If you meet a Muslim from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Albania, Turkey, Egypt, the Gulf countries, Jordan, Pakistan, and so on and so forth, and you ask him or her about the political and economic situation over there, the most common word you will hear in his or her answer is, [you guessed it already] “corruption!”
There is no doubt that the Muslim world is suffering from this political, social and economic disease. We all agree on that. The problem arises when trying to understand the reasons behind it. We all blame, complain, and point the fingers at each other, blame our leaders and governments, and curse them. Often we even blame our scholars and religious clergy, not to say that there are those who blame Islam itself.
Another common phrase that you might hear from those talking about the corruption in the Muslim countries is, “look at the West, Denmark, Canada, the Scandinavian countries, for example! – as if they are trying to associate their economic development with the western Secularism.
The truth is not exactly as depicted by masses and their perception. Blaming people, scholars, governments, and leaders is easy, and there is no doubt that each of which is to be blamed because each of which contributes to the general corruption and each of which has a role to play, but this leads to no solution. On the other hand, portraying some western countries as good examples without taking into consideration the big political picture is not helpful either.
Understanding corruption requires objective criticism, void of personal feelings. In addition, while all people suffer from corruption and all pay the price, not all of them can contribute definitively to its elimination.
In my view, the direct cause of corruption is the occupation of Muslims by the British Empire, and the main obstacle to its alleviation is the occupation itself. The British Rulers and the US Government don’t need to have their soldiers patrol the streets of Muslim lands, even though this is the case for many countries as the USA keeps its military bases, nor do they need to fly their flags in our countries because they appoint our leaders, control our governments, control our military, education, economy, universities, madrasas, and mosques.
More importantly, they prevent and oppress anyone who aspires to bring changes and fight corruption. The US Government and the British Monarchy are the oppressors; they imprison our scholars and imams. They control even which students can be admitted to universities and who is to be rejected.
If you disagree with me, just give it a try. Try to fight corruption, speak up, educate people against corruption and propose solutions. Immediately the alarm will be sounded in the Buckingham Palace and Washington DC. We Muslims are to be blamed for many things, but let’s keep it clear: we are under the British and American occupation – the atheists and pagans. They are our enemies and oppressors.
Sabri Lushi
