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The Muslim community has reacted by mass protests essentially when their sentiments have been hurt.
It is not just a coincidence that articles by Huqani and Friedman are published in March 2007 issue of Islamic Voice. Both want the Muslim community to stand up and speak against intra community fighting. “When they can stand up to Danish Cartoonist, why not for a better cause?” they ask. On a cursory examination, it appears they are right and as if there is madness come upon our community. A little deeper probing shows that there is indeed a method in madness. The Muslim community has reacted by mass protests essentially when their sentiments have been hurt. It is just a coincidence that the cartoonist in the present case is a European. Similar protests were held against Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen too, who, we know very well have their origin in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore repeating the phrase “clash of civilizations” does not hold any water and will certainly not help the American administration to palm off the blunders they have committed in the Muslim world on false premises. If the Muslim community does not react to the blood letting in Iraq or in Dafour, it is simply because the Muslims have never reacted to such situations before. They did not react, the way these two authors want, to the nine year war between Iraq and Iran which killed many more Muslims. Neither were there any protest marches for what went on in Afghanistan after the Soviets left. Call it the “Muslims’ sense of Priorities” but they have the right to have their own. This is not to say that all their priorities are wrong as perceived by the west. The Muslim community is raising strong voice against such unjust and gruesome practices as “Honor killing”, “Honor rape” and “annulment of marriages of happily and legally wedded couples” in the Muslim world without being prompted by the so called upholders of democracy and human rights. The recent election in the Palestinian Authority was declared as the most democratically held one, by all the political observers until Hamas won it. Decades ago a similar situation prevailed in Algeria. Democratically held elections were abrogated when it was becoming clear that Islamic Salvation Front was winning it. It is also known that the countries that pretend to support democracies were responsible for it. And what about the human rights violation during the Iran Iraq war. I still remember, in the early eighties, the Iranians living in the US distributing pamphlets outside the mosques detailing the consequences of chemical weapons used by Iraq. The upholders of human rights did not bat their eyelids as Iran was their enemy.
What is now happening in Iraq can be simply summed up as: Americans want the present pro-US government in Iraq to be just strong enough to sign away the Iraqi oil wealth to the American companies. Those who do not want this are trying to ensure that the present government is weak enough not to commit this blunder. There is inefficiency on both sides. American soldiers want to be cozy in the green zone, or secure in their humvees or return to their country. The opponents are missing their targets too often since one cannot have experienced suicide bombers!! It is a one time affair. The only lesson that can be learnt is the futility of suicide attacks. The consequence is for every one to see. Then what is the role of a Muslim Martin Luther King even if such a person pops up from somewhere?
Egalitarian Nature of Social System
The poor economic status of Muslims should not in actuality dishearten us for two good reasons.
1. Islam is a religion which has attracted by far the largest number of poor people to its fold. The egalitarian nature of its social system is the key. In south Asia, for instance, large scale conversion of Bengali speaking people to Islam, who now the form the most populous, but poor Muslim nation is a classic example. T.W Arnold in his book “The Preaching of Islam” writes about the conversions in Bengal as follows:
“To these poor people, fishermen, hunters, pirates, low caste tillers of the soil, Islam came as a revelation from on high. It was the creed of the ruling race, its missionaries were men of zeal who brought the Gospel of unity and the equality of men in its sight to a despised and a neglected population. The initiatory rite rendered relapse impossible and made the proselyte and his posterity believers for ever”
Closer home, it is not difficult for Americans to see what happened in their country. The poor and the downtrodden African Asians started the “Black Muslim Movement” decades ago. They used to call themselves Bilalians as a mark of remembrance of how the Prophet of Allah treated Hazrath Bilal(RA). The situation is aptly described on one web site which goes as follows:
“It is well known that the Black Muslim Cult, or as some have termed it, the nation of Islam or by what ever name we wish to apply to it, it is here and it is penetrating many of the ghettoes of the united states and it is holding out hope to many black people who are seeking some relief from the great oppression which has descended upon a large section of our populous”
It is therefore natural to see more Muslims in an economically poor state. It is not that Islam has rendered them poor, but it is the poor who have chosen this religion for obvious reasons.
2. The terms used to describe the economic health of a nation like the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the Human Development Index (HDI) notwithstanding any correction termed as purchasing power parity (PPP) are not really meaningful when it comes to “Welfare Economics”
In the initial years after the formation of Bangladesh, it was often joked in the US that the per capita GDP of Bangladesh is equal to a day’s rent in a Hyatt Regency! What does it really means in terms of satisfaction level or happiness level or General Well-Being (GWB) of the people? Adrian G. White, University of Leicester ,School of Psychology in one of his article quotes as follows: “A recent survey (Easton, 2006) found that 81% of the UK population agreed that the Government’s primary objective should be the creation of happiness not wealth.”…. and“It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB – general well-being” (BBC, 2006).”
Now there are techniques to quantify the happiness factor too; e.g. According to one such “Happiness Planet Index” the ranking of Bangladesh is 45 among a comity of 178 countries. USA ranks far below at a dismal 150. UK is at 108 and Russia at 172 the lowest for a technologically advanced country. India stands at 62
The moral of the story is thus, within whatever the economic parameters we find ourselves in, we should strive to be hard working, honest, upright, gentle and compassionate loving and caring to family and neighbours, charitable and all that our Prophet (Pbuh) has taught us to be.
(The writer can be reached at dr.a.ahmed@sify.com)
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