The capitalist ideology emerged in the 18th century as a result of intellectual struggle between the medieval church and philosophers/liberators inside Europe. Since then almost all the European countries and the United States afterwards following upheavals adopted it. Currently the United States is the primary custodian/promoter of this ideology that is being aggressively propagated globally especially after the collapse of the Communist ideology. Capitalism has a stranglehold on virtually the entire world from the East to West, yet this ideology is irredeemably crooked causing numerous unparalleled catastrophes for humanity.
First: The primary doctrine that anchors the capitalist ideology is the secular thought that separates religion from the state/ruling. This thought serves to degrade, dishonor and muddle human beings for whom the religious instinct is indisputably part of their essential nature. A human being’s instincts confirm the existence of the Creator, the Supreme and the Most Able; and that is why human beings throughout the generations inevitably performed certain acts of worship to praise and glorify their Creator contrary to the secular capitalist doctrine that denies the same implicitly by advocating to humanity that the issue of the existence or non-existence of the Creator is not imperative. Furthermore, secularism argues that even if the Creator exists then He has no authority or part to play in the state or ruling affairs of a country or the affairs of the people. Thus this is how the corrupt false capitalist thought speaks of the Almighty Creator has nothing to do with the organization of the life of His creatures!
أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
“Now surely evil is what they judge”
(an-Nahl: 59)
Second: Politically, the capitalist governing system promotes multiparty democracy is prescribed without the Creator, making the laws to their advantage to dominate the people thus causing strife between people. Without mentioning the fact that capitalist politics is based on Machiavelli’s view which promotes and justifies any means to meet an individual’s political objectives. Such an evil foundation leads to what we witness of corrupt political maneuvers, all kinds of witch-hunting and numerous vices occurring such as bribery, tribalism, killings, lies, scandals, discrimination, scandals and use of vulgar language even in their parliaments like what occurred between MPs of the Tanzanian Constitution Committee including Ms. Asha Bakar etc. In addition, hostilities and mass killings like that of January 2001 in Pemba Island and tribal massacres in Kenya in 2007/2008. All this causes loss of lives, properties and acrimony between communities. In capitalism, politics is a gateway to riches and not an institution to serve citizens as they allege.
This situation is clearly exposed even in countries that are custodians of the ideology such as America. For example, more than half of Congress members in America own more than $1 million and 200 Members of Congress are billionaires. This truth is also evident in our local politicians who by themselves, their families and cronies siphon the country’s wealth at unimaginable levels while ordinary citizens perish. Not to mention the fact that politicians routinely bend laws to win mega-tenders and major businesses like minerals, energy and electricity.
Third: On the legal front, secularism came to complicate matters for humanity by granting an exclusive elite the power of making laws on behalf of the rest; instead of adopting and executing the laws from their Creator. Democratic parliaments claim that they represent the people and argue they are different from the rulers of previous regimes like theocracy and medieval kings who claimed the divine right to rule over people; however the truth is that current parliaments are similar to those who claimed theocratic rule because parliament members are given all kinds of legal immunity and also given hefty perks denied to the masses. Furthermore, parliamentary laws cause chaos and catastrophes to humanity since those laws emanate from the weak, limited, prejudiced minds of human beings who can never know the basic needs of others unlike the Creator who knows His Creation profoundly. Due to that, the masses fundamentally distrust these laws and have utterly lost faith in politicians leading to people taking the law into their own hands, citizens storming police stations as was exposed in Tanzania etc.
Fourth: On the economic front, this has caused total ruin to human beings as a result of capitalism’s promotion of insatiable acquisition of wealth and interests at any cost. The primary criterion for action is based on benefit and self-interest irrespective of the divine law; this criterion has led to a train of problems to humanity. Thus the famous capitalist statement, “There are no permanent friends only permanent interests.” This view is their fundamental guide in economics and other spheres of life. Moreover the capitalist ideology defines happiness and success as the amassing of wealth by human beings; such are the evil thoughts of famous philosophers like Adam Smith, the author of the books titled The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Moreover capitalist ideology advocates the concepts of Social Darwinism are anchored on “might is right” and “survival of the fittest.” Due to such inhuman thoughts developed capitalist countries for centuries have colonized young countries, waging war against Muslims and Islam in the name of war against terrorism, and looted resources in our countries via their companies with the help of their puppets in the our lands. Meanwhile the citizens of the said developing countries are suffering endemic problems starting with poverty, poor health, nomadic lifestyle of living etc. thereby exacerbating socio-economic inequality and contributing to high unemployment rates. The latest report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned that unemployment and social uncertainties will increase for the next five years, a situation caused by slow economic growth, rising inequality and conflicts.
In Tanzania a population of almost 6 million is unemployed and the income of the majority is below $1 per day. While in Kenya, based on the BBC Swahili programme known as ‘Sema Kenya’ that aired on June 2013 where over 500 university graduates apply for every 1 job position advertised in Kenya. Capitalism does not intend to distribute wealth to every citizen; rather it guarantees the hoarding and monopolization of wealth by a handful of elites who then enslave the masses as their employees. For example, the American economy is virtually owned by 80 American families whereas the global economy is owned by a tiny 5% of the total population. Not to mention the evil concept of “freedom of ownership” which has led to the privatization of public properties while the rulers and civil servants associate themselves with acts of bribery and corruption to protect foreign multinational companies. Based on a 2014 report by Transparency International, Tanzania is at the top with corruption and public financial embezzlement, bribery and pilferage in the African continent, while Kenya is also on the same list.
Fifth: On the social front, this ideology with its call to ‘freedom’ has caused bedlam and other vices including prostitution, alcoholism, same sex marriages as witnessed in Western countries which approve and force countries in the so-called Third World to blindly imitate the same. Also the increase in divorce cases, increase in children born out of wedlock and immoral acts committed across the globe. The 2011 report by National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) in Kenya stated that alcoholism has serious consequences upon society and that half of alcoholics are between the age of 10 and 19 years old.
Sixth: With respect to scientific and technological development, Western countries pride themselves as successful but this has led to dreadful filth in society which cannot be compensated by the alleged ‘success’. For example the American author Allen Bloom in his book, The Closing of the American Mind, confirms that in America every 3 seconds someone is raped and every 6 minutes someone is killed. Also former US President Dwight Eisenhower happened to state the following, “We have gone up to the moon but we are making the earth dirty; we have intentions of peace but we end in war. Generations that have seen successful research on the atom must return to heal the destructions of human beings”.
Also research conducted in England revealed that 43% of women between the age of 18 and 34 have gone through acts of gender discrimination in the public domain. Without mentioning social crisis like suicides as reported by the Lancet Psychiatry Journal following research that confirmed that unemployment in the world between the year 2000 and 2011 caused the deaths of 45,000 people.
Seventh: With respect to basic social services, capitalism has failed miserably to offer them to citizens as is their right. Instead basic social services are provided, if at all, as if they are a favour from the state and most of the time they coerce citizens to contribute to the provisioning of the services. For example, Kenya is facing a serious collapse in the education sector as witnessed by endemic teachers’ strikes including the latest worst strike that ended on 4th October, 2015. And Tanzania faces similar or worse problems. For example, the number of pupils in a single class in primary school reaches up to 200 pupils. Also only 35.09% of primary school pupils move onto secondary school. Other services like health and housing are similarly dilapidated and in terrible condition, while only 15% of Tanzanians have access to electricity services, 54% have access to clean water and 13% have access to official lavatories.
Oh Muslims and Human beings as a whole!
Those are just some of the catastrophes and calamites caused by the capitalist ideology and its evil thoughts that is being aggressively propagated today across the world in the name of ‘development’ and ‘progress’ to be blindly imitated by humanity. It is up to Muslims and the humanity as a whole to awaken and realize the true cause of the current endemic problems and catastrophes so that they reject capitalism and instead promote and establish the alternative ideology of Islam which guarantees peace, justice and tranquility to all human beings.
Hizb ut-Tahrir East Africa
08 Safar 1437 AH
20/11/2015 CE