An idea to make ‘hijrah’ more practical
The brothers at Austrolabe have an essay that would draw more Muslim brains to the Muslim lands. Of couse that would require such things as fairness and equal opportunity…
Likewise, there seems to be many Muslims who aspire to migrate to a Muslim country but cannot because few of these countries offer the opportunity for citizenship, equal rights under the law, or a genuine opportunity to be more than a highly paid indentured worker.
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So, here are a few ideas as to how it might work: offer a skilled and business migration program similar to that offered in the West where, after a period of time and meeting some requirements such as having obeyed the law, these people could apply for full citizenship; invest broadly and extensively in the creative sector, such as expanding universities and research facilities; rather than pursuing blanket
Filed under: Practical Solutions
You have it right. Already we can see what effects the foreign populations are having in the Gulf. The “Saudisation” program in KSA that is slowly catching on, but you still dont see many Saudis bagging groceries.
UAE, from what I understand, has actually made their marriage laws more tight to control UAE citizens who wish to marry foreigners. Unlike Saudi where this is a very minor hurdle, for the men at least, this one seems to have teeth for men and women.
I think the people of the Gulf need to look at Germany and the issues there. I think the issue is greater in the Gulf as there is a much greater ratio of foreigners to citizens. When you bring people to do the work you think you are too good, or unable to do, it will back fire.
Keep in mind the vast majority of this money paid the workers leaves the country, not to be re-invested.
Salaam ‘Alaikum
When it comes to common sense, we can almost always count on “Muslim governments” not to exercise it. Ah, consistency!
Unfortunately Muslim governments do not develop their human capital or attract it from overseas and in some cases (not all, I do not like to generalize) even the religious ulema have not help this cause by defining knowledge as a narrow branch of religious knowledge. In many cases we have addicted to slogans like, “Islaam (THAT’S Islam with two a’s ming it)!”
"bidaah":
I know you said that you don't like to generalize (I don't think any reasonable person does) but I wish that I could name ONE Muslim country that is actually properly developing their human capital and/or trying to attract it from overseas.
What about Malaysia?
Is Malaysia trying to draw Muslim talent from other countries and offering full citizenship and rights?
Not really because it doesn’t really need to. It has invested a tremendous amount in building its local infrastructure and human capital. For example, for years, the Malaysian government has provided Muslim Malays with preferential access to tertiary education and business loans in an effort to address the traditional economic imbalance between Malays and Chinese. This hasn’t really translated into Kuala Lumpur becoming an IQ magnet yet, because there are cultural issues at work as well. It seems, from my observation, that Malays are more likely to enter the public service than they are to form businesses or enter academia; whereas Chinese seem to still dominate the private sector and are the biggest businessmen in Malaysia.
great piece, tariq. My experience in this area is that generally booming muslim nations are dependent on primary industry and not manufacturing or innovation. in the middle east, generous government grants to locals actually blunts ones motivation to work hard.
Australia used to be very similar until the early eighties, where it had a booming economy and generous public grants for its citizens, it all changed once the boom was over.
In the second resource boom the difference has been the welfare payments have been cut, have been based on ones genuine search for a job and are means tested.
We should also note that despite this Australia still does not manufacture anything in great quantities and other than the beer eski, it has not created any unique that it has built an industry around.
Amir has a good point about public service. From “The Importance of Disentangling Culture from Religion“:
Cultural attitudes have affected our educational and vocational preferences as well. Many Muslims have become first-rate practitioners of medical science and engineering, but the number of Muslims who are first-rate researchers in these areas is still negligible.
Cultural practices that impede economic development are numerous. In Egypt today, success is defined as being a civil servant, rather than operating a factory. This is clearly a remnant from the English colonization. In the early Mamluk times, the factory owners were respected members of society. During the British occupation, the occupying administrators were seen as the elites and once the Egyptians had rid themselves of the colonizers they longed to hold their jobs.
Another area where culture is a palpable impediment is in the area of the development of civil society. Civil society constitutes a separate sector of the community apart from the political and commercial areas. Its importance in American society is enormous. Yet not only have modern Muslim countries failed to develop a flourishing civil society, but Muslims in America are not well integrated into the civil society here.
My principle conclusion is that the confusion of culture and religion is rooted in the suppression of critical thinking. The Islamic religion advances notions of individual liberty while their suppression comes only from cultural practices. This is a vicious circle, for we have become embroiled in a culture that discourages the very critical thinking that could free us from our cultural chains.