Before we decide what the government ought to be based upon; we need to agree what the ROLE of government ought to be.
Coming from India/Pakistan, we have this notion of a %u201CCradle to Grave welfare state%u201D. Hence our expectations from our governments are enormous (Often not met). This expectation of a welfare state leads to the following,
Higher Taxes Lack of Accountability/Transparency Corruption/Favoritism Appeasement Policies (Reservations) Regulations
What is the extreme case of %u201CBig Government%u201D?
It is Socialism/Communism. We can all agree that a communist state is not based on Islamic principles and is not a reflection of the first Islamic State in Medina.
Now lets look at the professional life of the prophet. If we believe that he led his life by the commandments of Allah, he must have led his professional life by the same standards. Agree?
Prophet Muhammad was a successful merchant for the greater part of his life and one that has cherished trade from its very beginning. Hence it is valid to say that a pious businessman founded Islam or is the leader of the Muslims (Hope you get the idea). Hence the idea that Islam is incompatible with a free market economy, or, capitalism is untrue. Islam can in fact be very compatible with a capitalist economy supplemented by a set of moral values that emphasize the care for the poor and the needy.
RE:An Islamic State concept...Perspective of a Muslim.
by imran patel on Jan 07, 2008 11:25 PM Permalink
Government is NOT the best institute to make things efficient. It is the private sector. It is individual ownership. If we limit the role of government, we rely less on government and more on ourselves. There is a role of government in society and in a free market environment. But it is not a player, rather a referee (Monitoring and restricting fraudulent practices). It is not the role of government to redistribute wealth in the form of taxes.
If government has fewer responsibilities and we as individuals have more freedom, then is it really that important (Life and Death) what principle the government is based on? And isn%u2019t Islam about individual accountability and individual freedom with concern for fellow humans?
RE:An Islamic State concept...Perspective of a Muslim.
by imran patel on Jan 07, 2008 11:24 PM Permalink
When Prophet Muhammad was asked to fix the prices in the market because some merchants were selling goods too dearly, he refused and said, "Only Allah governs the market." It wouldn't be far-fetched to see a parallel here with Adam Smith's "invisible hand." The conceptual openness of Islam towards business was one of the important reasons for the splendor of medieval Muslim civilization. The Islamic world was at the heart of global trade routes and Muslim traders took advantage of this quite successfully.
Why am I making the case for free markets?
Governance and economic policies cannot be looked at in isolation. Compare the Muslims in societies that are more towards free trade with Muslims in authoritarian regimes/Government. As Nadir Saheb talked about the frustration amongst the Muslims in the 3rd world country. Why do we have this frustration? And it is common among non-Muslims in that part of the world. The reason is the lack of opportunity to earn a living, education, and free speech. End of the day, it comes down to finances. It you feel secure financially (as an individual and as a society), other forms of freedom will follow.
RE:An Islamic State concept...Perspective of a Muslim.
by Confused Mind on Jan 07, 2008 11:45 PM Permalink
Guys get some computers and start working, buy some Reebock shoes and start running in some nieghbourhood gym and stop writing this kind of gas and hallucinatory crap. We all go nowhere with this kind of plain "bs" going on for centuries and giving us nothing but misery and darkness. Any intelligent, rational, logical and humanistic person is moral and knows how to handle money. Evolve. Get A Life.
RE:An Islamic State concept...Perspective of a Muslim.
by imran patel on Jan 07, 2008 11:24 PM Permalink
Looking back a few centuries, Muslims never had any trouble with making money. Maxime Rodinson, a French Marxist, said, "There are religions whose sacred texts discourage economic activity in general, [but] this is certainly not the case with the Koran, which looks with favor upon commercial activity, confining itself to condemning fraudulent practices and requiring abstention from trade during certain religious festivals."
It is true that the Koran has a strong emphasis on social justice and hence some of us sympathize with socialism and its promise of a "classless society." But the Koran takes it as a given that there will be rich and poor people in society and, in a sense, assures that disparity by actively supporting the rights to private property and inheritance. However it persistently warns the well-off to care for the deprived. Zakat is a voluntary act of charity, not a collectivization of wealth by a central authority. It is different from a Social Security TAX collected by the government. See the difference. Social Security is being paid with the expectation that you will receive SS payment after you retire. Different from Zakat.
