Posts tagged "Muslim"

Daring Young Muslim Author, Maleeha Kamal, Breaks Down Barriers; Her Debut Novel “The Tainted Shadow” Explores Judaism and Islam

Daring Young Muslim Author, Maleeha Kamal, Breaks Down Barriers; Her Debut Novel “The Tainted Shadow” Explores Judaism and Islam

London, UK (PRWEB) March 22, 2006

“The Tainted Shadow” embodies the emerging interfaith trend that the new generation is bringing forth. “The Tainted Shadow” by Maleeha Kamal explores Judaism and Islam in this captivating new work of fiction. Pioneering.

Above all, Maleeha Kamal – at the age of 22 – has dared to bring Judaism and Islam together in her debut novel. This emerging interfaith trend is just now in the beginning throws of a new future – and Maleeha Kamal is spearheading this trend within the literary scene by her contribution of this poetic work of literary fiction, The Tainted Shadow.

United Views, Canada states (2006):”An absolute must for contemporary generations: the ambassadors of Interfaith in the future. THE TAINTED SHADOW remains a superb read for those enthusiasts who wish to see the mosaic of thoughts unleashing the power to rip the veils of hatred and spark a new thought into the future….This book, undoubtedly, adds a tremendous volume to this new world order of peace.”

This atmospheric debut is about Sara, a teenage Jewish girl living in a Muslim environment in 18th century Yemen. Her stifling experiences and harsh circumstances force her to question what to expect from life. The desire for happiness leads her to divorce her physical identity from her spiritual one. From that point on, we witness the battle between the physical and the spiritual in the pursuit of inner freedom from outer constraints.

The effect is multi-layered and deep, fascinating and rich as we follow Sara. At whatever layer the reader enters Sara’s world, they will no doubt sense that they are smack in the middle of old world Arabia, veiled under rich fabrics as pungent aromas waft through the air.

Ultimately, The Tainted Shadow is both a sensual and intellectual experience; it explores the restless pursuit of our spirits and minds, and delves into the heart of freedom and identity.

Unlike ‘Brick Lane’ by Monica Ali and ‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith whose protagonists struggle for independence in the relative freedom of the West, Maleeha Kamal turns up the heat by focusing her protagonist as a Jewish girl mired in poverty in a Muslim country – an allegory for the struggle we face under extreme and uncompromising conditions.

Contact Publishing Ltd. London UK

The Tainted Shadow ISBN 0954-7020-42

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Bhalessa Gandoh-Lengendaries

Ghulam Rasool Azad: A true Educationist

                                                           Sadaket Malik

It has revealed by our research that in different parts of the state people used to speak Kashmiri, if the local language is mixed with kashmiri but it is true that in ancient period some people migrated to Jammu region to make their haitation overhere.

            It is in Mahgam Kashmir that Batt  family migrated to start their habitation in Chamba District of Hamachal Pradesh and some Muslim Batt’s stayed in improvised part of Bhalessa i.e in Soti Village. From time to time they (Bhat family) became permanent peasants of Soti Bhalessa. One of the ancestors Kh. Khazra Batt was regarded as a leading peasent of the time. In this Peasantry family, Ghulam Rasool Azad was born in the year 1916. This was a period of ignorance, There was a no media, no education and no leadership. There were only single to two schools in Bhalessa, one was Primary school kilhotran wherein the people used to get elementary education at that time. Kh. Khazra Batt gets admission of Ghulam Rasool in this Primary school. Ghulam Rasool (Azad) passed his Primary basic education from this school in 1929. On the basis of his interest towards studies his parents put him in Bhaderwah Amar Singh High School for further studies.

            On the one hand, there was no transportation, no media and poverty had its head high, but Ghulam Rasool Azad used to exhibit his talent with the patronage of the well deserved teachers in Amar Singh High School.

            In 1935, Ghulam Rasool Azad passed entrance examination from Jammu Centre, he got encouraged and put forward his education and leadership.

            In 1939, he did his graduation in Mathematics with double course and got Post graduated in 1943 from Punjab University. During his studentship he was entrusted the responsibility of Student leadership. He was appointed as a Publicity secretary of Punjab University Students Union.

            It was very difficult for a person at that time to get education and Azad proved as a torch bearer. There were only three rare persons like Ghulam Rasool Azad of Soti,  Prof. Umer Din Malik of Bhatyas and Abdul Aziz Batt of Kilhotran to get higher education.

            To democratise the system of education and make the poor farmers of Bhalessa familiar about education, Ghulam Rasool Azad launched intensive awareness mission to change their mindset. He used to get oath from children to pledge for education.

            In 1946, he was appointed as a teacher in Shri Ranbir High School Jammu, during his tenure, he strived hard and worked honestly. The salary was too small but Azad proved as an ideal teacher. In this period, there was discrimination due to colonial rule. He started Jammu Provincial Teachers Association and pleaded the cause of teachers. Due to indefinite struggle for the cause of teachers, He and his associates were dismissed from service in 1946 by the government. Lo and behold, Azad not stopped his sprit of social work and leadership. It was a time of Communal disharmony. Divisive policies were in place.

            In another phase, Maharaja Quited the state and Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah resumed the office. Sheikh got abreast of the leadership satire of Azad and appointed him as  teacher in Shri Partap High School Srinagar. It was time of disamity of hindu’s and muslims. In 1947, Azad was entrusted the responsibility by the government to look after the welfare and prosperity of masses of the then Doda region. He reached every nook and corner of the district doda to spread the massage of love and friendship. The need was not to look after the developmental side, but to unite the scattered hindu’s and muslims. Azad  played a pro active role to end disamity. In this way the peole loved his qualities and his sprit of leadership. Government rewaded Ghulam Rasool Azad for his outstanding contribution in that period. Sheikh sahib at that time quoted in his speeched

“Kash sobha jammu ki Tarah Sobha Kashmir main

ik Ghulam Rasool Azad paida hota, to maire khuwabun

Ka naya Kashmir taamir hota.”

Like Jammu region, If Kashmir region might got the leader like Ghulam Rasool Azad, it would to true that my dream of Naya Kashmir will be fulfilled. Shaikh sahib told kashmiri leadership at that time.

            Keeping in mind his political satire, he was appointed General Secretary National Conference in 1947 and in 1948 he was appointed as Assistant Inspector of Schools for Rajouri, Nowshera, Poonch. During this period, he visited every school snd reached every teacher for educational advancement. He got a great status and sympathy in the people.

            Azad was appointed as a President of National Conference Doda for the welfare of  people.

            In 1950, Azad was appointed as Field Publicity Officer Jammu. From 1949-51 he was District Vice President National Conference of Rajouri. In the same period, he was given another responsibility at the capacity of PA to Director Education. He was appinted as a member of All J&K General Council NC. Joint secretary NC Jammu region, Being an officer Azad was full of leadership qualities. That’s why ruling political party like National Conference get advantage of his political satire and sprit of social work. His top priory was to look after the welfare of the people, and got a special place in the hearts of poor people. Sheikh Abdullah gave him a plenty of responsibilities.

            Later, He was inducted as an Inspector of schools Udhampur and Doda from 1951-54. and inspected all the schools, and conceded the demands of general people of the region. He was appointed as a Headmaster of Teacher’s Training School Bhaderwah. It is leant by us that Teachers Training school was opned by Azad himself. Its was a period when Sheikh Abdullah was arrested and Bhakshi Ghulam Mohammed was appointed as a Prime Minister of the state. The state was politically unstable. One the one hand It was campaign of Paraja Paishad and on the other hand a demand for “Raj Shumari”. Azad’s initiative turned towards the limping back the normalcy in the region. He used to say in his speeched:-

“ Na Hinduism ko khatra hai, na islam ko dur,

Ho Jawo Shair o shankar”

Azad as a freedom fighter was pinched with the people who used religion as a tool for gaining power. When Azad’s milti faceted qualities listened the then Prime Minister Bhakshi Ghulam Mohammed, he was deputed to England for DAATP training course. He visted educational institutions of  UK, England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Thailand, West Germany, Austrailia, Italy, Switzerland, USA and France.

            After his return from England, he was appointed to analyse the economic conditions of Doda, Poonch and Rajouri in 1956. He was appointed as a Principal of Government Higher Secondary School R S Pura in 1956-1957. This was the only Hr. secondary school in Jammu region.

            In this period, Corruption was increased in an alarming rate. Poverty was its heads high, economy was poor. He pointed truth before higher ups and suggested roadmaps to overcome corruption and increase well being of the people. He resigned from service and contested election for the poor people on the behalf of teacher fraternity. Government mandated a lady candidate against him in the election. But Azad got elected to Assembly. In Kashmir, a candidate namely Dina Nath General secretary was mandated by Azad and was elected. In another trip, he was elected unopposed as MLC and worked upto 1957.  In 1955, he founded All Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh Teacher’s Association. From 1955-69, he pleaded the cause of teachers. In 1958-59, 1959-60, and 1960-61 he remained Vice President of All India Federation of Education Profession. Being an educationist, he also worked for the cause of education at national level.  In 1961,He was one of the delegate of 34 delegates to attend the 10th onference of World Confederation of Organisations of Teaching Profession for the world education cause.

            Government led by Bhakhshi Ghulam Mohd. Invited Azad to re-join the government service and appointed him Dy Director Education Jammu in 1962-63. Government not tolerated his courage and appointed him as a Principal of Government Degree College Bhaderwah. He was again taransfered to Kashmir to work as a Dy. Director School Education Kashmir.upto 1971. In 1969-71 he remained Secretary J&K Sports Council. From 1963-64 he worked as a Saint member of Jammu University. and then member of J&K State Board of School Education in 1965. Member of Text Book Advisory Boad, After he finaly retired from the post of Dy. Director Education, He was appointed as a Fazil member of Anti Corruption Commission in 1973-75, member J&K Planning Board. Member District Development Board Doda in 1976-78, President Indo Sovait Cultural society (1971-73) Member Bhaderwah Welfare Front (1975-79), Chairman Bhaderwah Public Forum (1982) Chairman Advisory Council of J&K Education Officers Association, (1984)

            It was on 24th of January 1995, the land lost its great scholar, as ill luck would have it this legendary man not remained among the people.

Sadaket Malik
http://www.articlesbase.com/article-marketing-articles/bhalessa-gandohlengendaries-1100344.html

Travel to Indonesia – A Country of Thousands of Beautiful and Exotic Islands

Indonesia, a Country of thousands of beautiful and exotic Islands, that spark off your imagination with thoughts of fine sandy beaches, huge temple complexes, great diving and the giant dragons of Komodo. The islands of Indonesia are spread over a vast expanse of ocean and technically speaking is divided by two Continents.

Some parts of the Country can be as different from each other as black is from white. The hustle and bustle of the modern capital Jakarta is like another planet when compared to the traditional Papuan tribes of the Baliem Valley. Jakarta – Not only is it the largest City in the Country, Jakarta is also the heartbeat. Indonesian’s from all over the archipelago come to the City to try and find their fortune or just to survive. The face of the City is constantly changing due to the construction of new skyscrapers, shopping malls and hotels.

Jakarta is mainly a business and political City and not really a tourist destination, but the older colonial parts of the City are very interesting and the museums have a lot of fascinating exhibits.

Jakarta, like you would expect, is the most expensive place in Indonesia, as well as the most polluted and most congested. It can be very hard to cope with all of the hustle, dirt, crime and cost, but if you can you will find an exciting City with plenty to offer.

Kota – This is the old Town of Batavia, which was the capital of the Dutch East Indies and the best example of the colonial era in Indonesia. Though much of the old town has been destroyed or demolished over the years, some of the old Colonial buildings are still in active use, and the area has a definite Dutch feel to it.

The centre of the old Town is the pebble stone square known as Taman Fatahillah and this is the key to being able to orientate yourself around the sights of the old Town. The canal of Kali Besar is one block to the west of the square and runs alongside the Ciliwung River.

This was a very prosperous area and on the west bank are some of the high class homes that date from the eighteenth Century.

The Chicken market bridge is the last remaining drawbridge from the Dutch era, it is at the north end of the Kali Besar. Buses always come by on their routes and the city train also has a stop here.

Jakarta History Museum – This museum is housed in the old town hall of Batavia, which is on the south side of Taman Fatahillah. It is a well built building, which was originally constructed in 1627 and added to in the early 1700s. It was from here that the Dutch administered their colony, and the cities law courts were also here as well as their main prison compound.

It contains plenty of heavy, carved furniture from the colonial, as well as other memorabilia from the Dutch period. Open, 9am till 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Admission: 1,000Rp Wayang Museum – This museum is also on the Taman Fatahillah, and has a great assortment of Wayang puppets. It also has examples of puppets from other Countries like Cambodia, China and India.

This building was formerly the museum of old Batavia and was built in 1912 on the site of the former Dutch church which was demolished in 1808 as the
Dutchman “Daendels” plan to rid the City of its unhealthy areas. In the downstairs courtyard, there are memorials to previous governors who were buried on site. Open, 9am till 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Admission: 1,000Rp

Fine Arts Museum – Built in the 1860s, the palace of Justice building is now the Fine arts museum. It has a nice collection of contemporary paintings from prominent artists. They also have some ceramics on show from Chinese items to Majapahit offerings. Open, 9am till 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Admission: 1,000Rp

Gereja Sion – This church was built in 1695, and is the oldest Church in Jakarta. It is on Jl Pangeran Jayakarta near the Kota train station. The exterior of the Church is actually pretty plain but inside copper chandeliers, the original organ and the baroque pulpit makes it very appealing. Though thousands of people have been buried here there are very few tombs left remaining.

Sunda Kelapa – Just a 10 minute walk from the Taman Fatahillah, the old City port of Sunda Kelapa is full of wonderful Macassar schooners and the brightly coloured sails of these boats make for great viewing. The ships are still a vital means of transporting goods to outlying Islands.

Guides hang around the docks and for a few thousand rupiah will show you around and tell you some insightful stories. You can also take a ride out to the offshore fish market for around 5,000Rp. Admission, 250Rp to the dock area.

Maritime Museum – This is an old VOC warehouse that was built in 1645 and is by the entrance to the Sunda Kelapa. It has examples of Indonesian crafts from around the ages and has photos of the voyages from Europe to Jakarta. The building itself is well worth the visit and the lookout posts are part of the old City wall.

Just before the entrance to the museum proper, is the old watchtower that was built in 1839, it has brilliant views over the harbour. Opening hours are hit and miss, so try to find the caretaker.

National Museum – This museum, constructed in 1862, is considered the paramount museum in Indonesia, and one of the finest in South East Asia. It has a huge ethnic and relief maps of Indonesia on which you can track your travels. The museum has a variety of different cultural displays that show a diverse collection of clothing, instruments, model houses and religious items. In addition the museum has a fine collection of Chinese ceramics that even date back to the Han dynasty of the third Century.

The museum is sometimes known as the Elephant house due to the giant bronze elephant that was a gift from the King of Thailand, and that now stands outside. Open, 8.30am till 2.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Admission: 750Rp. Guides are around who can conduct tours in various different languages.

National Monument – This 130 metres high monument stands over Merdeka square and is Jakartas chief landmark. The construction was started in 1961 but was not finished until 1975, when it was officially opened by President Soeharto. At the base is the National History Museum which tells the story of the Indonesian struggle for independence. On national holidays and at the weekends the queues can be long. Open, 9am till 5pm, daily. Admission: 600Rp or 3,100Rp which includes a ride to the top.

Lapangan Banteng – Just east of Merdeka square is this nineteenth century colonial square. It has some of the best examples of Dutch colonial architecture in the whole of Jakarta. The Catholic Cathedral was built at the turn of the twentieth Century, and is opposite the principal place of worship for Jakartas Muslim community, the Istiqlal Mosque. To the east of the square is the Supreme Court that was built, along with the Ministry of finance, in 1809 by that man “Daendel” to replace those buildings torn down.

Martin Kleis
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/travel-to-indonesia-a-country-of-thousands-of-beautiful-and-exotic-islands-72013.html

When Children Become Victims of Poverty and Ignorance

The ‘plights of the Akwa Ibom Children’, as the Punch Newspapers editorial of 15 January, 2009 described the madness in the name of child-witches hunting and exorcising going on in the state, need the attention of every rational being on the surface of the earth. For as Guardian Newspapers editorial of December 21, 2008 suggested, it is nothing but a ‘debacle on Child Rights’, a situation that have taken away self-esteem and psychologically demean many children in the state to the extent that they are far too conscious of every of their daily acts everywhere and anywhere for the fear of being tagged witches or wizards. This is totally unacceptable. Hence the question: who is a witch?

Witchcraft, according to Bertrand Russell, is ‘a composite phenomenon drawing from folklore, sorcery, demonology, heresy and Christian theology’. The World Book Encyclopedia describes it as ‘the use of supposed magic powers generally to harm or damage property”. From these two definitions, we can move on to deduce a definition of a ‘witch’ as a person who is supposed to have received such powers from ‘evil spirits’, that is, power to know all things, power to destroy lives, among others. While ‘witch’ is a general name, the word has a gender connotation. A ‘male witch’ is called wizard, while a ‘female witch’ is called ‘witch’.

The belief in witchcraft is not recent, nor is it a product of the popular Harry Porter series. Rather, according to Godffrey Parrinder, it is “one of the great (sic) fears from which mankind has suffered”. The belief has appeared in many parts of the world, in one form or the other. While it became particularly prominent and developed in Europe in the later middles ages and renaissance periods, the belief in witches and their evil powers have remained with Africans for centuries before then. For Africa, therefore, till today, witchcraft belief is a great tyranny spreading panic and death. This unhindered, thriving, belief, which is devoid of any commonsensical scientific ratiocination, is being buoyed by the excruciating and pitiable living condition of many Africans that they found unexplainable; hence the need for scapegoats, the ‘witches’.  Thanks to the modern day fraudsters, the Pentecostal pastors.

The advent of Pentecostalism, and the healing Christian, churches have contributed in no small measure in reinforcing the belief. They accepted the existence of witches and witchcraft and claimed they have the power to protect against its evil powers. All manner of social, health and economic problems are readily carpeted as having ‘spiritual’ dimension blamable on ‘witches’, who are usually aged women and unwitting teenagers. To market their churches, most of these pastors have now resorted to demonizing  innocent children, as witches that must be ‘delivered’ and ‘saved’ from the power of darkness. This uncritical scapegoating is gaining momentum more than ever before because of the seemingly irredeemable economic condition of living of sub-Saharan Africans. The many frustrated sub-Saharan African people are brainwashed to believe that their major enemies are not corrupt government officials, inhuman government policies nor their, personal, inability to cultivate and explore the best of their potentials in the ‘here and now’ world. Rather they have been sweet-tongued into believing that it is the ‘witches’ in their families and their homes that have been working against their fortune spiritually. Based on the ‘prophesies’, the unfortunate scapegoats, those accused of being witches, are given two options: either to confess to their ‘countless heinous sins’ and be saved/delivered after severe beatings or risk being killed, which in most cases mean being stoned to death.

In the Akwa-Ibom situation, confession is often preferred. Why? The ‘Prophets’ and ‘Bishops’ of God must eat! All you need to imagine is a steady ten thousand naira, N10,000, minimum income, almost every other day for tagging an unfortunate child a witch. Let’s not forget that some pastors like Bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya charge as much as between N30,000, thirty thousand, and N400,000, four hundred thousand, naira for their services. But how, for instance, can one be sure that these children are witches, as these prophets claim, and not mere victims of the poverty ravaging the material and psychological fabric of their families and that of the prophets?

To answer this question, we took a field trip to the affected towns and villages early last month. The product of the ‘expedition’ as friends have retorted to calling it, is revealing. Our very first respondent in Eket, Mr. Edet claimed to have participated in “dealing with not less than 7 ‘confirmed’ child witches”, one of which was burnt by the mob beyond recognition.

“Who confirmed them as witches?” we inquired.
“Our pastor is a man of God and when he prayed, the Holy Spirit arrested the children”.
“Is it the holy spirit that pushed them to the front of the congregation to confess?”
“Sometimes, they cried of fire burning all over their bodies and sometimes, to be sincere, the look on the faces of members of the congregation is enough to push them to the front”

We then asked the question that pissed him really, really off:
“Don’t you think these allegations are fictitious and merely being fabricated by pastors to make some money and lure people to come to church for protection?”
Silently, I wished we never asked the question.

“You are possessed! Are you saying my pastor is a liar? Who you be sef? (meaning who are you?).I see that the devil is really disturbing you like that stupid Sam Ikpe (referring to the Director of CRARN, Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, where some of the alleged child witches live). Now get off my bike!!”

With that last sentence, I need not tell you his profession. Well, Mr. Edet is a professional motorbike transport operator; he takes people from one location to another on his bike for a fee. He is married with four children and lives in a two-room apartment, shared toilet, shared kitchen. His average income is a bit over $5 per day, but about $4 sometimes. After Edet, we had some other interviews at the bar, at the market (buying what we don’t really need sometimes only to give them to other respondents), at a popular burukutu (local beer) joint, in canteens and church environs.

What is glaring from all the responses to our questions is that there seems to be element of aggression and frustration, which is being vented on these innocent children. The belief in witchcraft has stunted the growth of unchained creativity and made many Akwa-Ibomites to recoil unnecessarily to fate, visiting only pastors, Alfas (the Muslim witchdoctors) and the the traditional witchdoctors to ward off and cleanse themselves of the ‘curses or family jinx’ trailing them. Lean income, rather than been spent wisely are given to these modern day ‘fraudsters’ who ride in big cars for the spiritual ‘protections services’ they provided. In some cases, micro-finance loans, and financial compensations provided by the oil companies like Mobil Oil Unlimited,  have been used in funding ‘witchcraft cleansing rituals’ rather than the small scale business that it was disbursed for. Some even ‘swore by the their fathers, grandfathers and great, great grandfathers’ that they will kill any child witch found in their families. Pathetic, enh?

So, what is the fate of these children? We sought audience with handful of local officials in charge of child welfare in Eket, Esit Eket and Ibeno local government areas and the youth council officials in Eket Zone. Specifically, we met the General Secretary of the Eket Youth Council, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Ibeno Youth Council, Mr. Ebong Edem and some of his executive members.

The local social workers opined that although they are convinced that these children are witches, yet as their duties demands, they are willing to help them, most especially in providing psychological counseling and rehabilitation, mostly biblically colored, for them. It was as if they have all rehearsed the same statement for ‘journalists’ (what we claimed to be). What is baffling is: how can a child, someone less than ten years old, think of seking ‘psychological counseling’? That to us is complete bullshit!! Why not offer the counseling to their parents and friends, we thought. Those are the people that need counseling. The representatives of the youths that we spoke with exhume hope and skepticism yet they can’t voice them. One sure fact, however, is that they are willing to do something about it.

That is exactly the kind of spirit that we need in our attempt to clear the slur on our image and stall the attempt to regress us back into the European middle ages. The people, as we observe, need to be enlightened on the provisions of the Child Rights Act, although ignorance of the law is not an excuse. The Akwa-Ibom State Ministry of Information needs to run campaigns that will inform and educate Akwa-Ibomites on the provisions of the Child Rights Act, passed by the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly and signed by Governor Akpabio, which criminalise childwitch hunting and stigmatizing. The provision that deals with this reads: anyone caught or suspected to be involved in any form of torture, trial by ordeal or inhuman treatment of a child, purportedly to cure, purge or exorcise such a child of witchcraft would be liable to 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine. This to us is a precious and timely addition to subsisting Section 207 of the nation’s Criminal Code Act Cap 38(2004)  which criminalize any trial by ordeal and Section 208 which stipulates that any person who directs, controls or presides at any trial by ordeal which is unlawful, “is guilty of a felony” and is liable on conviction to severe punishment.

Obviously, these children are mere victims of poverty ravaging the country and the inactivity of the state ministry concerned in dutifully informing the populace even when a very proactive measure have been taken by the Governor. We are, therefore, duty-bound as responsible global citizens to, by all moral means, assist in freeing these children from the shackles and bondages of poverty and ignorance they have been conditioned to live. We can do it!

Onward!

‘Yemi Ademowo Johnson, socio-political philosopher and applied anthropologist, is Editor, YouthSpeak!, Belgium, and International Coordinator, HAWK-Africa Project.

Yemi Ademowo Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/causes-and-organizations-articles/when-children-become-victims-of-poverty-and-ignorance-756041.html

Bible corruption

2:79 Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:”This is from Allah,”

Duration : 0:4:57

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Gambling and the 20th Century Rulers Part4

Robert Mugabe
(1924)
Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born on the 21st of February, 1924 in the town of Kutama on the territory of current Zimbabwe. Before coming to power in 1987 he had spent 11 years in prison for participation in the national liberation movement. Robert Mugabe is famous, firstly, for his anti-American claims, as well as for the fact that in 2005 he the inflation reached the record 502% in the new 21st century.

Interestingly, but at the peak of inflation growth speaking in front of the journalists the president of Zimbabwe declared that the population of his country was “very happy”. What it meant to be “very happy” the president knew not through hearsay. A few years ago Mugabe won the state lottery’s main prize in the amount of 2 639 dollars. Curiously, but only those citizens took part in this lottery who had accounts in the National Bank of Zimbabwe, at this for every 135 dollars there was only one lottery ticket. Naturally, under the name of the current president there was registered the record number of tickets, that is why the prize did not keep him waiting for a long time. They say, the results of the lottery upset the citizens of Zimbabwe very much.
Robert Mugabe is a very temperamental person and a typical gambler by nature. A lot of his statements are made in a burst of passion and excitement. By the way, the attitude of the president towards gambling industry is not in the least bad: there are several casinos opened in the country, as well as race tracks with the totalizator, left to the Zimbabwean from English colonizers.

Augusto Pinochet
(1915)
Augusto Pinochet was born on the 25th of November, 1915, in a Chile resort town of Valparaiso. In September 1973 he organized a putsch against the president of Chile Allende and after his murder took the post of the head of the state. Like many other “heroes” of the 20th century, he was distinguished by mass terror in relation to the “otherwise-minded”.

General Pinochet was quite a cruel and ruthless person, but under his rule hyperinflation was stopped and economic growth began.

The Chilean dictator had a negative attitude towards gambling industry, and there were no gambling-houses in the country during his rule. However, he had rather a loyal attitude to holding a state lottery. Maybe it was because the control over profits from lotteries was entrusted to his daughter Lucia Pinochet Hiriart?

Only after a few years upon retirement of Pinochet under the president Eduardo Free a new casino was opened in the country in 1997.
At present Augusto Pinochet is in Chile under house arrest and is awaiting the trial for evasion from tax payment. The trial, by the way, perhaps, will not even take place because of his age and extremely bad heath.

We can continue mentioning great dictators and rulers of the 20th century and argue about their attitude to gambling industry. Iosip Broz Tito, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Idi Amin, Joseph Desire Mobutu, Muammar Gaddafi, Suharto, Thieu, Somoza, Marcos, Pol Pot, Ceausescu, Bokassa, Hissene Habre, Chombe, Franco, Duvalier, Mengistu Haile Mariam, Batista, Salazar and many others had different attitude to gambling. Some, like Marcos and Batista, liked it a lot, while others, like Gaddafi and Ceausescu, didn’t give it even a chance for existence.
While in Spain all power was in the hands of the general Franco Bahamonde Francisco, people were even afraid of talking about gambling-houses, but as soon as he died and the royal throne was occupied by Juan Carlos I, there were at once opened a number of casinos in the country. While Batista favoured gambling games, Fidel Castro, who substituted him, banned them at once. And it is clear. Batista was an American protégé, and Fidel was the one who fought against American imperialism. That is why casinos simply lost favour.

A lot of rulers of the 20th century were quite venturesome personalities having revealed their excitable skills in politics, and not on the cloth of the gambling table in the gambling-house. Who knows, if their passion had been connected with visiting of gambling establishments, perhaps, our planet would be quieter.
Total struggle against gambling in the 20th century was under way only in one, at this “the most democratic” country the USA. And after repressions, which failed, gambling industry there not only continued to exist, but started to flourish. The ideas of Marxism-Leninism did not give the right of existence of gambling establishments in the countries that chose the way of rise to radiant future in the form of communism, since the norms of the given ideology prescribed earning money by way of labour, and not in the hours of entertaining pastime. Countries practising traditional Islam do not allow gambling industry on their territory in accordance with their religious dogma. Despite this, Muslim Egypt, Tunis, Morocco and Lebanon have opened gambling-houses. The same was done by the Korean Republic, having demonstrated that ideology is ideology but if the country needs to earn money for the budget, gambling industry won’t hinder it.

Totalitarianism and gambling are not connected with each other in the least. The basis of struggle against gambling industry in 99 cases out of 100 is not the desire to protect the rights and interests of the citizens and the society, but the most trivial desire to win votes of people which any party, striving to come to power, pursues. Politics is rather a subtle thing.

© Copyright 2006-2007 www.bonus-map.com

Arthur Prudent
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/gambling-and-the-20th-century-rulers-part4-66828.html

Third Intifada: NONVIOLENT and with Words Sharper than a Two Edged Sword

On Tuesday November 7, 2006 I traveled to the village of Maghar in the Galilee, home to 18,000 inhabitants. 60% of the people are Druze. Christian and Muslim are evenly divided, although the Christian Exodus has increased since 2005 at an alarming rate.

One percent of Israeli society are Druze, which is an offshoot of Islam with secretive practices and meeting places. The Druze originated in Egypt in the 11th century and today they number about 70,000 in Israel. While the Druze had lived in peaceful community throughout the centuries with Christians in Israel, in February 2005 violence erupted.

Rumors had circulated that a Christian had posted a photograph of a Druze female on the Internet and as a result of the unverified rumors 3,000 Druze youth took to the streets and attacked, vandalized, burned and destroyed 120 houses and stores and 125 cars belonging to Christians.

Attorney Haytham Abdalla, Advocate for St. George Melkite [Greek Orthodox in communion with the Roman Catholic Church which has married priests] of Maghar stated, “No one was killed, but these youth were all armed. The Druze serve in the Israeli army in the West Bank and in Gaza. If we Christians would have resisted, they most likely would have shot us. After these youth serve in the army, they return home thinking they can do anything and they take their anger out on us Christians.

“For three days they terrorized us and the Israeli police did nothing but watch the destruction of our property. The big problem is the State of Israel does not protect the Christian, and they claim everything they do is for “Security.” One day after the attack the police did announce there never was such a photograph on the Internet. But the police never did anything to protect us or our property. They just watched it happen. We are like the first century Christians, we are attacked and have no support. That is Israeli state policy. An Israeli TV station did come here and shot video, but the police forbid them to air it for “security” reasons.

“Right after the attack the Israeli Minister of Education issued an order that Christians were not allowed to attend the public school in Maghar. The parents were too afraid to send them back there anyway, and now 90% of our children study in Canna or Nazareth. They all attend private schools which are expensive and the parents must transport their children. Only one of our youth attends the public school now because his family can not afford private school. Every day he is beaten and every time his father reports it to the Principal, he is told they will take care of the situation, but nothing ever changes. This young boy use to be very calm, but now he is angry all the time, always under pressure, always being beaten and the school system and the Israeli police do nothing.

“Fifteen years ago a policy was instituted by the Israeli government to get rid of all the Christian teachers from the public school system. There are 400 people who work with the Maghar city council, but only four are Christians. We Christians don’t belong to this village, it is like we are living in a hotel, we just sleep here.

“We Christians in the Holy Land are always on the losing side. We face discrimination from the State of Israel, from the Druze and even some Muslims. Everyone is against us! In Maghar most of the Muslims are neutral about us, and we are all afraid to join together because then the Israeli forces will shoot us all!

“We once were a vibrant Christian community, but now our church is the only church in a Druze neighborhood. Fifty years ago there were only Christians in this neighborhood, but they have left. My son is three and unless things change, when he is five we are leaving too.

“But, yet we have many volunteers who want to change the situation. We want to build a Christian school. We have room on the church property, what we lack is money and outside support. We look to you to tell our story.”

On May 14, 1948 The Declaration of the establishment of Israel affirmed:
“One the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations.”

When Israel became a State it was contingent upon upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Israel denies, ignores, defies and “Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law…

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” [Preamble Universal Declaration of Human Rights]

May We the People of the world unite in International Solidarity and Rise Up/Intifada in nonviolent resistance and with words sharper than a two edged sword and demand Israel uphold the rule of law and what they agreed to.

There will never be peace nor security without JUSTICE and Human Rights for all because whenever there is “disregard and contempt for human rights [it has]resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind” [Ibid]

May We the People of the world unite in International Solidarity and demand Israel uphold ALL Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically citing:

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
-Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
-Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

I close my case with Article 19 and will NOT shut up, until the Mainstream Media-the Fourth Estate in the USA does it’s job. Until that happens civilian journalists/bloggers must Rise Up/Intifada and DO SOMETHING!

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Eileen Fleming
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/third-intifada-nonviolent-and-with-words-sharper-than-a-two-edged-sword-72783.html

BOMBSHELL: Evidence Clearly Indicates Staged Attack on Detroit Flight

http://www.infowars.com/

CNN Airs Witness Testimony that ‘Well Dressed’ Indian accomplice helped Abdulmutallab board
without passport and that man on plane filmed entire flight and bombing attempt

Evidence is emerging that clearly indicates Abdulmutallab was able to board only with the help of an unidentified well dressed man seen at the boarding gate.

Kurt Haskell and his wife, who were witnesses on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 saw Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab at the boarding gate in Amsterdam. Haskell told CNN that the accused bomber appeared strikingly ‘poor’ next to the well-dressed man he said was obviously wealthy and appeared to be of Indian ethnicity. According to Haskell, that man did the talking for him, explaining to the flight personnel at the gate that Abdulmutallab needed to board without a passport, claiming that he was a Sudanese refugee.

The gate attendee referred the odd-couple to the manager. Haskell said that was the last he saw of the wealthy man, but later recognized Abdulmutallab after the incident occurred on the plane. That’s when he says he put two and two together about the unusual connection.

His wife found it ‘odd’ that authorities have not yet followed up on their witness account, as they were the only ones known to have witnessed Abdulmutallab with the ‘Indian’ man prior to boarding the flight.

If he had help getting on the flight with no passport after having been reported to the authorities by his own father, what is the true explanation for the man seen filming the entire flight? Another witness on board the flight, Richelle Keepman, said she noticed the cameraman at the beginning of the flight, believing the man might have been simply excited about a first flight, or etc. Later when the ‘bombing’ incident took place, she says the cameraman was the only one standing up, and intently filming the entire incident.

Put this together with the coinciding announcement that Yemen ‘is the next front in the fight against Al Qaeda’, the media’s immediate hype of the event, and the ready-made Body Scanners and other ‘enhanced’ Airport security, it is clear that this is a contrived incident intentionally unleashed to goad renewed support for ever-expanding terrorism-related warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, prepatory talks about Iran, and now Yemen.

Just like after 9/11, airport travellers are again prepared to accept greater violations of their liberties and privacy for supposed security. Yet patsies and watchlist-subjects alike have repeatedly been allowed to bypass security clearance and been proven to have ties to the intelligence community.

The latest accused ‘terrorist’ Abdulmutallab was very likely the fallguy in a pattern-drill– handled by wealthy, mismatched associates, allowed to board without required credentials, and videotaped by a cameraman with an unknown connection. Was Abdulmutallab involved with these figures through a drill which ended with an intentionally-failed bombing meant to incite great fear of terrorism?

This would fit closely with other elements of CIA-concocted “terrorism.” Many of the 9/11 hijackers and other known extremists were revealed to have participated in ‘dry run’ drills, shared addresses with intelligence handlers or lived on military bases, were allowed to pass through the border despite being on one or more watchlists, and were given VISAS/Passports through execptions and/or special clearance.

Similarly, David Headly, named in the Mumbai attack, has been exposed as a CIA-double agent. http://www.prisonplanet.com/terrorist-or-cia-agent-maybe-both.html

FBI/CIA provocateurs and exaggerated accounts of extremists groups have continued to emerge from the phony stories given to the public in the cases of many would-be plots, such as in Toronto, ‘plot’ to bomb the Sears Tower, the Transatlantic liquid bomb plot, alleged plans to ‘blow up a Jewish temple and shoot down military planes’ in New York and more.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/080606militaryconnections.htm

http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-york-terror-plot-another-government-provocateured-set-up.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/cia-and-mi6-links-to-rauf-and-liquid-bomb-plot.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/230606searstower.htm

We see a similar pattern here, the emerging evidence strongly suggests. How long will we allow deliberately-provoked terror incidents to frighten us to death, invade our privacy, erode our liberties, restrict our travel and perpetuate an ever-expanding string of wars?

Benjamin Franklin long ago warned us that “If we restrict liberty to attain security, we will lose both.” And that those willing to make that bargain deserve neither their liberty nor security.

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Globalization: an Islamic Perspective

This paper investigates from an Islamic perspective the consequences of globalization in general. To specify my argument in accordance with my understanding of Islam, I would strive to argue that globalization might be very harmful before society reaches maturity but very useful after that. Allow me a brief prefatory note about my methodology in this essay: in the first part, I provide many specifics about how Islamic texts and sources view the human being as God’s creation and his ultimate goal in the world. In the second part, after a brief definition of globalization, I apply the analytic method employed in the conventional literature of economics to show why the market mechanism fails to satisfy equality and eradicate poverty in the globalization era. Finally, I try to explain how a free but virtuous, mature society can satisfy equality throughout the world in this era. Obviously, my argument relates, to some extent, to normative aspect of economics. However, it does not follow the ideological methodology at all.

Let me begin by elaborating briefly on the ultimate goal of man’s creation in Islam, since this is so essential to understanding my argument.

The Human Being as God’s Creation

From monotheism, the pivotal pillar of the Islamic worldview, we can conclude that the universe is the best and perfect manifestation of God’s beautiful names and that there is no better alternative system to govern the universe. Indeed, this principle refers to the conception of creation. That is, God is like a secret treasure, so He creates and expands the universe not only to give a clue to His throne but also to reveal His beauty and His brilliance. Some facets of His attributes such as His majesty may manifest themselves in a deterministic environment such as with galaxies and other physical phenomena. There are, however, other facets of His characteristics such as His wisdom and His mercifulness that are impossible to manifest themselves except in indeterministic form.

There seem to be many common elements in the explanation of the philosophy of man’s creation in all Abrahamic religions of which Islam is believed to be a sequel and culmination. By investigating the quality of Adam’s creation, which stands as the symbol of human being in the Quran, we can infer the kind of status he occupies in the sight of God in Islam, as well as in other religions.

In the beginning the Lord addresses all the angels[1]that He wants to create a viceroy[2] on earth. This position will be held by man. The angels object to Him and say that He wants to create a vengeful and vindictive creature to commit crime and bloodshed on earth again! But God responds that He knows something they do not know. And so, God became engaged in creating man. And this is the point which symbols, loaded with profound anthropological connotations, come into being.

From a faithful Muslim point of view, God is the greatest and most exalted. Thus, with this providential address the mission of man on earth is clarified. That is, man’s mission on earth is to fulfill God’s creative work in the universe. Therefore, man’s first superiority is that he represents God on earth.

Since God wants to create a viceroy for Himself on earth, He must, as a rule, choose the most valuable and sacred material. Yet He selects the basest matter. In the Quran there are three references relative to the material that man was made of: from sounding clay[3], like unto pottery[4], and from mud[5]. Finally, the Lord blew His spirit into the dry mud and man came into being.

In the human tongue, God is the most sacred and exalted being so the spirit of God refers to the most exalted, and the noblest manifestation of His being, while mud stands as a symbol of the meanest and the basest thing. Accordingly, He blew His own Soul, not something else like His breath, blood, or flesh, into man in its creating process. God is the most sublime being and His spirit is the finest entity for which man can possibly have an epithet in his language.

Thus, man who was formed from mud and God’s spirit is a two- dimensional being. For unlike all other beings which are one dimensional, man is two-dimensional; one dimension tends towards mud, lowliness, sedimentation, and stagnation while the other aspires to the loftiest imaginable point possible. Thus man’s significance and grandeur lie in the fact that he possesses two poles: mud and the spirit of the Lord. It is up to man to choose where to go, towards mud or providence. And as long as he has not selected either of the poles as his fate, struggle will perpetually rage within him.

Another surprising point in man’s creation in the Quran is that God calls upon the whole universe that He has a trust to offer it, but everything refuses to accept this offer except man[6]. This is indicative of the fact that man possesses another virtue; that is, his acceptance of a trust that everyone else refused. This means that man is a representative of God in the universe as well as His trustee. As to what the trust is, Islamic scholars mention many things. Some of them such as Mawlavi and Shariati[7], believe that it is will and choice. I agree with that, however, it means much more than that. It means that man has adopted a great responsibility to personify all His beautiful names; individually and collectively. Of course, such responsibility requires the ability of will and choice.

Shariati (1981) says that the only superiority that man has over all other beings in the universe is his will. He is the only being that can act contrary to his nature, while no animal or plant is capable of doing so. It is impossible to find an animal which can fast for two days. And no plant has ever committed suicide due to grief or has done a great service. Man is the only one who rebels against his physical, spiritual, and material needs, and turns his back against goodness and virtue. Further, he is free to behave irrationally, to be bad or good, and to be mud-like or divine. The point is that possession of will is the greatest characteristic of man and it throws light upon the relationship between man and God.

Man is a viceroy of God on earth as well as His trustee among the universe, and the spirit of both quenches their thirst from the same fountain of virtue: possession of will. God, the only being in the universe, who possesses an absolute will and can do whatever He wishes, blew His spirit in man. Hence, man is capable of working like God (not on par with Him, only as an image of God), or acting against the physiological laws of his own nature. Therefore, as in the Old Testament[8], He has created mankind as a potentially perfect image of Himself. Obviously, this perfect image goes beyond the interpretation that some distinguished scholars have given it[9]. It shows that all God’s beautiful names may manifest themselves with man and human society. Consequently, it requires the ability to mastery and rule over the universe.

Two kinds of rationality

As mentioned above, according to my Islamic understanding, man is a two-dimensional being. During his spiritual evolution, he should pass from being mud-like to approaching God-like. In other words, God has invited him to pass through an important reference point, maturity[10]. Thus, we can imagine that he has two distinct parts of his life: an individualistic, selfish period (before maturity of society, when the real love is not the dominant flow in the society); and a God-like, selfless period (after maturity of society). Clearly, each specific period requires a certain and separate corresponding rationality. The rationality[11] discussed in the conventional literature of economics, which is based on a low-level self-interest, only corresponds with the period of childhood. Mainstream economics, based on Adam Smith’s invisible hand and the market mechanism, quenches its thirst from this fountain of rationality. In the next part, I will explain how the market mechanism increases the gap between poor and rich countries as well as the gap between poor and rich classes. That is, the more international trade and the more integration of financial markets, the more market failure and more divergent economies! However, when society evolves from selfishness and being mud-like to altruism and being God-like, this rationality will not be effective at all and will collapse instantaneously. The alternative and mature rationality creates a special dynamism for the economy which is very powerful and without any failures. The driving force of this rationality is still self-interest, but a high-level one rooted in being God-like.

I would like to refer to one verse of the Quran, which clearly argues that the individual desires derived from a low-level self-interest lead to harm and corruption[12]: “Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of which men’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return.” We may deduce this corruption is only a part of the consequences of what man has done as a result of his selfishness, and that there might many other bad consequences washed clean by God’s forgiveness. In other words, the invisible hand in an immature society not only is not able to optimize social benefits, but also it creates a great deal of harm and corruption that surpasses our imaginations. However, most of this corruption will be removed by the mechanism provided in the universe by God. The remaining corruption serves to warn the people and deter them from being selfish.

Due to self-interest maximization in immature society, we may also observe clearly many, many problems such as global warming and environmental destruction which will definitely jeopardize future life, while the market mechanism and its price signals fail to reduce these consequences, much less to motivate sustainable development.

Globalization and the issue of equality

In this part of my essay, I would like to show why globalization in the context of low-level self-interest motivation and based on the market mechanism may not lead to equality. Instead, it is biased to developed countries where there is located a complex of various industries and the benefit of economies of agglomeration can be utilized. To do this, it is necessary to have a brief definition of globalization first.

The definition of globalization

As globalization is a multi-layer concept and it has become a buzzword in recent years, globalization has already been defined in many ways. I, in some extend, agree with what Thomas L. Friedman defines globalization. He says: “it is the inexorable integration of market, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before- in a way that it is enabling individuals, corporations, and nation states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that it is enabling the world to reach into individuals, corporations, and nation states farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before” (Friedman 2000, 9). He says: globalization “also has one overarching feature- integration. The world has become an increasingly interwoven place, and today, whether you are a company or a country, your threats and opportunities increasingly derive from who you are connected to. This globalization system is also characterized by a single word: the Web”(ibid, 8). This system is a dynamic ongoing process, with a driving idea of free-market capitalism, and “its own dominant culture” involving “the spread of Americanization” (ibid, 9). It has its own defining technologies, and is measured by its speed, “speed of commerce, travel, communication and innovation” (ibid, 10). He suggests that “globalization is not simply a trend or a fad but is, rather, an international system. It is the system that has now replaced the old Cold War system, and, like that Cold War system, globalization has its own rules and logic that today directly or indirectly influence the politics, environment, geopolitics and economics of virtually every country in the world” (ibid, IX).

What I want to focus on is strictly the economic layer of globalization. In my view, economic globalization refers to a completely different process of internationalization. Although in internationalization the cross-border relations between countries will increase, the nation-state institution will play the main role in the economies, they can still make economic policies and decisions. Economic globalization, however, refers to the process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countries in order to create an “open”, “borderless” world economy’ (Scholte 2000: 16) so that the nation-state institution will be eradicated and no longer play no role in economy. Instead, the Transnational Companies (TNCs) will be the main players in the economy. More technically speaking, the nation’s Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) makes nonsense in the literature and there is only the worlds PPF and TNCs follow fragmentization policy in their production and distribution which is definitely alien from conventional international trade and international finance.

The Inevitability of Asymmetry in Globalization

According to mainstream economics, policies of openness through liberalization of trade and investment regimes, and capital movements have been advocated worldwide for their growth and welfare enhancing effects on the basis of the propositions embedded in the well-known economic theories of international trade and investment (i.e. the Ricardian comparative advantage theory, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) model, the new trade theories of Krugman, or the model of intertemporal international borrowing/lending or portfolio allocation models). In these models, the main goal of openness is assumed to increase social welfare through: (i) static efficiency gains associated with improved resource allocation for national economies as well as for the world economy due to increased specialization; (ii) dynamic efficiency gains from such factors as economies of scale, diffusion of information, technology transfers, knowledge spillover effects as well as intertemporal trade gains from cross-border borrowing/lending for increased investment and consumption smoothing and portfolio risk diversification.

Convergence in accordance with international trade theories is still a serious dilemma. That is, there is no doubt that the level of social surplus will increase totally after free trade or integration of financial markets. However, there is a lasting concern regarding how these gains are distributed between trade partners; are they biased toward developed countries or at least unbiased. Mainstream economics’ theories including static and dynamic insist that international trade will reduce the per capita income gap amongst the open countries. For instance, one of the main theorems that derived from the static model of HOS Theory, implies that when the prices of the output goods are equalized between countries as they move to free trade, then the rewards of the factors (capital and labor for instance) will also be equalized between countries. Therefore we should expect that the increase of free trade due to globalization will reduce the North-South per capita income gap. The dynamic version of this model also suggests a convergent per-capita income trend between north and south countries.

To explain cross-country differences in economic performance, Matsuyama (1996) employs symmetry-breaking methodology. Symmetry-breaking creates asymmetric outcomes in the symmetric environment. It is the key concept for understanding self-organized (a.k.a. endogenous) pattern formations[13].

As a key answer to the increasing gap between North and South countries in the level of cross-country differences as well as the increasing gap between poor and rich classes inside the countries, Matsuyama (2005), rejects coordination failures as the key notion to understand these questions. Instead, he argues that such emphasis is misplaced; the key to understanding the diversity is symmetry-breaking. The notion of coordination failures is not only irrelevant but also misleading when thinking about diversity.

Quoting Matsuyama’s (1996) explanation briefly, it will be shown how globalization can be considered as an endogenous (or a self-organized) factor to create the inequalities.

He offers a model of the world economy, where many (inherently) identical countries trade with one another. It is shown that cross-country differences in the standard of living and in income appear as a stable outcome of international trade. According to his model, the coexistence of rich and poor countries is not just a possibility. It is an inevitable aspect of the world trading system. Although his model adopts many assumptions for the sake of simplification and concreteness, the logic behind the result is fairly general and can be understood intuitively.

Imagine that there is a list of goods that need to be consumed. Furthermore, there are some agglomeration economies in the production of each of these goods. In the absence of international trade, these goods must all be produced in each country. Without any innate difference across countries, each country produces these goods in the same amount, and there is no cross-country difference.

Now introduce the possibility of international trade in these goods. As different countries start acquiring comparative advantage in different goods, the production of each good concentrates into some countries, which leads to an emergence of a system of international division of labor. The stable cross-country difference appears as a result of ‘‘symmetry-breaking’’ in the world economy, caused by international trade. Some countries become rich if they are lucky enough to acquire comparative advantage in goods associated with large agglomeration economies, while other countries, those which happen to acquire comparative advantage in goods with small agglomeration economies, become poor. They fail to achieve a necessary coordination to reach a Pareto-superior equilibrium and find themselves in a Pareto-inferior equilibrium. The problems thus seem just a matter of coordination failures. The global perspective, however, offers a different view. The international division of labor requires different countries to take charge of producing different tradable goods with differing degrees of agglomeration economies. International trade thus creates a kind of ‘‘pecking order’’ among nations. Not all countries can be rich: some countries must be excluded from being rich, just as in a game of musical chairs[14]. At the same time, the model does not rule out the possibility that some (but not all) countries might succeed in overcoming the coordination failures, and becoming rich. This feature of the model makes it possible to talk about the effects of such an ‘‘economic miracle’’ in the world economy.

Since the economies of agglomeration requires the diversity of industries which produce intermediates available in the marketplace, we can conclude that only those countries which have already bypassed the threshold of diversity have a chance to be industrialized and reach to a Pareto-superior equilibrium. Hence, this shows how the phenomena of economies of agglomeration cause a symmetry-breaking to separate the otherwise identical regions into the manufacturing belt and the agricultural hinterland.

Globalization in Mature Society

To explain how globalization in mature society accomplishes beneficial goals, first we have to take into account the two following challenges:

1. The problem of static market failure: This problem arises mainly because of externalities (including public goods, pollution and common pool resources), transaction cost, asymmetric information (such as incomplete markets[15], moral hazards and adverse selection), as well as organization failures. The most common response to a market failure in the literature of the public sector is to use the government to produce certain goods and services. However, government intervention may cause non-market failure. Besides, as mentioned above, globalization causes nation-state eradication so there will be no effective government in such an era. Furthermore, I can hardly believe that international institutions are able to fulfill this responsibility, even if they were independent from the USA.

2. The problem of dynamic market failure: As Matsuyama showed accurately, international trade creates a specific chaos in the symmetric environment so that the operations of markets normally lead to increasing inequality across the countries over time. Likewise, inequality across inherently identical households is caused endogenously by symmetry-breaking. Matsuyama (2004) explains how the class structure is an inevitable feature of capitalism. Even if every household starts with the same amount of wealth, the society will experience “symmetry-breaking,” and will be polarized into the two classes in steady state, where the rich maintain a high level of wealth partly due to the presence of the poor, who have no choice but to work for the rich at a wage rate strictly lower than the “fair” value of labor. Hence, in the capitalistic context we may consider these increasing gaps –whether between countries or inside countries – as an indication of market failure in a dynamic version.

It is now necessary to show how mature society, using a different rationality, may bypass these challenges. This rationality formally is very similar to the conventional one. It is, however, very different in content. I would like to refer to a few verses of Quran related to this subject. God says: “Man has been created restless, so he panics whenever any evil touches him, and withdraws when some good touches him; except for the prayerful who are constant at their prayers and whose wealth comprises an acknowledged responsibility towards the beggar and the destitute; and the ones who accept the Day for Repayment.” These verses show sufficiently that the rationality that guides immature people is definitely different than that which guides mature people, although they benefit from the same potential characteristics. The main distinction between mature and immature is that the mature direct these potentials toward a transcendental personality which is beyond selfishness. They are concerned with all human beings’ needs in all generations rather than their own selves individually or at most their families.

It is very appropriate to ask about the driving motivation in this society. Of course, conventional self-interest cannot motivate people efficiently to be concerned about others. It is extremely in need of a stronger motivation based on an exalted worldview. This worldview should consist of specific beliefs that grant the greatest reward to the doer when he considers all people of all generations altruistically. As I understand, the mature society may not be blind and aimless. Society can achieve this reference point of maturity only when the true beliefs such as the belief in oneness of God, the Day of Judgment, Justice drive it entirely. Passing this reference point is a necessary condition, but divine love, which requires perfection in selflessness, is the sufficient condition for the maturity. In general speaking, love when it appears, has no room but for itself and the lover thinks of no one except the beloved. In other words, selfishness destroys love and it can never be considered as co-existent of love. Nonetheless, worldly love is too weak and ineffective to last and motivate society toward its transcendental goals. In contrast, divine love is quite sustainable and powerful. Since nature is the realms where God’s beautiful names are exhibited, divine love implies, in turn, love of the entire world and the whole creation particularly human beings, the most comprehensive fruit of existence. Therefore, love is at the core of the concept of mature rationality and creates a specific invisible hand to satisfy social benefits including prosperity and equality for all regions and all generations.

Now, allow me to explain how globalization might be useful in a mature world society. As mentioned above, a mature society is a society where all God’s beautiful names have flourished. Therefore, as God provides mercifully all necessary requirements for all creatures, in such a society, each person possesses a certain portion of natural resources consistent with his area of interest. All initial endowments are redistributed by lump sum among the people so technically speaking, all individuals move to the central points of Edgeworth’s box. All members subject to all generations’ benefits do their best to produce more and more creatively because they are His representatives. According to symmetry-breaking methodology, there is still some potential of asymmetry. However, people will share their incomes voluntarily to produce public goods and to reduce the existent gap.

The communist system is as far away as the capitalistic system from the system based on love. The lack of motivation in people’s activities as well as the inefficiency of government –especially when the size of society grows enough- are the essential issues in communism while there is no concern about them in mature society. It is because the people are mature enough to understand that more being active means being closer to God. Besides, there is no need for the presence of strong and big government because this society is governed by many small components of authority connected together in a world wide network. There is hardly conflict of interest between these components because selfishness is the main source of confliction while here the people are selfless. Moreover, they are tolerant and educated enough to avoid violence and to discuss their problems peacefully.

It should be noticed that the economy in mature society serves only as a means by which we can improve the level of virtue so that we are not allowed to sacrifice humanity and its dignity and virtue because of economic benefits.

Endnotes

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[1] Quran, 2:30: And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

[2] It shows very clearly the worth of man in Islam. Even the Post-Renaissance European humanism has not been able to bestow such an exalting sanctity upon man.

[3] Quran, 15:26, 15:28, and 15:33

[4] Quran, 55:14

[5] Quran, 6:2, 7:12, 23:12, 32:7, 37:11, 38:71, 38:76

[6] Quran, 33:72 Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it.

[7] See: Sahriati (1981)

[8] Old Testament, 1:27-28 Elohim said, “Let us make humanity as our image, according to our likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the heavens, the beast, the whole earth, and all the swarmers which swarm on the earth. And God created humanity as his image: as the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

[9] Thomas Aquinas (1976) located the image in the human ability to think and reason, to use language and art, far surpassing the abilities of any animals. Leonard Verduin (1976) says that the image consists in our dominion over animals and plants, which continues despite our sinfulness. Emil Brunner (1976) says that it is our ability to have a relationship with God, reflected in the tendency of all societies to have forms of worship.

[10] Quran, 90:10-17 And [Did We not] guide him to the parting of the mountain ways? But he hath not attempted the Ascent. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Ascent is! (It is) to free a slave, And to feed in the day of hunger, an orphan near of kin, or some poor wretch in misery, and to be of those who believe and exhort one another to perseverance and exhort one another to pity.

[11] I will discuss the other kind of rationality which corresponds with mature period later on.

[12] Quran, 30:41

[13] For example, cosmologists wonder why the matter in the universe is distributed in clusters, leaving much of the universe empty. Earth scientists study the formation of wave patterns, such as jet streams, ocean currents, and continental drifts. Material scientists study phase transitions, how molecules aligned themselves when they reach the critical temperature. Molecular biologists ask how life began in the primordial soup of amino acids, and developmental biologists attempt to explain how living organisms acquire forms through cell division and morphogenesis (Weyl 1969, Prigogine 1980). Similar questions of pattern formations also exist in economics. Why are there rich and poor countries? Why are industries clustered? Why are there booms and recessions? Why are some ethnic groups underrepresented in certain jobs or neighborhoods?

[14] Musical chairs is a game played by a group of people (usually children), often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party. The game starts with any number of players and a number of chairs one fewer than the number of players; the chairs are arranged in a circle (or other closed figure) facing outward, with the people standing in a circle just outside of that. A non-playing individual plays recorded music or a musical instrument. While the music is playing, the players in the circle walk in unison around the chairs. When the music controller suddenly shuts off the music, everyone must race to sit down in one of the chairs. The player who is left without a chair is eliminated from the game, and one chair is also removed to ensure that there will always be one fewer chair than there are players. The music resumes and the cycle repeats until there is only one player left in the game, who is the winner.

[15] The theory of incomplete markets is an extension of the general equilibrium approach to intertemporal economies with uncertainty, where the set of available contracts which can be used to transfer wealth across time is limited relative to the possible probabilistic states that an economy might find itself in. Unlike in the standard Arrow-Debreu model where all trade takes place at beginning of time, in an economy with incomplete markets, agents trade in sequential spot markets.

References

The Noble Quran.

Aquinas, T. (1976), Man to the Image of God, in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 37-43.

Emil, B. (1976), Man and Creation,” in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 45-54.

Friedman, T. L. (2000), The Lexus and the Olive Tree, New York: Anchor Books.

Krugman, P. (1992),Geography and Trade (Gaston Eyskens Lectures), The MIT Press

Matsuyama, K. (1996), Why Are There Rich and Poor Countries?: Symmetry-Breaking in the World Economy, NBER Working Paper Series

Matsuyama, K. (2005), Structural Change, forthcoming in L. Blume and S. Durlauf, eds., the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition, Macmillan (available at: http://www.faculty.econ.northwestern.edu/faculty/matsuyama/Structural%20Change.pdf )

Prigogine, I. (1980), From Being to Becoming: Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences, Freeman, 1980.

Scholte, J. A. (2000) Globalization. A critical introduction, London: Palgrave.

Shariati, A. (1981), Man and Islam, Translator: Fatollah Marjani, Houston: Free Islamic Literature-Filinc.

Verduin, L. (1976), A Dominion-Haver, in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 55-74.

Weyl, H. (1969), Symmetry, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Nasser Elahi
http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/globalization-an-islamic-perspective-293758.html

Clarity Crafted From Common Sense!

Let’s face it; we are all liberals, no matter how conservative we may be. The Puritans who founded America conquered dangers and disasters to win religious freedom, but they were liberals. In 1754, Benjamin Franklin depicted a rattlesnake cut into eight sections in his Pennsylvania Gazette. The eight sections of snake symbolized eight eastern seaboard colonies and the caption said “Join or Die!” It was a call to arms during the French and Indian war. By 1776, an image of a coiled rattlesnake, with “Don’t Tread on Me”, became an American icon of independence and a battle cry engrained in the Spirit of ’76.

What is different about the liberalism of the Puritans and the liberalism of the progressive movement in America today? In a word, the difference is morality. The Puritans personified deeply held, Bible based morality with their liberalism. When morality is stripped away from liberalism, the result is 30 million aborted babies over thirty years, legalized sodomy and the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), all protected by the immoral ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).

Born in 1954, I was a classic Love Generation, anti-Vietnam War liberal, living at the speed of party! It is unbelievable; what our generation has lived through. The sexual revolution, women’s lib, the music revolution, the recreational drug awakening, the Civil Rights marches, the nuclear arms race, the space race, the information revolution spawned by the computer, the internet, satellites and cell phones are just part of what we have witnessed! What a wonderful life and evolution of our democracy, in our time!

Our choices for president in 1972, when I turned eighteen and got a draft card, were Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. I did not vote that year. Most profound, perhaps, we stopped the Vietnam War to protect those poor rice farmers, from US troops. We quit and came home. Then, between 1975 and 1978, the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge slaughtered about three million of those peasants who we demonstrated in US streets to protect, from US troops. How foolish we were!

The lesson is clear: really bad guys immediately fill the muscle void when good men stand down and go home. Those who rallied our utopian filled minds to stop the war were mostly silent about the genocide that ensued, after US troops were withdrawn. Our killed and wounded were sacrificed in great numbers. In the end, their mission and our allies were simply abandoned by Congress and our divided nation.

We grew up with Why We Fight, Victory At Sea, Combat, Black Sheep Squadron, Rat Patrol and other programs about WWII, the death camps and the cost of freedom on TV. This type of programming saturated the few over-the-air channels and we found it educational, entertaining and fascinating. Many of us still find it fascinating. It was all about the gritty, epic struggle between freedom and tyranny and it was very patriotic!

The Rifleman, Leave It To Beaver, Gunsmoke, My Three Sons, Bonanza, The Waltons, Wild Kingdom and All In The Family are just a few programs I recall that were favorites for lighter entertainment. And the Ed Sullivan show. It was all pretty wholesome fare and we loved it. The America of our youth is already gone forever, in case you missed its passing.

We watched in naive befuddlement while the Shah of Iran was overthrown by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Tehran, who used US hostages as pawns on TV for over a year beginning in 1979. Interest rates were sky high and lines at gas stations were longer than that. Our President at the time was a former peanut farmer and most of us watched, from afar, the rise of radical Islam without understanding it.

As a result of the gasoline shortages that followed, there was a lot of talk about energy independence. Certainly, the masses of us did not connect the dots between buying foreign oil and funding terrorism. Apparently, neither did our elected leaders who were most interested in re-election, as they almost always are above all else. In retrospect, what in God’s name were we doing? Oh yeah, partying! We watched while our secular, modern thinking but despotic ally was swept from power, our Embassy was overrun, our hostages were traumatized and the rest of us were slowly strangled at the gasoline pump. We were brain dead.

We watched our principled Ronald Reagan from a distance with admiration, as did millions worldwide throughout the 1980′s. When Ross Perot entered politics, he caught everyone’s attention by driving the national debate for a balanced budget and by opposing NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) with his famous “giant sucking sound” quote. Perot redirected enough conservative or moderate votes from Bush Forty One to put Clinton in the White House.

Bill Clinton really motivated me politically. When Clinton said that he did not inhale the marijuana he tried in college, it was obvious that he was a liar, a scrupulous manipulator and I was motivated against him immediately. The Adolescent President, Bubba, dragged us all into the abyss of political and moral relativism where anything goes, as Nixon had done decades earlier. It was more liberalism without morality.

Rather than recount the long series of terrorist attacks we suffered and mostly ignored, from Carter’s administration until 9/11, let it suffice to say that I was already paying attention to politics before 9/11 thanks to Bubba. Now we are aware that we are in the fight of our lives. We have let the radical ideology of our enemies morph into a giant violent network with global reach and influence and we even, indirectly, enabled it and still do.

Our strategic goal must be the triumph of human freedom over tyranny in Muslim countries, for our own safety too. It is in our interest, is moral and it will take a generation or two for freedom to achieve victory over this brand of fascism. For non-radicals like most of us, it is bigger than the cost of oil, revenge or even justice. Because of weapons technology, it is about survival for which radicals care not. Tactics, tools and diplomacy will need to adapt and be re-configured for each adverse circumstance until the right combination is found to achieve long term victory.

The hour is late. Since 1979 our enemies have been at war with us and teaching their children to be martyrs, en masse. Most of us were asleep at the wheel until September 11, 2001 and too many of us seem to have gone back to sleep again. Religious, ideological hatred and technology are growing against us, so America must fight for freedom for others once again. We can not maintain our freedom alone, we need allies.

While we are divided about the best ways to achieve the strategic goal of freedom over tyranny, it is clear to most of us that we must use all of our resources and tools, for generations. Clarity resulted from 9/11 for most baby boomers and that means war, and diplomacy.

Lightning fast global communications show our enemies a vicious political war internally which makes winning the wars of bullets and bones infinitely more difficult. Our political division emboldens our enemies to kill more Americans. They believe we will quit and go home, again. They have Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia as their proof and recruiting tools. Last but not least, our division demoralizes our own volunteer military forces.

A massive show of political unity at home is required because votes affect troop morale on both sides!

Purveyors of propaganda surround us. Seek and you shall find what our troops’ majority wishes are, but you must work at it. It is not easy if you prefer polling data of our military over logic. Polling questions will improve so answers cannot be so easily spun into interpretations not intended by the military volunteers questioned, if I have my way. When you are sure you know what our troops’ majority political wishes are, support them with your votes because only votes count. Our words of support, without our votes being aligned with our troops’ majority political wishes, mean nothing.

Our troops and our enemies have connected the dots between votes and troop morale, on both sides, can you?

Vote as if your life depended on it, because it very well might. This is how we found clarity, crafted from common sense; the hard way!

Average Joe Boomer
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/clarity-crafted-from-common-sense-74364.html