My point is simply this - try to look at the whole puzzle, not just one piece. Some continue to relegate the obstacles facing the Muslim world to religion, negating the effects of political, economic, cultural and social institutions. They also throw history out the door. One such statement, which I will attempt to dispel here, was made in another post - “Islam is the cause of poverty”. This statement denies the existence of the devastating impacts of colonization (not to mention the other multi-faceted causes of poverty). It is my contention that colonialism (and neo-colonialism) is the major factor contributing to poverty.
Its a well known fact that ‘colonialism’ has had a devastating impact on the ‘developing world’. European colonialism was different in nature from other forms of colonialism. For the Muslim world,
- “colonialism quite literally altered the geographic and institutional map of the Middle East, or perhaps more accurately, it often drew the boundaries and appointed the leaders for much of the modern Muslim world. It replaced or transformed indigenous political, social, economic, legal, and educational institutions and explicitly as well as implicitly challenged Muslim faith and culture.” (John Esposito - The Islamic Threat) *
On the other hand, Turkey’s Ottoman rule or colonialism (I’m not sure if we can call it colonialism, but nevertheless) is described in history books as this:
- “The King of the Turks, who rules over a great part of Europe, safeguards the rites of religion as well as any prince in this world. Yet, he constrains no one, but on the contrary permits everyone to live as his conscience dictates. What is more, even in his seraglio at Pera he permits the practice of four diverse religions, that of the Jews, the Christian according to the Roman rite, and according to the Greek rite, and that of Islam.” (French political philosopher Jean Bodin) *
The impact on the colonized remain - that impact includes impoverishment. This impoverishment is not relegated to the Muslim world, it encompasses the entire developed world. Rich civilizations once flourished in many of the regions of the pre-colonial world including Latin America, Asia and Africa.
- “Europe lagged behind Asia in industrial skill. In exchange for silk, cotton, sugar and spices, Europe could export only small arms, which were hardly any better than those made in the East…The superiority of commerce, handicraft and administration in China in comparison with Italian cities was the theme of the fascinating story Marco Polo told…His story relates to the end of the thirteenth century, but there is no indication that Europe was catching up with China in the following century and a half.” (Woytinksky, World Commerce and Governments) *
As late as 1793 the Emperor of China writes to King George III, * “as your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious and have no use for your countries manufactures.” * After colonization societies suffered economically, were ripped of much of their cultural heritage and were left with weak and undesirable leaders, who were well entrenched in the colonial psyche. Most are still overcoming these impacts. Africa and Latin America, in particular are regions of the world, which were destroyed by the colonial empires that occupied them.
Colonialism in itself in turn had an effect on Muslims. The interactions between the Muslim world and the West have almost always been violent, from the crusades to the period of colonial rule.
- “European colonialism posed both a political and a religious challenge. It abruptly reversed a pattern of self-rule in the Muslim world which had existed from the time of the Prophet…The Political challenge of European colonialism was intensified by the threat posed by the wave of Christian missionary activity which sought to win souls for Christ and openly questioned the validity of Islam in the modern world…The external threat to Muslim identity and autonomy intensified profound religious as well as political questions for many in the Muslim world.” (John Esposito - The Islamic Threat) *
The response from Muslims has been one of preservation and Islamic revival. Preserving culture, religion and Islamic institutions from threat. And rejecting anything Western. This response in my opinion is understandable, in light of the years of oppression Muslims have been subjected to at the hands of foreigners. ** Neither colonialism nor Islam are solely to blame for the impoverishment of Muslims ** . The problem is deeper than that. Colonialism has definitely had an impact, some would argue that colonialism has had the most devastating impact on the developing world and is the major contributor to poverty.
- “Colonialism created conditions which led not just to periodic famine, but to chronic undernourishment, malnutrition and deterioration in the physique of the African people. If such a statement sounds wildly extravagant, it is only because bourgeois propaganda has conditioned even Africans to believe that malnutrition and starvation were the natural lot of Africans from time immemorial. A black child with a transparent rib-case, huge head, bloated stomach, protruding eyes, and twigs as arms and legs was the favorite poster of the large charitable operation knows as Oxfam…Oxfam never bothered [the] consciences [of the people of Europe] by telling them that ** capitalism and colonialism created the starvation, suffering and misery of the child in the first place ** .” (Josue de Castro, The Geography of Hunger) *
This colonialism has now been extended to the international agencies and multi-nationals which fund projects in the Third-World (see Michael Chovadusky’s, The Globalization of Poverty).
Certain aspects and interpretations of Islam too have had an impact and contributed to the impoverishment of the world. In particular aspects dealing with women. Gender inequality has contributed to the impoverishment of Muslims in certain areas of the world. However, when understanding how Islam has had this impact - we cannot divorce the processes which encouraged the evolution and creation of what some call ‘fundamentalist’ interpretations of Islam from Islam itself. These processes include the impacts of colonization. Colonialism was a catalyst to the creation of ‘fundamentalist’ interpretations of Islam. Fundamentalist Islam is a reaction to colonialism
The fact that an empire flourished for hundreds of years under the banner of Islam in the past, demonstrates that Islam can co-exist with civil society, that Islam is not an evil, that Islam can encourage the fostering of an environment conducive to the healthy functioning of society.
- “Up till 1000 the West was a poor, backward and illiterate region, precariously defending itself against the assaults of barbarous nations by land and sea…All this while for four centuries, Islam enjoyed an internal peace and security, untroubled save for domestic wars, and thus was able to build up a brilliant and impressive urban culture.” (JJ Saunders, A Medieval History of Islam) *
Our rich history demonstrates this and as long as Muslims can remember those times of greatness, they will always revel in the past and strive for a return and promote Islamic revival.
Achtung 
- “Not so very long ago, the earth numbered two thousand million inhabitants: five hundred million men, and one thousand five hundred million natives. The former had the World; the others had the use of it. Between the two there were hired kinglets, overlords, and a bourgeoisie, sham from beginning to end, which served as go-betweens. In the colonies the truth stood naked, but the citizens of mother country preferred it with clothes on: the native had to love them, something in the way mothers are loved. The European elite undertook to manufacture a native elite. They picked out promising adolescents; they branded them, as with a red-hot iron, with the principles of Western culture; they stuffed their mouths full with high sounding phrases, grand glutinous words that stuck to the teeth. After a short stay in the mother country they were sent home, white washed.” (Jean Paul Sartre) *
[This message has been edited by Achtung (edited April 25, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Achtung (edited April 25, 1999).]