MUSLIM CIVILIZATION: THE CAUSES OF DECLINE AND THE NEED FOR REFORM
Introduction
The
main idea of this book is that, looking to the past to reform the present and
improve the future, a leading and renowned expert in Islamic Economics.
In
"Islamic Civilization" Dr. Chapra, having come to the conclusion that
economic reform on its own is not sufficient, looks at the bigger picture
through a review of Islamic history to identify the causes of decline of the
Muslim civilization in order to draw a new future vision for reform, progress and
development. The author points out that the Muslim world:
‘Has more than one fifth of the world’s population and is rich in
natural resources, it produces only around 8% of the world's purchasing power
adjusted GNP. It is plagued by illiteracy, poverty and unemployment and
extremely difficult macro-economic imbalances. It is far behind major
industrial, and even some developing countries, in almost all fields of life,
including the economic, political, educational, technological and
military."
The author also proceeds to point out the moral failure of Muslim
majority countries with deep-rooted inequalities of income and wealth, conflict
and disunity. The masses live in poverty alongside small elites who live in
luxury.
The author considers that an explanatory model is needed for the
development and decline of civilizations and societies. He mentions a number of
European thinkers such as Gibbon, Spengler, Toynbee and Kennedy before focusing
on Ibn Khaldun .He spends several pages discussing Ibn Khaldun's model of
dynastic rise and decline before proceeding to apply it to the problem in hand.
Ibn Chaldean’s
(ابن خلدون) theory of development and decline
In first chapter of this book the author explains Ibn Chaldean’s (ابن خلدون)
concepts of statecraft which are condensed into the following point:
- The
strength of the sovereign does not materialize except through the
implementation of the Shariah.
- The
Shariah cannot be implemented except by the sovereign.
- The people
cannot be sustained except by wealth.
- Wealth
cannot be acquired except through development.
- Development
cannot be attained except through justice.
- Justice is
the criterion by which God will evaluate mankind.
The author points out that this is a cyclical model where each
part impact upon every other part. In view of the interdependence, the failure
of any part of the system can cause society to decline. He writes:
"This implies that the trigger mechanism for the decline of
the society may not necessarily be the same in all societies. In Muslim
societies, with which Ibn Khaldun(ابن خلدون)
was concerned, the trigger mechanism was the failure of the political authority
which, unfortunately, continues in most Muslim countries until the present
time…, and has led to the misuse of public resources and their non-availability
for the realization of justice, development and general well-being."
Factors
that contributed to the rise of the Muslims
Before considering the reasons for decline it is logical to
consider the reasons why Muslim civilization was successful for such a long
period. In the author's opinion:
"What Islam did was to activate all the developmental factors
in a positive direction. It gave maximum attention to the people, who
constitute the primary force behind a society's rise or fall. It tried to lift
them morally as well as materially, make them better human beings, and reform
all the institutions that affected them. Its revolutionary worldview changed
their outlook towards life by injecting a meaning and purpose into it. It made
all individuals equal in their position as vice regents of the Supreme Being
Who created them as well as the whole universe. This gave dignity, equality and
self-respect to all of them, irrespective of their race, sex, wealth or
position. It also made this ideal an effective reality by firmly establishing positions
of leadership on those who earlier had been oppressed and weakened. It provided
sanctity to life, property and individual honor and gave a prestigious place to
knowledge by emphasizing its importance in the very first revelation of the
Quran. It accorded to women a respectable position in society by declaring them
to be a "trust from God" and sisters [not slaves] of men, and
enjoined men to treat them well."
The author goes on to discuss how this was associated with
advances in agriculture, the development of cities, trade and intellectual
advances.
Factors
responsible for Muslim decline
The author starts by asking, if Islam was the trigger for the rise
of Muslim civilization, why did Muslim societies decline? The author looks at
three Islamic institutions which have been alleged by Timur Kuran to be
inimical to growth: the inheritance system which does not allow primogeniture,
the absence of the concept of limited liability and juridical personality, and
the institution of the waqf. He considers each in turn and rejects them as an
explanation for economic underperformance.
He then asks whether political illegitimacy was the trigger for
the decline. The author points out that Ibn Khaldun (ابن خلدون)
and many other classical Muslim scholars have held the view that Muslim history
took a wrong turn when the period of the rightly guided caliphs was brought to
an end by the accession of Muawiyah in 661. However this appears rather
simplistic since dynastic caliphs were in power throughout the greatest periods
of Muslim civilisation which did not start to decline for another six hundred
years.
Economic
decline
The author proceeds to point out the excessive levels of taxation
and government expenditure of the Ottoman period when enormous amounts of money
were spent on the standing army. He presents a number of statistics to make
this case quite convincingly.
However what this analysis fails to do is to explain why at a time
when European economies were developing strongly, the Ottoman economy failed to
do so.
Decline
in education, science and technology
The
author of this book specifies the following three important factors for
stagnation in the areas of education, science and technology:
1)
Decline in state financial
support. "Lack of political accountability was perhaps the most important
reason for the near-drying up of state financial support that had previously
been generously available. The luxury of the royal courts combined with corruption
and excessive spending on military campaigns drained government resources and
reduced its ability to finance education, science and technology,
infrastructure construction and economic development. The Ottomans, in general,
tended to give low priority to education and other nation-building activities.
Therefore, the Islamic creative spark, which dimmed by the time the Ottomans
came to power in the beginning of the eighth/fourteenth century, was nearly
eclipsed in later centuries. Potentially much more significant
is the conflict between the rationalists and the conservatives. The author
explains that the rationalists came from two main groups: the Mutazilites and
the Falasifah.
2)
The inability of the private sector to
play an effective role. "The economic problems that the private sector
faced, the lack of government support, and the misappropriation of even waqf
income by the trustees for private benefit did not however permit an increase
in funds for this purpose. The private sector was unable to generate enough
resources to spread even literacy and general religious education among the
people, let alone build universities and research centers badly needed by the
Muslim world.
3)
The use of
force by the rationalists to impose unacceptable views on the public. The
factor that hurt the continued flowering of science and technology most in the
Muslim world was the conflict that arose between the rationalists and the
conservatives as a result of the former's use of coercive power to impose some
unacceptable view on the population." … "It was the extremists on
both sides who generated a great deal of heat and changed the texture of the
whole debate, creating an atmosphere of confrontation." … "What then
was it that polarized the then Muslim society into two belligerent groups, when
in the same society different fiqhi schools were mutually tolerant and
generally coexisted peacefully in spite of substantial differences of opinion
among them? The answer may perhaps lie in the use of force by an illegitimate
political authority that did not enjoy the trust of the people. …
The author points out that the Mutazilites exploited the political
patronage and financial backing of some caliphs, in particular Mamun Al Rashid
(died 833) and his immediate successors. At that time dissenters were punished.
When they fell out of favour, there was an intellectual backlash with two
consequences:
- Separation
between the state (in the person of the Caliph) and the definition of
Islam. Instead Islam has since been defined by consensus within the
community in the author's view.
- The
alienation of most religious scholars from philosophy and science. The
author regards this as the source for the failure of science and
technology to develop within the Muslim world. He may be correct although
there is a chronological challenge because science continued to develop
amongst Muslims for many years after 833.
Contrast
between the Muslim and Western Enlightenment Movements
The
reasons for the downfall of the 'Enlightenment' movement in the Muslim world
were thus the reverse of what led to its success in the West. First, in the
West it was the corruption and despotism of the Church that led to the success
of Voltaire's call to 'crush the infamous thing' and which shook confidence in
the metaphysical beliefs that the Church stood for. … Secondly, orthodoxy in
Islam has never been defined by ecclesiastical councils, as in Christianity. …
While Western scholars have challenged the authenticity of the Bible, Muslims
have … recognized the paramount authority of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the
Prophet from an early period... The'ulama around whose opinions the
consensus was built up, did not impose their views on the people. The people
rather accepted their views because of the harmony with the Qur'an and Sunnah,
as well as the force of their logic and confidence in their piety, integrity
and scholarship. Thirdly, it was the Church which resorted to the Inquisition
in the West, it was the rationalists who resorted to it in the Muslim world,
though never as harshly as the Church."
The
Future of Rationalism in the Muslim World
We
now come to the crucial question about whether the re-emergence of scientific
inquiry in the Muslim world will give rise to a conflict between reason and
Revelation and necessitate a change in the paradigm, in the same way as it did
in the West. Note, however, that the Islamic paradigm does not itself
necessitate a conflict between reason and Revelation. “Reason can, thus, play a
considerable role in the restructuring of Muslim society without coming into
conflict with Revelation provided that the state, the rationalists and the
conservatives do not try to step on each other's toes, and avoid confrontation
and use of force. “The hopeful sign however is that the ongoing spread of
democracy will tend to serve as a positive force in favor of moderation because
of the necessity of rallying the support of all groups."
Social Decline
"Avoidance
of the echelons of power by pious and competent 'ulama has
harmed Islam in a number of ways. First, it deprived the Muslim world of
political reform. If righteous and prominent 'ulama and Sufis
had struggled for political reform and the rights of the people instead of
secluding themselves away, they may have been able, gradually over the
centuries, to influence and effect the creation of democratic institutions.
This might have helped impose checks and controls on rulers' powers, and
reduced inequities, the misuse of state resources, and the appointment of
incompetent people to senior positions."
"Secondly,
the conflict with Mu'tazilism aroused suspicion among the 'ulama aboutfalsafah (philosophy).
Unfortunately, the teaching of falsafah was bracketed in those
days with a number of physical sciences like physics and chemistry.
Accordingly, all these were unwittingly associated with falsafah and
were, hence, suspect. "
Deterioration
in the position of women
No
sociological explanation seems to have been offered so far (of historical
factors that brought about the change for the deterioration of the position of
women in Muslim societies). It may be worth exploring whether one important
cause was insecurity of life and property that resulted from the political
upheavals and the weak law and order situation prevailing over a number of
countries starting from the later part of the Abbasid dynasty…. The barbarian
Mongol occupations may have further accentuated the seclusion to save Muslim
women from being subject to molestation. In periods of turmoil, disorder and
anarchy, fiqh allows the imposition of restrictions as precautionary measures (sadd
al-dhari'ah) to prevent harm – restrictions that are not allowed by the
Shari'ah under normal circumstances. Since the turmoil prevailed for centuries,
the restrictions which may have been accepted for a temporary period became
locked-in through path dependence and became a permanent characteristic of
Muslim society
Some Lessons from Muslim History
In
chapter seven, the author summarizes some of the main lessons learned in
his view from Muslim History:
1-
"The question is: why did rulers start to neglect their responsibilities?
The answer is provided by the first lesson of Muslim history that
accountability before the people is indispensable for motivating rulers to
perform their tasks effectively for the well-being of the people. For this
purpose Islam instituted the system of khilafah with shura.
2-
The lack of political accountability gradually gives rise to a number of ills
that hurt both justice and development. One of the first ill effects of this
was the loss of freedom of expression whereby it was no longer possible for
people to criticize rulers and to discuss government policies openly. This lead
to the creation of fertile ground for inequality before the law, in clear
violation of the Shari'ah and the formation of a privileged class which could
not be subjected fully to the discipline of the Shari'ah. A major mechanism for
self-correction in the political system was, thus, nearly lost. Possibilities
for reform hence receded more and more into the background. Corruption,
inefficiency and inequities accentuated and public resources were increasingly
used for the luxury of the royal court and the pursuit of expensive military
campaigns aimed at territorial expansion, particularly during the Ottoman
period.
3- It
is not possible for political authority to impose its own worldview on people.
Such efforts rupture the solidarity between people and rulers, accentuate
social turmoil and vitiate the atmosphere for development. … Discontent and
unrest initiated by efforts to forcefully impose a worldview unacceptable to
the people continues to simmer, leading to the breakdown of solidarity between
the government and the people, and the accentuation of conflict and tension.
4-
Once the people are alienated, the government loses its grass roots support and
needs to rely on the help of external guards to stay in power. This, however,
proves ultimately to be self-defeating. It makes rulers complacent, further
reduces their contact and dialogue with people, leaves conflicts unresolved,
increases tensions, lowers development and leads to the domination of the
country by outsiders.
5-
Islam is not the cause of Muslim decline. Islam has, in fact, itself been, and
continues to be, a victim of lack of political accountability, corruption and
repression.
Failure to Learn the Lessons
"The
primary reason for this overall decline is that the Muslim world has failed to
learn the lessons of history indicated in the previous chapter. Lack of
political accountability which triggered the decline, has continued until
today. The Muslim World has not been able until now to establish a procedure
for the orderly transfer of the reins of power to the most upright and
competent in the eyes of the people as desired by the Qur'an (49:13), the
efficient and equitable use of public resources in accordance with the
Shari'ah, and the free and fearless criticism of public policies."
"Corruption,
combined with lack of freedom of expression, tends to corrupt the courts as
well, in which case, there is little likelihood that the power elite will be
punished. When the wrongdoers are not punished, the vice gets to spread …"
"Democracy,
Education and Development reinforced each other in the Western world. Education
promoted development and development led to a rise in the demand for education,
which it was possible to satisfy because of state support for it as a result of
the rise in revenues. Education and development together helped reinforce
democracy."
The Need for Reform
In
answering the question of where to start reform, the author suggests that
"The best place to start is where the Prophet himself (peace be upon him)
started: the reform of human beings. They play the role of a locomotive in the
rise and fall of any civilization. However, even though they need to receive
the topmost priority, this does not necessarily mean that other socio-economic
and political factors that have been vitiated over the centuries through the
process of circular causation do not need to be given simultaneous
attention."
Moral
reform: It is necessary to change their (human beings) character,
ability, motivation and mental outlook by giving maximum attention to their
moral upbringing and education. This is what all the Messengers of God, Tried
to do" "History is replete with examples of where a society has
reached its climax as a result of moral reform. Intellectual and economic
advance have then generally followed" … "if ethical foundation is
lacking then civilization collapses even when in other directions creative and
intellectual forces of the strongest nature are at work".
Justice,
Development and the Alleviation of Poverty: "It may however be
difficult to raise the moral caliber of the people unless justice is also
ensured. Al Mawardi (d. 450/1058) rightly observed that "there is nothing
that destroys the world and the conscience of the people faster than
injustice." Justice, in spite of being a distinguishing characteristic of
Islamic teachings, is conspicuously missing from Muslim countries and
constitutes a source of many internal and external problems. One of the first
reflections of any program to ensure justice has to be the removal of poverty,
which leads to incapacity, helplessness and crime, and can even, according to
the Prophet, drive a person close to disbelief"
Proliferating Education and Microfinance: "Since
the decline in education, research and technology has been one of the most
important causes of Muslim decline, it is important to remove the existing gap
in these areas between the Muslim and developed countries by providing high
quality education and research facilities through the proliferation of properly
equipped schools, colleges and universities all over the country. In this
process special care needs to be taken to ensure that education is accessible
to all sectors of the society and not just to the rich. … It is imperative to
considerably reduce the cost of education for the poor. … If the human factor
is the most important for development, there is no reason why a greater
proportion of government resources should not be allocated for the spread of
education, which seems to have been one of the greatest victims of the lack of
political accountability in the Muslim world."
"Another
important and unavoidable requirement for alleviating poverty is to make
microfinance available to the poor to enable them to realize their dream of
establishing their own micro-enterprises." “The working of major
microfinance institutions has revealed that in a majority of cases the desired
improvements have not been realized in the lives of borrowers. The effective
rate of interest turns out to be as high as 30 to 45 percent and causes serious
hardship to the borrowers in servicing the debt. … It is therefore important
that while the innovative group-based mechanism for lending adopted by the
Grameen Bank and other institutions in Bangladesh is retained, microfinance is
provided to the very poor on a humane interest-free basis. This will
necessitate the integration of microfinance with zakah and waqf
institutions."
"Even
though that the alleviation of poverty may by itself be a great achievement, it
will not be sufficient to realize the Islamic goal of human brotherhood. …
justice, moral as well as socio-economic uplift, and brotherhood are all
interrelated, for it may not be possible to bring about a sustained improvement
in one without an improvement in the other areas."
The reform of all institutions: "Such
an overall improvement in the human condition may be difficult to realize
without reforming all the institutions that affect human behavior. The most
important of these institutions is the family"… "The role of the
family needs to be reinforced by educational institutions to provide high
quality education in all fields of learning, and particularly in science and
technology, to enable Muslim societies to compete successfully in the
international arena and to attain a reasonably high rate of economic growth."
"The mosques have a crucial role to
play in Muslim societies but they are now unable to do. This is because the
imams who are supposed to act as models and play a dynamic role in the moral
education and character uplift of their congregations, are not only
ill-equipped in terms of education to play this role but are also isolated from
their congregations. …"
Political Reform: Reform
and the socio-economic uplift of human beings would, however, be relatively
less difficult if the political system were also supportive. Political reform,
along with freedom of expression, an honest judiciary, and accountability of
the power elite would help at least reduce, if not eliminate, the now prevalent
corruption and mismanagement. This would in turn enable the efficient use of
public resources for education, health and rural as well as urban development
leading thereby to socio-economic uplift."
How
to bring about political reform?
"The
best strategy for political reform is, therefore peaceful and non-violent struggle,
even though this may appear to be time-consuming.
Difficulties
that lie ahead
"Making
democracy successful in these countries may not, however, be an easy task. This
is because of the die-hard autocratic attitude of the present ruling elites, who
will perhaps continue to use all means at their disposal to win
elections." … "Incompetent and corrupt political authority
accentuates injustice, impoverishes the people and retards development."
Can
the Western World Help?
"The
Western world can certainly play a catalytic role in the restoration of
democracy and the promotion of socio-economic uplift in Muslim countries. This
is also in its own long-term interest." "The West cannot, however, help restore
democracy or reduce militancy by the use of force. Force has never worked and
will never work."
"What
the West needs to do is to change its strategy by adopting three badly needed
measures. One of these is to refrain from attacks on Islam by emphasizing the
common beliefs of Christianity and Islam. The second is to provide the
assistance that the Muslim countries badly need to expedite socio-economic
uplift. The third is to promote political reform. Fortunately, this is already
happening to a certain extent."
"If
the US had diverted the billions of dollars it spent on the destruction of
Afghanistan and Iraq to the development of these countries it would have
achieved what it aspired for. The West can also help in political reform by
monitoring elections and promoting legal and institutional reform. Such help
will create a better climate not only for accelerated reform and development
but also for mutual cooperation and peaceful coexistence."
Can
Islam Play a Catalytic Role Once Again?
"(Islam's)
strong emphasis on moral values and character building, socio-economic justice,
accountability of the political authority and rule of law, combined with its
strategy of using education and dialogue for bringing about change, should
prove to be a great blessing for the Muslim world. It encourages simple living,
which helps reduce conspicuous consumption and thereby weakens one of the major
causes of corruption and low savings and investment. It can also help inculcate
in people a number of other desirable qualities like honesty and integrity,
punctuality, conscientiousness, diligence, frugality, self-reliance, tolerance,
fulfillment of contracts and all socio-economic obligations, and concern for
the rights and well-being of others qualities which are necessary to promote
development as well as justice. It places a strong emphasis on family and
social solidarity, which are essential for even the survival of a society,
leave alone its development. It is also flexible enough to enable adjustment to
changing circumstances."
Dr.
Chapra gives the example of modern Turkey, where the military's effort to get
rid of Islam in the name of secularism brought about nothing but greater
political corruption, inflation and social conflict.
The
author then concludes the book with two main issues: reform in the
understanding of Islam and the role of Islamic movements
Reform
in the Understanding of Islam
Dr.
Chapra calls for reform in understanding and teaching Islam with more emphasis
given to the objectives (maqasid) of Shari'ah, a crucial field of
Islamic knowledge needed for the understanding of Islam which has been pushed
into the background over the last few centuries, and the nobleness of
character, which was emphasized by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, when he
said: "The most perfect of Muslims is he who is best in character".
This reform of Muslim character would enable Muslims once again to fulfill the
prophet's mission of being a "blessing for mankind".
The
role of Islamic movements
"Islamic
movements would be more successful if they tried to endear themselves not only
to the people in their own societies, but also to the world at large by being a
blessing and not a menace… They need to bear in mind that Islamization and the
development of their societies after centuries of decline is a difficult task.
It can only come gradually through a great deal of hard work coupled with
wisdom and patience. … It is necessary for them to establish priorities if they
wish to succeed in Islamization and developing their societies and realizing
the maqasid." "Their first and foremost priority needs to
be to educate people about the high moral standards that Islam expects from its
followers." "Their second, but equally important priority,
should be socio-economic uplift by removing illiteracy and poverty, making high
quality education available to the poor, increasing the availability of
micro-finance as well as employment and self-employment opportunities, and
helping solve as much as possible the problems of all people irrespective of
whether they are Muslims or not." … "It is only social
service-oriented programs of this type, and not just slogans that help minimize
crime and conflict and instill in the minds of people the central message of
Islam about human brotherhood, justice and the well-being of all."
"The
third priority should be the struggle for political reform, freedom of
expression and human rights." … "The fourth priority should be to try
to create a better understanding among different groups of Muslims and also to
build consensus about various educational, social, economic and political
reforms through dialogue …"
"Their
fifth, but not the least important, priority should be to build cordial
relations with other countries and societies."
We
can say that, in this book the author and his ability inter-relate different
variables and factors which have led to the rise and decline of Muslim
civilization, together with the lessons learned that give clear directions and
guidance for rebuild for a better future, make this book a very valuable read
for understanding the dynamics involved in the progress of the civilization
curve.
Many
reform efforts in the areas of education, the economy and society have been
implemented in most Muslim countries over the last two centuries, and it is
clear that in order for these initiatives to succeed, Muslims need to find a
sustainable solution in the area of political reform that would enable them to
establish a long-term model for political freedom, accountability and
efficiency which they urgently need.
