The Ummah and Global Challenges 1 IPRI PAPER 12 COPYRIGHT @ ISLAMABAD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE ISBN 969-8721-18-5 2006 THE UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES RE-ORGANIZING THE OIC DR MUHAMMAD AHSAN 2 IPRI Paper PREFACE 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. I have known Dr Muhammad Ahsan for several years. He has extensive experience of research and teaching and is a Fellow of Royal Society of Art (UK). His main field of interest is the Muslim World in which he has The Ummah and Global Challenges 3 published extensively. Dr Ahsan is also an important contributor to IPRI Journal. We are thankful to him for offering this study to be published by IPRI. We hope that the present research will attract a variety of readers ranging from academicians to policy-makers. Furthermore, this thought provoking document will also provide a concrete base for discussion and research. From its readers, IPRI would like to receive any comment or suggestion in this regard. Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema September 27, 2006 4 IPRI Paper 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 The Ummah and Global Challenges 5 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 6 IPRI Paper LIST OF TABLES 1.1. Population Growth Rates for Various Countries and Regions 22 1.2. Comparison of the Muslim and the Non-Muslim Countries with Similar Income but Different Levels of Human Development 25 1.3. Cross Country Comparison of Educational Achievement 27 1.4. Human Deprivation – Cross Country Comparison of Low and High Income Muslim and Non-Muslim Countries 29 1.5. Human Capital – Cross Country Comparison of Muslim and Non-Muslim Countries with Respect to Education, Health and Research and Development 30 3.1. Human (In-)Security – A Comparative Out Look of Indonesia and the Philippines 61 3.2. Cross Country Comparison of Indebtedness of the Muslim and the Non-Muslim Countries 73 3.3 An Overview of Comparative Economic Systems 75 3.4. State of Government Revenue, Expenditure and Debt Servicing 76 4.1. A Snapshot of the Top-500 Companies of the World 85 4.2. Rank of Countries with Respect to Owing the Top 500 Companies of the World 87 4.3. Growth Rate of Trade (goods & services) of the Low Income Muslim and the Non-Muslim Countries 88 4.4. The Arab States and the Structure of Global Trade 89 5.1. Military Expenditures of the Top-10 Countries of the World 109 5.2. A Comparison of Military Power of Israel vs. Syria and Iran and, India vs. Pakistan 111 The Ummah and Global Challenges 7 ABBREVIATIONS ABM Anti- Ballistic Missile ACC Arab Cooperation Council ACM Arab Common Market AFTA Arab Free Trade area AMU Arab Maghreb Union ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations BCCI Bank of Credit and Commerce International BJP Bharatiya Janata Party CAAT Campaign Against the Arms Trade CACEU Central African Customs and Economic Union CAFORD Catholic Agency for Overseas Development CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations CAR Central Asian Republics COMCEC Standing Committee for Commercial and Economic Cooperation CPI Corruption Perceptions Index CTBT Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty D-8 Developing Eight (Muslim Countries) ECO Economic Cooperation Organisation EFF Extended Fund Facility ESAF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility EU European Union FAS Federation of American Scientists FMA Foreign Military Assistance FMF Foreign Military Financing GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GATT General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GDP Gross Domestic Product GNP Gross National Product GPRS Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategies G-8 Group of Eight (Industrial Countries) HDF Human Development Fund HDI Human Development Index HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries HPI Human Poverty Index IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IAIB International Association of Islamic Banks 8 IPRI Paper ICCI&CE Islamic Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Commodity Exchange ICDT Islamic Centre for Development of Trade ICM Islamic Common Market IDB Islamic Development Bank IEU Islamic Economic Union IFSTD Islamic Foundation for Science, Technology and Development IICJ International Islamic Court of Justice IINA International Islamic News Agency IISS International Institute for Strategic Studies IMF International Monitory Fund IRCICA The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture ISOA Islamic Ship-owners Association. ISBO Islamic States Broadcasting Organisation ISESCO The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ITO International Trade Organisation MDF Muslim Defence Force MDGs Millennium Development Goals MFN Most Favoured Nation MMF Muslim Monetary Fund MNA Muslim News Agency MNCs Multi-National Corporations MSC Muslim Security Council MU Muslim Union NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement NAMA Non-Agricultural Market Access NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NPT Non-Proliferation Treaty OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OIC Organisation of the Islamic Conference OICC Organisation of Islamic Capital and Cities PRGF Poverty Reduction Growth Facilities PRSC Poverty Reduction Support Credit PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers PPP Purchasing Power Parities