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If Islam is such a powerful religion then why has it not positively impacted

the usual behavior of Muslims – the practitioners of Islam?

My friend, Mr. Rana was staying with his family in Toronto, Canada. One Sunday afternoon

he heard the door bell ringing, as he opened the front door he found two ladies standing

there. One of the ladies asked Mr. Rana, “If you don’t mind, we would take only two

minutes from your precious time to say something?” Mr. Rana said, “Sure”. The lady recited

couple of verses from the Bible, handed over a leaflet to Mr. Rana, and expressed her

thanks and left smilingly. The whole conversation took precisely two minutes.

Next Sunday, the same incident was repeated at the same time at the front door of house

of Mr. Rana. However Mr. Rana’s family did not approve it that Mr. Rana had started

listening to the Christian preachers.

Next Sunday at the same time again, the same ladies were standing at the front door. But

this time, Mr. Rana’s son opened the door and told the ladies “don’t you know we are

Muslims, you are just wasting your time”. The ladies apologized to the young man and

walked away.

Next Sunday, the ladies came to visit again. However this time Mr. Rana received them by

himself. After saying hello to each others, the head preacher smilingly asked, “Mr. Rana, we

know you are a Muslim then why did you listen to us on the pervious Sundays?” Mr. Rana

told, “Sure, I’m a Muslim and I had listened to you earlier because I wanted to learn more

about Christianity so as to compare it with the Islamic teachings”. Then the lady said:

“Mr. Rana, some time ago I read Quraan and was so impressed by it that I wanted to

become Muslim. When I expressed this desire to my fiancé, he told me that better I should

first visit some Muslim countries in order to understand the Islamic Teachings & Practices. A

few months later, I joined a culture study group that was touring the Middle East. I visited

three Arab countries during this trip and closely observed the Arab Islamic Culture and their

religious practices. I was though very impressed by observing the Islamic practices such as

offering payers in groups at mosques, fasting passionately and spending generously during

the month of Ramadan,…; but I must say, I was disappointed to observe that the Muslims

usually don’t keep their promises, generally tell lies and accept lies, cheat in commercial

dealings, show arrogance and sometime bigotry when addressing the matters of intellectual

nature, treat their women folks like a property, and as such I found the equity & justice was

hardly visible in their public & private life. After this eye opening visit to the Middle East, I

therefore decided not to become a Muslim. So, tell me Mr. Rana, if Islam is such a

powerful religion then why has it not positively impacted the usual behavior of

Muslims – the practitioners of Islam?”

Mr. Rana feeling a bit embarrassed told the lady preacher, “I’m sorry, right now I can not

offer an answer to your question, however, I’ll get back to you when I’ll find the answer.”

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About a month ago, Mr. Rana told me the above story and asked for a rational answer to

the question of the Lady Preacher.

I have been thinking over the question and so far, the following answers have come into my

mind:

Answer # 1: If I was Mr. Rana, then immediately I would have asked the Lady

Preacher, “Do you believe, is it because of Christianity that the

Western Society has developed to its present level of prosperity

& civility?”

Answer # 2: When I deeply thought over the Question, I was able to develop a

“Naïve Reality” for an answer to the question as follows:

European ‘Idealism’ in its form and manifestations whatsoever is an outcome of the

Renaissance and Rationalism – encompasses a set of certain ‘Secular Good Values and the

Sociopolitical Philosophies’ derived from the Greek Philosophy & Art, the Roman Law &

Government, and the Middle-Ages Muslim's Intellectual Development Contributions [refer to

the works of Ibn-e-Rushd, and other Muslim scholars & scientists, nonetheless European

Philosophers call Ibn-e-Rushd 'the Spiritual Father of Renaissance']; the Idealism that the

West (particularly the Western Europe) started pursuing (systematically under a certain

discipline) after the 16th Century had enabled the West to presenting a reasonably 'civilized

secular welfare society' in terms of its culture & political-economics [core values: rule of

law, modern science, competition, work ethics, and consumer rights protection

organizations] by end of the 20th Century.

‘Pragmatism’ has been derived from the ‘necessity and purpose to survive & sustain and

preserve & propagate oneself, and mange the practical consequences thereof’, which is to

be pursued on the basis of 'SMART (specific, measurable, agreed to, realistic, and time

bound) Objectives' WITHOUT any consideration of and due regard to the proclaimed &

pronounced ‘moral values and/or ideals’ whatsoever.

United States of America, due to her geography & land resources, history, and

heterogeneous cultural compulsions together with the slogan of “land of opportunities”,

started pursuing and effectively practicing the ‘American Pragmatism’ together with its

deduced ‘Pragmatic Political-economics Philosophy’ in every sphere of life after the ‘War of

Independence’ (though the term ‘American Pragmatism’ was formally realized after the

WW-I). And therefore, the USA was able to emerge as the 'sole super power' of the World

(thanks to the windfall benefits resulting out of the WW-II) by end of the 20th Century; but

on the other hand, the US ended up therewith presenting a 'Barbaric American Society',

prosperity & political economics of which mostly depends on its 'capitalist liberal culture –

competition, rule of law, modern science, work ethics, and consumer rights protection

organizations, etc'.

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Deen-e-Islam is the ‘Divine Ideology and Discipline leading to a Hassanah & Peaceful Way

of Life on the Earth’ – the Ideology that Allah is the Absolute-One and the Only One, Who is

the Creator, the Owner, the Administrator & Regulator, the Sustainer, the Knowledgeable &

Wise, the Judge,…, that man has to accept and obey Him in totality; and the Discipline in

the form of His Laws – the Laws of Nature that Allah has devised for every entity to govern

& regulate all systems of the universe and the nature and His Principles & Codes of Conduct

for the Mankind that man has to observe & follow accordingly in order to achieve the

purpose & object of man being the ‘Allah’s Vice-gerent (Khalifa) on the Earth’, which

Ideology & Discipline Allah has revealed in the shape of the Holy Quraan as practiced and

implemented by His last Prophet, Mohammad (Peace be upon Him).

‘Islamic Idealism’ is based on the 'Quraanic & Shariah's Fundamental Principles of

Knowledge & Wisdom (both, the acquired one based on human senses, intellect and

intuition, and the Divine one as revealed unto the Prophets), Equity & Justice, and

Empathy’; primary focus of which is to establish "the beautiful (Hassanah) & peaceful

society" on the Earth thereby pooling, sharing, and applying the collective knowledge &

wisdom (Mushawarat) in the light of Quraan and Sunnah (practices of the Prophet

Mohammad PBUH); so that each and every citizen of the society should have sufficient

liberty for pursuing his/her individual & family life at ‘Hassanah (the beautiful) Peace’ in this

world in order to end up at ‘Hassanah Peace’ in the metaphysical world thereafter.

If we critically review the early history of Deen-e-Islam, we will observe that the Islamic

Idealism together with its deduced ‘Islamic Sociopolitical Philosophy’ was religiously pursued

& practiced until the era of Hazrat Omer (the 2nd Ameer-ul-Momineen/Caliph), which had

resulted into providing "the beautiful & peaceful society" - flourishing and expanding beyond

the Arabian Peninsula at that time.

But soon thereafter, this beautiful & peaceful society and its political-economics started

giving in to the Pragmatism and consequently, degenerating into a 'Barbaric Muslim Society

- proclaiming & pronouncing the Islamic Idealism on one hand, and practicing the

Pragmatism on the other’, in terms of its culture and political-economics. Therefore, I'm

tempted to label this paradigm shift as the "MUSLIM PRAGMATISM", which the Muslims

had started practicing, particularly after the era of "Khulafa-e-Rashideen", in its

manifestation as follows:

1. To proclaim, pronounce and propagate the 'Islamic Idealism' as deem fit at every

level and in every walk of life;

2. To survive & sustain and preserve & propagate the ‘self-interest’ and manage the

practical consequences thereof WITHOUT any consideration of and due regard to the

proclaimed & pronounced “Islamic Ideals & Values (‘Aqql’, equity & justice, empathy,

democracy, telling the truth honestly, keeping the promise & commitment always,

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earning the livelihoods by honest ways & means, respecting others' life, honor and

property in the same manner one would like others to respect his/her own, etc.)”;

3. To establish & promote a strong nexus between the Kingship/Autocracy and the

Clergy so that the Clergy should certify the King/Autocrat enjoying the 'Divine

Blessings';

4. To convert the Mosque (‘the Muslim’s Community Center for establishing the

Institution of Sallat - an Ideal Social Organization at Community Level’ as it was

established by the Holy Prophet) into the 'Muslim's Worship Place' thereby appointing

state sponsored Imams (prayer leaders) and declaring the Mosque as the ‘House of

Allah’, thus compromising the whole concept & purpose of the Mosque and as such

purging the ‘Institution of Sallat’ [find out the 1st Muslim Ruler who had nationalized

the mosques thereby appointing the state-employed Imams throughout the Muslim

Empire];

5. To promote confusion & falsehood in the interpretations of the Holy Quraan, the

Sunnah (the practices of the Holy Prophet) and the Fundamental Principles of Deen-

e-Islam and the ‘virtuous advocacy as deemed fit for the purpose’ through the state

sponsored Clergy and pseudo intellectuals;

6. To replace the education of Holy Quraan with that of the Hadith (the sayings of the

Holy Prophet, as narrated) and controversial interpretations of the Quraanic &

Shariah's principles of jurisprudence in the form of Fiqha thereby promoting

dogmatism and bigotry in the society;

7. To keep the masses uneducated of the knowledge of mathematics, science &

technology, and philosophy (logic, ethics, politics, esthetics, and metaphysics), and

to impose upon them 'an absurd education system based on rote learning', and to

discourage the 'inquiry based learning' thereby preventing the masses from

developing a 'liberal & rational thinking' in their minds;

8. To promote & propagate the notion that whatever happens, good and bad, is due to

the 'Divine Intervention' though people have directly caused the same by

themselves;

9. To promote the value & security of material resources supreme over the value &

security of life and liberty of the people;

10. To create & propagate confusion between the ‘historical-cum-cultural identity’ and

the ‘ideological-cum-religious identity’ of the people thereby tempering &

commingling the historical facts with their religious beliefs & practices;

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11. To systematically inculcate a ‘sense of despondency’ and ‘disdain for liberty’ among

the masses for creating a ‘slave mentality’ so that they could accept the despot

(King/Autocrat) as ‘fate accompli’;

12. To oppressively resist to ‘change’ and crush ‘civil rights movements’ in the so-called

‘national/public interest’ albeit for the sake of maintaining the ‘ oppressive status

quo’;

13. To buy or silence every dissenting voice against the ‘ruling authority’ thereby

adopting 'caret & stick' and 'divide & rule' policies;

14. To value & reward 'the loyalty' instead of appreciating & valuing an 'honest & rational

criticism';

15. To limit opportunities for developing the intellectual capacity and economic

empowerment only to a select group of people loyal to the ruling authority and that

too in a controlled manner;

16. To propagate the perception – the weak (poor & ignorant- the powerless) is to ‘Live

& Die by Chance’, and the strong (rich & educated- the powerful) is to 'Live & Die by

Choice';

17. To govern the State by 'law of the rule' NOT by 'rule of the law', and 'justice is to be

blind (rather sleepy)' for the powerless NOT for the powerful;

18. To providing a reasonable 'Social Security' to citizens ought to be the responsibility

of individuals NOT of the State;

19. To label and brand as 'Islamic' every secular thing/event/process - concerning with

history & culture, entertainment & sports, science & technology, political-economics,

law & justice, government, trade & commerce, banking & insurance, arms &

ammunitions, products & services, ..., to the extent of branding/trade-marking

natural honey as "Islamic Honey"; and last but not the least

20. Inequality & injustice, ignorance & illiteracy, character disorder, vice, discrimination

on the basis of class, color, creed, social status, gender, and religious beliefs,

impatience & haste, intolerance, indiscipline, complacency, apathy towards life and

environment, intellectual bankruptcy, economic disparity & dispossession, arrogance,

dogma, bigotry, coercion, greed, stealing & grabbing, cartelized monopolies, criminal

negligence, misconduct & breach of trust, corruption, tax evasion, hoarding, 'might is

right', romanticism, mysticism, traditionalism, skepticism, extremism, mullahism,

sectarianism, cronyism, nepotism, tribalism, feudalism, etc., are to be acceptable

norms of the society as long as they do not pose a terminal threat to ‘legal authority

and state control’ of the mighty autocratic rulers.

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However, when I look at the political thoughts of European Schools in Politics (considering

politics is the ‘study of ideal social organization’), I find two extreme views:

Rousseau School arguing that:

- Nature is good, civilization is bad;

- By nature all men are equal;

- Becoming unequal is only by class-made institutions; and

- Law is an invention of the strong to chain and rule the weak.

Nietzsche School claiming that:

- Nature is beyond good and evil;

- By nature all men are unequal;

- Morality is an invention of the weak to limit and deter the strong;

- Power is supreme virtue, and supreme desire of man; and

- Of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is the aristocracy.

On the other hand, I find the English School while differing from the above two, presenting

its own version of politics, i.e., ‘Democracy’ (actually originating from the popular demand

of “no taxation without representation”). However to my understanding, the English School

in Politics (read: the Anglo-American School) advocates that:

- Nature is beyond good and evil;

- Society by itself is to determine what is good or evil, and morality for itself;

- By nature all men & women (read Caucasians, the white people) are equal; and

- State is secular; and of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is

the Democracy (rule of the people, by the people, and for the people) albeit the

rule of ‘democratic aristocracy’.

Insofar I have understood the ‘Islamic Idealism’ provides the following political philosophy:

- There is only ‘Absolute-One God (Allah)’, Who has created the universe

comprising of every and all types & kinds of spaces, matter, energies whatsoever

in a ‘certain order of nature, substance, behavior and purpose and the

methods/laws that govern & regulate the same’ (‘Allah is the Khaliq and

Qaader’);

- Allah is the “Universal Administrator & Regulator of all Systems (Rab-ul-

Aalameen)” of the universe and everything whatsoever in it, and the nature in

accordance with His Laws (the laws of nature);

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- Allah has created ‘Man’ being ‘the Superior Creature’ thereby empowering

him/her with “Aqql (the Intellect for acquiring knowledgeable & wisdom) and

Freewill”, and deputed him/her on the Earth as ‘His Vice-gerent (Khalifa)’ for a

predetermined time period (Yaum) and the purpose to lead a Hassanah &

Peaceful Life in accordance with ‘His Discipline (Deen)’;

- Allah has created ‘good’ in the form of all angelic/beneficial forces, i.e., the

‘forces of good’ in nature and within the human entity, and made these forces of

good (allegorically ‘the Angels’) to submit to Man so that he/she should make

best use of them in his/her life on the Earth. Also, Allah has created ‘evil’

allegorically the “devil (Iblees)”, who represents all ‘forces of evil’ in nature and

within the human entity, thereby giving a free hand to the devil to try & test the

“Aqql & Freewill” of Man on the Earth [Refer to Al-Quraan, Surah Al-Isra (17),

Ayah 61 – “AND LO,WE said unto the Angels, Prostrate yourself before Adam’

whereupon they all did except Iblees (the devil),…”];

- Allah has blessed Man with the ‘Divine Ideology and Discipline leading to a

Hassanah & Peaceful Way of Life (‘Deen’)’, which He gradually revealed unto Man

over a period of time through His various Prophets as the human civilization had

progressed in stages and finally, He completed the ‘Deen’ at His last Prophet,

Mohammad PBUH, thereby naming it ‘Deen-e-Islam’;

- Man is to establish a “Beautiful (Hassanah) & Peaceful Civilization” on the Earth in

accordance with the fundamental principles of Deen-e-Islam as revealed in the

Holy Quraan and practiced by His last Prophet (Mohammad, PBUH) in order to

providing a conducive socioeconomic & political environment to everyone to lead

his/her life at the ‘Hassanah Peace’ within;

- Allah has created all men & women equal by nature, therefore, the State shall

treat every citizen equally and justly in accordance with the fundamental

principles of Deen-e-Islam as revealed in the Holy Quraan and practiced by His

last Prophet (Mohammad, Peace be upon Him);

- At the end of the day, Allah is going to hold a ‘Day of Judgment’ whereby all men

& women shall be held accountable for their deeds in this life, who will then end

up either in heaven or hell (reward or punishment) forever according to the

Judgment of their deeds; and

- Democracy is the wisest and most natural form of government, which shall begin

at the community level of Mosque [the ‘Imam or the community leader is to be

the elected one] and shall extend to all levels of the statehood/government in

similar fashion. All the public office-holders, be an Imam or ‘Ameer’ (the head of

state) shall act as ‘Ameen’ (trust holder), who will hold the public offices as long

as they enjoy trust of their electorates.

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Contrary to the above, the “Muslim Pragmatism” manifests its own kind of a ‘pragmatic

political philosophy’, that:

- Allah is for good, the devil is for evil;

- Man is to err, Allah is to forgive;

- By nature all men (including women) are unequally equal – ‘unequal in sense,

equal in substance’;

- The ‘Religion of Islam’ is an ‘ideal tool of political power’;

- The powerful (the so-called ‘chosen/blessed one by the Divine Authority’) has an

inherent right to rule the powerless; and

- Of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is the “Khilafat

(Kingship/Emirate/Religious Autocracy/Dictatorship that enjoys support of the

Clergy)”.

Definitely the European Idealism and its deduced Sociopolitical Philosophies had a great

intellectual impact and played a major role in reshaping the Western Societies. Also, the

American Pragmatism together with its deduced Pragmatic Sociopolitical Philosophy had its

own kind of positive impact on the development of political-economics of the USA. However

one cannot simply ignore the significant role of European’s and American’s ‘inquiry based’

education systems, which transformed their respective societies into the ‘knowledge-based

societies’. And at the same time, their ‘Industrial Revolution’ including development of

modern science & technology, mining & metallurgical infrastructure, manufacturing of

industrial goods and military hardware, shipping & navy, commerce & trade, and research &

development in all socioeconomic sectors - all this had occurred due to occurrence of a

‘change’ in their minds therewith the enlightenment of ‘objective knowledge’ and ‘subjective

ideals’, which the West had realized over a period of time after having suffered a lot from

the ‘nexus of king & clergy’.

On the other hand, the Muslims altogether had failed to discern and enlighten their minds

with the true teachings of the Holy Quraan and to act accordingly, for brining about a

positive change into their political and socioeconomic conditions. For example, Surah Al-

Faatir (Ayahs 27-28) stresses on carrying out mining and understanding of zoology and

ecosystems. Surah Al-Hadeed (Ayah 25) is for making the best use of Iron and establishing

the metallurgical infrastructure. And there are so many other Ayahs of the Holy Quraan that

directly concern with the importance of knowledge of human life and other life forms (life

sciences & environment), mathematics, physical sciences, material sciences, astronomy &

cosmology, philosophy, history, sociology, economics, defence, agriculture, etc. Nonetheless

the Ayah 164 of Surah Al-Baqrah of Quraan speaks out by itself; however when this Ayah

was revealed unto the Holy Prophet PBUH, he specifically told the Sahabah (the original

followers & companions of the Holly Prophet):

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“Last night, I received an Ayah, and Wail (the misery & humiliation) upon that person who

reads this Ayah and do not think over and act upon it accordingly; that person shall be

condemned to the Wail (the misery & humiliation) twice and thrice.”

The Ayah says: “Verily, in the creation of space systems (samawaat) and the earth, and in

the alteration of night and day (the change in time zones), and the ships that sail through

the seas with that which is of use to mankind (the usefulness of sea-lanes & shipping and

navy), and the water which Allah sends down from the sky (rain) and makes the earth alive

therewith after its death (water being the main source of life and the water cycle for

receiving potable water on lands), and the moving creatures of all kinds (all organic life

forms) that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds (the weather

system & climate change) which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayaat

(proofs, evidences, signs, etc. of His blessings) for the society of those who apply Aqql (the

society of intellectuals).”

Evidently enough the Muslims have had failed to accordingly act upon the above mentioned

Ayahs of the Holy Quraan and consequently, they have suffered from the miseries &

humiliations so they deserved as per the true saying of the Holy Prophet PBUH as stated

above. Similarly, the Muslim Clergy has so far utterly failed to correctly interpret the true

meanings of ‘Deen-e-Islam’ and ‘Knowledge of the Deen’ [the ‘Ilm-e-Nafay’ or the

‘beneficial knowledge’ (Al-Quraan) - knowledge of the laws of Allah that govern & regulate

all systems of the universe and everything whatsoever in it and the nature, and the Allah’s

principles & codes of conduct for the mankind’]. On the contrary, the Clergy have had given

its own self-serving meanings to the ‘Knowledge of Deen-e-Islam’ being only the ‘knowledge

of the principles & codes of conduct for the mankind as prescribed by Allah’, which too lacks

a consensus within the Clergy. While on the other hand, Europe, North America, Australia,

Japan, China, etc., have had truly demonstrated their discern & appreciation of the

knowledge & wisdom as mentioned in the above said Ayahs of the Holly Quraan and

therefore, these nations have reasonably achieved the present level of their respective

socioeconomic development & prosperity and the political leverage!

Now, therefore, the so-called 'Muslim World' presents an "Orderly Disordered Barbaric &

Hypocrite Society", which has evidently turned into a ‘geopolitical-economics laboratory’ for

testing the ‘Chaos Theory – Butterfly Effect’ and the ‘Game Theory’ in the hands of the USA

in order for serving the ‘vested interests’ of America and its allies?

And unfortunately enough, the Non-Muslims tend to judge ‘Deen-e-Islam’ on the

basis of the Muslim’s proclaimed & pronounced “Islamic Idealism”, NOT as such

on the basis of the “Muslim Pragmatism” and its deduced “pragmatic political

philosophy’ which the Muslims (read the Muslim-Aristocracy) have being practicing

for centuries throughout the Muslim World - hence their behaviors reflect the so-

called ‘Islamic Decadence’ !!!

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When I apply the so-called “Muslim Pragmatism” and the deduced “pragmatic political

philosophy” on to my own country, ‘Pakistan (Land of the Pure)’, my mind starts boggling

with certain questions, which I would like to express in the following lines:

Where is the Living we have lost in hope? Where is the Hope we have lost in Faith? Where is the Faith we have lost in wisdom?

Where is the Wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the Knowledge we have lost in information? Where is the Justice we have lost in rule? Where is the Rule we have lost in law?

Where is the Law we have lost in authority? Where is the Authority we have lost in morality? Where is the Morality we have lost in norms?

Where is the Peace we have lost in security? Where is the Security we have lost in defence? Where is the Defence we have lost in strength?

Where is the Strength we have lost in discipline? Where is the Discipline we have lost in unity?

Where is the Prosperity we have lost in political-economics?

Where is the Political-economics we have lost in governance? Where is the Governance we have lost in democracy? Where is the Democracy we have lost in ‘the people’? Where is ‘The People’ we have lost in Pakistan?

“Verily, Allah does not change (for the betterment) a society/nation until & unless that

society/nation changes (for the betterment) thyself within.” [The Holy Quraan]

However I'll appreciate and welcome your comments on my above “Naïve Reality” of the

issue/question in order to further rationalize the same so as to arrive at a truth of the

matter. Nonetheless I’m deeply conscious of my intellectual incapacity and therefore would

like to say: as Nietzsche truly said, “Be not virtuous beyond your ability; demand

nothing of yourselves contrary to probability……. For a long time I ceased not to

strive for my happiness; now I strive for my work.” Thank you,

Sincerely,

Bashir Nadeem

Islamabad, Pakistan

Tel: 0300-850 7626

December 24, 2010 Email: bashir.nadeem@hotmail.com

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PS: Unfortunately enough, the ‘Pragmatism’ has caused ‘decadence’ to the Islamic

Idealism, the European Idealism, and the Asian Cultural Traditionalism. Pragmatism

seems to be the Philosophy of 21st Century, which every developed and developing

nation is pursuing for its own ‘survival of the fittest’ in the global competitive

environment of today. Nations equipped with the same ideological tool of mind and

obsessed with their respective national interests to pursue & promote thereby

coming at cross with each other on the world map, always end up at a disastrous

conflict. Therefore, one can predict the happening of WW-III within next 2 to 3

decades, which would definitely originate from the most ‘politically unstable

socioeconomic region’ like the Middle East (including Pakistan). Nonetheless the year

2011 is going to be the ‘defining year’ for the future of Middle East and Pakistan.

Announces economic benefits worth tens of billions of dollarswas 10.5 percent last year, butwas as high as 30 percent in the20-29 age group with an esti­mated 450,000 Saudi citizenswithout jobs.

Saudi Arabia, which ispumping around nine millionbarrels of oil a day, has morethan $450 billion in assetsthanks to high oil prices overthe past decade. The king alsothanked the religious establish·ment for helping again tprotests through issuing fatwas,or religious edicts, outlawingdemonstrations. The king for­bade any criticism of the headof the enior religious scholar,Sheikh Abdulaziz al-8haikh, andordered around one billionriyals in assistance to various re­ligious bodies including the reli­gious police.

Another decree called on theautholities to force the privatesector to create more jobs forSaudis. At present, around 90percent of several million jobsin the private sector are occu­pied by foreigners who numberix million.

The king also ordered the es­tablishment of a national anti­corruption authority to beheaded by a high-ranking offi­cial in the capacity of a minister.A national anti-<:orruption bodyand the holding of officials toaccount have been major de­mands for reformists in lheMuslim kingdom. The corrup­tion watchdog will be directlyunder the king. - AFP

rallied in support of Bahrainiand called for the release ofprisoners. In addition to newhouses, all civil servants and themilitary were gifted the equiva­lent of two months' salary, andthe same to university students,the king said.

The monarch also ordered aminimum monthly wage of3 000 riyals ($800) for civil ser­vants and introduced monthlyunemployment benefits of2 000 riyals for jobseekers. Pay­ments will start after about eightmonths. Unemployment in theworld's biggest crude exporter

Saudi Shiites rallied Fridayfor a fourth consecutive day toshow solidarity with protestersin Shiite-majority Bahrain anddemand the release of prison­ers.

Witne e aid ecurityforces fired teargas at demon­trators in the city of Qateef

where shots also rang out.{arche were also held in the

cities of Tarut, Safwa andAwamiya

A witness said that about 10Saudi protesters were hurt inclashes with riot police on Fri­day in the city of Omran as they

as many as 500,000 housingunits. This is in addition to apackage of social benefits worthan estimated 336 billion, mostlyaimed at youth, civil servantsand the unemployed, an­nounced earlier this month.

Saudi's oil-rich Easternprovince, where mo t of thecountry's Shiite minority lives,has been rocked by protes inrecent days. Tensions haveflared since Saudi forces rolledon Monday into Bahrain to helpthe neighbouring kingdom'sSunni Muslim ruling dynastycrush Shiite-ledunre t.

RIYADH: saudi King Abdullah addresses the nation from his office at the Royal Palace, Friday. - Reuters

Abdullah warns againstattempt to de · e kingdom

RITADH: Saudi King AbdullahFriday announced unprece­dented economic benefits worthtens of billions of dollars andwarned against any attempt toundermine the kingdom, as up­heaval swept the Arab world.

The monarch appeared to beresponding to the whirlwind ofregional unrest that has oustedautocratic regimes in Egypt andTunisia, and thrown Bahrain,

~ • Yemen and Libya into bloodyturmoil.

In a speech aired on tate­run television, the king who re­turned home in February fromthree months of medical treat­ment, praised the securityforces for preventing protestthat were planned for March 11.

"You are the hitting handagainst whoever considers un­dermining the nation's securityand stability," King Abdullahsaid, addressing Saudi securityforces. He rewarded the interiorministry by ordering the cre­ation of 60,000 more militaryand securityjobs in the ministryand a large number of promo­tions for soldiers and officers.

And he coupled the warningwith an announcement of mas­sive ocial benefits includinghigher unemployment pay­men better healthcare and im­proved housing service andloans.

Among other things, he or­dered the pumping of 250 bil­lion riyals ($67 billion) into ac­commodation welfare to build