Islamitu adalah laknatullah...
Itulah yang kudu disadari orang Islam tipikal...
Dan bila kita ingat bahwa peserta Islam tipikal di berbagi
mailing list ini adalah tukang kibul, pendusta dan tukang
fitnah, malahan ada yang tukang kirim ghostmail...
Maka jelas bahwa Islam itu adalah laknatullah.
Muslims capable of driving globalism
Muslims capable of driving globalism
Islam is all about revelation, about enlightenment, about liberation,
about empowerment. That was true at the time of our beloved Prophet
Muhammad. And that is true today.
But sadly, while we rejoice in seeing pockets of progress and
prosperity throughout the Muslim world, we still see pockets of
poverty, deprivation and scarcity among the Ummah worldwide.
The fact is: A considerable portion of the Muslim world is still
lagging behind in terms of worldwide socioeconomic progress.
Look at the world's 25 biggest economies. You have the United States
of America at the top of the list with a GDP of about US$11 trillion.
In the top 25, there are only three Muslim majority countries: Turkey,
Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Look at the world's top trading nations. No Muslim country is in the
top 10 or top 20 traders.
Look at the world's human development index, and here again, you will
find no Muslim country in the top 10, top 20 or top 30 best performing
nations. Only if you expand the list to the top 50 will you find five
Muslim societies -- Brunei, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates -- between the rankings of 33 and 47.
And global competitiveness? Well, of the top 20 most competitive
countries, there is not a single Muslim country.
Indeed, many Muslim societies worry more about survival than they do
about competitiveness.
According to UNICEF, over 4.3 million children under the age of five
in OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) countries die each
year from preventable diseases and malnutrition.
I was particularly concerned to learn that every 30 minutes, an
Afghan woman dies in childbirth, and that in the African sub-Sahara
region 1 out 15 pregnancies ends in death, a huge difference from the
global average of 1 death out of 74 pregnancies.
Many Muslim children also face a difficult life. In 17 OIC countries,
primary school education is less than 60 percent.
On top of this, there are 8 million adult HIV cases in African OIC
countries.
Indeed, as we cross further into the 21st century and into the Third
Millennium, many Muslim societies are experiencing problems dealing
with globalization. They see globalization all around them, including
in their living rooms, they know globalization is here to stay, and
they know they will see more of it.
But few understand globalization, let alone how to deal with it.
Few understand how to find a place, a niche, in the new, confusing
globalized world.
And few understand that, apart from its negative effects,
globalization also provides opportunities that can be harnessed for
societies to leap in its development efforts.
Apart from socioeconomic issues, the Ummah is also burdened by
continuing conflicts and bloodshed. We see restlessness and
displacement in many parts of the Muslim world, especially among the
youth. And the specter of terrorism and extremism continue to haunt
our communities.
We also face a growing trend of Islamophobia, the fear of Islam. The
recent cartoon crisis demonstrates the lack of tolerance and respect
shown toward Islam.
All in all, not a pretty picture, I admit. But herein lies the
challenge for the Ummah. The Ummah of today has the distinction of
belonging to the Ummah of the Third Millennium. But to meet the
challenge of the Third Millennium, the Ummah must stop blaming
ourselves, and blaming others, for our problems and for our
misfortunes. The Ummah must proactively and constructively fight the
global injustice, ignorance and backwardness that are often found in
the Muslim world and which serve as breeding grounds for extremism and
terrorism.
The solution to our problems depends on us, and begins with us, the
Ummah.
But what can the Muslim world do? Well, there is plenty that can be
done. Let me offer several useful constructive suggestions for the
Ummah of the Third Millennium.
I begin with this point: the Ummah must embrace technology and
modernity, and they must be driven by a culture of excellence. Islam
is not just a religion of peace, it is also a religion of progress.
Remember, this is how Islam spread from a religion in this part of the
world to become the world's greatest civilization by the 13th century,
much more advanced at the time than the civilizations in Europe, Asia
and the Americas.
When the Ummah crossed the first millennium, they had already built
the University of Al Azhar, built the first hospital, used the
compass, built sophisticated trade vessels and developed an extensive
body of knowledge on irrigation, astronomy, navigation, chemistry,
civil engineering.
But something happened along the way. While Europe basked in the
Renaissance for 400 years, the Ummah became stagnant. Over a stretch
of centuries, Europe produced Galileo, Copernicus, Watt, Newton,
Edison and Einstein, while at the same time the Muslim world was left
behind.
Europe, not the Muslim world, became the bearer of world
technological innovation. In the meantime, the Muslim world missed the
industrial revolution, and missed the transportation revolution. The
Muslim world did not begin the military revolution, and we certainly
did not begin the information and communication revolution that is now
sweeping the world.
All this teaches us one critical lesson: the Ummah of today must not
be swept up in self-doubt and isolationism. Instead, we must embrace a
culture of excellence, and we must inculcate that spirit of excellence
in our homes, in our classrooms and in our communities. Globalization,
according to Thomas Friedman, is creating a "flat world" with a level
playing field. It is not just India and China that should be the
rising powers taking advantage of globalization. The Muslim world too
can be part of that picture.
And if the Ummah want progress, we must begin to think ahead of our
time. The first Muslims thought and acted way ahead of their time, and
they changed the world. So did the first millennium Muslims. The Ummah
of the Third Millennium must do the same.
The article is a condensed version of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's speech delivered at Islamic University of Imam Muhammad
bin Sa'ud in Riyadh on April 26.
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