will continue to allow the West to exploit their resources and steal their wealth.
It is the rulers in the Muslim lands that allow west to plunder the wealth. They are truly negligent of their responsibility. It is these rulers that are meant to safeguard their people. Amongst the Muslim rulers there is cocktail of ignorance of the west’s ruthless greed fuelled motives and corruption. Most seek only to fill their pockets and those of their masters that support them in power. If those in positions of power in the Muslim world truly want to bring prosperity for all Muslims, they must break out of the mindset that has been built in them by the colonialists and think about the solution from Islam.
In the Khilafah, those that rule will be astute, aware of the kafir countries lust for the wealth of the Muslims. They will be obliged to look after the affairs of the people, not the interests of the West. They will be aware of the need to build an economy on the basis of Islam, so as to bring prosperity to all the people of the Islamic state. It is then and only then that Muslims will be given a chance to bring themselves out a cycle of poverty and desperation. To build industries and use what Allah (swt) has gifted them with to fulfil their needs. No longer will they feed the greed of the capitalists sitting in the west.
Abdur Rahman Siakhi
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