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IPRI PAPER 12
ISBN 969-8721-18-5
Abstract
The Ummah and Global Challanges
Re-organizing the OIC
Dr Muhammad Ahsan
The ‘change’
in global affairs is a continuous phenomenon. Thus, it is not new that centres
of power have been changing from country to country and region to region.
However, what is new is the velocity of this change. After the fall of the
Soviet Union in general and the events of 9/11 in particular, the world has
witnessed major changes within a short span of time. While on the one hand
these changes have made the Untied States the sole super power of the world,
on the other they have seriously affected the image, solidarity and integrity
of the Muslim World. Therefore, in one way or another and directly or
indirectly, this situation has adversely affected nearly five dozen Muslim
countries and 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world. It is widely argued that
the two major internal factors responsible for the sorry state of Ummatic
affairs are underdevelopment and a lack of unity. Although, in this context, a
lot has been written in the recent past, no comprehensive document has been
produced so far covering all major challenges faced by the Ummah as well as
their possible solutions. Thus, in this context, the present study is a unique
effort.
By covering
various aspects of the issues of Ummatic underdevelopment, globalisation, the
geo-political and religio-cultural situation, Islamophobia, human insecurity
and Ummatic defence, the report presents a comprehensive analysis of the
situation. Apart from this, there are at least five major points which make
this document a unique effort in this field. Firstly, the report is based on
in-depth statistical and factual analysis. Secondly, data is acquired from a
large number of authentic sources. Thirdly, it is designed in such a way that
the spectrum of its audience is broad. Fourthly, it discusses the re-organisation
of the OIC – an extremely important issue which has never been tackled in such
a way as is discussed in this study. The last chapter presents a model and a
long-term strategy to strengthen the OIC. Last, but not least, it must be
mentioned that the analysis is based on the pre-situation of the recent
economic blockade of the Palestinian government, devastating attacks on the
Lebanon as well as a sea-blockade of this country - all committed by Israel.
In this context, Muslim countries see themselves paralysed and the role of the
OIC as shameful. In these circumstances, the conclusion of the present study
suggests the pooling of Ummatic financial resources and the establishment of a
joint security system for all Muslim countries.
Contents
List of
Tables iii
Abbreviations
iv
Introduction
1
CHAPTER - I
The Muslim World:
Globalisation
and Under-development
What is
Globalisation?
8
From Colonisation to
Globalisation 11
The Past and the
Present 15
The Ummah:
Integrated-Disintegrated
19
Human
(Under-)Development in the Muslim World 22
‘Education for All’: A
Reality or Just a Slogan?
26
Human
Deprivation 27
Human
Capital
29
CHAPTER - II
Islamophobia: Another Cold War
Clash of Civilisation or
Promotion of Global Instability?
33
Global Informal
Education: The Media and the
Promotion of
(In-)Tolerance 41
Propaganda
Model 44
Distortion of
Realities 45
Islam or ‘Islamophobia’?
47
Beyond Islamophobia:
Muslims and
Christians Worship
Different Gods? 52
Why is Islamophobia so
Fashionable?
54
CHAPTER - III
Human (In-)Security and the
Global Financial Spiral
What is Human
Security? 58
Human (In-)Security and
the Muslim World 60
Human Insecurity or a
Clash of Civilisations?
Religio-Social and
Economic Perspectives 61
Global Financial System
– Another Version
of Human
Insecurity 67
State of Debt Burden:
Muslim and
Non-Muslim
Countries
71
Debt Servicing
73
International Aid
76
CHAPTER -
IV
Intra-Ummatic
Trade: Myth or Reality?
What is Wrong with the
WTO Policies
and Global
Trade? 80
Who is Taking Advantage
of Global Trade? 83
The State of Intra-Ummatic
Trade 90
A Way
Forward
91
Islamic Economic
Union 95
CHAPTER - V
Defence and
Strategic Issues
The Volatile Ummah 101
The Propaganda War
105
Global Instability and
Spending on Arms 108
Uni-Polar World and
US-Israel Defence Cooperation
111
Indo-Israel Defence
Cooperation 116
The Nuclear Issue and
the Muslim World 120
The Weak Ummah and
Re-drafting the Global Map 125
CHAPTER - VI
Addressing Modern Challenges
and Re-organising the OIC
The Under-Developed
Muslim World
129
Globalisation or
Recolonisation? 131
Islamic Approach to
Globalisation and the OIC
134
The OIC and Modern
Challenges 136
Re-organising the OIC
144
Ummatic Global
Vision
149
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