The News, September 26, 2005
Decline and fall
Chris Cork
Civilisations come and go, empires rise and fall, and currently we may be seeing the decline and fall not of Islam -- which as a religion appears to be in good health the world over -- but of the Arabs, most of who just happen to be Muslims.
There is an unspoken but underlying assumption in many western minds that the "Clash of Civilisations" predicted by Huntington in his book of the same name published in 1996 is now under way, and that battle has been joined between the opposing forces of Christendom and Islam. Well, Dear Reader, it isn't, and here's why.
Islam, and specifically the twenty--two Arab nations present no significant military threat to the West. Even assuming the Arabs could put aside their differences and assembled a unified fighting force it would never punch much above lightweight. They have a collective GDP a little less than that of Spain and the combined -- and purely conventional, let's not forget -- military power of the Arabs isn't going to give the war-planners of the Pentagon sleepless nights. Outside the Arab world, other Muslim states present no threat either. The real threat that exists for all of us is the potential collapse of the Arab world, a world kept afloat by a sea of oil. Consider the following...
The website of the Arab League has a paper detailing the contributions made by the Arabs to civilisation generally -- with the year 1406 being the most recent date at which a significant contribution was made. Thereafter -- stagnation and decline from the end of the Ottoman Empire with only oil money holding back collapse.
Statistics from the U.N.'s Arab Human Development Report give us more telling insights. There are 18 computers per thousand Arab citizens compared to a global average of 78.3. Only 1.6% of the population has Internet access. Average Research and Development expenditures are less than one-sixth of Cubas's and one fifteenth of Japan's. There are 60 million illiterate adults, mostly women, and a declining educational system, its quality being eroded by the inroads made by religion at all levels. Take out the income from the export of oil and the entire region exports less than Finland. Rapid population growth is reducing living standards across the region, as evidenced by the fact that per-capita GDP is currently $1,500, down from $2,300 in the late 1970's.
Arab populations are expected to grow from 280 million to almost 460 million by 2020. And over 600 million a generation later. Many Arab governments are already failing to meet basic human needs, and it is difficult to see how they are going to cope with such a population increase.
There is a potential for collapse in the Arab world that would be bad news for all of us. Think oil. Think regional instability and war. Islam is not the root of the collapse but instead a fundamental failure of Arab culture that is causing them to look backwards to the Golden Age of their civilisation.
And now, Dear Reader, think of all of the above and lay the template across Pakistan. True, many of the indicators are absent or much reduced here, but some are uncomfortably close -- the "youth bulge" and the rise of religious extremism, for instance. Internal decay may destroy the Arabs, but a "Clash of Civilisations" probably won't. Look and learn, Pakistan, look and learn.
The writer is a British social worker working in Pakistan
Email: manticore73@hotmail.com
4 comments:
A twenty some years ago this was possible that many of Arabs closest partnerships were efficiently farther than their actual value and placement on Global chessboard and their arm or say leverage that they can command on affairs of intense value to Westrn Alliance States.
Ago when some European Arab advisors designed OPEC logos you could tell that they are going to be in centrefold blessing peace as 'they were to use Oil as weapon' .Oil however is a puzzle by value to West and morover few can today see that Arabs are statistically Wests backbone in exports because their stores buy most exquisite Foods and Fashions from West and more to add West is without Arabs left to Nationalism for running themselves and their economies.
The Arab food and fashion export adds with their new passions Finance Production and Marketting .Although they are at a very very early state with production but looking at thier entreprueners the full west stands sold to them.Its only the Arabs that Tiffany's came under hammer and its upto their financers to practice faster to let into higher figures already pioneers like Walid have handfyull of years as a World Leader in Trading Sales Aquisitions Takeovers etc . Politically Arabs are waiting for Pakistan to bring in the volumous attraction they created world over as even Presidents of Western African States seem restless . Sospeaking that Arabs are accepting Democratisation as Kuwait already has a over ten year old National Assembly .
The Clash of civilisations which could be potententially well powerd account because it comes from a pretty long Chat Conference and personally i havnt read his book but sincerely it was Clash of Cultures as Mankind lives in a single civilisation that he divides perhaps to evade a year or two of new judgement whose account we are reading or that is turning Nation after Nation that are controlled by Dictatorships and after 73 turned into Zionist Satanist Regimes that would one day house Harvard and Oxford. Few days ago Davos really punched Clinton on the nose for having least attented Culeture[Culture] in his years of growth and development same goes in Pakistan for Benazir Bhutto as both also could prove parrots in Modren Society .The long eight years of Harvard/Oxford Comparative Government trial failed miserably and countries under Zionist/Satanist Regimes fell surrendered more to Credit Unions and International Carpetbaggers and ofcourse since the Comparative Governments one main objective was to proudly plunder capital they shared Arabs for bagging and Lahores Middleclass still held on with Sharifs who were considerd Saudis parralel crowd in Lahore with their middle class Muslim ways and immense wealth and life in a Europeanised Society
Around 1995 Bhuttos had pacxked their bags out from scene and within a year or two Nawaz was reelected in a General Election where Pakistan Peoples Party and Nawaz's Muslim Leaque shared 12 Percent of National Votes Polled and the only thing Nawaz could do in his new third term was to writeoff i leterally mean writeoff because Shahbaz signed documents over Punbjab Government that gave special powers and priorties to Overseas Companies and Credit Unions [International Protocol Society Government]to control as far as Service Grade 20 and Chairmanships or other strategic jobs to let Overseas Companies rob freely. Soon they reached SG19 and today they could call any thanedar directly from Islamabad . The Civilisation was tuned since 1901 for Western Graduates to control from 'Exective Offices ' and there is still a doubt and wonder how many Nations get sloweer than West in Executive Dictations and announce themselves Third World .
. Huntington is a very big bloody fool who is trying to seperate Islam from Chritianity because they are same same thing and same people too.After the Great Mughals tried reading Koran in Persian no body really claims to be but a follower .And the Christians were dethroned from their Gardens by Vatican and terrifyied Warlord Princes during the crusades and eventually Entire Europe was enslaved and its history wiped off the map and world almost . In Todays world all good books belong to Allah but some gent will try to be stingy with Arabic as they havnt read them directlly in English . But The Europeans[ Airaebiaans Urban ]Princes who resisted Temur by spending time away in North also after times of Republican Revolutions gave away Christians to stricter Margins and why should there be division except between Indian Secularists whom the west hypocritically share but cannot gulp socially or healthwise! When Huntington lives in under a Masonic Government with religion having no value but a honey spot for ants and suchwise how ye expect to crash Muslims againt Christians or create new Comparative Society in a Power Company Office?[ IPS]with a Internet Comference going on.
How ye expect two positive subatoms to crash!
"All The Good Books are Mine" Allah
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