Friday, January 27, 2012

Islamic Civilization in Globalization: can't get it right

This is the style of writing that I don’t like to read. In this age and time where there is too much to read; I like to peruse in passing and pick up what the author is trying to convey; not read twice and still get lost in the vagueness of the authors thoughts.

To say that Islam is opposed to globalization is not quite right. Resist is a more appropriate terminology. To oppose is to fight while resist is the refusal to change but Islam is neither opposed nor resistant to change. It is simply exerting moralizing influence to a globalised world where anything goes almost without limit.

The Arabian Peninsula is not only the heartland of Islam; it is the heartland of change towards globalization. If Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arabs in the gulf announces today that from tomorrow; no oil will be delivered to the world; there will be chaos but that is only half of the story. If from tomorrow; no oil will be delivered by Muslim nations from Tatarstan in the heart of Russia to Brunei in the island of Borneo; planes will stop to fly, cars stop to run and major industries will churn to a halt. 70 to 80% of the oil that fuels the engines of global change comes from Muslim nations meaning the Muslim ‘Ummah’ is the Siamese twin of globalization. Like a magic wand; this God given gift is transforming the Arab landscape and a myriad of other Muslim nations in Africa and Asia. It has changed the Arabs to a degree that it truly boggles the mind how in just few decades; they leaped from desert tents and mud-bricks homes to palatial mansions; from donkeys and camels to luxury cars not to mention the best of mind boggling technological gadgetries that money can buy. The world’s top two tallest buildings (Burj Khalifa and the Tower Cock) are in the Arabian Peninsula; glaring examples of how Muslims not necessarily Islam has adapted to a globally changing world.







Abstract:

Islam can be seen as a counter discourse to globalization, to the expansion of economic space and the fulfillment of the dreams of the social darwinists. However, even as Islam attempts to create new possibilities for globalism, national politics doom it to a politics of reaction, of reducing diversity and innovation. This is especially perilous as the next phase of globalisation promises to end historical notions of reality, truth, nature and sovereignty. In this dramatically changed world, Islam can join with other counter discourses to create a moral vision of a planetary society, an alternative vision and reality of globalization.

full article:
'via Blog this'

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