Headlines:
- Even More Capitalism is No Change for the Muslims of Pakistan
- The Atif Mian Controversy: Sanctities are Determined by the Viewpoint on Life
- Even though Pakistan is Wealthy, Its People are Committing Suicide through Stress of Poverty
- Nothing New about Naya (New) Pakistan with Respect to US Dictates
Even More Capitalism is No Change for the Muslims of Pakistan
There was no official word about the “tough decisions” the government would have to take due to “crippling economic situation”. However, Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, while talking to Dawn on 10 September 2018 after the meeting, hinted at further increase in the prices of electricity and gas. Promising to bring about the winds of change, the incumbent PTI government in Pakistan is heavily banking on an economic turnaround. However, it is focussed on the system that brought Pakistan to its current crippling economic situation, Capitalism Yet, the government’s focus on economic affairs is reflected in employing a galaxy of capitalist economic advisors from home and abroad, almost equal to the size of its cabinet.
Since the destruction of the Islamic Khilafah State, we live in the world where the materialistic ideology of capitalism is ruling the roost. It is the attraction of worldly goods and pleasures that are taken as fundamental within the capitalist canons of economic theory. Selfishness and sometimes the unscrupulous scramble for wealth has become the order of the day, leading to an immense concentration of wealth in the hands of the ruling elite, with the PTI not being an exception. Individuals and nations compete in the pursuit of wealth. Materialistic progress has become the priority personally and societally. Economic prosperity has become the barometer of success. Nations boast of their material progress and economic superiority over one and another. It is believed that the growth of a nation is primarily measured by the economic growth. Political governments of today’s democratic-capitalist states focus more on economic development rather than other aspects.
The perception of material progress or, so to say, economic development within the purview of Islamic way of life is far more subtle and sophisticated than that of capitalism, particularly in terms of priorities. Islam has obliged individuals to earn and allowed them to enjoy wealth that they earn through Halal means, so as to achieve economic well-being in the country. The economic well-being is specifically the ability to satisfy the basic needs of every person, and to enable the satisfaction of his luxuries. Shariah rulings ensure that individuals proceed steadily in earning livelihood, without being faced with obstacles, which may prevent them from earning through Halal means. Islam not only urges the individuals to earn, it also requires the state treasury to be responsible for the support of all the citizens. So, it made the support of the needy and less privileged as the state’s responsibility. Moreover, it made the provision of the basic needs of the Ummah as one of its duties, because the state is obliged to look after the affairs of Ummah.
Besides the permission to seek bounties of Allah (swt), the Holy Quran clearly sets out the foremost objective of the Muslim Ummah. Allah (swt) said, الَّذِينَ إِنْ مَكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَوْا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَمَرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْا عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ “(Allah will help) those who, if we give them power in the land, establish Salah and give Zakah, enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.” [Surah al- Hajj 22:41]. And Allah (swt) said, إنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرَى لِلْعَالَمِينَ “But it (Islam) is nothing else other than a Zikr (message) to al-‘alameen (the whole world until its end).” [Surah al-Anaam 6:90]. These verses, among many others, gave Muslims a worldview and a world mission of establishing the Deen and carrying it to the rest of the world. The Messenger ﷺ was given the obligation of spreading the Deen, and the way in which this was done was by establishing the State that waged Jihad. Instead of eyeing for optimal level of economic growth, the Islamic State is primarily entrusted with the task of carrying Islam to the rest of the world through Dawah and Jihad. Unlike Democratic-Capitalist state of today, the Islamic state of Khilafah prioritised Dawah and Jihad over economic interests. It is through of the state of Islam, the Khilafah, that the Ummah adopts the Islamic way of life in true sense of the word and sets out on the path of Islamic revival. Human history stands witness that the Islamic state of Khilafah led the nations of the world in all spheres of life for centuries. It is high time for the Ummah to break the shackles of Democratic-Capitalist State to establish Khilafah and usher in the Islamic way of life for the pleasure of Allah (swt).
The Atif Mian Controversy: Sanctities are Determined by the Viewpoint on Life
On 8 September 2018, London-based economist, Dr Imran Rasul, has become the second member of government’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to resign following the exclusion of US-based academic, Dr Atif R. Mian, who was asked to step down from the body due to widespread public backlash over his Qadiyani belief. Since the removal of the Qadiyani, Atif Mian, from the Economic Advisory Cabinet (EAC) by the government due to severe public pressure, the advocates of secular democracy in Pakistan are presenting the reasoning that this state is making faith a basis of appointment decisions rather than merit and talent, due to which we are being deprived of their skillset.
However, the concept of sanctities is not specific to the religious world, but is also completely present in the secular world. So whilst Isa (as) is now an acceptable target for them, and no longer considered sacred to them, their concept of ‘state’ is still sacred to them. So if someone burns a national flag, or abuses the country or nation, all of this would not be acceptable to a Western liberal. This would be intolerable for him and he would not accept such a person as the advisor to the country’s president. A person who denies liberalism and disparages it will not be put in charge of their media institutions. Therefore, secularism does not eliminate the concept of sanctities, it just turns it away from religion towards state, nation and country. So just like a secular person would not accept a non-patriotic person to be their president, or even an advisor; likewise, Muslims have sanctities attached to their deen, and a person who is trying to corrupt that Deen and wishes to assign his desired beliefs to their Deen is not acceptable to them. There is nothing more sacred to Muslims than Islam.
Economics is not a science like Physics, Chemistry or Biology, which are universal sciences and independent of political ideologies. The innovations in electric lights, watches, LED, smartphones, architecture, anatomy, chemical sciences and metallurgy which are considered to be the discovery and inventions of the West are fundamentally universal. RasulAllah ﷺ and his Sahaba (ra) adopted sciences from non-Muslims, such as expert sword-craft from the non-Muslims of Yemen, then the non-Muslims adopted our research and sciences later on, and now we can adopt it from them, because they are all sciences and so they are universal. However, economics, political theory, psychology, sociology and generally the social ‘sciences’ are derived from and completely dependent on a particular ideology and civilisation. These are not sciences as such. These were not adopted by the RasulAllah ﷺ and the Sahaba (ra) from Rome or Persia, nor did they adopt them from us later on. We cannot accept the opinion of a Western expert in the name of capability. How should wealth be generated and spent is a topic on which capitalist economics, socialist economics and Islamic economics all have their own specific philosophy and viewpoints. What is the fundamental problem in economy and how to solve it are all addressed by each differently. There are differing viewpoints of freedom of ownership and interest. Issues such as currency, import-export, company structure and taxation are all topics on which Allah (swt) has revealed His Commands. These are all the Commands of Allah, which we are bound to implement. So if an issue has been addressed by Allah (swt), how can be accept the advice of any so-called expert on it, who does not even believe that these Commands should be implemented? Would Christians be willing to appoint a Muslim who recites the Bible well as their Pope? We completely differ and disagree with all the advisors in that cabinet.
Moreover, when these secular liberals argue that we are not accepting capable people because of their faith, they are trying to create the impression that Atif Mian had some magic wand with which he was solving Pakistan’s problems, which will no longer be possible. The steps that Atif Mian are proposing to solve the economic issues are the same as presented by the rest of that cabinet, and are already accepted in professional circles. These advisors in capitalism think that when 7% GDP growth is achieved, we will eliminate poverty in 10 years due to the trickle-down effect! And this formula has already failed wherever capitalism has been applied because this system ensures the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, through instruments such as interest and privatization of what should be predominately state property or must be exclusively public property. What is all this model worth then? Therefore, Atif Mian has no magical formula. IMF has dozens of experts like Atif Mian, and they have already ruined the economies of many countries to their own advantage.
Even though Pakistan is Wealthy, its People are Committing Suicide through Stress of Poverty
On 10 September 2018, two women committed suicide in separate incidents in the Tharparkar district of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Reshma Kolhi, 22, took the extreme action in her house located in Sabosan village near Nagarparkar town by strangulating herself with a rope. She could not buy essentially needed footwear due to abject poverty, her husband, Wagho Kolhi, said. In Napelo village, near Dahil town, a 27-year-old woman, Samina Rahimoon, committed suicide by using the same method. Her relatives said she was facing starvation, as the family had nothing to eat for several days. It is totally unacceptable in any society that people commit suicide because of the stress of being unable to secure the basic necessities of life to survive. RasulAllah ﷺ said,«وَأَيُّمَا أَهْلُ عَرْصَةٍ أَصْبَحَ فِيهِمْ امْرُؤٌ جَائِعٌ فَقَدْ بَرِئَتْ مِنْهُمْ ذِمَّةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى» “Whenever the people of an area wake up with a hungry person amongst them, then Allah’s covenant and protection to them is absolved.” (Ahmad).
This extreme poverty is despite the fact that Pakistan has abundant agricultural and natural resources, like minerals, oil and gas. Pakistan ranks eighth worldwide in farm output and is one of the leading wheat and rice producing countries, exporting a substantial part of its produce. Pakistan has deposits of around forty valued minerals. Pakistan has the 7th largest coal reserves in the world with around 186 billion tons of coal. The Khewra salt mines are amongst the world’s biggest salt mines. They have an estimated total of 220 million tons of rock salt deposits. In Reko Diq, Balochistan, is the world’s 5th biggest gold mine. It has more than 54 million tonnes of Gold, worth more than US$ 2 Trillion. In Reko Diq more than 350,000 tonnes of copper can be mined annually. 500 million tonnes of iron ore, the primary ingredient in steel making, has been discovered in Chiniot. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Pakistan may have nine billion barrels of oil and 105 trillion cubic feet in shale and natural gas.
Pakistan has abundant resources but the current capitalist economic system does not distribute the resources, so as to ensure that each and every individual has their basic needs met and are able to secure some luxuries as well. The capitalist economic system focusses on production, whilst Islam’s economic system focusses on the distribution of wealth in a society. Hizb ut Tahrir in its Introduction to the Constitution adopted in Article 124 that, “The primary economic problem is the distribution of wealth and benefits to all of the subjects of the State, and facilitating their utilisation of this wealth and benefits, by enabling them to strive for them and possess them”. Islam has mandated that the basic needs of each and every citizen must be fulfilled by the state if he or his immediate relatives cannot do it. It is narrated that Abu Hurayrah (ra) said RasulAllah ﷺ said, «مَنْ تَرَكَ مَالاً فَلِوَرَثَتِهِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ كَلاًّ فَإِلَيْنَا» “If somebody dies (among the Muslims) leaving some property, the property will go to his heirs; and if he leaves orphans (dependents), we will take care of them.” (Bukhari and Muslim). RasulAllah ﷺ also said, «الإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَمَسْؤُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ» “The Imam (ruler) is a guardian and he is responsible for his subjects.” (Bukhari). So amongst the most important responsibilities of the State is to guarantee the fulfilment of basic needs and the coming Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood will ensure maintenance to poor from the income of the Bayt Al-Mal.
Nothing New about Naya (New) Pakistan with Respect to US Dictates
The senior US diplomat, Alice G. Wells, was quoted by Dawn as saying that the United States will be “very supportive,” if conditions are created for productive talks between India and Pakistan. Ms. Wells, who heads the Bureau for South and Central Asian affairs at the State Department, also said at a news briefing on 10 September 2018 that the United States had sent a two-pronged message to Pakistan, a desire to engage constructively and an emphasis on the need for Pakistan to implement its promises to fight all “terrorist” groups. So there is no “reset the terms of relation with the US,” it’s more of the “do more” status that previous governments accepted and pursued. Wells further insisted that the onus was on Pakistan’s side to undertake concrete actions to raise confidence in New Delhi, saying, “We understand and had frequent conversations with the Indian partners on the expectations that there would be demonstrable reduction in cross-border terrorism or infiltration that would help create the confidence for dialogue to take place.”
American policy regarding Pakistan is two pronged. Firstly to bring Afghan Taliban to the negotiation table, as Wells said, “Our concern that we haven’t seen since the President [Donald Trump’s] announcement of the South Asia strategy, the kind of decisive steps and sustained steps we believe are necessary to provide the appropriate incentives to convince the Taliban to go to the negotiating table.” Secondly, to strengthen India against China through normalization with Pakistan, by dampening the Muslim Occupied Kashmir resistance against Indian aggression, so much for Naya (New) Pakistan. Nothing has changed and the Bajwa-Imran regime is proceeding in the same direction as the Musharraf-Aziz, Kayani-Zardari and Raheel-Nawaz regimes before it.
If there was a sincere ruler to change Pakistan’s direction, he would permanently cut the supply line to the US troops that runs through Pakistan and expel the US private military and intelligence that orchestrated attacks on our armed forces to impose their war on us and seal the US embassy and consulates, which function as intelligence gathering outposts for the US State Department and Pentagon. He would also openly announce rejection of any talks with the Americans to legitimize their permanent presence on the doorstep of the world’s only Muslim nuclear power. Only the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood will cut the thin thread by which the US presence hangs in the region. It alone will work to unify all the Muslims of the region and the world into the single most resourceful state in the world. Allah (swt) said,الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا “Those who take disbelievers for allies instead of believers, do they seek power with them? Verily, then to Allah belongs all power.” [Surah an-Nisa’a 4:139].