I post this because I think this sums it up very well and in an eloquent manner
I'll post the original message he was responding to and his response.
The original post
Originally Posted by AbuMubarak
eoin the truth of the matter, it doesnt matter the gem of the muslim is not his worldly accomplishment but his adherence and focus on his Lord the kuffar may excel muslims in every other sphere, rightfully or wrongfully, it doesnt matter am i saying muslims should be bums? no, muslims are supposed to work and strive on many worldly matters, but these worldly matters come AFTER the muslim has his focus on his Lord and his grave as a matter of fact, our Prophet warned us of becoming too bogged down in worldly matters at the expense of our akhira at least according to this survey, we are not money-hungry
The Resonse
Of course I accept that there are more important things for people to worry about rather than money, I would though echo what ranwar has said. I see many grand designs discussed on the forum for an Islamic State, for mighty Muslim armies, for a world without poverty and one in which justice is administered through Islam.
I'm a professional bean counter so forgive me for talking specifics, I like numbers and putting things in rough context.
If we're going to talk nitty gritty then all of the things discussed on the forum require vast amounts of expertise and most of all - cash to back it up. If you want a powerful army of the likes of the USA then be prepared to fork out $607Bn per year. That's more than the entire economic output of the Muslim world for a year. I.e. Even if every Muslim country on earth joined together tomorrow, and nobody ate anything, nobody bought clothes or built houses, then the Muslim world still couldn't equal the USA's military spending. The Khalifate which is so desired by most on this forum would be little stronger than individual Muslim countries are at the moment, and the only thing which can change that is cold hard cash. During the First Gulf War when Saddam was at the peak of his military capability, US & British tanks destroyed hundreds of Iraqi tanks in tank v tank combat and the coalition suffered 0 tank losses to enemy fire. Iraqi guns couldn't penetrate the armour of US & British tanks, they didn't have thermal imaging so most of the time they couldn't even see what was killing them. The depleted uranium rounds of coalition tanks, though heavily criticised for their suspected health affects, are used because they not only destroy an enemy tank, they go right through it. Once those rounds have gone through a tank they will go through the tank behind that, and the tank that is behind the tank which is behind that until all that is left is a smouldering ruin. There is not a single country in the Muslim world which has the capability to even produce the equivalent of 1970's US technology. No Muslim country can produce aircraft comparable with the F-14's or F-15's which have since been rendered obsolete in western militaries by stealth technology. The Khalifate will never succeed unless it has the expertise to support a modern economy.
To talk of social justice and an end to poverty, the UK spends more per year on its welfare state than the whole economic output most Muslim countries. Even if all of the oil in the middle east was put to providing food and shelter for the poor, it still wouldn't be able to support what the UK can spend on welfare provision, and if anything the UK system is underfunded!
All of these things come down to money. Money is the result of producing goods and services, and what Muslim countries are not currently good at is producing goods and services. Back in the day, the trade between east and west made the Islamic World rich, it was what made the Khalifate richer than the Christian states and capable of maintaining a world class army and legal system for its time. That is no longer the case, the Muslim world has stagnated and is backward. I don't say this as a criticism for the sake of criticism, I say this because it is the unassailable truth and nothing which gets discussed on this forum will ever happen unless the situation is remedied. For all of the undoubtable courage of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, in sheer numbers they have killed and wounded fewer British and American troops in 9 years than died in the opening seconds of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. They do not have the technology to compete, and bravery does not win wars when there is such a differential of force available to the other side.
What needs to happen is that Muslims need to get a sound education. They need to work and produce useful goods and services, designed by Muslims and gradually develop expertise. The UK isn't entirely relevant to this, but I see the situation of UK Muslims as a microcosm of the macrocosm. By contrast one should look at what China has achieved in a relatively short space of time. Massive economic growth which analysts predict will put it in the same league as the USA within the next 50 years or so, the Muslim world must do the same and industrialise if it is to once again become a player on the world stage. It's all well and good debating the Aqeedah of the Muslims, but without the necessary and all important focus on what creates power in this dunya what can one ever hope to achieve? I think all Muslims could benefit from listening what ranwar has to say, secular education is what is currently dividing East from West, and the West are winning.
Kind Regards,
Eoin
Topic: Being more religious isn't going to solve anything!