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By Mohammad Asghar
Dr. Mahathir, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, was on a visit to Bangladesh recently. He was heading a delegation of 50 businessmen of his country. He created a stir in the minds of the Muslims by asking them not only to take lessons from his long rule over his country, but also to stop trading with the United States in Dollars “as it only strengthens the capabilities of the United States to develop and supply arms to Israel that 'they then use to kill Muslims.’”
Bent upon seeing the United States completely crippled, he told his audience in Dhaka: "I've asked Arabs to sell oil in other currencies. If we don't use US dollars, the currency will become useless.” Explaining why he wants Muslims not to trade with America in dollars, Dr. Mahathir, the rising Savior of the Muslim Umma, reasoned: “If the oil and other raw materials possessed by Muslim countries are sold in currencies other than dollars, the dollar would devalue. “If the US is poor it cannot dominate the world.”
I recall the thunderous speech Dr. Mahathir had delivered before the congregation of 57 heads of states and governments which he, in his capacity as the Head of the Organization of Islamic Conference, organized in his country’s capital a year ago. This speech of his was highly critical of the Jews and their supposedly excessive influence over the American admirations. Flabbergasted by the Jews’ successes in almost all spheres of their life, he obliquely urged the Muslims to eliminate them from the face of the earth in retaliation of what they have been able to achieve so far, as well as, perhaps, for what they had allegedly done to the Prophet of Islam some 1,400 years ago.
Since Dr. Mahathir has been exhorting all Muslim nations to step into his footsteps in order to achieve successes and prosperity for their people, let us examine briefly what he had been able to achieve for his own people during his long rule over them. I start with Malaysia’ much taunted economic achievements.
Formed in 1963, the Federation of Malaysia is in possession of some of the natural resources, which no other Islamic State possesses. These are: Tin, Petroleum, Copper, Iron Ore, Natural Gas and Bauxite. It also has a large acreage of its land, planted with Rubber and Palm trees. Plenty of forest affords it a good income from export of its logs and timber-related products.
Malaysia produces 690,000 barrels of oil a day. Out of this production, it consumes only about 460,000 barrels a day. The remaining quantity of 230,000 barrels it exports (numbers based on 2003 estimates) to earn foreign currency. This means that unlike many other Muslim countries, Malaysia is not required to foot any bill for import of oil from abroad.
The export of oil, rubber and palm oil helps Malaysia in maintaining a healthy foreign exchange reserves. This advantage is not available, for example, to Bangladesh and Pakistan, two of the many poor Muslim countries of the world.
Malaysia began its industrialization in 1971. By late 1990s, it turned itself from being a producer of raw materials to a multi-sector economy. Whatever economic growth it has achieved in 30-plus years was driven by exports-particularly of electronics- to Japan and the United Sates. Out of necessity, it has its Ringgit pegged to the American Dollar.
Despite taking immense pride at the successes Malaysia has achieved in two-decades of its industrialization, as well as the economic wellbeing it brought to its people, its national GDP remains at $207.8 billion (2004 estimate). Notwithstanding Dr. Mahathir’s hullabaloo, his country still remains a ‘middle-income country.’
Malaysia’s national GDP has not yet been able to beat that of Bangladesh, which stood at $258.8 billions (estimate for 2004); despite the fact the latter is a small country, burdened with a large but mostly illiterate people, coupled with political instability, with almost no natural resources, agricultural products and industrial growth to boost its economy. Had Bangladesh possessed all the resources that Malaysia possesses and also, if it had been ruled by a patriot continuously for over 20 years, Bangladesh would have overtaken Malaysia economically a long time ago. Dr. Mahathir should have had this important fact in his mind, while prompting the leaders and the people of Bangladesh to follow his example for the purpose of building their country.
Dr. Mahathir seldom spoke of a unique advantage, which being an important component of his plan, enabled him to put his country on the road that led it to a moderate degree of progress and prosperity.
Malaysia is home to a large number of Chinese people (24% of the total population). Since they have been living for ages peacefully among the Malaysia’s reasonably tolerant Muslims, they hardly lagged behind in the economic activities of their compatriots. Spurred by their own interests, they played a major role in the industrialization of their country, when its government, under Dr. Mahathir, opened its doors to the foreign and local investors. Had the Chinese not been encouraged by the environment they have been living in, Malaysia would, in all probability, have remained where Indonesia finds itself today: Even though Indonesia also owns substantial natural resources, yet it has not been able to make much economic progress due, among others, to the corrupt nature of its leaders. The nonchalant attitude of its Chinese population has not been helping its stagnant economy, either. They had suffered enough in 1965 at the hands of the Indonesian Muslims, in consequence whereof, they still do not feel safe enough to direct their entrepreneurial, mercantile and industrial skills towards building a nation they hardly believe they are part of.
Dr. Mahathir’s call for the Muslim countries to trade with the United States in a currency other than Dollar smacks of a deep-rooted hatred he holds in his heart for that Christian-dominated country. This was not expected of a world-class statesman, as many of us used to think he was one; his public outburst against the United States made it clear that he is not only unfit for the 1.3 billion Muslims to repose their trust in him, his irresponsible stance has also exposed them to retaliatory actions by the non-Muslim countries of the world as well.
Every nation on earth has a right to choose a currency it would like to get paid in for the commodities it sells to other nations. If, for instance, America refuses to pay for the purchases it makes, say, from Saudi Arabia in a currency it wants to get paid in, in that event, Saudi Arabia has every right not to go ahead with the sale. But despite having this freedom of choice, most countries, including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, have chosen to transact their business in US Dollars, keeping their own convenience and benefits in their mind. Not only that, Malaysia has its currency pegged to US Dollars, due to the latter’s stability and strength.
But Saudi Arabia’s refusal to sell its goods in Dollars to America, specifically to weaken its economy is something that not only America, even a small country, like Singapore, is ever going to take idly. Faced with an offensive against its national economic interests, there is every possibility that America will retaliate economically against the offending nation or nations, thereby throwing the entire world into a financial crisis of unimaginable magnitude. Is this what Dr. Mahathir wants to achieve by pleading an economic attack on America?
While advocating an economic war against the United States, I am sure, Dr. Mahathir must have given enough thoughts to the effects it is going to have on some Muslim countries as well. Keeping in our mind the proposal he has made to them, let us suppose that:
1.The American economy has become weak due to an embargo put against it by the Muslim countries, does Dr. Mahathir know to which nation or nations his own country is going to export a large quantity of electronics it produces? Will his country be able to sustain its own economy if, for example, Japan, showing solidarity with the United States, stops importing its manufactured goods and agricultural products?
2. America stopped giving billions of Dollars in aid to Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan, to name a few, what is going to happen to the economies of these Muslim countries?
3. The United States retaliated against the oil-producing Muslim countries with an embargo of its own that denies them access, among others, to such items as oil rigs and their spare parts, does Dr. Mahathir know what will happen to the oil industries of those countries? Is he not aware of what had happened to Libya and Iraq, when America subjected them to an embargo of its own?
4. The Muslim oil producing countries heeded to Dr. Mahathir’s appeal, and all of them stopped exporting their oil to America, does he have any inkling of how these countries are going to manage their economies without finding another country that is willing to absorb the quantity that America has been buying, before the embargo, from them? Can the Muslim oil producing countries cut down their production and still be able to meet their national needs?
5. America and its allies succeeded in finding an alternative source for their energy needs in a few years’ time and then they decided collectively not to import any crude oil from the Islamic States. In such an event, can anyone imagine what is likely to happen to the economies of the oil exporting Muslim countries? Would they be able to sustain themselves without having enough oil revenues?
A cursory look at the affairs of the poor Muslim countries will reveal the fact that what they have been looking for long is not a confrontation with the United States and its allies; rather, all of them wish to better their economic conditions with help from them as well as from the wealthy Islamic nations. Dr. Mahathir never appeared to have laid much emphasis on this aspect of the Muslims’ desire, as a result of which, he himself not only avoided doing anything positive for his brethren in faith, when he was heading his country’s government, he continues to do so even now by not urging his country’s present Prime Minister to come to the aid of the financially disadvantaged Muslims of the world.
At the time when Malaysia’s economic activities had just taken off over thirty years ago, it needed foreign workers to help it execute its developmental projects. Since a large number of Bangladeshis needed jobs to earn their living, a good number of them found employments there. When the term of their employment ended, they were required to return home, but instead of doing that, many of them stayed on, and continued with their employments.
Knowing that Malaysia was a good destination for finding jobs, many more Bangladeshis entered its territory illegally and got employed. This helped them not only to overcome their desperate economic conditions back home, it also helped their Malaysian employers to carry out their business activities smoothly and profitably.
But without sympathizing with the illegal, but financially desperate workers of Bangladesh, the government of Malaysia, then headed by Dr. Mahathir himself, not only deported a large number of them, it also threw many of them into prisons. His successor is doing exactly the same thing; discarding the spirits of Islamic Ummaism, he too, is in the process of deporting a large number of Muslim workers back to their home countries. Those of the illegal workers, who do not have money to buy their air tickets, are being locked up in jails. If the leaders of Malaysia had believed in the concept of Umma, they would never have done those horrible things to their Muslim brethren.
Instead of asking the people of Bangladesh to trade with the United States in a currency other than the Dollar, Dr. Mahathir should prevail on his country’s government as well as on other governments of rich Muslim countries to absorb as many Bangladeshi workers in their countries as may be possible. This act of theirs will go a long way in alleviating the financial difficulties not only of Bangladesh government but also of its common people. He should also urge all rich Muslim countries that instead of keeping their surplus funds in the vaults of the Western banks, they should invest them in the poor Muslim countries, thereby helping them to come out of their poverty.
The above gesture from rich Muslim nations will show that they truly believe in the concept, spirit and the practices of Islamic Ummaism, founded and preached by the Prophet of Islam; their continuous failure to come to the aid of their poor brethren would, on the other hand, prove that they are willing to disobey even the command of their beloved Prophet, when their greed and lust for wealth dictate them to do so. Those Muslims who disobey the Prophet of Islam do not only forfeit their right to call themselves Muslims, they also deserve the scorn of Allah for their failure to live by the spirits of Ummaism. Poor Muslims of the world should not only know this fact, they must also avoid having any relationship with them in order to save their faith from being polluted by those hypocrites, who, often, do not hesitate to appear before them in the garb of the Prophet-loving and Allah-fearing Muslims.
Along with accusing the United States of America for the death of Muslims in the hand of Israelis, Dr. Mahathir has also blamed the Muslims for misinterpreting or misunderstanding their Quran. Stating that “the Muslims are lagging behind largely because of misinterpretation of Islamic rule,” he told his Dhaka audience:
“Ikra does not mean the reading of the holy Quran only, but also all branches of education, including science and technology.” He asserted: “Man-made laws are far being perfect and this is why we need to keep amending the laws.” “On the other hand, he confirmed, divine laws are perfect, but unfortunately these laws are interpreted by mere men- and interpretation by them may be wrong.”
As if pointing an accusing finger at the Quran, Dr. Mahathir concluded: “On each of God’s laws there are many interpretations which are contrary to each other. It is difficult to determine which interpretation is right and which wrong. So, we don’t get full benefit
of God’s laws” (The New Nation
of December 19, 2004).
Dr. Mahathir has raised an interesting question on the interpretation of the Quran, but before discussing it, I will like to point out that the word “Ikra,” as he is reported to have pronounced it, is not how it should have been pronounced. This is an Arabic word with which Sura 96 of the Quran begins.
It is pronounced “Iqraa,” with the Arabic alphabet “Qaf,’ and not “Kaf,” inserted between the alphabets “Alif” and “Ra.” The proper pronunciation of this word comes in the form of a guttural sound; without it, the word losses its real meaning and purport. Moreover, it does not only mean “to read,” it also means to “proclaim” and “announce.”
It is interesting to note that while Dr. Mahathir holds the misinterpretation of Islamic rule responsible for the misfortunes of the Muslims, he admits that “On each of God’s laws there are many interpretations which are contrary to each other. It is difficult to determine which interpretation is right and which wrong.”
Since the Wise and All-Knowing Allah had chosen to impart knowledge to the Muslims in words, each one of which carry different interpretations, the question is: Why Muslims should be held responsible for interpreting His words in one way or another? Should not Dr. Mahathir have asked Allah to come down to earth and tell Muslims what He had intended by using a particular word in the Quran, since no human being, according to him, is capable of correctly interpreting His words?
I end my article by first drawing a comparison between the Quran and a man-written book, and then asking a question related to both the books: A medical student becomes a doctor after learning the human anatomy from a man-written book, each word of which carried a number of interpretations. When patients die due to the misdiagnosis of their diseases by the ill-prepared doctor, should we hold him responsible for his patients’ deaths, or the book that failed to prepare him to treat them properly?
December 21, 2004