This
year, up to a week after Eid ul Fitri, 719 people were reported to have died,
1184 seriously injured, and 4326 people slightly injured, due to 3279
transportation accidents during the Eid's exodus flow of people in Indonesia
travelling to visit their families for the celebration. Each year, in this, the
largest Muslim country in the world, around 40 million residents of big cities
in Indonesia make an annual homecoming (locally known as "mudik")
heading to their hometowns by various modes of transportation. This phenomenon
is not much different from other Muslim countries, although the volumes of
migration are different. In Bangladesh, for example, the third largest Muslim
country after Indonesia and Pakistan, more than 12 million Bangladeshi Muslims leave
the city of Dhaka for the villages every year at the time of Eid ul Fitri. At
the same time, Bangladesh experiences a high rate of ferry accidents due to
poor ship quality and the number of passengers travelling on them in excess of
capacity.
Muslim
families in various countries, especially in Indonesia, have a strong annual
tradition of visiting and spending time with their families during the Eid
celebration, which originates from the Islamic understanding, as expressed by
Rasulllah (saw);
"Visit each other [for a short visit]
sometimes and love will increase"
(Tabarani, Al-Baihaqi)
Unfortunately,
this good tradition costs hundreds of lives each year, caused by the
capitalistic economic policies of governments in the Muslim countries. The
phenomenon of huge traffic accidents is actually an indication of 'a clear
economic gap' between rural and urban areas, as well as a 'clear evidence' of
the incompetence of Muslim regimes in investing in the development of
people-oriented infrastructure.
The
Poor Development Vision of Capitalist States in Securing Welfare for Its People
In
the context of this homecoming phenomenon, there are two strong indications
that clearly show that the governments of Muslim countries do not have any
strong vision to seriously secure the welfare of their people:
1.
Development Gaps
between Urban and Rural Areas
The
Capitalistic development model is only growth-oriented, therefore more economic
investment is geared to serve the urban areas that have a relatively rapid
growth. Moreover, developing countries like Indonesia that always swallow the
doctrine of the capitalism economy, only concentrate economic development on
the industrial sector that requires expensive investment in order to pursue
growth. As a result, other sectors such as agriculture, are abandoned and
eventually the development itself is concentrated in the cities, without
considering the concept of area planning based on the distribution of welfare
for the people in all areas of the country – urban and rural alike. A
ridiculous paradox is present in the fact that despite this poor distribution
of welfare affecting many parts of the state, the Indonesian authorities are
still considered to have made a great achievement in the past decade simply due
to being one of the top three countries with the best economic growth in the
world. However, almost 90 percent of the villages are poor, and the economic
gap between the rural and the urban areas has continued to widen, alongside
increasing poverty levels in many parts of the country. Ironic!
2.
The Lack of State
Investment in the Development of Transportation Infrastructure
In
the view of the capitalist in the provision of public services such as
transportation, the state only serves as a facilitator, while the operator or
executor is left to the market mechanisms, in other words, managed by the
private sector. As a consequence, the price of public transportation tickets is
expensive but the service is not good. In order to pursue profit, it is not
uncommon that forms of public transportations that are not roadworthy and prone
to accidents remain in operation, ignoring the safety of passengers. For the
reason of limited funds, the infrastructure is left neglected, while thousands
of kilometers of damaged roads, many full of dangerous pot-holes have been left
without repair for many years. Hence this principle of economic development
that relies on the private sector, is an invitation to the economic imperialism
of Muslim lands, for it allows foreign corporations to control all strategic
investments including natural resources in the name of 'aiding investment and
development' in states. Hence the Muslims would be colonized in their own
country.
The
Impact of Capitalistic Development on Muslim Families
The
homecoming tradition in Indonesia and Bangladesh in itself is actually a
reflection of economic inequality and mass poverty caused by capitalism and its
flawed development philosophy and policies which have inevitably impacted the
institution of the Muslim family. Many Muslim families are forced economically
to live in the urban areas, struggling to meet their needs while also being
separated from their big families in other parts of the country. This
phenomenon occurs systemically because life facilities and employment
opportunities are concentrated in big cities, therefore most people have to
travel far away from their families to meet the needs of daily life, often
risking their lives just to meet their basic needs, or are even forced to
migrate hundreds of kilometers away, leaving their family just to earn crumbs.
The
migration from rural to urban areas, from one area to another, as well as
migration across national borders of a country in the context of the growing
"global cities" or new urban areas, or buffer areas to support the
rapid industrial urbanization; are all characteristic of capitalistic
development. All this would definitely cause a significant adverse impact on
the structure of the Muslim families in the Muslim countries, which is a
natural consequence of Capitalism which inherently puts liberal materialistic
values over the harmony of family units in society.
Among
the effects are: First, it separates family members from their family; and the
most crucial is if the children are separated from their mother. It is
reflected on the forms of urban families where the husband and wife work in the
big city while the children live with grandparents or relatives in the village.
The most frightening consequence is the destruction of future generations,
because instead of attention being placed on the upbringing of their children,
the focus of the mothers is on their job that often demands them to be
separated from their children. Second, it weakens the institution of Muslim
marriages and families as seen from the increasing numbers of divorce, the
shifting role of the mother into breadwinner, the phenomenon of husband and
wife living separately, the high rate of single parent families, and so on.
The
Economic Development Principles of the Khilafah: Strengthens the Family
Structure
Islam
is diametrically different from the capitalist ideology. Islam as an ideology
strongly rejects the values of materialism and hedonism that come from the
point of view of Capitalism. The true Islamic society under the Khilafah system
is built purely upon Islam that has a primary focus on the implementation of
God's laws, as according to the Words of Allah (swt):
"I only created jinn and man to worship
Me." (Adh-Dhaariyat: 56)
Islam
builds its society upon the foundation of the Islamic Aqeedah. Its view of the
purpose of life is to obey the Commandments of Allah and avoid His
prohibitions, and its view of happiness is seeking the Pleasure of Allah (swt).
The Islamic value system creates a distinctive identity in the community, which
defines the status of people upon their taqwa, and not their wealth or any
other physical attributes.
Islam
also stands in stark contrast to the capitalist system that curbs the role of
the state and emphasizes the role of the market. Islam is precisely the
opposite. The state has a major and vital role in Islam in taking care of the
needs of the people. Its main task is to serve and take care of the needs of
every citizen, protect the vulnerable, and prevent any injustice. The Prophet (saw)
said:
"An Imam is a shepherd (ra'in) and he is
responsible for those in his care."
The
Khilafah is a state which implements a sound economic system that rejects the
flawed capitalist interest-based financial model, bans hoarding of wealth, and
prohibits the privatization of natural resources as well as foreign party heavy
investment in the development of infrastructure, agriculture, industry and
technology. The foundation of its policies are directed to seeking an effective
distribution of wealth in order to secure the basic needs of all citizens, and
at the same time it is committed to ensuring the equitable and affordable
economic development in all its territories, so that people do not need travel
far just to meet their basic needs.
The
blessed, just and prosperous economic development is on the shoulders of the
Khalifah. However this development policy of the state is shaped upon the
Islamic Shariah which determines the purpose of economic development in the
Islamic Khilafah, which are:
1. Securing the shar'i rights of the
people, i.e. protecting religion, life, honor, mind and property which are
considered as adh-Dharuriyat al-Khamsu (five emergency matters) in human life.
So if the development policy runs contrary to or undermines the religion, life,
honor, mind and property of the people, then each violation is considered a
crime that should be punished by the established Shariah Law, according to the
type of violation.
2. Establishing Islamic societies. Related
to this, if the development policy harms or destroys the Islamic thoughts and
feelings of the society, including damaging or harming the Muslim family
structure in the society, then the policy is contrary to Islamic Shariah and
declared as flawed and unacceptable economic development.
3.
Realizing the individual prosperity of
the people. Indicators of prosperity in Islam is first ensuring fulfillment of
the basic needs of individuals, so if there is one person alone who does not
have their basic needs met, then the economic development policy would not be
considered a success. Unlike under capitalism, it is not necessary to have
millions of poor people before considering the economic development of a
country a failure.
As
a consequence, the Muslim family structure is maintained and the religion,
life, honor, reason and property of the people is protected. Masha Allah!
The
Khilafah state is Responsible for the Strategic Infrastructure Investment
Imagine
the mentality of a great leader like Umar bin Al-Khattab who stated: "I am the Amir Al Muuminin, and I
am afraid that if a donkey trips on the road in Iraq, Allah will ask me why I
didn't fix the road for the donkey". Such a mindset
underlies the Khilafah's policy in carrying out its strategic infrastructure
investment, which can be explained in the following 3 principle points (as
written by Dr. Fahmi Amhar in the Homecoming Technology of the Khilafah):
1.
Firstly, the principle that
infrastructure development is the responsibility of the state and should not be
handed over to private investors.
2. Secondly, the principle that good
development planning in the regions will reduce transport needs. When Baghdad
was built as the capital city, every part of the city was planned only for a
certain population, and there were adequate mosques, schools, libraries, parks,
a wheat industry, and a commercial area for the people, in addition to
stopovers for the wayfarers, and even separate public baths for men and women.
Most citizens within the Khilafah should not need to travel far to meet their
daily needs as well as to study or work, because all the necessary facilities
for life should be within a reasonable range of travel distance, and the
standard of quality of all such facilities should be of good.
3. Thirdly, the state should build public
infrastructure using the latest technological standards in for example
navigation technology, telecommunications, physical road management, up to the
transportation equipment itself. Here are some historical examples of how the
Khilafah seriously invested in the cutting-edge technologies of the time:
§ Navigation
is absolutely necessary to ensure safe travel, and avoiding getting lost. For
that purpose the Muslims learned astronomy and compass engineering in China,
and developed the science of mapping. Hundreds of geographers explored all
corners of the world and made a reportage of unique countries. As a result, the
hajj journey and also travel for trade - both on land and sea - became more
secure.
§ Technology
related to physical road management was also not left behind. Since 950, the
roads were paved in Cordoba, regularly cleaned of dirt, and oil lamps lit in
the night. Two hundred years later, i.e. in 1185, Paris became the first
European city that mimicked Cordoba.
§ Interestingly,
until the 19th century the Khilafah Uthmani was still consistent in developing
the transportation infrastructure. When railway technologies were founded in
Germany, the Khalifah immediately made the decision to build a railway line,
with the main purpose to facilitate the Hajj pilgrimage. Hajj is the season
that involves the ritual of the largest movement of Muslims across the world,
both to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca and the hajis journey back home to their
hometowns. Therefore there is an exodus of people travelling during this
season. In 1900, the Khalifah Sultan Abdul Hamid II announced the project
"Hejaz Railway". This rail line stretched from Istanbul, the capital
of the caliphate to Makkah, passing through Damascus, Jerusalem and Medina. The
result of this project is that travel from Istanbul to Makkah which was
initially 40 days, was cut to 5 days. Mashallah!
Thus,
the Khilafah will provide a comprehensive guarantee of a blessed, equitable,
and prosperous economic development which will minimize inequality and
destruction in the society and at the same time strengthen the Muslims' family
structure, also benefitting the people. The Khilafah will also provide the safe
and adequate transportation infrastructure with advanced technology so that
thousands of Muslims will Insha Allah no longer be victims of transportation
accidents due to neglectful governance.
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