POVERTY: Poverty Of Muslim World Can't Be Blamed On West

03/04/2011

Global Recession: Much of the Mideast unrest has to do with the extreme poverty endemic to the region. Sadly, the tendency is still to blame the West and turn to false Islamist prophets for solutions.
Witness the popular return of Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi. The exiled Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader recently gave a rousing speech in Cairo in which he called on Egyptians and other Muslims to rid themselves of secular regimes and build Islamic theocracies.
He assured the masses that Allah would reward them for rejecting Western individualism and materialism.
His message resonated, judging from the million Muslims who jammed into Tahrir Square to hear Qaradawi, while thunderously chanting, "Allahu Akbar!"
Such Islamist leaders are taking advantage of the growing discontent among Muslim masses. Their economic plight has gone from bad to worse amid the global recession. The radical Muslim Brotherhood may offer an attractive alternative for Muslims struggling just to put food on the table.
But it's a false choice.
Replacing monarchies with mullah-cracies is hardly the answer. Both snuff out the entrepreneurial spirit that drives industrialization and modernization.
Is there any hope for capitalism in the Islamic world? Not with Qaradawi controlling the debate.
The popular al-Jazeera talk-show host sternly warns that capitalism is not compatible with Islam. He exhorts Muslims to build an economic system based on seventh-century Shariah principles, which include the banning of interest and credit — a cornerstone of Western economies. (Charging, paying or earning interest — including holding mortgages, CDs, credit cards or bank stock — is illegal under Islamic law.)
"The collapse of the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market is proof that it is in crisis and shows that Islamic economic philosophy is holding up," Qaradawi said.
Apparently the sheik hasn't looked at any numbers comparing Muslim economies with Western economies. They don't stack up, to put it mildly.
The best yardstick for measuring economic success is per-capita GDP. None of the Muslim nations holds a candle to the U.S.
Qaradawi's Egypt, for example, ranks 111th in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $1,697. In contrast, the U.S. ranks 10th, with a per-capita GDP that's more than 45 times higher.
The Islamic system of finance and commerce is no model. If you add up the GDPs of all the Muslim economies in the world, they barely equal the GDP of Germany — despite all their oil wealth.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/565012/201103041845/Poverty-Of-Muslim-World-Cant-Be-Blamed-On-West.htm