Here's an idea: let's move world finance over to the Islamic paradigm!
Muslims should take advantage of the global financial crisis to build an economic system compatible with Islamic principles, influential Sunni cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said on Sunday.
"The collapse of the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market is proof that it is in crisis and shows that Islamic economic philosophy is holding up," said the Egyptian-born, Qatar-based cleric.
"The Western system has collapsed and we have a complete economic philosophy as well as spiritual strength," he said at Sunday's opening of a conference on Jerusalem.
"All riches are ours... the Islamic nation has all or nearly all the oil and we have an economic philosophy that no one else has," Qaradawi said.
This explains why all the citizens of Islamic theocracies live in such luxury and harbor no resentment toward those who are faring better, economically speaking.
Really, when it comes down to it, it's not the possession of a "complete economic philosophy" or "spiritual strength"-- it's just the oil, guys. Whenever we Westerners get off our fat, lazy asses and seriously explore pathways to energy independence, such statements are going to sound more hollow than they already do.
UPDATE: This cleric should worry. The economic crisis obviously isn't that severe for everybody.
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7 comments:
I imagine once we exploit alternative fuels and sources to their fullest, their resentment will grow as we will not be beholdent to them and their black gold. The tide is turning. They should be more worried than they are. Their only concession to diversification is an expanding tourist market. If the economy crashes, that woun't be particularly profitable, either. Time to scramble...
Yes, and then in tru Kevin style, you link to an article on prostitution and I am left thinking, "Hmmm. Spiritual in the profane...spiritual in the profane... Oh, I know! They highlight the need for more stable and functioning marriages? Uh, married people learning how to fully get their groove on within the confines of marriage?" Er...I am grasping here.
This is one of my many issues with religion of any kind—It's always 'us' and 'them'.
Completely intellectually juvenile.
True, badbabylon. We live in a global economy and a world civilization. The prosperity of one is felt by all, as is the poverty. We stand chastised.
I'd like to know more about what BadBabylon means before weighing in. The "us and them" thing is actually kinda hard to avoid-- something the "why can't we all just get along?" crowd often doesn't understand. I'd like to get into this more in a subsequent post.
Kevin
I think you are all a little too quick to dismiss something you probably don't understand.
First of all, not all Islamic countries are major oil suppliers. Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh---which collectively contain a vast portion of the world's Muslim population---don't fit your stereotypes.
Nor do the majority of citizens of such countries harbor "resentment" toward richer countries---and when they do, this resentment often has to do with the fact that these richer countries have assassinated their leaders, wreaked war and destruction, and supported the oligarchs in power in the first place. They often have reason to be resentful.
Secondly, there are Islamic financial institutions in the West, something you should probably be interested in if you are surveying the religious diversity of the US. This article outlines the principles of Islamic finance, and its appeal and challenges in the days ahead.
You may laugh at this, but given that Islam is the world's fastest growing religion, you may be better off trying to understand rather than just making sarcastic remarks.
I forgot to mention this article in my first post:
Non Muslims Signing Up for Islamic Bank Accounts.
Without giving too much credibility to the Sheik's opposition to "capitalism", it's not a stretch to say that Islamic finance does offer an ethical alternative.
Sufi Guy,
You make good points. I probably should have been clearer that my main problem is with the heedless triumphalism of the stupid cleric, who should also have a better understanding of how finances work in the West before tossing off silly comments for the believing masses.
Personally, though, I'm suspicious of any religion-based financial system for the same reason I'm suspicious of ethnically-based ones (like the Korean gyae system). These systems might work well within limited groups (and even the world's fastest-growing religion is a limited group, especially considering its internal diversity), but they often fail miserably when applied widely to "outsiders."
You're right that a deeper appreciation of the complexity of the issue is important (scholar Bernard Lewis, for example, has a lot to say about the inadequacy of a facile Islam/West dichotomy), but I think you'll grant that the cleric is a triumphalist fool. Sure: there are plenty of non-Muslim fools to match him, but this doesn't make the cleric any less foolish. Being foolish, he's worthy of a bit of sarcasm.
Kevin
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