Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Development Demystified:
An Islamic Perspective
Mohammad O. Farooq, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
Upper Iowa University
Fayette, IA 52142
563-422-5204
A paper presented at the
First Conference of NAAMPS
April 9-11, 1993
Chicago, Illinois
INTRODUCTION
Whatever way "underdevelopment" is defined and whether one accepts or rejects any such definition, the following questions remain unresolved: why "underdevelopment" persists, particularly in the Muslim world? Is it a permanent feature of Muslim societies? Are poverty and deprivation, hunger and famine, infant-mortality and illiteracy, epidemic and disaster, political turmoil and repression, external dependence and national beggarliness indelible characteristics of Muslim societies and compatible with Islam?
While the pile of literature on development and underdevelopment is steadily growing, with contributions from the Western pundits and their counterparts in the underdeveloped world, especially Muslims are not succeeding in making any appreciable dent in the problem of underdevelopment. Even the Islamic response to the problem of underdevelopment is intellection at best, and mired in, among many other factors, the pitfalls of "Islamic social science" compartmentalized in the same way as western social science is. Are we all, witting or unwitting, participants in mystifying the problem of underdevelopment? Is there really some secrets about development that is yet to be discovered, something that Muslims in particular do not know yet? If the answer to the above question is negative, then what is the value of the intellectual and practical efforts to date of Muslims in analyzing and overcoming our current, but chronic conditions that according to Islamic criteria too are utterly unacceptable?
The main thesis of this paper is that there is no secret about development and underdevelopment. And, if there is not, then, Muslims who aspire a global transformation of the Ummah, regardless of their professional and academic backgrounds, must reexamine their orientation and explore new perspectives to diagnose and address this issue.
Consistent with NAAMPS' commitment to research works that are communicable to broader spectrum of Muslims, this paper is primarily analytical-descriptive. It examines the conventional approaches of academicians and practitioners, Muslims and non-Muslims, to deal with the problems of underdevelopment, particularly in muslim countries, and offers a new perspective for Muslims based on the main thesis stated above.
THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT: WESTERN & ISLAMIC
Although development is generally recognized as broader in scope than in its economic dimensions, it is the economic component that remains the primary yardstick of development. Not surprisingly the Muslim World constitutes the majority in the so-called "underdeveloped," "less developed," "developing," or "third" world. Muslims may readily, and sometimes quite legitimately, reject such western classification or characterization, but the sad reality--poverty, deprivation, hunger, famine, infant-mortality, illiteracy, political turmoil, repression, external dependence--still persists.
In a narrow economic sense, the western world epitomizes development and its development experience traditionally constitutes the main contribution to the understanding of underdevelopment. Most often in the same line, and occasionally, as reaction to the western approach, Islamic responses have been articulated. However, we are faced with two "open secrets."
First, it is no secret that despite all the intellectual contribution, by non-Muslims and Muslims, in the broad field of development, the Muslim world is not developing either in the Islamic or western sense. Second, there are some Asian countries, even in the narrower western sense, are becoming at least economically developed, and thus "how to develop?" cannot be treated as a myth or fiction, but as an open secret.
Neither of these two issues requires any elaborate defense, because their implications are so obvious. As far as the first issue is concerned, one may, for the sake of argument, draw our attention to Malaysia and Turkey as examples of Muslim countries that have fared better than other Muslim countries. However, according to the western standard that achievement is hardly distinguished. In comparison to what the West calls "development, or even to, other newly industrialized countries, such as South Korea and Taiwan, Turkey and Malaysia do not add up.1
The second issue is even less obscure. The world has never seen any equivalent of "development" as epitomized by the achievements of the West. Some Muslims might readily argue that we, the Muslims, are not supposed to be developed like the West. So be it. But, what is our Islamic criteria of development and are we developed or developing according to those criteria?
If we take the western perspective on development, then the world is around us to observe. The pages of our contemporary history are open before our eyes. We are parts of this evolving experience. Whether one considers the western pattern and level of development as desirable or not, the relevant fact is that we are not developed like them, nor we can expect ever to be, considering time as a healer, if businesses in the Muslim Ummah continue as usual.
If we look for an Islamic perspective on development, one does not have to come up with a perfect criteria. Any criteria that is taken and reasonably derived from Islam leads to only one conclusion: we are not developed. In light of modern intellectual contributions to Islamic development, it is generally suggested that economic development is Islam ought to enhance welfare in both stages of life, here and hereafter.2 One can even suggest an index of such economic development, which may be broadly "based on: (1) economic growth, (2) equity in the distribution of income and wealth, and (3) a healthy and congenial social environment of Islamic norms and values."3
We can apply any such index to individual Muslim nation-states as well as to the Muslim world in general.4 Are we already developed based on such an index? Are we developing, if not fast enough, at least, in the proper direction? Is there any ambiguity about the answer to these questions? Therefore, whether from an narrow, western perspective or from an Islamic perspective, Muslim societies are not developed, nor are developing in a path consistent with Islam. If this is a valid conclusion, then we are confronted with a fundamental question: WHY?
Once again, if we approach from a western perspective, one issue naturally arises: Is there anything secret about development? The entire saga of the emergence of the west as the dominating civilization has unfolded in full light of, not ancient but, modern history. The West's development paths are documented. I should make it clear that my contention is not that the western approach or path is what we should follow. Rather, my argument is that there is no secret about development, whether in the western sense or in Islamic sense.
If we deal with the same issue from an Islamic perspective, it would be awfully pitiful if our answer is that we do not really know how to develop ourselves into what we ought to be. That Islam does not give us precise, adequate and relevant guidance for us to develop ourselves as a society is not a tenable proposition. Once again, is there anything secret about development? If the answer is no, then why are we not developing? It is a vital question because it may contain the promise of demystifying development.
Such a demystification is essential for Muslim intellectuals concerned about development. For the west, they have a good grasp of how did they develop. The concern of the West in this century has been to stabilize and sustain their achievements and pushing it beyond. For Muslims, the scenario is quite different. The colonial period has left a sticky imprint of the western heritage, only in a negative way, on our culture and psyche, both institutionally and intellectually. Therefore, the era of nationalism in the Muslim world began often with convoluted mix of Islamic and western orientation. However, in essence, West was taken as the example to follow. Even those who wanted to become free from western colonialism, it was only to have an "independent" opportunity to follow the footsteps and mimic the west. In our love-hate relationship with our former colonial masters, it is in our effort to mimic the west where we have utterly failed. Neither we could abandon Islam, nor could we become like the west, and, as a society, never we could take a decisive step to go for either west or Islam exclusively.5
Professionally or academically active Muslims who have interest in development of a particular Muslim country or the Ummah as a whole are piling up their contribution to ideas related to development. At the national level, short-term and long-term plans are being drawn in every Muslim country that hardly get implemented. Combined with corruption and abuse of power, the political instability and absence of a clear vision, other than the paltry effort to mimic the west, in virtually all Muslim countries, has contributed to an entrenched dualistic pattern of development, within as well as among Muslim countries.
Piles of books, journals, proceedings, documents, etc. are being published and piling up in the Muslim world and elsewhere. But, we are failing to escape the vicious cycle. Much of these contributions suffer, of course, from what I call ceteris paribus syndrome. Economists are fond of developing their analyses ceteris paribus, that is, other things remaining the same. These analyses often do not relate to a reality that we might actively try to create. Rather, they may deal with the existing reality that is unacceptable and, thus, must be changed, or sometimes they deal with a scenario where the desired reality is created as a process of intellection without any effort to actually bring about that reality.6 In either case, our endeavors usually lead to marginal improvements in our societies within the existing framework. We keep researching problems, analyzing and examining issues, and testing hypothesis, and then at the action level, recommending and implementing policies the impact of which remain to be peripheral at best to the society's problems. In a way, we are mystifying or obscuring the problems and issues.
The bottom line is: Is there any secret to development that we are not aware of, or is it that we are not addressing the issues in the way we ought to? My contention is that there is no secret to development that we are not aware of. By either accepting the existing conditions ceteris paribus or not focusing on the real barriers to development to determine our course of collective action, we are simply mystifying or obscuring some basic, simple, bottom-line facts.
FUNDAMENTAL BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT
In analyzing our contemporary conditions of misery, we readily crown the West with all the credit and the blame. This is quite natural to human psyche that when it comes to credit, we do not want to share with someone else, and when it comes to blame, no one wants any part of it. Muslim societies must come to terms with fact that their underlying problems are primarily internal to their own societies and deeply rooted in their own history.7 These internal conditions weakened the Ummah from within so much that it could not prove its viability in confrontation with the aggressive and well-prepared modern west.
Colonial powers in pursuit of their ambitions have exploited these weaknesses of the Muslim societies and then buttressed them further so that it becomes that much more difficult for the Muslim societies to break out of their existing mold. They reinforced and enhanced the already existing dualistic trends within the Muslim societies. Those who were at the control of the power structure in the Muslim world were already not committed to the interest of the Ummah and Islam. Colonial scavengers found a breed of Muslims in abundance who would sacrifice everything including Islam for worldly pursuits. This breed, overpowered by the colonial power, sought new destiny for themselves. They and their posterity have survived through the colonial period and, imbibed with the spirit of western nationalism, led the nationalist, independence movements and, in turn, continued to be at the helm of power and control in the post-colonial Muslim world. Where colonialism was not direct, colonial powers found dependable lackeys and installed them as needed and desired.
So we have a fragmented Muslim world, unable to either defend themselves as individual nations or collectively as the Ummah or to pursue a goal of revitalizing themselves within an Islamic framework, have inherited an elitist power-structure that is not loyal and committed to either their respective national interest or the interest of the Muslim Ummah and Islam. Thus, development for them means an effort and ambition subordinated to the interests of the former colonial masters. Even though there are forty-plus muslim nation-states, their dependence on the west on virtually all fronts and subordination of their interest to the dictates of the west are so obvious that any elaboration on this issue is redundant.
Add to that the moral decadence leading to open corruptions in muslim societies for which the powerfuls are not accountable. How such an institutional structure, disloyalty of which to their own nations or to the Ummah and Muslims has been unashamedly open, continues to survive? Partly, not wholly, it has been possible by an intricate and effective international network and hegemony. From United Nations to other international organizations such as World Bank and IMF, from Arab League to the Islamic Conference Organization within the Muslim World, the Ummah is trapped into a global structure (these days, euphemistically described as the new world order) that has become so routine and incidental to our existence that we have lost sight to their true nature and mission.
In pursuit of our westernized dream, we have almost sacrificed Islam as our down payment. Yet we cannot seem to effectively mimic our former masters. What is holding us back? Why are we then not being developed? One cannot really avoid this question: If any Muslim nation or the Ummah as a whole does want to attain the goal of narrowly defined western type of development or the vision of a prosperous, viable, competitive, and dynamic Islamic civilization, is there anything that can truly hold them back? Of course, merely wanting is not enough. But when visions and dreams are transformed into a realistic, capable, and relentless pursuit, once again, what can stand in the way of attaining such a vision or goal?
Virtually nothing. Yes, there could be many obstacles and hardships. But if one approaches this issue from historical perspective, examples of success abound. As Muslims we can add the Qur'anic dimension to the human experience to date, and we have to conclude that Qur'an unequivocally teaches that Muslim society ought to be the primary instrument for healthy changes and they can succeed in this pursuit because all the requisite potentials are at their disposal, should they desire to reach out for.
Let us evaluate the contributions of Islamic intelligentsia to the relevant thoughts. The contemporary orientation of Muslims in this context can be divided into two groups. The first group includes those whose contributions are primarily academic or intellectual. The most systematic and comprehensive academic or intellectual articulation of these issues that has led to a broad agenda in the Muslim world is: Islamization of Knowledge.8 The scope and purpose of this paper would not allow us to scrutinize this so-called paradigm on its intellectual merit and relevance.9 A basic problem with such initiatives and contributions is that they are well-intended to enhance the cause of bringing about meaningful changes in the Muslim Societies. However, their source of funding and mellow approach when it comes to deal with hard issues related to the status quo serve as self-imposed barriers. Thus, their contribution, however meritorious on intellectual ground, remains peripheral to the actual need of the Ummah at best.
On the action front, the initiatives in the Muslim world range from no to irrelevant to inadequate actions. So far, the development agenda in the Muslim world has been expectedly carried out by the governments. The mass has not been active participants in the development process. This has of course reinforced the dualistic pattern of development in muslim societies. The change-lovers, at whatever cost necessary, have created an enclave where fast changes are taking place, leaving the majority of people, particularly in the rural areas, often a century behind. The role of the mass has ranged from inactive to withdrawn to unconcerned. The problems of illiteracy and deprivation of basic needs remain as the salient features of their lives.
Those who are actively involved in some way with the issues and agenda of development fall in several categories. The government and its establishment and those who work closely with them, of course, are the primary forces for the status quo. Although many among them may truly desire change, the nature of the status quo is such that merely desire without adequate agenda for change cannot be effective. In recent decades, the failure of the establishments has created a window of opportunity for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to play an increasingly important role. However, NGOs and their roles in the private sector cannot be substitutes for the role of government, and therefore, the effects of these NGOs are bound to be limited and peripheral to the overall need of the society.10
There are also Islamic groups that have been in the scene for a considerable time. However, despite their significant contributions, their overall role appears to be marginalized for the desired change. Two major reasons for this can be easily identified. First, if not nationally or domestically, most of these contemporary Islamic movements have developed and maintained a close link with the international forces and global networks for the status quo. Thus, a group, organization, institution, or party may oppose the structures and agendas domestic to their country, but they do not mind being entrapped by an international muslim organization or a rich muslim country whose commitment to the global status quo or the close identification with the western interest is proven. Such groups, despite their stated goals and significant contribution in many other ways, become partners of the forces for the status quo. Secondly, most of these groups have more political than social involvement and orientation. Thus, although they are major player in the political scene, their grass-root support remains insignificant. Those who take constitutional-parliamentary route to challenge the system do not get the necessary votes from the people, and those who resort who systematic violence, do not find people as their active partners. The stalemate and status quo continue as usual.
IF WE WANT TO DEVELOP INTO WHATEVER WE WANT
There are some basic preconditions to development that are universal to human societies. These are bottom lines, we cannot get around them.
First, development can be viewed as two complementary processes: autonomous and induced. In human society, when we are not isolated from each other, change in one part of the society or world would affect in some way the other parts. The effect does not have to be total or even significant; however, no society can be completely immune from the ongoing changes around it. Autonomous changes that occur primarily through social interaction do not guarantee that the resulting changes are desirable for those who are affected.
The other, complementary process is non-autonomous or induced. This process has to do with conscious choice and efforts of people. People are not going to go to heaven by chance, and those who do not want to go there are not going to. Only those who want to go and works for it will go. That is true in this material world too. No country becomes developed in a true sense by chance, nor a society becomes developed despite its collective wish not to be so. Therefore, if the Muslim societies want to develop, they must want it and make the necessary effort and sacrifice for it. Viewing these ideas about non-autonomous development from another angle, if any society does want to develop and are willing to work adequately for it, there is no reason why they cannot be developed.
Second, a broad, long-term vision is a must for being developed. It must be clear to us what do we want to be. For Muslims, it is not specific enough to say that they want to build a society according to Qur'an and Sunnah. They must break down this meta-goal into specific objectives progress toward which can be meaningfully assessed. It may require a set of priorities that must express the desire and goal of the group, a country or the Ummah. For example, usually very few Muslims, even among those who ardently call others toward Qur'an and Sunnah, can identify five most important objectives in their Aakhirah-bound life in this world that are shared by a large portion of the society. We need an articulation of these specific goals and objectives toward which the individual persons, organizations, or countries--all being parts of one Ummah--can contribute. It is not enough to state our goal that we all want to go to heaven. We have to know what does that ultimate goal require in this life at the individual as well as collective level.11
Another aspect of long-term vision is that we cannot be impatient. Social changes are always slow and sometimes deeper changes occur in decades or centuries. What is important is to move in the right direction as fast as possible.
Thirdly, knowing where someone or a society wants to go is not enough. It is also important that we have a clear and precise understanding of how do we want to go. People cannot go to heaven without knowing how to go there. People cannot be developed, patterned after the west or Islam, without knowing how can we become developed. Muslims need to understand not only Sunnah of the Prophet (s), but also Sunnatullah. Allah has put in place certain laws (Sunnatullah) guiding the natural as well as social processes that according to the Qur'an does not change [al-Isra': 77]. These laws provide the continuity and stability as well as determine the natural and social change.12
Fourthly, beyond knowing where we want to go and how we go there, there has to be a commitment and dedication on the part of those who want to reach their destinations. This part is particularly important. Societies are like ships. Every ship must have a captain. Ship goes where captains take it to, unless the captains' destinations coincide with the same of those on board or they represent the people on board. The parallel between a ship and a society in regard to the role and position of the captain is, of course, oversimplified here. The people in charge or control of a society represent an institutional structure underlying which is usually a well-established cultural pattern. Such institutional structures can take diverse forms. If such structures are barriers to specific destinations of a society, then such structures must be replaced with appropriate alternatives, which also requires that the underlying cultural or behavioral patterns and foundations are changed too.
The preconditions identified above have not been very precisely defined here, and the list, by no means, is exhaustive either. However, these preconditions can serve as a point of departure for developing an agenda for meaningful and constructive dialogue among Muslims desiring true change. Furthermore, fulfillment of these preconditions does not automatically guarantee any subsequent success resulting in a process of autonomous development. However, meeting these preconditions is only a necessary condition. Failure of the Muslim Ummah and the fragmented muslim nation-states to meet these preconditions is the main reason, to this author, why we are not being developed. Once these preconditions are achieved, it would provide initial conditions conducive to our true development. Given our current conditions, we cannot expect success either in effective mimicry of the west or in capable realization of broader civilization goals of Islam.
TOWARD A GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE UMMAH
We live in an age that is stooped with a baroque tradition of buzz words or expressions. Global Transformation could be such a buzz expression. However, the problem is not with words or expressions, but with the lack of substance often these buzz words or expressions represent. It may take a while before it would be clear whether the expression Global Transformation is another hollow buzz word or not. But there is no reason to limit ourselves, who desire true and adequate change in our societies, to any such expressions. On the other hand, if we are not hung up by expressions, rather focus on substances, specific expressions may serve as useful heuristic or communication tool.
An initially adequate, but thorough articulation of the idea of global transformation is beyond the scope of this paper. However, few relevant aspects can be highlighted. We are already sufficiently acquainted with the failed development experience within the nation-state structures. The so-called independence of muslim-nation states has been quite hollow. We must face the fact that if we continue to indulge ourselves in following the current patterns of development, neither any of the muslim nation-state can expect to attain the level of so-called developed western countries nor the Ummah and its fragmented components can achieve their Islamic goals.
The international efforts within the Muslim world, whether with secular or Islamic motivations, have also proved to be dismal failures. When the dysfunctional muslim nation-states participate in an international forum such as Arab League, Islamic Conference Organization, or Muslim World League (Rabita al-Alam al-Islami), the result is not any greater functionality, relevance, or usefulness.13 It is high time that Muslims be cognizant of these facts and begin to formulate their responses to effectively deal with the status quo.
The Islamic initiatives within the nation-state framework have also been a quasi-failure. The traditional patterns of Islamic movements as in most muslim countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria, Jordan speak for themselves. The extreme Islamic reaction to these movements in various countries does not promise much better results either. That is not to say that the experience of nation-states or Islamic movements have not made any contribution at all. In some cases, the experience of nation-states has been primarily misdirected and cannot be a framework for sustained pursuit for development and upliftment in any meaningful way. The experience of Islamic movements, most often have been positive and impressive within a given time frame and context. With passage of time, most of these tradition-breaking movements have become hostage of their own traditions and frozen in the frame of history.
Nothing I have articulated so far in this paper is new or extraordinary. However, I hope that in light of the above discussions the following ideas will make some modest, yet meaningful contribution. Muslims should urgently be back on the drawing board again, seriously and capably with full-weight of their creative imagination, dedication, and cooperative participation, which ought to be the hallmarks of Muslims seeking to effect positive changes in the world, beginning with themselves, of course. Given the scope of this paper, I will deal with only two more relevant aspects. First, the stage of muslim societies we are in, Muslims regardless of their backgrounds -- professionally and academically, geographically and linguistically--need to synergistically coalesce themselves to develop an unified, systematic, relevant, and adequate agenda for the fulfillment of the preconditions to true changes in muslim countries. If the best of our contemporary muslim minds--economists, sociologists, physicists, engineers, physicians -- devote their lives to seek some improvement primarily in their own fields or in their societies without channeling their energies, resources, and talents to the fulfillment of these preconditions, the miserable lot of muslim societies is bound to remain unchanged. Therefore, we must accept the challenge to harness our total weight--moral, intellectual, physical, institutional, economic, political, religious, cultural, and social--to achieve these preconditions. Before bringing the baggage of our specialized backgrounds to the rescue, we must think and behave as Muslims.
Secondly, the pursuit of achieving these preconditions requires a new cultural rejuvenation authentic to the tradition and norms of Islam. No such pursuit can be purely intellectual without some link to practical actions or to our spiritual and moral rejuvenation. Such a pursuit cannot be exclusive to professionals and scholars. The bridge between the literates and larger masses has be established. Such a pursuit cannot be inhibited by entrapment of the international forces of the status quo. That, of course, requires that Muslims on one hand need to appreciate the need for their independence and self-reliance at every level. Independence is not possible if we want to achieve everything without personal sacrifices, that is, if we subordinate ourselves to what comes as free or charitable from the sponsors who either represent or earnestly promote and defend the status quo. On the other hand, Muslims need to overcome their differences. Recognizing the value of diversity, they should develop systematic and complementary networks with relevant and appropriate convergence. This cultural rejuvenation cannot be effective if we want to confine it to ourselves. Rather, as educated Muslims we are primarily responsible to create awareness and effect change in the broader spectrum of the society. It is probably in this areas where the need for a capable role is long-overdue, and efforts such as NAAMPS, hopefully, would succeed in making a significant contribution in this regard.
CONCLUSION
I view this paper as a preliminary attempt, joining many others, in developing a new focus, perspective, and agenda for the long-term Islamic pursuit of the Muslim Ummah and its various constituent components. In trying to distill some bottom lines related to our pursuit of change and development, in many cases, I have necessarily oversimplified. It does seem to me, however, that actual problems and solutions are somewhat, not easy but, basic and simple. Thus, "simple is optimal" proposition may be useful here. How we can effectively deal with the complex reality we face, with the minimum complexity in our formulation of ideas and actions, is an important challenge. Broader changes in our societies cannot be possible if the problems and solutions cannot be easily understood by those who are participants in such process of non-autonomous change.
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