(DR JAVED JAMIL) I often face the allegation that I only blame West and overlook the shortcomings of Muslims or that I only see the negatives of the West. This is not true. I have been equally critical of West, West’s Muslim allies in their wars and civil wars and the forces of Hindutva. I believe in the word “comprehensive” and I have always tried to touch all the factors responsible for the chaos we see at the international, national and Muslim levels. But I take care not to attack people or communities but direct my attack against false and destructive ideologies, concepts and programmes, and though Islam continues to be my yardstick, I present statistical data and scientific facts to prove the dangers of those practices and concepts. I have focused more on an ideological onslaught against Westernism because it is the system that pervades the world today and because very few people have been challenging the Western philosophies and concepts. However, I have never failed to admit the positives of West. But their ideological positions dominated by the dominance of economic fundamentalism and the desire to monopolize the world have undone many if not all their achievements. They have developed the most advanced healthcare system but still there are huge health related issues due to alcoholism, gambling, sexual immoralities, smoking, drugs, etc. The top ten positions in the Global Burden of Deaths are occupied by diseases almost all of which relate to the practices, which have been declared Haram in Islam and have been normalized, legalized, institutionalized and globalised by Westernism. Despite the biggest law enforcement system in the world, West has maximum incidences of murders, rapes, suicides and their prisons are filled with prisoners. Despite a highly advanced Social system, they have huge social problems including promiscuity, prostitution, teenage pregnancies, abortions, outside wedlock children, children living with single parents, suicides, etc. They have one of the maximum rates of murders and attempted murders, rapes and attempted rapes, suicides and attempted suicides. Yes, they know how to tackle problems, and their principle is to first commercialise problems and then commercialise solutions. For dealing with alcohol, they have rehabilitation centres, for dealing with pregnancies they have abortion clinics, for dealing with criminals they have highly advanced prisons. And they have used their high technological advancement in killing people in the wars and through supplies of lethal weapons to the whole world. And they always have the logic to justify millions of deaths caused by them, and against the thousands of deaths caused by others. It is not the Western people and Western scientists but the Western forces of economics and politics that are the worst enemies of peace and civilization.
I will like here to reproduce an excerpt from “Muslims Most Civilized, Yet Not Enough”:
“West has no claim to Civilisation
West can certainly claim that it is the most developed part of the world in terms of scientific and technological advancement, quality of infrastructure within their countries and prosperity and power. Had these attainments resulted in freedom from violence, within and abroad, righteousness among people with clear distinction between beneficial and harmful practices and attitudes, respect and loyalty to relationships, value of human life and sympathetic behaviour towards smaller nations, West could definitely have also laid its claim to civilisation. But ah! Firstly, West’s economic, political and military power was achieved through more wrongful ways than genuine; and secondly, West has also misused these powers with colossal destruction of human lives and peaceful living. The bright stars of the horizon of Westernism have all degenerated into black holes – “Democracy” into Corporatocracy, “Secularism” into negation of religious morality, “freedom” into license to commit evils and “human rights” into defence of criminals and perverts. Despite its prosperity and power, West has been responsible for:
• Most of the wars in the last century, most of deaths in those wars, consuming more than 160 million lives
• Most invasions; including colonisations at a massive scale;
• Most attacks on countries including attacks on civilians;
• The only nuclear attacks made on the surface of the earth;
• Destruction of aborigines in big numbers;
• Most deaths in Muslim countries including more than 3 million since the beginning of the new century;
• Deaths of at least 200 million foetuses in last 10 years;
• Huge number of murders and rapes (one fourth to one half of women having experienced rapes) within their countries;
• Huge alcohol and gambling related deaths and other societal problems;
• Rising number of deaths related to AIDS leading to tens of millions of orphans; and
• Several million suicides (highest in the world).
Western system has also led to behaviours leading to total disintegration of family system with:
• Up to 50 pc of abortion rates;
• Up to 50 pc children born out of wedlock;
• At least 30 pc children living in single parent homes;
• Ever increasing number of gay couples.
Western system has also been responsible for
• Huge increase in business related to sex, alcohol, gambling and organised violence; with huge effects on health, family and society;
• Maximum damage to environment, causing massive damage;
• Maximum economic disparity within the countries and among the countries;
• Monopolisation of world resources; and
• Stockpiling of weapons of massive destruction.
Can anybody deny these facts? How can then West make even a small claim to civilisation?
However, it should be stressed here that it is not the Western people who are primarily responsible for it. They are as good and bad as any people can be on the surface of the earth. Like all people, they too become the victims of the designs of the few who tend to reign and rule the countries, societies and communities. Like all the people most of the time they have failed to realise what their masters are up to. Like all the people, one day will come, hopefully sooner than later, when they will also realise the vices of the system, which has brought havoc in their lives and the lives of their brothers and sisters in the rest of the humankind. Hopefully they will rise to the occasion and challenge the system that has claimed to give them certain prosperity but has ravished peace, has claimed to give them freedom but through this freedom has made them addicts of dangerous practices and attitudes and has made them perpetual captives of their ever increasing material needs.”
Even in that book, I have allotted more than one third of the book to describe the shortcomings of Muslims and their solutions. In “Muslim Vision..” of course, the whole work of more than 350 pages addresses the problems of Indian Muslims and their solutions. But unlike Mr Ahmad Rasheed Sherwani (whom I respect a lot for his outstanding efforts on the educational front), I never hurl abuses against Muslims nor against people of West or other communities. Almost always, my ire is directed against false ideologies, concepts, policies and programmes and the political and economic forces behind them.
For more than5 years, I have been busy dealing with the problems faced by Indian Muslims. Alhamdulillah, now more and more people are coming up with their Muslim visions and roadmaps of empowerment. I insisted on Comprehensive empowerment (Ideological, social including educational, women’s empowerment, etc; economic empowerment and political empowerment.). Previously, Muslims were focusing only on educational empowerment.
I have been amazed at the response on the burkini issue. The Burkini ban symbolizes not only a war against Islam and Muslims but also a war against morality and modesty, which the Big Business believes to be its biggest enemies. It is not the question of Culture. The cultural values of Christians regarding morality and modesty are not much different from Islam’s. But in the last 2 centuries, the economic forces have sidelined the Christianity and Christian culture for their own ends.
Muslims will not be able to lead a peaceful life unless they understand the games of the forces that control the globe, unite among themselves and with all other right thinking people belonging to other religions, and will match Western technological advancement.