Why Are The Islamic Countries Poor?
By Syed Akbar Ali
I have spoken about this before. Here is more information which I hope will be useful. I delivered a talk at the INTAN the other day (Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara). The topic was the rebellion going on in the Arab countries. I was invited to speak because of my book ‘Malaysia And The Club of Doom – The Collapse of the Islamic Countries’.
I only had 15 minutes so I could only say some of the things which I had prepared to speak.
I did mention about humanistic values versus preserving the status quo. Because I was addressing senior Civil Servants, I put it across that whatever policies we formulate or belief systems that we uphold - there is always an economic cost to it. It is important that we do not burden the people with extra cost. I also stated that when the costs go up, it is always the poor people who suffer the most. The poor people end up paying more.
The Muslims must make sure that their beliefs do not burden themselves with extra costs in comparison with the non Muslims. Because if the Muslims end up suffering higher costs of living, as a result of their belief systems (plural because there are many belief systems among Muslims), then after the passage of time, they will become poorer than the non Muslims around them. So please don’t blame others for our problems.
In Malay there is a saying ‘biar mati anak jangan mati adat’. In other words, we shall preserve the status quo (our traditions, our culture, our belief systems) at all cost.Mati anak pun takpe, asalkan kita tidak tinggalkan adat.
This concept goes directly against the idea of humanistic values. Humanistic values means you worry more about the welfare of the individual human being. No need to care so much about traditions, beliefs and such which may sacrifice the needs and rights of the individual. Many of the fastest developing countries in the world today that used to be poor (China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Brazil) are making rapid advances because their society is now more humanistic compared to before. They have at last learnt to ignore stifling traditions, choking cultures, caste systems and outdated religious beliefs. They have realised that paying close attention to the individuals welfare and well being (using science, common sense, logic and modern management) yields an overall higher standard of living for the society.
But sad to say the vast majority of Muslims are less humanistic. They are more into preserving the status quo. Biar mati anak. (Remember the ‘tangkap khalwat’ gangsters who chased people to jump to death from the balconies and the buildings).
Here are some other examples.
I have a friend who has a PhD. He was very much into all things Soofy. At least until he ran into an upstart, Yours Truly. I reminded him often about Goofy. So now he is much less of a *oofy. Don’t worry he rarely reads my Blog. Only if I remind him about something.
My friend makes an annual pilgrimage to South Africa where he meets his *oofy friends. In Durban the Muslims have proudly and successfully campaigned and won a ‘concession’ from the authorities or powers that be that supermarkets and fresh markets conform with halal labeling for food, including vegetables. Organic fertilizers from certain animals should not be used in the farms, handling has to be segregated etc. But this adds to the costs of production. The end result is that ‘halal’ tomatoes and cabbages can cost as much as 20% more than the regular variety of tomatoes sold in the markets.
So the cost of living has gone up for the Muslims in Durban. They pay 20% more for some of the vegetables. They become poorer first. The poor suffer the most. How can there be such a thing as a ‘non halal’ tomato? Even if pig manure was used to fertilise the tomatoes, it is just a plant that absorbs nutrients from the soil. Anyway, this insistence costs the Muslims more money. It adds to the Muslims cost of living. It makes the poor poorer.
Until recently, (or even now) in many Islamic countries there is no such thing as simple hire purchase financing. A young man who is 20 years old cannot get a simple loan to buy a motorbike. So his mobility and economic prospects are limited. Why is there no hire purchase financing? Because it is ‘Western’, ‘chistian’, ‘riba’, ‘unIslamic’, ‘we are not used to such things’ etc etc.
The non Muslims do not suffer such ‘*oofyisms’ hence they are less constrained in their economic development.
I have mentioned about the fish farm in Melaka before. The Chinese farmer used to grow Tilapia, a cheap and affordable fish for the local market. Cheap and affordable means many Muslim people can also eat it lah. I like Tilapia fried with kicap and cili pedas from the local warong. With rice, ‘begedil’ and kuah lemak it is yummy.
Anyway the ‘halal certificate’ people suddenly imposed wild restrictions on the Chinese Tilapia farmer. He was feeding the Tilapia offal (perut and sisa bangkai) from the market, especially perut ayam or chicken offal. The ‘halal people’ told him that if he wanted a halal certification, he could only give the Tilapia offal (perut ayam) from halal slaughtered chicken !! Folks, the profit margin on Tilapia from farm to wholesaler is less than one Ringgit per kilo. Now with the new halal rules imposed, the profit margin went out the window. His costs of production went up. So the Chinese farmer stopped producing Tilapia fish.
So now the Muslim people who were the biggest consumers of Tilapia in that area, have less Tilapia to buy. The prices of other fish will also go up. Siapa jadi miskin dulu? The saddest thing is there is one less food item to be put on the table for the children.
The last example is the famous judgement by Justice Abdul Wahab Patail against the Islamic bank. An Islamic bank was trying to bully and impoverish a Muslim borrower who had defaulted on a loan just a few years into their housing loan. The Islamic bank wanted the Muslim borrower to pay for the entire loan plus profit (capital plus interest) for the full tenure of the loan. This is worse than Shylock the Jewish moneylender and the Ah Longs all put together. So Justice Abdul Wahab Patail, taking the humanistic view, ruled against the Bank. He said the Bank can only ask for the return of its principal amount plus whatever profit (aka interest) that must be calculated until the date of the default. Not more than that.
The Islamic banks soon went into panic stations. They got together, complained to the Government and got the rules changed. ‘Biar mati anak, jangan mati adat’ kicked in. We must preserve the status quo, at all cost. So now, if there is a dispute at the Courts, all Islamic banking loans must be deferred to the Shariah Advisor of Bank Negara Malaysia. Biar mati anak dulu.
So this is how the Muslims become poorer. The Muslims impoverish themselves.
Is the Quran a humanistic document or does it ask us to preserve some strange status quo? Is the Quran a “biar mati anak, jangan mati adat’ type of document.
Here are some verses from the Quran that provide the answer:
Surah 2:170 “When they are told, "Follow what GOD has revealed herein," they say, "We follow only what we found our parents doing." What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?”
It is possible that our parents and grandparents did not know much or were themselves not clear about things. This is especially true of the Muslims. There are a thousand different interpretations, sects, beliefs and theologies dividing the Muslims around the world today.
The Muslims just blindly follow what their previous generations told them was the truth, without bothering to check if indeed these teachings are true or false. And most if not ALL of these teachings are extra Quranic. They cannot be found in the Quran.
So it will be disastrous if we insist on blindly upholding what our parents believed in. So lets not rely too much on “adat” and “kepercayaan”, especially when it is NOT from the Quran. Here is another one from the Quran :
Surah 7:172 - 173 "Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: "Am I not your Lord?" They all said, "Yes. We bear witness." Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were not aware of this." Nor can you say, "It was our parents who associated things, and we simply followed in their footsteps. Will You punish us because of what others have innovated?"
So we point the finger at our ancestors, our parents, our elders. We cannot push the blame on our parents, our adat, our belief system which we have inherited from our parents.
We cannot say ‘Takda, takda, ini semua bukan salah saya. Tok moyang saya yang ajar saya buat macam ini. Saya ikut saja. Dia kata saya tak boleh guna akal. Saya ikut saja. Saya tak tahu apa pun.”
In the meantime, in this life here on earth, siapa jadi miskin dulu? Biar mati anak dulu ke?
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