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Imam W. Deen Mohammed, son of the Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad, last week held his annual convention to Detroit, with the theme "Have a Winning Spirit for Success."
Amusing. This "Have a Winning Spirit for Success" is merely a copying of those Christian churches and revival meetings and assorted great awakenings where holy-rollers explain that Jesus was simply the first great Motivational Speaker, and that the Royal Road to Riches lies through belief. Believe in Jesus, and your investments, your work, your everything will "pay off" -- oh, and if it doesn't, you still have the rest of what is in the Bible as your consolation prize so don't, please, ask that your contributions to this Church of Immaculate Worldly Success be given back.
In another sense, however, getting beyond the con-men, the mountebanks, the preachers-as-megachurch-motivational-speakers, there is a point that can be made. It is this. Islam does not encourage economic success. Islam gets in the way of economic success. Islam actively encourages two things that help explain the dismal economic performance of Muslim states and peoples, broadly speaking (there are always individual exceptions), as well as the fact that despite having received more than ten trillion dollars, the Muslim oil states have yet to build modern economies, but remain rentier states, dependent on Infidel wage-slaves. Not a single Muslim Arab state, for example, manages to build its own highways, its own skyscrapers, its own anything, but relies on the West. Just see how Libya has been throwing fits until Italy agreed to build for it a coastal highway that the Libyans, despite their tens of billions in annual income, just can't manage. Or else they rely on West and East -- in Saudi, for example, so many of the buildings are put up by South Korean contractors.
The first reason is inshallah-fatalism. If in every second phrase, you use that term, and if you really believe that at any moment Allah can come in, and exercise his will or his whim, and if all things are decided by him, well then -- to the extent that that is truly believed, you are less likely to strive. It will, inshallah, succeed, inshallah, or it will, inshallah, fail. Muslims who can get away, in the West, and are surrounded by non-Muslims, or working with a team of non-Muslims, can perform as non-Muslims to the precise extent that they mentally jettison that inshallah-fatalism. But in Muslim states suffused with Islam, such is not possible, save for the handful of the most advanced, who keep their real views largely to themselves.
The second reason is the habit of mental submission, which Islam encourages. It encourages it because the whole basis of the Total Belief-System is not reason, but authority: you accept what Allah does, without questioning. You follow the human example of Muhammad, without questioning. If Muhammad "marries" little Aisha when she is nine, no need to question that or to question, therefore, the Ayatollah Khomeini when, as virtually his first act, he lowers the marriageable age of girls to nine. If Muhammad said this about the Unbelievers, or did this to them, because Muhammad is the Perfect Man, al-insan al-kamil, what he did, at the Khaybar Oasis, with the Banu Qurayza, with Asma bint Marwan, with the Meccans in his breach of the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyya, are not only fine, but positively exemplary.
Look at Saudi Arabia. Who works? The Filipinos, the Thais, the Sri Lankans, the Indian girls, in the palaces and houses of Saudis. The Indian laborers (with some Pakistanis, too, non-Arab Muslims who can and are treated contemptuously). The South Korean contractors. At the upper levels, the West Europeans and North Americans who provide the advanced medical care, teachers, and so on, with a few Arabs -- or even Lebanese Christians who know Arabic as native -- in the mix.
What do the Saudis do all day?
Check the Dow, check the Nasqad, check the Footsie, check the Nikkei, check the Hang Seng. Get on the phone, and move money around, or try to buy this or that in the West: a factory, a company, a mover-and-shaker in Washington, an estate in Aspen, a Plantagenet hunting lodge in Sussex, an apartment on the Avenue Foch, or order a 350-foot yacht, or another specially-outfitted 747. And then there is all that important work to do, meeting with "Western consultants" about some new grand scheme, say those five or six so-called "Economic Cities" that the Saudis are building, and about which you can read in those comical multi-page advertisements that the Saudis and other Gulf Arabs like to take out in The Economist or The Financial Times or even The New Duranty Times, with pictures of those dishdasha'ed and often sinister-looking and grossly overweight Al-Thanis and al-Saudis and Al-Maktoums e tutti quanti, with their big plans, their whirling skyscrapers rising high, higher, highest, and the nothingness of it all, the phoniness of it all, the absurdity of it all, unconnected to any enterprise or industry by the people who happen merely to have been the beneficiaries of completely unmerited wealth. Take away that accident of geology, and where would any of these places be?
No, if you want "worldly success" -- not in the mountebank-and-motivational-speaker sense, but in another sense -- whatever you do, stay away from Islam. That is the message that the Infidel governments of this world should be conveying to the inhabitants of the poorer countries. Islam is a prescription for economic paralysis. And partly because Islam stunts the mental growth. Compare Pakistan with India. Compare the economic performance of Hindus and Chinese with the Muslim Malays in Malaysia. Compare the economic performance of the Christian Ibo with the Muslim Hausa, or just compare the Muslim Yoruba with the Christian Yoruba. Everywhere you look, Islam holds people back economically.
That's not the reason for opposing Islam. But it's a good reason to offer to those who might, just might, because they see "religion" as a way to get rich, to think again before checking the box marked "Islam." You need evidence? For god's sake, look at the last 1350 years. Look at the last century. Look at the last decade.
Posted by Hugh at September 7, 2008 7:25 AM
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Afghanistan is what Saudi Arabia would look like without oil. Inshallah. Or should I say Oy Vey?
Posted by: jewdog![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 7, 2008 7:46 AM
I hadn't thought about it before, but this inshallah-fatalism and mental submission are probably also responsible for the lack of Islamic athletic success on the world stage. Although there were a few scattered medals won by them in the recent summer Olympics, one would think that, with 1.2 billion people to draw from, Muslims would have much more success athletically and be able to demonstrate to the world their superiority (didn't Hitler try this at the '36 Olympics in Berlin?). Oh well. I guess Allah doesn't will it. Inshallah.
Posted by: George Mc. at September 7, 2008 8:38 AM
Fatalism and mental submittion are not the mark of successful go getters. This is a good analysis. Islam does not encorage hard work. Muhammads example is that of a theaf.
The 'Prosperty gospel' is an out growth of Calvinst protestism. It does strike me as shallow and not really the point of Jesus life. It's like a Christian AMWAY. But it does teach people to work and take care of bussness.
'God helps those who help themselves.' So get to work.
Voltaire expessed the Protestant creed in Candide as "cultivate your own garden."
The western tradition is very rich.
Posted by: Ruebacca at September 7, 2008 8:44 AM
"Inshallah" is like "maņana", but without the urgency.
Posted by: give me doughnuts at September 7, 2008 10:09 AM
Islam offers nothing in this world but misery, death and suffering. Not only that but even in the afterlife the Islamic heaven is filled with lust and perversion. It is a demonic and violent religion that offers one death and destruction. It destroys human creativity and ingenuity. It offers no hope but has falsely lead humans into following it and becoming large scale murderers, robbers, looters, rapists, pedophiles,liars and amoral and immoral beings. The Mohammedans emulate the moron Mohammad, who exemplifies the above list of characteristics, shows how disgusting and stupid must be those who follow this religion. Even allah who is show as a being who has no family can not be taken seriously. It is a fake religion.
Posted by: savsiv at September 7, 2008 10:33 AM
Better a perverse cult of money-making Gospels than the perverse cult of Insh'allah fatalism.
One motivates, the other debilitates. Which can better help at Freddie and Fannie?
Insh'allah.
at September 7, 2008 11:11 AM
"Look at Saudi Arabia. Who works? The Filipinos, the Thais, the Sri Lankans, the Indian girls, in the palaces and houses of Saudis. The Indian laborers (with some Pakistanis, too, non-Arab Muslims who can and are treated contemptuously). The South Korean contractors. At the upper levels, the West Europeans and North Americans who provide the advanced medical care, teachers, and so on, with a few Arabs -- or even Lebanese Christians who know Arabic as native -- in the mix."
by Hugh
This is not a failure to encourage success. This is Arab supremacy in action. The lesser people do the work. They aren't accorded any respect. Remember the oil workers who can't even bring a Bible or a rosary (that cross!) into Saudi Arabia. This is modern day Islamic slavery.
It's not that Islam doesn't encourage success. It doesn't encourage self-reliance. Everything and everyone is here for the benefit of the Muslim. Become a Muslim and the world is your oyster. It's yours to pllunder. It's how Mohammed made the sale 1400 years ago.
If only the non-Muslim world could bring all its people home and just go on strike! Tell the Muslims we won't work for them under these conditions. If they want something done they can do it themselves! Let them find their slaves within dar-al-Islam.
Posted by: PMK at September 7, 2008 11:11 AM
If one looks at the history of the Ottoman state it is interesting to see how dependent they were on the services of Greeks, Armenians and other Christians as administrators, diplomats, merchants and technicians. And the very highest offices of the state which were reserved for Muslims were, as often as not, filled by converted Christians. It seems that, at some point, the more far-sighted Sultans and Pashas realized that if they continued the process of Islamization which had already turned the Christian population of Anatolia into Turks, they would have undercut the basis of their own rule.
Posted by: RBLA at September 7, 2008 12:21 PM
"Just see how Libya has been throwing fits until Italy agreed to build for it a coastal highway that the Libyans, despite their tens of billions in annual income, just can't manage."
Didn't the US just offer aid to Libya as a reward for "good behavior" and to help "rebuild relationships?"
I saw on the news young Libyans interviewed regarding renewed relations with the US. Of course, rather than express gratitude, they all talked about what the US needs to do: invest in their economy, provide educational opportunities. relate differently to the Arab world...
Arab-Muslim behavior is so easily predictable that anyone with a cursory knowledge of history should know how US measures or negotiations or foreign aid will be received in every situation.
But US (or Israeli) leaders never learn.
Posted by: 4infidels at September 7, 2008 12:22 PM
Gordon Brown recently repeated the chestnut about alleged Islamic creativity, as reported by the great Haid: http://haiddasalami.org/2008/09/06/more-of-the-same-from-the-uk/#comments
I have always assumed that the achievements of medieval Islam owed more to the captives who were learning the arts and sciences while the hordes of the Prophet were learning solely the arts of war.
Posted by: Darryl Harb at September 7, 2008 12:39 PM
"Inshallah" is like "maņana", but without the urgency.
-- from a posting above
"Inshallah" is about fatalism, not about waiting.
The Arab equivalent of maņana (or the Italian "domani") is "bukra fil mishmish" -- I'll get to it, or it will happen somehow, when the apricot trees bloom. Apricot trees bloom once a year, and it can be a lot longer wait than merely for "maņana."
Posted by: Hugh at September 7, 2008 1:52 PM
Of course, rather than express gratitude, they all talked about what the US needs to do: invest in their economy, provide educational opportunities. relate differently to the Arab world...
by 4infidels
Heard the same today about Pakistan. The West must invest in Pakistan to bring it forward. WE are the ones who have to bring prosperity to Pakistan, a nuclear power.
As I understand it, nuclear weapons are expensive to develop and maintain. Maybe Islamabad should get rid of its nukes and invest the savings in its own economy. Aren't Muslims supposed to be proud? Why are they always looking for handouts?
at September 7, 2008 3:07 PM
It seems that, at some point, the more far-sighted Sultans and Pashas realized that if they continued the process of Islamization which had already turned the Christian population of Anatolia into Turks, they would have undercut the basis of their own rule.
by RBLA
That means Islam has to change its message. Either Islamization of the world is the goal or it's not. Either wantonly killing the non-Muslim is good for Islam or it's not.
Muslim society offers no benefit to the non-Muslim other than the privilege of maybe living one more day. Even the dhimmis live or die at the whim of the Muslim. It makes Islamization impossible to curtail. How do they stop it? Whether the people convert or die, the Muslim will find himself out of slaves and always looking for new resources. His is a world of too many chiefs.
In nature, prey species must reproduce in far greater numbers than the predators for both to survive. Predator Islam is leaving no room or resources for its prey.
at September 7, 2008 3:36 PM
Don't forget to look at the Jews. Who pre and post-Israel's creation turned the desert into a man-made oasis. Turn of the century Jews were scoffed at for buying useless land now covered with orchards; when in fact, it was the working hands and the minds of its owners that were useless.
Posted by: Mick_n_NYC at September 7, 2008 3:56 PM
The dependency of Islam on alien know-how and drive extends even into unrealized areas. What, one would have thought, could have been more Islamic than the Barbary pirates, that scourge of the West whose looting raids reached as far as Iceland, and which, until Jefferson's navy pricked their pretensions, received tribute from every naval power in Europe? And yet their origin, according to one historian who has studied them, is largely not North African at all.
The story goes like this: From the twelfth or thirteenth century, the Mediterranean Christians who had suffered some really intolerable outrage or wrong or been at the losing end of some family or political feud, or who were for some reason disaffected, discovered that it was possible to get some sort of revenge by crossing the sea, declaring oneself a Muslim, and taking an active part in the anti-Christian activities of the local Muslim leadership. Italy especially became a real focus for this sort of disaffection: Italian politics had a special kind of destructive yet intimate ferocity that made defeat and exile both frequent and bitter. The very expression "io mi faccio Turco", "I will turn Turkish", lived on until the early twentieth century to express extreme anger and frustration. This kind of anger seems to have reached its peak in the sixteenth century, when Italian states were losing their independence to French and Spanish invaders; the historian estimates that by the time of the famous Khair-ad-Din Barbarossa, the head of the Algerian pirates and Admiral of the Ottoman Empire, about half of the whole Algerian ruling class was of Italian origin. It is also well known that an anonymous renegade of this kind must have been the author of the notorious anti-Christian fake, the Gospel of Barnabas, which shows clear signs of having been written by a fifteenth-century Italian.
Italian sea-power had dominated the Mediterranean from the eleventh century until the sixteenth, and, in Tolkien's words, "even the ends of the strength" of Venice were still enough to deny the Turks domination over the sea. Without the contribution of thousands of Italian and other renegades, the power of the North African pirates would never have arisen, and without the weakening of Italy at Spanish, French and Austrian hands, the Mediterranean would never have become lawless enough for them to batten in.
Posted by: Paolo at September 7, 2008 4:35 PM
The Protestant work ethic is a result of the Calvinistic belief in "Grace" and predestiniation.
Since no one knew for sure if they were destinied to be saved, they looked for signs. Wealth was considerd one of the signs of "Grace" or redemption. It made sense to work hard and maybe God would reward you with wealth and that would be a sin of your being on the right track toward being saved.
at September 7, 2008 5:35 PM
Interesting post, Paolo.
Perhaps a psychiatrist could take a look at our 'anthropologist' revert Gabriele Marranci who is such a renegade.
Surely you remember Marranci with his phony attack on Spencer a while back? If not, google it.
Quite a piece of work,and a dedicated agit-prop, this Marranci!
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at September 7, 2008 6:51 PM
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