US Presidential candidates show how democracy is corrupted by money

Tuesday, 25 March 2008


The US election season is once again in full swing as America begins its search for it's next President. In the coming months America together with the rest of the world will witness either John McCain the Republican candidate, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the still yet undecided Democratic candidates, succeed the incumbent President George W. Bush in the White House.

The American establishment has long glorified and held out the apparent merits of it's political system to the rest of the world as part of the 'American dream'; that ordinary Americans can choose with complete freedom their next leader, with power transferring in a orderly and peaceful manner. Any American citizen, they proudly say, can stand for election as President.

The reality is that the American political dream is nothing more than a myth; witness the huge amounts of money being spent by just a few elite candidates shows this is completely untrue; millions of dollars are being spent on sophisticated election campaigns. The reality is that in America, just as elsewhere, Democracy has never fulfilled it's promise; the influence of money has ensured that Democracy remains a flawed system of rule in favour of the rich and privileges.

In the US Presidential election campaign of 2004, George Bush received a staggering $292.6 million dollars in private donations, whilst his then Democrat opponent John Kerry received $253.9 million dollars. The third independent candidate, Ralph Nader, had just over $4.5 million dollars to spend. The total cost of the US Presidential and Congressional election campaigns in 2004 reached $3.9 billion dollars. In the 2008 election Barack Obama has raised $193 million dollars, Hillary Clinton $169 million dollars and John McCain $64 million dollars thus far. In theory the criteria to be a Presidential candidate are very simple: The candidate must be a natural born US citizen, must have been resident for 14 years in the US and be at least 35 years of age. Yet given the huge obscene amounts of money being raised and spent on television advertisements, radio campaigns and other forms of election marketing, the chance of an ordinary person being able to stand as a realistic candidate are nil. Money represents a natural 'market barrier' to entry.

This obvious but powerful conclusion explains why voters in the American political system are losing faith in their entire system. Voter turnout in America has been declining in past years and has one of the lowest turnouts in the western world. Effectively a minority of the eligible electorate has chosen it's incumbent legislators and Presidents.

The masses within the West are beginning to understand that their vote is irrelevant and meaningless as things stand in the American political system. This feeling has been compounded by the fact that in recent years the Democratic and Republican parties have very little real policy differences'. Both have practiced a belligerent foreign policy and have had an agenda that has profited big business at the expense of domestic social spending. The reason why the American democratic system has lead to such a situation is again down to the influence of money and key interest groups. American corporations and lobby groups do not donate money to American politicians' because they see themselves as philanthropists'; they give money because they expect favours back as a return. In return corporate business can expect politicians to craft new policies and laws that are favourable to them upon gaining power and public office.

This shows that Democracy is fundamentally flawed; the ability to manufacture man made temporal laws and policies by the executive leaves the fate of the people vulnerable to those who manage to gain the most influence in a Democratic government. President Eisenhower famously warned of such corrupting influences in American politics by issuing the following statement in his farewell speech in January 1961, saying,

"...three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defence establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government.

We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military/industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Today, America's defence related spending is estimated to be an astonishing $1 trillion dollars a year; to put this into context America's total budget passed by Congress in March 2008 was $3 trillion dollars. Social and Health spending in contrast has declined in recent years, with essential services facing cuts. With America spending more and more of its wealth on its military and foreign wars of occupation, the influence of American military contractors has never been stronger. The distribution of new military projects in the states of influential US congressman, more commonly known as 'pork barrel' politics, demonstrates how intertwined money and politics have become. Yet it is not just the defence industry; the rest of corporate America has also sought to gain a foothold by donating money and engaging lobbyists'; Hillary Clinton recently offered a passionate defence of lobbyists' as investment banks and other financial institutions have become one of the leading donators in this election campaign to Presidential candidates from both parties.

Democracy is not just susceptible to such influence and corruption in America; wherever Democracy is being used as a ruling system the results have shown that the rich and powerful succeed in gaining undue and illegitimate influence right around the world. A recent US study showed that corporations that donated money to politicians always had higher profits per year on average than the rest of their peers. It is not surprising then that many jobs have been relocated from America to other parts of the Third world as corporations have aggressively 'outsourced' many jobs under the noses of America's legislators so that they can increase corporate profits.

Democracy is in reality a sophisticated means of control used by the American corporate and political elite to carefully select its leaders from a small pool that will toe its line. As Americans once more go through the motions to choose their leader, the subsequent outcome is all but predictable. Irrespective of whoever wins, campaign promises made to the general public now will definitely be broken, as new policies and legislation will be made to repay the favours' bestowed on the yet unknown new President. The only thing that is certain is that those American corporations, lobbyists' and special interests groups who have donated money in this Presidential campaign will yet again emerge as the real benefactors from a political system that rewards the rich whilst failing millions of ordinary people.

Social inequality leads to gap in US life expectancy

By Jerry White
26 March 2008


A series of recent reports highlights the magnitude of social distress confronting tens of millions of ordinary working people in the United States as the impact of the economic downturn and growing gap between the super-rich and the rest of the population hits home.

Perhaps the sharpest example of the class divide that permeates American society is a report by researchers at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which found “large and growing” disparities in life expectancy that coincide with the growth of social inequality over the last two decades.

The New York Times cited a report based on earlier findings by an HHS demographer and a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, which found “widening socioeconomic inequalities in life expectancy” at birth and at every age level.

On average, US life expectancy rose by three years (from 73.7 to 76.7) between 1980 and 2000, but the largest gains were made by the most affluent layers of the population, leading to a growing gap in life expectancy between the lower and higher income groups.

Dr. Gopal Singh and Professor Mohammed Siahpush measured social and economic conditions in every US county by examining 2000 census data on education, income, poverty, housing and other factors.

The report said in 1980-1982, people in the most affluent group could expect to live 2.8 years longer than those in the poorest (75.8 versus 73 years). By 1998-2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 versus 74.7), and it continues to grow, Dr. Singh said.

“Life expectancy was higher for the most affluent in 1980 than for the most deprived group in 2000,” he said. “If you look at the extremes in 2000,” Dr. Singh added, “men in the most deprived counties had 10 years’ shorter life expectancy than women in the most affluent counties (71.5 versus 81.3 years).”

The Times said while that while researchers differ over what causes the disparity, many suggest it includes the lack of health insurance among lower-income people, which makes them less likely to receive checkups, screenings, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs and other types of care. It is estimated that some 47 million Americans lack health care coverage.

In addition, higher income and more educated people have greater access to new medical advances to fight cancer and heart disease, while lower-income people continue to smoke at a disproportionately higher level, live in less safe neighborhoods, have less access to healthy foods and are subjected to increased levels of stress. A recent study by the US Department of Veteran Affairs also found that racial discrimination led to “less aggressive medical care” for minorities.

Nancy Krieger, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has found that trends in life expectancy have paralleled the decrease or increase in social inequality over the last four decades. Kreiger ,who investigated the rate of premature mortality—dying before the age of 65—and infant death from 1960 to 2002, told the Times that inequities shrank between 1966 and 1980, but then widened over the next 20 years.

“The recent trend of growing disparities in health status is not inevitable,” she said. “From 1966 to 1980, socioeconomic disparities declined in tandem with a decline in mortality rates.” She said the creation of Medicaid and Medicare—the two major federal programs for the poor and elderly—along with health centers, the social programs under President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty” and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had likely contributed to narrowing the earlier inequalities in health.

The dismantling of these programs—by both Republican and Democratic administrations—over the last three decades, and the radical redistribution of wealth to the top that has resulted, has produced a catastrophe for masses of people, including cutting their years of life.

The report on life expectancy coincided with a rash of new data detailing the widespread suffering caused by the loss of jobs, the collapse of the housing market and the combination of inflation and stagnating or declining wages. The reports noted the following:

* By the end of 2007, 36 percent of consumers’ disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger portion than at any time since records were first kept in 1960, according to Merrill Lynch.

* An analysis of government data by the Washington Post found that prices for basic staples like groceries, gasoline and health care have risen 9.2 percent since 2006. This means a family of four, which made $45,000 a year, is spending an extra $972 annually, assuming it did not cut back on such items because of higher prices. During that same period average earnings for non-managerial workers rose by only 5 percent, translating into a de facto wage cut for tens of millions of Americans.

Middle-income families are being forced to spend $378 more per year on gasoline and an extra $38 on fuel oil. The price for dairy products has risen 15 percent since 2006, fruit and vegetable prices are up 10 percent, and cereals and bakery products are up 8 percent.

* Even though productivity is increasing, inflation-adjusted median family income has fallen 2.6 percent since 2001—chopping nearly $1,000 off a family’s yearly income.

The fall in wages has in part been caused by rising medical costs, which has led employers to offer smaller pay raises. At the same time wages have been eroded by rising medical costs and efforts by corporations to impose greater out-of-pocket expenses on employees. Since 2001, premiums for family health care coverage have increased 78 percent, according to a 2007 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation cited by the Washington Post.

* Food stamp rolls have reached a record high in Ohio, with 1.1 million people—or 10 percent of the state’s population—receiving federal subsidies, according to the state welfare agency. Caseloads have nearly doubled since 2001, when an estimated 628,000 people were in the program, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“The economy and loss of manufacturing jobs are at the root of what’s going on,” Jack Frech, director of the welfare agency in Athens County in southeast Ohio, told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “But lately,” he added, it’s “the rising cost of transportation and food—people who were barely getting by, are not getting by. It has pressed folks to the edge to have to rely on food stamps.”

In most cases families are eligible for $100 a month in food stamps if they make up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level—$22,880 for a family of three—and have assets no greater than $2,000. Poverty experts say another 500,000 residents in the state are eligible for the program but are not enrolled.

All of these reports depict an unfolding social calamity in the US. In the face of this, both candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination—Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton—have proposed less than half-measures to address the collapse of the housing market, the destruction of decent-paying jobs and the health care crisis.

In an address at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday, Clinton called on President Bush to appoint “an emergency working group on foreclosures” to recommend new ways to confront housing finance troubles. She said the panel should be led by financial experts such as Robert Rubin, treasury secretary in her husband’s administration, former Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan, and Paul Volcker.

All of these figures are implicated in economic policies over the last three decades that channeled trillions of dollars into the hands of the richest segments of the population through the destruction of some 6 million industrial jobs and the permanent lowering of working class living standards.

Obama is just as opposed as Clinton to any radical redistribution of wealth from the top to bottom. While proposing “middle class” tax breaks, which will hardly make a dent in the disaster facing working families, he has rejected any return to the tax rates on the rich that prevailed in the 1960s—a period when social inequality actually lessened somewhat—saying last year he was opposed to “confiscatory taxes that get in the way of economic growth.”

Article Source: World Socialist Web Site

Many Muslims Turn to Home Schooling

Many Muslims Turn to Home Schooling

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

March 26, 2008

LODI, Calif. — Like dozens of other Pakistani-American girls here, Hajra Bibi stopped attending the local public school when she reached puberty, and began studying at home.

Her family wanted her to clean and cook for her male relatives, and had also worried that other American children would mock both her Muslim religion and her traditional clothes.

“Some men don’t like it when you wear American clothes — they don’t think it is a good thing for girls,” said Miss Bibi, 17, now studying at the 12th-grade level in this agricultural center some 70 miles east of San Francisco. “You have to be respectable.”

Across the United States, Muslims who find that a public school education clashes with their religious or cultural traditions have turned to home schooling. That choice is intended partly as a way to build a solid Muslim identity away from the prejudices that their children, boys and girls alike, can face in schoolyards. But in some cases, as in Ms. Bibi’s, the intent is also to isolate their adolescent and teenage daughters from the corrupting influences that they see in much of American life.

About 40 percent of the Pakistani and other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the district here are home-schooled, though broader statistics on the number of Muslim children being home-schooled, and how well they do academically, are elusive. Even estimates on the number of all American children being taught at home swing broadly, from one million to two million.

No matter what the faith, parents who make the choice are often inspired by a belief that public schools are havens for social ills like drugs and that they can do better with their children at home.

“I don’t want the behavior,” said Aya Ismael, a Muslim mother home-schooling four children near San Jose. “Little girls are walking around dressing like hoochies, cursing and swearing and showing disrespect toward their elders. In Islam we believe in respect and dignity and honor.”

Still, the subject of home schooling is a contentious one in various Muslim communities, with opponents arguing that Muslim children are better off staying in the system and, if need be, fighting for their rights.

Robina Asghar, a Muslim who does social work in Stockton, Calif., says the fact that her son was repeatedly branded a “terrorist” in school hallways sharpened his interest in civil rights and inspired a dream to become a lawyer. He now attends a Catholic high school.

“My son had a hard time in school, but every time something happened it was a learning moment for him,” Mrs. Asghar said. “He learned how to cope. A lot of people were discriminated against in this country, but the only thing that brings change is education.”

Many parents, however, would rather their children learn in a less difficult environment, and opt to keep them home.

Hina Khan-Mukhtar decided to tutor her three sons at home and to send them to a small Muslim school cooperative established by some 15 Bay Area families for subjects like Arabic, science and carpentry. She made up her mind after visiting her oldest son’s prospective public school kindergarten, where each pupil had assembled a scrapbook titled “Why I Like Pigs.” Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar read with dismay what the children had written about the delicious taste of pork, barred by Islam. “I remembered at that age how important it was to fit in,” she said.

Many Muslim parents contacted for this article were reluctant to talk, saying Muslim home-schoolers were often portrayed as religious extremists. That view is partly fueled by the fact that Adam Gadahn, an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda, was home-schooled in rural California.

“There is a tendency to make home-schoolers look like antisocial fanatics who don’t want their kids in the system,” said Nabila Hanson, who argues that most home-schoolers, like herself, make an extra effort to find their children opportunities for sports, music or field trips with other people.

Lodi’s Muslims also attracted unwanted national attention when one local man, Hamid Hayat, was sentenced last year to 24 years in prison on a terrorism conviction that his relatives say was largely due to a fabricated confession. (Had he been more Americanized, they say, he would have known to ask for a lawyer as soon as the F.B.I. appeared.)

Parents who home-school tend to be converts, Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar said. Immigrant parents she has encountered generally oppose the idea, seeing educational opportunities in America as a main reason for coming.

If so, then Fawzia Mai Tung is an exception, a Chinese Muslim immigrant who home-schools three daughters in Phoenix. She spent many sleepless nights worried that her children would not excel on standardized tests, until she discovered how low the scores at the local schools were. Her oldest son, also home-schooled, is now applying to medical school.

In some cases, home-schooling is used primarily as a way to isolate girls like Miss Bibi, the Pakistani-American here in Lodi.

Some 80 percent of the city’s 2,500 Muslims are Pakistani, and many are interrelated villagers who try to recreate the conservative social atmosphere back home. A decade ago many girls were simply shipped back to their villages once they reached adolescence.

“Their families want them to retain their culture and not become Americanized,” said Roberta Wall, the principal of the district-run Independent School, which supervises home schooling in Lodi and where home-schooled students attend weekly hourlong tutorials.

Of more than 90 Pakistani or other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the Lodi district, 38 are being home-schooled. By contrast, just 7 of the 107 boys are being home-schooled, and usually the reason is that they were falling behind academically.

As soon as they finish their schooling, the girls are married off, often to cousins brought in from their families’ old villages.

The parents “want their girls safe at home and away from evil things like boys, drinking and drugs,” said Kristine Leach, a veteran teacher with the Independent School.

The girls follow the regular high school curriculum, squeezing in study time among housework, cooking, praying and reading the Koran. The teachers at the weekly tutorials occasionally crack jokes of the “what, are your brothers’ arms broken?” variety, but in general they tread lightly, sensing that their students obey family and tradition because they have no alternative.

“I do miss my friends,” Miss Bibi said of fellow students with whom she once attended public school. “We would hang out and do fun things, help each other with our homework.”

But being schooled apart does have its benefit, she added. “We don’t want anyone to point a finger at us,” she said, “to say that we are bad.”

Mrs. Asghar, the Stockton woman who argues against home schooling, takes exception to the idea of removing girls from school to preserve family honor, calling it a barrier to assimilation.

“People who think like this are stuck in a time capsule,” she said. “When kids know more than their parents, the parents lose control. I think that is a fear in all of us.”

Aishah Bashir, now an 18-year-old Independent School student, was sent back to Pakistan when she was 12 and stayed till she was 16. She had no education there.

Asked about home schooling, she said it was the best choice. But she admitted that the choice was not hers and, asked if she would home-school her own daughter, stared mutely at the floor. Finally she said quietly: “When I have a daughter, I want her to learn more than me. I want her to be more educated.”



Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

*

Khutbah

Economic Justice In Islam

1. Introduction

Two major economic systems have dominated the world arena in the last 100 years,namely Capitalism and Socialism. Socialism collapsed before the end of the 20th century with a complete failure, and hence will not be a subject in this discussion.Capitalism continues to dominate the entire globe, with different flavors and varieties implemented in different parts of the world. The dissatisfaction of people under socialism, and the accompanying pain and suffering have ended, but been replaced by yet another type of pain and sufferings.

After the collapse of Socialism, Capitalism entered an era of global economy,Globalization, thus impacting most of the people in the world. Therefore, this discussion explores the impact of capitalism on the world and the plight of people in poor and rich countries. On the other hand, it introduces an economic system that the world is yet to explore, understand, and implement. This system is based on Islam.

1.2 The Economic System

Economic system is a set of rules and regulations, which define how to distribute the wealth, how to possess it, and how to spend or dispose of it. This system (set of rules) is based upon a particular viewpoint in life, or ideology. Therefore, the economic system of Islam is different from that of Socialism/Communism and that of Capitalism, since each of these systems follows its own ideological viewpoint. For example, the rules of possession and ownership under Capitalism differ from the rules of possession under Socialism, and from those under Islam.

Economic science deals with the production, its improvement, invention and improvement of its means. Economic science, as is the case with other sciences, is universal to all nations and is not associated with a particular ideology. For example,the improvement of production is a technical issue, which is purely scientific, and does not depend on a particular ideological viewpoint.
In addition to the essential understanding of the difference between the economic system and economic science, it is critical to understand the factors of success for any system. The success or failure of an economic system is measured by the direct impact on the humans who live under it. Measures of such impact are the level of security provided and satisfaction of needs. Security and satisfaction of needs are

further measured in terms of:
1
? Food security
? Health security
? Educational security
? Conviction and trust in the economic foundation

In the next section we will address Capitalism as the dominating economic system today, its truth, reality, applicability and consequences.

2.0 The Capitalist Economic System

2.1 Theoretical Foundation

Capitalism addresses the materialistic side of life; it addresses the human needs and the means of satisfying those needs. It is established on three principles:
1. Relative scarcity of goods in relation to needs.
2. The economic value of a product
3. Pricing role in production, cons consumption, and distribution.

Relative Scarcity:

Man has needs that require satisfaction. Capitalism views the human needs as purely materialistic, such as the need for food, clothing, medicine, education, and security. As for the moral needs such as pride and honor, or spiritual needs such as the sanctification of God?s will, they are not recognized economically, and are therefore disregarded and have no place in economic studies within the capitalist system.

The capitalist looks at the means of satisfaction, that is, the commodities and services, from the viewpoint that they satisfy a need, without taking any other factor into consideration. This system considers, for example, wine as an economically beneficial product because it satisfies the need of some, and perceives the wine maker as service provider. Because wine and wine providers satisfy a need it is considered as having an economic value. Since the need in the capitalist view means a desire, then anything desired, whether it is essential or not essential, beneficial or harmful, it is considered economically beneficial. Products may be considered beneficial from an economic viewpoint even if the public opinion considers them of no benefit, or even harmful. Thus wine, tobacco, drugs, guns, and apples are beneficial things since there are people who desire them. Stocks, interest based loans are also beneficial as long as there is someone who would benefit from their use.


As such, capitalism does not concern itself with the societal values other than materialistic ones. Therefore, the capitalist economic system primary function is to supply goods - commodities and services- that is, to provide the means of satisfying man?s needs, irrespective of any other consideration.Capitalism recognizes that man has basic needs, which must be satisfied, and wants which increase in number as man proceeds to a higher level of urbanization.


Relative scarcity foresees the economic problem as the relative shortages of commodities and services towards the unlimited and constantly growing human needs (wants). This basic principal of capitalist economic philosophy provides the basis for the definition of the economic problem under capitalism. In particular, the problem that capitalism attempts to resolve is the satisfaction of an ever growing human needs using insufficient resources and means of satisfaction. This is the essence of relative scarcity of products. An economic dilemma that cannot be resolved no matter how much commodities and services are produced, thus setting unrealistic goal to be achieved.


The inevitable consequence of relative scarcity is that the focal point of a capitalistic society is the increase production of products and services. However, the distribution of the products over the needs is fully dependents upon the individual ability to obtain it. It should be noted that in a capitalistic society the problem is to make the resources available so as to satisfy the needs in a society, but not necessarily the needs of every individual. It is not surprising therefore, that the main focus of the economy under capitalism is the increase in the national production emphasized by the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and Gross National Products (GNP). Capitalism views economic growth, the increase in GDP and GNP, as the mean of solving the problem of poverty.
There are serious flaws in these principals:


1. Correlation between the needs and the means of satisfaction

Under Capitalism, production and distribution are considered to be one major subject. Capitalism holds one view towards the economic science and the economic system without differentiating between them. However, there is a major difference between the economic system and economic science as previously defined. The integration between production of the economic material and the manner of its distribution, is a fundamental fault in the capitalist system which is bound to cause failure in the economy.

2. The human needs are not materialistic only

The reference to the needs, which require satisfaction as being purely materialistic, is wrong, and contradicts the natural reality of human needs. Human beings have moral, spiritual, and ethical needs that require satisfaction, which in turn require commodities or services for their satisfaction.


3. Commodities and services relation to the society

Man is viewed by capitalists as a purely materialistic creature, with no relevance to his spiritual needs, ethical thoughts, and moral objectives. Thus, Capitalism does not give weight to Societal values, except to the materialistic value of the product and its profitability. Cheating in the economic sense is valuable as long as it leads to profitability (Enron and Arthur Anderson). Monopoly is feasible economically, while it can be maintained and supported (Microsoft). Under Capitalism, feeding a poor (wealth distribution) may be done only if it brings a material benefit, such as tax break (non profit organizations). The Capitalist economy focuses on the satisfaction of needs and wants irrespective to the societal values and needs. Societal values and needs are protected as much as it does not limit the individual pursuit of satisfaction.

The exchange of resources and efforts among people creates relationships according to which the structure of the society is formed. Thus, viewing the economic commodity as a mean of fulfilling a need, without caring for the societal values, violates a fundamental rule of society structure. The effect on society should be perceived when considering the economic commodity. Therefore, it is incorrect to consider a thing as beneficial just because there is somebody who wants it, whether it affects the relationships among people or not, and whether it is prohibited or permitted in the belief of the people. Rather things should be considered beneficial if they are really beneficial in respect to what the society should be.

Therefore, it is incorrect to consider alcohol, cannabis, opium, explosives, guns,tobacco and the like as beneficial commodities and to consider them economic commodities just because there is somebody who wants them. Instead, the effect of these economic commodities on the relationships between people in society must be considered when considering the benefit of things i.e. when considering the goods as an economic commodity or not. It is a system fault to look at a product merely as it is, regardless of what the society should be.

4. Poverty of individuals is the main economic problem

Capitalism concentrates on production of wealth more than distribution of wealth. The importance of distribution of wealth to satisfy the needs has become a secondary issue. Therefore, the capitalist economic system main aim is to increase the country?s wealth as a whole, and it strives to achieve the highest possible level of production. The achievement of the highest possible level of satisfaction for the members of society is viewed as a result of increasing the national income, the gross national product. In the capitalist view this can be achieved by raising the level of production in the country, and by enabling individuals to acquire the wealth as they are left free to work and produce.

So the economy does not attempt to satisfy the needs of the individuals and to facilitate the satisfaction of every individual in the community, rather it is focused on raising the level of production and increasing the national income. Only then the distribution of wealth among the members of society occurs, by means of freedom of possession and freedom of work. So it is left to the individuals to acquire what they can of the wealth.Everyone strives to get his/her share of the wealth using whatever means, skills, or tools he/she can afford. Whether the individual is or is not able to satisfy his/her needs is not of concern to the economy, as long as the production of goods continues to grow, and the wealth continues to grow.


This is the major principal of the capitalist economy. It is inherently faulty, and contradicts reality and does not lead to an improvement in the level of livelihood for all individuals, and does not fulfill the basic needs of every individual. It does not resolve the issue of poverty for the individuals, despite the massive increase in the production of goods and services.

The hard fact in this reality is that the needs, which require satisfaction, are individual needs. They are needs of particular people such as George, Maria, Hessian,Mohammad, and the like. The fact that the needs of George, for example, are satisfied does not make Maria any better, unless her needs are also taken care of. So these are needs of individuals and not needs for a group of human beings, a group of nations, or a group of people. Therefore, the economic problem must focus on distributing the means of satisfaction for all the individuals of a society. In other words, the distribution of the funds and benefits must reach every member of the nation or people. It is not sufficient to increase the wealth of the group, irrespective of the plight of every individual.

Consequently, the study of the factors that affect the size of national production differs from the study for satisfying all the basic needs of all individuals personally and completely. The subject of study must be the basic human needs of man, as a human being, and the study of distributing the wealth to the members of society to guarantee the satisfaction of all their basic needs while allowing them to pursue the satisfaction of their wants ? luxury needs. This should be the subject of study, and should be undertaken in the first place. Moreover, resolving the poverty of a country does not resolve the problem of poverty for individuals. On the contrary, resolving the poverty of the individuals, and the fair distribution of the wealth of the country, motivates all the people of the country to work towards increasing the national income and resolving poverty of the country. Yet, the study of factors that affect the size of production and the increase of the national income should be discussed within the framework of economic science, rather than in the discussion of the economic system.

5. Scarcity of resources is not the problem and human needs are limited

Capitalism views the economic problem, which faces any society to be the scarcity of commodities and services. It claims that the human needs are steadily increasing, and the products continue to be too scarce to satisfy the growing needs of the people. This view is erroneous and in fact contradicts with reality. This is because the needs, which must be met, are the basic needs of the individual as a human (food, shelter,education, health and clothing), and not the luxuries, although they too are sought. The basic needs of humans are limited, and the resources and products, which they call the commodities and services, are certainly sufficient to satisfy the basic human needs. It is possible to satisfy all of the basic needs of mankind completely.
The economic problem is, in reality, the distribution of these resources and services enabling every individual to satisfy all basic needs completely, and after that helping them to strive for attaining their luxuries. The basic needs of man as a human do not increase. Only the luxurious needs that may increase and vary due to higher urbanization.

2.1 Practical Implementation

The discussion of the capitalist economic system leads to the conclusion that the implementation of this system over a period of time should lead to a profound poverty and severe dissatisfaction for any society. In this section, we will examine actual data from the contemporary world that lives under the domination of capitalist economic systems. The data shows without any doubt that the theoretical errors of the major economic principals have led to serious failures that cause huge catastrophic effects on a very large number of the population in the world.

2.1.2 Hunger under capitalism

Growing out of a Harvard School of Public Health conference on hunger, The Physician Task Force on Hunger in America was established in early 1984. The major findings and
conclusions of the Task Force include:
? Hunger is a problem of epidemic proportions across the nation
? Hunger in America is getting worse, not better
? Malnutrition and ill-health are associated with hunger
? is the result of federal government policies
? Present policies are not alleviating hunger in America
Conclusion : Resolution of hunger and poverty require fundamental change at the level of the economic system. Capitalism is designed to produce poverty not to resolve it.

2.1.3 Globalization

is the newer form of global capitalism. It is capitalism across nations.
Capital flows between nations without serious constraints. Products move from the
producing origins to consuming destinations without the feel of borders or national
barriers. Again, the production of resources and wealth increase and multiply. But the
impact of the tremendous growth of wealth does not find its way to satisfy the needs of
the people. Consider this report on globalization:

"The Scorecard on Globalization 1980-2000: Twenty Years of Diminished Progress"
By Mark Weisbrot, Dean Baker, Egor Kraev and Judy Chen
For economic growth and almost all of the other indicators, the last 20 years have shown a very clear decline in progress as compared with the previous two decades. Among the findings:
? Growth:

The fall in economic growth rates was most pronounced and across the board for all groups or countries. The poorest group went from a per capita GDP growth rate of 1.9 percent annually in 1960-80, to a decline of 0.5 percent per year (1980-2000). For the middle group (which includes mostly poor countries), there was a sharp decline from an annual per capita growth rate of 3.6 percent to just less than 1 percent. Over a 20 year period, this represents the difference between doubling income per person,versus increasing it by just 21 percent. The other groups also showed substantial declines in growth rates.

?Life Expectancy: Progress in life expectancy was also reduced
for 4 out of the 5 groups of countries, with the exception of the highest group (life expectancy 69-76 years). The sharpest slowdown was in the second to worst group (life expectancy between 44-53 ears)..
? Infant and Child Mortality:

Progress in reducing infant mortality was also considerably slower during the period of globalization (1980-1998) than over the previous two decades. The biggest declines in progress were for the middle to worst performing groups. Progress in reducing child mortality (under 5) was also slower for the middle to worst performing groups of countries.

? Education and literacy:

Progress in education also slowed during the period of globalization. The rate of growth of primary, secondary, and tertiary (post-secondary) school enrollment was slower for most groups of countries.

Globalization and Inequality Among Nations


According to this "old fashioned ? three worlds partition" partition, 76 percent of world population lives in poor countries, 8 lives in middle income countries (defined as countries with per capita income levels between Brazil and Italy), and 16 percent lives in rich countries. Now, if we keep the same income thresholds as implied in the previous division, and look at "true" distribution of people according to their income (regardless of where they live), we find a very similar result: 78 percent of the world population is poor, 11 percent belongs to the middle class, and 11 percent are rich.

2.1.5. Economic health or illness?

The most important index of economic well being under capitalism is the index that monitors the growth of the nation?s health as a whole. DOW Jones, NASDAQ,NIKO, NYSE and other indexes monitor the status of the nation?s most powerful companies. A steady increase of these indexes does not record, reflect or impact the status of the poor in the nation. In fact, the overwhelming data shows that poverty and hunger persist despite the steady increase of economic indexes over the years. The daily report of the economic indexes prove one more time that capitalism is inherently concerned about the growth of products, rather than the satisfaction of the needs of people.

2.1.6. Virtual Wealth

The obsession of product and wealth growth under capitalism has resulted in the removal of the boundaries between the products and services and money. The monetary system existed in the first place to represent the values of products and services in a mobile transferable format. For centuries, gold and silver provided a solid base for measuring the exchange value of products and services. Under the pressure of growing economic product growth, the US capitalist economists canceled Briton Woods treaty which establishes a fixed exchange rate for gold, thus making gold one more commodity.The devastating result of this action is the creation of a new environment where wealth has become virtual wealth. By virtual wealth, I mean the growth of money independent of the growth of products and services. The two major factors that lead to the unlimited growth of money are the interest (usury) and stock investments. Interest allows money to grow without the involvement of product and services. The values of stocks increase or decrease quite often based on circumstances, politics, stability, and other factors not directed to the products and services provided by the stock holding company. The phenomenon of DOT.COM in the 1990?s is a clear example.

3.0 Islamic Economic System

Before nudging in the discussion of the economic systems and their impacts on us as
people, I would like to lay down a foundation regarding Islam.

3.1 Islamic Sources

Islam is a religion in the sense that it is based on a belief in God (the creator) and in the accountability to God on the Day of Judgment. Islam is also an ideology in the sense that it comprises an ideological foundation and a system of laws for the individual and the society. The Islamic systems cover the political, economic, and social systems. Islam is founded upon the fundamental principal that man, life, and universe are all the creations of the eternal, one and only one God whose main name in Islam is Allah. Allah possesses many attributes, all of which are considered to be eternal and unbounded.

The belief in the existence of God, the Eternal Creator, is a rational process in Islam and an obligation upon the reasoning facility of the human. The belief in God under Islam requires also the belief in all His attributes and functions. Belief in God, as such, requires the belief that there needs to be a channel through which God communicates to the people the means and ways to worship. This channel is what is known as Prophethood and/or the Messenger. Worshipping Allah, under Islam, is the process of following the guidance revealed by God through His Messengers and/or Prophets. Islam considers the belief in the Prophethood an essential principal of Islam. The Prophets include Adam, Ibraheem, Isaac, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Them All) and many others. Islam, as a religion and ideology, is based entirely on what is revealed to Mohammad (PBUH). The revelation to Mohammad has two forms. One form is the Quran, which is the actual word of Allah the creator. The wording and the meanings of the verses are written into the Quran exactly as revealed to Mohammad. The Quran was compiled and completely written during the life of the Messenger Mohammad (PBUH). The other format of the revelation is what is known in Arabic as the "Sunnah" of Mohammad (PBUH). The Sunnah comprises statements, actions, and endorsement of Mohammad (PBUH). The Sunnah is also a revelation from God to Mohammad, except that the wording of the Sunnah is left to Mohammad (PBUH). The Sunnah was compiled and authenticated after the death of the Prophet based on written statements and verbal narrations.

For a view to be considered an Islamic one, it has to be validated through the Quran and the Sunnah. In this lecture, I will trace the Islamic economic system through the verses of the Quran and the statements of the Sunnah.

3.2 The View of Islam towards the Economy

3.2.1 Allah created all resources in the world

In the Quran, Allah states that all the resources in the world are created by Him, and made usable to the humans:

"It is He who created for you all that exists on earth." [Al-Baqarah: 29]

"Allah is He Who put at your disposal the sea so that the ships may sail by His command, and so as you may seek His bounty." [Al-Jathiyah: 12]

"He put at your disposal that which is in the heavens and that which is in the earth, all from Him." [Al-Jathiyah: 13]

"And We sent down iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind." [Al-Hadid: 25]

"Let man consider his food. How We pour water in showers. Then split the earth in fragments. And cause the grains to grow therein. And grapes and fresh vegetation. And olives and dates, and enclosed gardens, dense with lofty trees. And fruits and grazes. Provision for you and your cattle." [?Abasa: 24-32]

These examples indicate that technical means of production is left to the people. It is apparent that Islam focuses on the economic system (distribution of wealth) and not economic science (technical production).

3.2.2 Economic Policy in Islam


The economic policy is the objective of the laws, which deal with the management of human basic needs (food, shelter, education, health, security). The Islamic economic
policy could be understood from the statement of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh):
"Whom who wakes up secure at home with healthy body and food for his day as if he acquired the whole life". The prophet (pbuh) also states: "Allah breaks covenant with any group of people living in a close vicinity, whereby one of them goes to bed while hungry".

The economic policy in Islam aims at securing the complete satisfaction of all basic needs for every individual, and to enable each individual to purse the satisfaction of their luxuries. Islam looks at every individual as a human being whose basic needs to be satisfied completely, then it looks to him in his capacity as a particular individual, to enable him to satisfy his luxuries as much as possible.
On the other hand, Islam views the individual as part of a whole society that lives according to certain rules and regulations that have to be taken into consideration.Therefore, the purpose of the economic policy in Islam does not address how to raise the standard of living in the country without securing the rights for every individual. Nor is it just to provide the means of satisfaction in the society without setting wealth distribution processes.

The Islamic economic objective is achieved through multiple laws and regulations:

First, defining property ownership as being of three kinds:

1. Individual ownership
2. Public ownership
3. State ownership

The individual can own anything except that of what is public property or prohibited materials such as alcohol or pigs. The public owns all minerals of the earth that are not limited by nature such as gold and silver mines, oil fields, natural gas fields, etc. or all things that are publicly shared such as seas, rivers, roads etc. The state owns certain revenues including land taxation called (Kharaj). Such laws allow for fair distribution of wealth and allow the state to provide public services, security, healthcare, education and others.

Second, Islam prohibits any kind of Usury and interest based loans, on the other hand it encourages partnership in different ways(but not Joint Stock Companies) and interest free loans. Also, Islam prohibits monopoly allowing for true competition and opportunity. Third, Islam obliges each capable person to work, so as to achieve the basic needs for himself and his dependants.

Forth, through the unique Islamic social structure based around protecting the family,Islam obliges adult males to support their parents once the father is not able to work or passed away. If there are no one in the family who can support then the State Treasury (Bait ul-Mal) has to step in. As such, Islam requires that the individual secure for himself and his dependants the satisfaction of the basic needs i.e. adequate food, clothing,education, medication and housing. Islam then encourages the individual to secure the luxuries of life as much as he can.

Fifth, Islam prevents the government from the imposition of taxes, except in cases of public disasters such as famine, and where the state funds are unable to cover expenses. Tax then is imposed for a limited time and taken only from the wealthy.
Through the combination of spiritual, social and economic drives, the Islamic economic system achieves the right of livelihood for everyone individually, and facilitates the securing of the luxuries.

To achieve the societal values within which the individual lives, Islam sets certain rules and regulation within which the individual is to behave while striving to secure his/her needs. For example, Islam prohibits the production and consumption of wine by Muslims, and it does not consider it an economic material. Islam prohibits the taking of riba (usury, interest, etc.) and its usage in transactions for everyone who holds Islamic citizenship. It does not consider riba as an economic commodity, whether for Muslims or non-Muslims. Islam considers what the society ought to be when utilizing any property.

Islam did not detach the individual from being human, nor the human being from being a particular individual. Furthermore, Islam does not consider what the society ought to be separate from the issue of securing the satisfaction of the basic needs for every individual, and enabling him/her to satisfy the luxuries. Rather, Islam makes the satisfaction of the needs and what the society ought to be, as two inseparable issues.For the sake of satisfying all the basic needs completely, and to enable satisfaction of the luxuries, the economic commodity should be available to people, and it will not be available to them unless they strive to earn it. Provided that there is a system that protects the basic integrity of the human being. Therefore,

Islam urges people to earn,seek the provision and strive without the fear of not finding food to eat or secured home to return back to at the end of the day. Islam made striving to earn the provision compulsory upon Muslims thus creating a productive society.

Allah said:
"So walk in the paths of the earth and eat of His sustenance which He provides."[Al-Mulk: 15]

Many Ahadith came to encourage the earning of property. In one Hadith, the Prophet Mohammad _ shook the hand of Sa?ad ibn Muadh (ra) and found his hands to be rough. Sa?ad said: "I dig with the shovel to maintain my family." The Prophet _ kissed Sa?ad?s hands and said: "(They are) two hands which Allah loves."The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Nobody would ever eat food that is better than to eat of his own hand?s work."

It was narrated that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) passed by some people who were consistently in the Mosque reading the Qur?an (meaning not working). He asked who they were. He was told: "They are those who depend upon Allah (Al-Mutawwakiloon)." Omar replied: "No, they are the eaters who eat the people?s properties. Do you want me to describe those who really depend upon Allah (Al-Mutawwakiloon)? He is the person who throws the seeds in the earth and then depends on his Lord The Almighty,
The Exalted (?Azza wa jall)."

Thus we find that the verses and the Ahadith encourage striving to seek provision, and working to earn property, just as they encourage the enjoyment of the property and eating of the good things.
Allah said:

"Say: who has forbidden the beautiful gifts of Allah, which He has provided for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, (that He has provided)?"[Al-A?raf: 32]

"O you who believe! Spend of the good things which you have earned, and of that which We bring forth from the earth for you." [Al-Baqarah: 267]

"O you who believe! Do not prohibit the good things which Allah made halal for you." [Al-Ma?idah: 87]

These verses, and the like, denote clearly that the divine rules (AhkamShari?ah) related to the economy, aim at acquiring property and enjoying good things. So, Islam obliged individuals to earn, and ordered them to enjoy wealth that they earned, so as to achieve economic growth in the country, to satisfy the basic needs of every person, and to enable the satisfaction of his luxuries.
However, the economic progress through motivating every capable individual to work, assigning properties to the State and the investing of public property, all are means to satisfy the needs in the best possible manner. The Messenger of Allah said:"Whosoever sought the life (matters) legitimately (halal) and decently he will meet Allah with his face as a full moon; and whosoever sought it arrogantly and excessively will meet Allah while He is angry at him."

The Prophet also said:"Do you have, son of Adam, of your property except that which you ate and consumed, that which you wore and exhausted, and that which you donated and preserved (for yourself in the hearafter)?"
Allah the Supreme said:

"Don?t commit Israaf (spending or going beyond the limits imposed by Islam); surely He (Allah) does not like those who condone Israaf." [Al-A?raf: 31]

Islam made the aim of owning properties a mean towards satisfying the needs and not for the purpose of boasting. It required managing the economy according to Allah?s orders and made it obligatory. It ordered the Muslims to seek the Hereafter and the pleasure of the creator through what they earn and spend by their own well, without ignoring the goods of this worldly life.

Allah said:

"But seek the abode of the Hereafter in that which Allah has given you, and do not neglect your portion of worldly life, and be kind as Allah has been kind to you, and seek not corruption in the earth." [Al-Qasas: 77]

Islam secured the observance of the rules in two ways complementing each other. First,Islam motivated the Muslims to adhere to this economic policy through the fear of Allah (Taqwa). Second, Islam legislated laws which the State implements upon the people.
Allah said:

"O you who believe! observe your duty to Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from riba, if you are (in truth) believers." [Al-Baqarah: 278]

Analysis of the divine rules related to the economy, shows that Islam addresses the
issue of enabling people to utilize wealth. Islam addresses the initial acquisition of wealth, its disposal and its distribution amongst the public. The rules that deal with the economy are thus based on three principles:

1. Initial ownership,
2. Disposal of the ownership, and
3. Distribution of wealth amongst the people.

With regard to the issue of ownership, it belongs to Allah, since He is the Owner of all the Dominion (Malik al-Mulk). Allah stated in the texts that property (Maal) belongs to Him.

Allah said: "And give them from the property of Allah, which He gave to you."[An-Nur: 33]

Property, therefore, belongs to Allah alone. However, He has put mankind in charge of property, provided them with it, and has given them the right of owning it.
Allah, the Exalted said:

"And spend from what He put you in charge of." [Al-Hadid: 7]

"O you who believe! observe your duty to Allah and give up what remains (due to)"
"And He has provided you with properties and offspring." [Nuh: 12]


Islam also defined three types of ownership (as mentioned earlier):

1. Individual ownership
2. State ownership
3. Public ownership

Through the management of these types of ownership, the economy of both the society and the individuals are completely satisfied.

3.2.2. Zakat and poverty

Islam has waged a war on poverty by all means. It is the poverty of the individual people that Islam is concerned with, in addition to the poverty of the nation as a whole. Islam has instituted the charity, called in Islam the "Zakat" in a manner that eliminates the poverty altogether. "Zakat" in Islam is a mean of worship. It is one of the pillars of Islam as much as the prayer is. The Islamic system aims at eliminating poverty from the society, rather than managing the poor. One of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and also one of the Guided Successors of

Him, Ali Bin Abi Talib stated:

"If poverty were a man, I would certainly kill him".

Practically, after few years of implementing Islam in the Islamic society, the notion of poverty was gone altogether. It is narrated in the history1 that during the era of the Khalifah Omar Bin Adel Aziz, there was no single poor person within the Islamic

State who would accept the charity of the "Zakat".

In a statement by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), he says:

"Allah breaks covenant with any group of people living in a close vicinity, whereby one of them goes to bed while hungry".

The Islamic economic system defines the main problem to be solved by the system as the poverty of the individuals. The economic index, thus in the Islamic State, would be the percentage of people who live below poverty line. The economic strength and growth will be measured by the actual well-being of the individuals rather than by the well-being of NASDAQ or DOW JONES. What good would it do to the stomach of a poor person, if the NASDAQ gains or loses points? The Islamic Economic Index is based on the food that is available to each and every human soul in the society.

The Islamic economic system reserves the vital resources of the state for the well-being of the people. One or more companies under Islam for example, will not own the oil fields.The fact that a certain company was able to drill and exploit oil fields in Texas does not give it the right for the oil. The oil exists in fields that go beneath the houses and lands of millions of people. In Islam, the oil belongs to all the people in the state. This is not to be mistaking with socialism that dictates that all means of productions belong to the people. Thus, the Islamic system ensures that the vital resources that belong to the people be actually returned to the people. As such, poverty will never exist in any society that has vital resources.

3.2.3. Usury ? Interest ? Riba


Islam categorically prohibited the use of money to grow money, i.e., usury. Loans in Islam are given to others and considered a mean of worship. Allah (SWT) declares that whoever gives a loan (no interest) to another person is indeed giving a loan to Allah. In return, Allah multiplies the reward for the loan giver.

Allah stated:
"Whoever gives a good loan to Allah; and Allah will multiply it to him many folds"

4.0 Islamic Economy: Reality

The harsh reality is that Islam as described in the Quran and Sunnah has been removed from the real life of the people (Muslims and non Muslims alike) for almost a century. The Islamic State has been the responsible entity for implementing the Islamic systems during and after the death of the Messenger Mohammad (PBUH). The Islamic State continued to function (with ups and downs) until 1924, when Mustapha Kamal of Turkey with the help of western European capitalists managed to abolish the Islamic state (Khilafah). Since then, the Muslims and non-Muslims in the entire world have been living under various secular systems, implementing capitalism in the economic life.

Muslims continued to believe in Islam and practice those parts of Islam that pertain to the individual. However, for Islam to produce the results and objectives set forth in the Quran and the Sunnah, the full implementation of Islam is necessary. Without full implementation of Islam, the results could be counter productive. As a result of the absence of Islam, the Muslims resorted to national bonds, ethnic traditions and values.Quite often and after decades of intentional misguiding, the Muslims mix their national values, national aspirations, and methods with those of Islam. The truth of the matter though is that Islam was revealed as a set of laws, regulations and systems to guide and manage the behavior of the society as well as the individuals.

The history of the life of Mohammad (PBUH) shows that the objectives of Islam, the resolutions of Islam, and the values of Islam started to materialize only after the establishment of the Islamic State in Medinah, 13 years after the beginning of Islam. In fact, most of the laws, regulations, and systems were not revealed to Mohammad except after his migration to Medinah where the state was established. The laws of

the Zakat (that I discussed earlier), riba (usury), ownership, and wealth distribution were revealed after the state was created.

6.0 Conclusions

Islam as a religion and ideology needs to be revisited by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is a religion that should be looked at as a continuation of previous religions and inheritor of them as well. As an ideology, Islam should be viewed as one that provides economic, political, and social systems that do not belong to the ideologies of materialism (both capitalism and socialism). After the fall and collapse of socialism, the people of the world resorted to capitalism as their only alternative. The collapse of capitalism is eminent as a natural consequence to its inability to address the human needs in a satisfactory manner. It is the responsibility and the duty of the people of the world to examine Islam with serious and sincere scrutiny, in order to consider it as the only viable alternative to capitalism.

US universities turn schools for spies and more

WASHINGTON (AFP) — That young American exchange student who stayed with you last summer to do a language immersion course could be part of a new program to educate the next generation of US intelligence agents.

But don't worry: even if she does end up working for the CIA, the likelihood of her becoming an undercover operative is slim.

"Intelligence doesn't just mean spying, skulking around in a trench coat," said Jim Robbins, director of the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) at Trinity University in Washington, one of nine programs aimed at revamping the US intelligence community.

"The CIA is the best known part of it, but the intelligence community writ large involves all the agencies throughout the government that are involved in the collection and analysis of information about threats," he said.

Trinity opened the doors to the pilot course for the Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence three years ago.

The program is funded by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the umbrella agency which oversees the 16 intelligence agencies in the United States, some of which -- such as the Treasury or Department of the Environment -- would not be linked automatically to intelligence activities.

Since 2005, the center has swelled, with eight more universities across the United States signing on to the program that wants to revamp the way young Americans perceive intelligence -- it isn't just spying -- and are trained to work in the very diverse field.

The program aims to "bring in groups to the intelligence community -- women, minorities, what have you -- who were previously under-represented," said Robbins.

Schools which are selected to be part of the program -- and there is not an Ivy League university, the formerly all-male schools which used to be the preferred hunting ground for intelligence recruiters, on the radar screen -- receive a grant from the ODNI, and set up their own, unique curriculum.

"We don't want a cookie cutter approach," said Dr Lenora Peters Gant, the ODNI official who oversees the CAE program.

"We want the curriculum to be interdisciplinary.

"Think about this: wouldn't it be nice to have an engineer who knows something about world religions, world cultures and can speak Farsi or Urdu?" she said.

The ODNI grant is used to send students abroad to study a language and learn about another culture.

Tanjier Belton went to France in 2006 from Trinity to study French. She aims to study law and then go on to work for the CIA.

Jesmeen Khan got a stipend to go to Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary last year. Her tentative ambition is to work for the State Department.

"Every university that has a grant has to identify students to become IC CAE scholars," Gant explained.

"Those students are required to go abroad and study a language or study culture and they get a stipend to go abroad," she said.

Florida International University (FIU) sent 16 students abroad last year as part of its IC CAE program.

"People want to go to China, to Brazil to study Portuguese, to Spain. They want to study Arabic, which is a critical language need. So far we have had people go to Morocco, Jordan and Egypt," David Twigg, associate director of the Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies at FIU, told AFP.

"They're not going there as spies; they're going there as people who are trying to understand what's going on."

When the students return to the United States and complete their studies, they are under no obligation to work for one of the agencies under the umbrella of the ODNI.

"We do go out and recruit them, but we don't make them work for us," said Gant.

But many of the more than 400 scholars who have been in the program "want to come and work for us because of the mission," she said, slipping momentarily into the kind of spy-speak you hear in a James Bond film.

The lapse didn't last long.

"They want to do something that's altruistic for the world and America. They want to do something that will make a difference in everyday lives," Gant said.

One in four U.S. teenage girls has an STD, study finds

By ALAN BAVLEY
The Kansas City Star

For too many teenage girls, the numbers released Tuesday hold the threat of infertility and cancer.

For the experienced U.S. health experts who reported them, the data were alarming and disappointing.

More than one in four teenage girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

That translates to 3.2 million girls ages 14 to 19 who are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, or trichomoniasis. Among girls with STDs, 15 percent had more than one.

The numbers came as no surprise to Daryl Lynch. As a physician in the Teen Clinic of Children’s Mercy Hospital, he deals with the children behind the statistics every day.

“We have historically seen lots and lots of STDs among teens in Kansas City,” Lynch said. “It’s a very sexually active, sexually promiscuous crowd that doesn’t practice safe sex. And therein lies the problem.”

Many adolescents have the attitude that nothing can hurt them, Lynch said.

“So motivating them to use condoms, it’s a tough sell,” he said. “Even among teens who have had an STD.”

While many of these diseases are also common among teenage boys, the researchers focused on girls because females are at higher risk of the most severe consequences of sexually transmitted diseases.

“What these numbers tell us is that we need to do a better job on lots of different fronts,” said John M. Douglas Jr., director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. “Better education of our young people, better promotion of prevention practices and better … screening practices.”

The CDC report, issued at a conference in Chicago, is the first national look at the combined prevalence of these infections among teenage girls, lead author Sara Forhan said.

The study, which uses national survey data, provides “the clearest picture to date” of the burden of these diseases, Forhan said. “What we found is alarming.”

Among the findings:

•HPV, which is associated with cervical cancer and genital warts, was the most common sexually transmitted disease among teenage girls, infecting 18.3 percent. Chlamydia, a bacterial infection, was present in 3.9 percent. Trichomoniasis, caused by single-cell parasites, infected 2.5 percent, and herpes simplex virus type 2 infected 1.9 percent.

•Black teenage girls had the highest prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases with 48 percent infected. Both white and Mexican American girls had prevalence rates of 20 percent.

The higher prevalence among black girls was not because of riskier behavior, but the higher rates of STDs that often exist in their communities, Douglas said.

The girls “are simply more likely to be exposed to a sexual partner with an STD,” he said. “Community risk really trumps individual risk.”

•About half of all the teens in the study reported having had sex. Among these girls, the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases was 40 percent. Even among girls who said they had only one lifetime sexual partner, one in five had at least one of the diseases. Girls who reported having three or more partners had a prevalence of more than 50 percent.

More comprehensive sexual education is needed in school to supplement the sexual abstinence messages being taught, said Lynch of Children’s Mercy.

“The old message of ‘just don’t do it,’ that doesn’t work,” he said. “We’ve got to give kids information to make intelligent choices. Yes, teach them about the importance of committed relationships, but don’t withhold information from kids.”

One important preventive measure parents should provide their daughters is the HPV vaccine Gardasil, Lynch said. If enough young women were to receive the three-shot series, cases of cervical cancer could be reduced by 70 percent, he said.

Prevention was on the mind of Delicia Sims, 18, of Raymore when she came to the Children’s Mercy clinic Tuesday for her first shot of HPV vaccine.

“I think about protecting myself all the time,” Sims said. “Most girls don’t understand. They don’t think about protection.”

The CDC recommends that all women ages 11 to 26 receive the HPV vaccine, Douglas said.

Douglas said screenings are another important preventive measure. For HIV, testing should be routine in everyone ages 13 to 64, he said.

Chlamydia screenings for sexually active women 25 and younger are critical, Douglas said. The disease often has no symptoms in women. Left untreated, it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility.

The survey also tested girls for gonorrhea, but the data were not released to researchers for the study. None of the girls in the survey tested positive for syphilis or HIV.

@ Kansas City moms discuss teen girls and STDs on mom2momkc.com. Click on “My child’s health.”

To reach Alan Bavley, call 816-234-4858 or send e-mail to abavley@kcstar.com.

Religious Headscarf a Fashion Statement in Turkey

Religious Headscarf a Fashion Statement in Turkey
By Dorian Jones
Istanbul
17 March 2008


The wearing of a headscarf in accordance to Muslim belief is the center of a major political controversy in Turkey, after the ruling Islamic-rooted AK Party changed the constitution to ease a ban on the wearing of Islamic dress in the country's universities. But Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul that in Turkey there is more to wearing a headscarf than just religious belief.


In one of Istanbul's new and luxurious shopping malls, among the thousands of women checking out the latest fashions are religiously dressed students Ayse and Sibel. Along with traditional long coats, they are wearing brightly colored scarves in shades of hot pink and vivid purple. For Ayse, the scarf is not only a religious symbol, but also an important fashion accessory.

"When we enter a store we walk directly to bright colors," said Ayse. "There are some brands that we follow the same way we follow for our clothes. But maybe when we get older we might end up wearing darker colors, like our parents., the way you wear your scarf says so much about who you are."

Most religious women in Turkey tend to buy home-grown fashion labels, but according to Huand Gokcen, the city's religious jet set considers Italy to be the only place for scarves.

'They particularly enjoy Fendi scarves, Ferrari scarves; it is all about status for them," said Gokcen. "They like to show off to each other, and they always keep up with the newest collections. They know what is new, what is not, what is last season, but they are always willing to give big money for the scarves."

Gokcen travels to Como in northern Italy - the world capital of scarves she says - to serve the insatiable demand of her rich religious cliental, who think nothing of paying $700 for the latest Italian model.

But doesn't wearing brightly colored scarves in fashionable patterns contradict the Muslim habit of covering a woman's head to protect her virtue? Gokcen says her clients do not see the paradox.

"They feel they are being modest by covering themselves, only by covering, they are being modest they do not need to wear black," she said. "They still need to be women. The fact they cannot show their hair, they have to compete in other ways, they are not able to dye their hair color, so they use the scarves as a way of competing with themselves. Even if they are covered they still want to show their femininity in certain way. I guess they have found this outlet."

Turkey's own fashion industry, however, is changing to meet the demands of the country's increasingly prosperous and fashion conscious clients

At the Tekbir fashion show, models parade down the catwalk displaying the latest headscarves. Tekbir is one of Turkey's leading religious dress labels.

Company founder Mustafa Karadurman says it is not only the colors and styles that define Islamic women, but also the way the scarf is worn.

"Ninety eight percent of the population in Turkey is Muslim and 65 to 70 percent of the women are covered," said Karadurman. "But there are so many different ways women wear their scarf, which says so much about them. Some just tie it under their chin, which is traditional way women wear it in the countryside. Others cover their head and neck, which is more religious. Some show a little hair, while others do not, this also says a lot about a women. It is a serious business, but also an increasing lucrative one. We had a target for 100 stores, we opened 30 so far, but there is capacity to open for another 70 more stores."

For Turkey's Islamic fashion producers, business has never looked better. Whether in somber tones for the more conservative or vivid colors for the young and adventurous, the head scarf has become in Turkey not only a religious symbol, but also a statement of fashion and class.

audio of tafsir of surah Asr part 2

audio of tafsir of surah Asr part 1

Modernization from Islamic Perspective

• Islam is Enlightenment

First and foremost, secular capitalistic democratic modernization is not successful, because it was created by humans, who are limited in their ability to judge, reason, and comprehend creation. Allah, the Creator of all that exists, says:

“Such is Alah, your Lord! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Creator of all things. So worship Him (Alone), and He is the Wakil (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian) over all things” (Surah Al-An’am 6:102).

Because He is the Creator, He is in a better position to tell us, how we should live for our benefit and progress.

Islam encourages holistic knowledge within the boundaries of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “Seek knowledge even in China,” and ”Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” Muslims have made great advances in mathematics, chemistry, medicine, and astronomy to name just a few.

Islam’s birth was the light for humanity and the world at large. Allah says:

“Then if they reject you (O Muhammad (saw)), so were Messengers rejected before you, who came with Al-Bayyinat (clear signs, proofs, evidences) and the Scripture and the Book of Enlightenment” (Surah Al-Imran 3:184).

“Allah is the Wali (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Auliya (supporters and helpers) are Taghut [false deities and false leaders’, they bring them out from light into darkness. Those are the dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:257).

These beautiful words remind us that Allah led us out of the darkness of Kufr to the light of Islam. Many converts to Islam can testify to this. Before, we did not have dignity or respect for ourselves. Our thoughts were shallow and limited to our desires. We saw only races and colours in our fellow human beings— blinded to the potentials of brotherhood. Truly, Islam enlightens us today, as it did the pagan Arabs of yesterday.

• Progress and Advancement in Islam

Progress is not limited to material advancement, but is holistic in nature. A civilization cannot be called developed, if its creed does not address the greatest questions of the humankind: where do we come from? what is the purpose of life? what happens after the life of this world? Islam profoundly answers these questions—thus, it can be truly called enlightened. Islam deals with a changing world through Ijtihad (exerting effort in understanding a reality, so that it can be judged by Islam to be permitted or not).

• Islam’s Motives Differ from Capitalism

Islam does not allow the hoarding of wealth and privatization of natural resources. The Islamic State (which does not exist today) administers the natural resources for the benefit of the people. Allah says about spending:

“O you who believe! Spend of that with which We have provided for you, before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor friendships, nor intercession. And it is the disbelievers who are the Zalimun (wrong-doers)” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:254).

“And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers)” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:195).

To Allah we all will return, so it is better to keep our eyes on the objective of life, when it comes to our wealth. If we can alleviate some of the pain of the poor, we should do it. The objective of modern capitalism, however, is to gain more and more wealth, while the masses live in poverty.

• Family Ties and Community in Islam

An extreme emphasis on individuality has stripped society of the feeling of community, especially in the West. One is not to ‘cut the ties of the womb’ in Islam. Muslims must take care of their parents and visit their relatives. Muslims must be aware of being a part of one Ummah, which, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), feels pain as if one body—not nation states.

Finally, many of us are professionals, who learned what we know from theorists and scientists of the West. We must understand that the roots of western ideologies are based only on worldly wisdom. It does not mean that technology, industry, medicine, and research cannot be benefited from. However, we should not depart from Allah (God) in the process, as the West did.

Allah says:

“And so judge (you o Muhammad (saw)) among them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you (O Muhmammad (saw)) far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that Allah’s Will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly, most of men are Fasiqun (rebellious and disobedient to Allah)” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:49).

The problem of today’s world is not in one symptom or many symptoms. The problem is the root cause -- going away from Allah. I pray to Allah to forgive my sins and make this short essay benefit our Ummah. Ameen.

The Islamic Personality

The Islamic Personality


Islam has provided a complete treatment for man to form for him a specific personality, which is distinct from all others. With the Aqeedah (creed), it treated his thoughts, making it an intellectual basis upon which his thoughts are built and according to which his concepts are formed. He distinguishes true thought from false when he measures it against the Islamic Aqeedah and builds it on the Aqeedah in its capacity as an intellectual basis. So his mentality is formed over this Aqeedah. This intellectual basis, the Aqeedah, thus provides him with a distinct mentality and a true criterion for thoughts. It thus safeguards him against erroneous thought; he expels false thought and remains honest in his thought and sound in his comprehension.

At the same time, man’s actions, which stem from his instincts and organic needs are properly treated by Islam with Shari’ah rules, which emanate from the Aqeedah itself. The Shari’ah rules regulate but do not suppress instincts, they harmonise between them, not leaving them free without restriction. They enable him to satisfy all his needs in a harmonious manner that leads to tranquillity and stability. Islam has made the Islamic Aqeedah an intellectual one, thus making it suitable as an intellectual basis against which thoughts can be measured. It also made its Aqeedah a comprehensive idea about man, life, and the universe. This comprehensive idea has solved for him all of his complexities whether internal or external. This made it suitable as a general concept, i.e. a criterion that is used naturally when the association between drives and concepts occurs, that is a criterion according to which inclinations are formed. So, Islam provided man with a definite basis, which represented a definite criterion for both concepts and inclinations, that is for mentality and disposition at the same time. Thus Islam formed the personality in such a special way so that it is distinct from other personalities.

We conclude that Islam forms the personality by means of the Islamic creed. This Islamic Aqeedah forms both his mentality and disposition. Accordingly, the Islamic mentality is the one that thinks on the basis of Islam, i.e. that takes Islam and only Islam as the general criterion for thoughts related to life. It is not the mentality that is merely knowledgeable or pensive. Rather, the mere fact that a person actually and practically takes Islam as the criterion for all thoughts makes his mentality Islamic.

The Islamic Nafsiyyah (disposition) is the one that makes all its inclinations based on Islam, i.e. that makes Islam the only general criterion for all satisfactions. It is not the one, which is merely ascetical or stringent. Rather, the mere fact that a person actually and practically makes Islam the criterion for all satisfactions makes his disposition Islamic. A person with this mentality and this disposition thus becomes an Islamic personality, irrespective of whether he is knowledgeable or ignorant, and irrespective of whether he confines himself to observing the obligatory (fard) and recommended (mandoub) rules and refrains from haram (prohibited action), or he observes besides this, other recommended acts of obedience and avoidance of suspicious acts. In both cases, a person is an Islamic personality because anyone who thinks on the basis of Islam and makes his desires conform to Islam is an Islamic personality.

Yes, indeed Islam did order the Muslim to learn more Islamic culture, so that this mentality grows and becomes capable of measuring any thought. Islam also demanded performing matters beyond the (fard) and demanded the avoidance of matters more than the haram (prohibited actions) in order that this disposition is strengthened, so that it becomes capable of deterring any inclination that is incompatible with Islam. But all this is intended to enhance this personality and to set it to proceed towards a sublime pinnacle. Yet this does not classify as non-Islamic, those personalities which are inferior to this one. Rather, this is an Islamic personality and those inferior to it of the common knowledgeable who act in accordance with Islam and the educated who confine themselves to performing the fards (compulsory rules) and refraining from the harams (prohibited actions) are also Islamic personalities. These types of personality only vary in strength but are all Islamic personalities. What matters when judging whether someone is an Islamic personality is whether he takes Islam as the basis for his thinking and inclinations. It is according to this that Islamic personalities, mentalities, and nafsiyyahs (dispositions) become disparate.

So those who envisage an Islamic personality as an angel commit a grave misjudgement. Their harm in society is enormous, because they look for angels amongst people and never find them; they do not find an angel even in themselves. They thus despair and give up hope for Muslims. Those idealistic people verily serve as proof that Islam is utopian, impossible to implement, and is a host of admirable ideals that man cannot implement or endure. Consequently, they repulse people from Islam and render many people too paralysed to act; although Islam came in order to be implemented in practice. Islam is realistic, i.e. it deals with realities and it is not difficult to implement. It is within the potential of every man, no matter how weak his thinking is and how strong his instincts and needs are. Such a man can implement Islam upon himself smoothly and easily after he has comprehended the Islamic Aqeedah and become an Islamic personality. This is because he definitely becomes an Islamic personality merely by making the Islamic Aqeedah the basis for his concepts and inclinations and maintaining this criterion.

The only task that he has to perform afterwards, is to strengthen his personality with the Islamic culture in order for his mentality to grow, and with recommended acts of obedience to strengthen his Nafsiyyah, so that he is on the path to a sublime pinnacle, which he would not only reach but also surpass towards ever-elevating peaks. This is due to the fact that Islam has treated man’s mentality with its Aqeedah when it made this Aqeedah the intellectual basis on which to build his thoughts about life. So, he distinguishes true from false thought when he measures thoughts against the Islamic Aqeedah and builds them on it because it is an intellectual basis. Thus, he safeguards himself against erroneous thought, avoids false thought and remains true in his thought and sound in his comprehension.

Islam has treated man’s inclinations with Shari’ah rules when it treated his actions, which emanate from his instincts and organic needs. This treatment is sensitive; it regulates instincts but does not harm them by attempting to destroy them. It does not leave them free and unrestricted but puts them in harmony. It enables man to satisfy all his needs in a harmonious manner that leads to tranquillity and stability. So, a Muslim who embraces Islam through ration and evidence and fully implements Islam upon himself and understands correctly the rules of Allah (swt), this Muslim is an Islamic personality distinct from all others. He achieves the Islamic mentality when he makes the Islamic Aqeedah the basis for his thinking. And he achieves the Islamic Nafsiyyah when he makes this Aqeedah the basis for his inclinations. Hence, the Islamic personality is characterised with special attributes that distinguish the Muslim and mark him amongst people; he is as outstanding amongst them as a mole on the face. These attributes that characterise him are an inevitable result of his observance of Allah’s commands and prohibitions and of performing his actions in accordance with these commands and prohibitions as a result of his awareness of his relationship with Allah (swt). Thus, his aim from observing the Shari’a is nothing but to please Allah (swt).

After a Muslim has achieved an Islamic mentality and nafsiyyah, he becomes qualified for cadetship and leadership simultaneously. He combines mercy and toughness, luxury and asceticism. He truly understands life, so he seizes this worldly life, allocating for it only its due significance, and he gains the hereafter by striving for it. Accordingly, he is not dominated by any of the attributes of the worshippers of worldly life. He does not drift with religious monomania or Indian asceticism. Simultaneously, he is a hero of Jihad and a resident of a prayer chamber. He humbles himself when he is a master. He combines within him leadership and jurisprudence, trade and politics. His most sublime attribute is that he is a servant of Allah’s, his Creator. Therefore, you see him humble in his prayer; he refrains from futile talk; he pays his Zakaah; he lowers his gaze; he observes his trusts; he honours his pledge; he keeps his promise; and he performs Jihad.

Thus is the Muslim. Thus is the believer. Thus is the Islamic personality, which Islam forms and by which it makes a person most righteous amongst people.

Allah (swt) described this personality in the Holy Qur’an with a number of ayahs (verses) when He described the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) and when he described the servants of Allah Most Gracious and when He described those who perform Jihad. Allah Almighty says:

"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, but compassionate amongst each other,"[29:48].

And He says:

"The vanguard (of Islam), the first of those who forsook (their homes) and of those who gave them aid, and (also) those who follow them in all good deeds, well-pleased is Allah with them as are they with Him," [100:10]

And He says:

"The believers must (eventually) win through. Those who humble themselves in their prayers; who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of charity"[1-4:23]

And He says:

"and the servants of Allah Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!" Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord, prostate and standing." [63-64:25]

And He says:

"But the Messenger, and those who believe with him strive and fight with their wealth and their persons: for them are (all) good things: and it is they who will prosper. Allah has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein: that is the supreme felicity" [88-89:9]

And He said:

"Those that turn to Allah in repentance; that serve Him and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the cause of Allah; that bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer; they enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah; these do rejoice. So proclaim the glad tidings to the Believers" [112:9]