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hat is the most challenging task in this maddeningly materialist world? Well, consciously lowering our lifestyle, at least a level or two, when we really can and afford to do it. If not, we all could end up fighting for the resources that are getting scarcer each day, and no high price could prevent that – for there hardly would be any resources left.
Sounds scary, but that seems to be the important message of one of the key speakers at the 1st International Islamic Exhibition and Conference going on in Mumbai currently. http://www.peaceconference.in/ The 10-day IIE&C will conclude on December 2, 2007.
“It is important that we cut down on our greed-fed demands for wanting to live the American Dream – more and more of everything”, said Abdur Raheem Green, a Christian from UK who has embraced Islam as his religion. “Our current lifestyle would require three planets to satisfy our lifestyle, but the fact is we have only one planet earth”.
Last Sunday, speaking on the subject of ‘The Curse of Consumerism’, Green said: We are all fools we allow being bombarded by ads in all types of medium, 365 days a year 24X7 that want to sell us more of everything to satisfy our so-called American Dream… History is witness to the results of mores in anything and everything – decline of civilizations… And if we care to, we too would see the slow decline in our own moral values and therefore, our civilization because of this incessant rise in greed-fed demand for uncontrolled consumerism”.
According to Green, 70 per cent of the world’s natural resources are being consumed by just around 17 per cent of the rising population, most of which is in the developed countries of the northern hemisphere. “We need to seriously rethink on the capitalist market economics … and also remember the basic tenets of religion – all religion – that among other important aspects also say, greed is bad, control our greed”.
Green also spoke on other important subject of ‘Culture Confusion’. Other speakers on this line included Dr Jamal Badwi of Canada spoke on the subject of ‘Are Western Values Totally Incompatible with Islamic Values’. Dr Hussein H Hassan will on Friday November 30, 2007 speak on the subject of `The New World Islamic Financial System’
Further, a number of authors of books on Islamic economics and finance – displayed at the Halal Products Expo – too conveyed the message that there is a need to rethink on the ongoing capitalist economics that has bred greed that in turn has brought us to face the wrath of nature in the form of global warming, rising natural calamities, rising scarcity of natural resources, constantly rising prices of commodities of all hues… and the simmering unrest among the natural resources rich countries, but their people deprived of the capitalist money to restrict the race to gobble up the natural resources … and probably therefore, want us collectively to return to the economics of need.
Islamic economic system, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_economical_jurisprudence)is to simply follow Islamic law in regards to spending, saving, investing, giving, etc…it seeks to implement broader economic goals and policies of an Islamic society… an economic system based on uplifting the deprived masses, a major role for the state in matters such as circulation and equitable distribution of wealth and insuring participants in the marketplace are rewarded by being exposed to risk and/or liability. Islamists movements and authors will generally describe this system as being neither Socialist nor Capitalist, but a third way with none of the drawbacks of the other two systems. Islamic economics or otherwise, the ongoing insatiable demand for natural resources even by the punters and speculators on the investment street has begun to swell the whole game of commodity investment into something much more serious (if not frightening currently) for all of us to reconsider our lifestyle and investment patterns.
It is no secret that currently, the stock of global food grains is at 30-year low; the impact on prices and also on economies across the world because of the feared shortage of fossil fuels and the politico-financial tug-of-war between the haves and the have-nots; the rising demand for ethanol has pushed up prices of simple products like corn, sugar, soybeans among others. The rush to capture rising demand at ever-low cost of production and the resultant fight between the owners of land and the political parties in India…. the potable water scarcity – is that too a man-made problem? – amidst the rise in melting ice mountains, rising sea levels, rising floods in various parts of the globe… the list is endless for us to THINK.
In this connection, it will be interesting to read my earlier post Preparing for Resources War. I had concluded saying – ‘Well, the resources war has already begun and we are already dragged into the inevitable tug of war between man and Mother Nature. Try to imagine which side will win and place your bets’.
Will it be capitalist market economics or Islamic economics? Stay tuned
