The recent wikileaks releases have sent shock waves around the world exposing the views of western diplomats regarding foreign governments and individuals. Causing a mixture of embarrassment and political incidents, the leaks have left the American government scrambling around the world to maintain damage control. In addition to America’s humiliation, the leaks have given the world a better understanding of western views of other heads of state, as well as confirmation of the true nature of the Muslim rulers.

The leaked documents give candid accounts of meetings with many leaders, exposing their real concerns and views. A number of documents focus on the deep concern towards Iran, where many Arab nations repeatedly raised concerns over Iran. King Abdullah claimed Iran was meddling in ‘Arab matters’ and called the state liars. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan also suggested that the US should send in ground forces if air strikes were not enough to "take out" Iranian nuclear targets. Egypt’s intelligence chief general Omar Suleiman called Iran "a significant threat to Egypt….supporting jihad and spoiling peace," furthermore Hosni Mubarak told a US congressman, "Iran is always stirring trouble". These statements amongst many others actually encourage military action against the Ummah.

These accounts show the intimate relationship between the US and the Muslim rulers, where these leaders are raising their fears hoping the US will help them. The appreciation and care shown to the US is remarkable. In a discussion with the US, Saudi King Abdullah said, "We (the U.S. and Saudi Arabia) spilled blood together" in Kuwait and Iraq, the King continued, and Saudi Arabia valued this tremendously. Friendship can be a difficult issue that requires work, Abdullah said, but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have done it for 70 years over three generations. "Our disagreements don’t cut to the bone," he stated. Zardari showed similar appreciation for US help during the Pakistani elections stating, "We are here because of you."
However the most staggering example of this relationship was from Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who assured the US that missile strikes conducted in his own country by the US in Yemen would be claimed as a Yemeni army assault, and he would "continue saying the bomb are ours, not yours." One of the leaked cables showed in one attack 41 local residents, including 14 women, 21 children and 14 other Muslims were killed. General Petraeus on the same issue but in another cable is recorded as saying that the attack had caused the deaths of "only" three "civilians".

Whilst the Muslim rulers continue their relationship of subservience to the West the US views the world only in terms of its national interests. As captured in the leaks Turkey has been used to negotiate with Iran regarding their nuclear ambitions and was even reprimanded by the US when they weren’t dealing with Iran adequately. The cables show that US diplomats have grave doubts about Turkey’s dependability, quoting one high-ranking government adviser as saying that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would use his Islamist influence on Erdogan, describing him as "exceptionally dangerous." Regardless of how much help Recep Erdogan has given the US over years with Iran, Israel, Iraq and Gaza, the AKP’s commitment continues to be questioned.
A number of the leaked cables show pure condescension of the Muslim rulers. Chief of the Defence Staff Jock Stirrup stated that although Zardari has "made helpful political noises, he’s clearly a numbskull.", furthermore Permanent Under-Secretary for Security Affairs Peter Ricketts characterized Zardari as having "not much sense of how to govern a country…I fear he talks and talks but not much happens." This is not the first time the US has backed a less than desirable leader as an ally since their objective is not to promote a leader who will bring his people progress but one who would be an active accomplice in their global plans.

The wikileaks cables have only come to confirm the widely held belief that our rulers are exceptionally inept in their role. The cables prove that in addition to merely being concerned about building palaces and holding on to power, they are also delusional, seeing their role in the US grand schemes as indispensible and privileged. The cables show the world that our leaders are quick to give help to the west in order to gain some crumbs, happy to sell their own people to achieve western aims.
The leaked cables show us that the US is only concerned with the pursuit of its interests in the world and an ally is seen merely as an aid to attain these interests. These leaders leave our Ummah vulnerable to the interests of the west, happy to accommodate them where the only vision is to please their colonial master.

To gain protection from the colonialist wolf and progress as an ummah it’s time we had the vision for the true Islamic ruler as seen in Khaleefah’s of the past who followed in the way of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

via: http://islamicsystem.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-confirms-treachery-of-ummahs.html

This piece comes from Islamic Revival.Dubai- The Economic Mirage
from Islamic Revival by Islamic Revival

Dubai once symbolized the economic boom of the 21st Century. It was viewed favourably by major Western companies that established offices in the country attracting a large number of foreign workers from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. With an economy to the tune of $46 billion, the Gulf emirate attracted world-wide attention with its rising property sector.

Today, however, is a different story. The economic situation has deteriorated to the point that expatriates are leaving the country as fast as possible. As reported in the New York Times, debt-ridden foreigners are fleeing Dubai, abandoning their cars at the airport with “maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.”

Dubai: Growth and Collapse

To understand the collapse of the Dubai economy, one must look at what was driving it. Dubai’s economy was initially a mixture of trading and oil. Since the 1940s, the city was known as a trading-hub for gold in the Middle East and South Asia. Oil was also a significant component of the economy (e.g. in 1975 oil accounted for 54%). In its drive to copy the Capitalist approach to economy, Dubai expanded heavily into financial services and real estate.

In 2000, Dubai launched the Dubai Financial Market, which sells foreign and local securities (e.g. bonds, stocks). In 2006, Dubai’s ruler made it legal for foreigners to own property in the emirate.Foreign investors became keen to invest in Dubai, as it was seen as an “emerging market” – similar to India or China – that would take a larger share of the world’s wealth. This resulted in tremendous expansion of the non-oil sectors of the economy. For example, real estate and construction account for between 30% and 50% of Dubai’s economy, while oil accounts for only 3%.The fall of Dubai’s economy began with the flight of capital.

Foreign investors were pulling out their investments for two reasons. Firstly, they knew that emerging markets would be the first to be impacted by the recession. Secondly, they needed the capital to cover their own exposure to the crisis.

Repeat of the Asian Financial Crisis

A decade ago, another region of the Muslim world attempted to organise its economies on the Capitalist model. In the early 1990s, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other South-East Asian countries had high growth rates of 8-12%, which attracted almost half of the total capital-inflow to developing countries. However in 1997, these so-called “Asian Economic Miracles” collapsed when foreign investors withdrew their funds. The financial collapse left the region in ruin with millions left in poverty.

Root Problem: Agent Rulers and Capitalist Solutions

As it has been proven time and time again, the rulers of the Muslim countries are agents of the West. These rulers and the elite in the Muslims countries have given political allegiance to the Western colonial powers, such as America and Britain, and have forcefully imposed the Capitalist system upon the Ummah. They have tied their economic interests to Western financial institutions and corporations making us dependent on the economies of the Capitalist nations.The rulers and the elite try to emulate their Western colonial masters when it comes to issues of economic development.

For example, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum, the agent-ruler of Dubai said in 2007, “The services sector was the driving force behind Dubai’s economic growth, contributing 74% of GNP, mirroring the economies of the developed world.” When faced by an economic challenge, they run to their Western colonial masters for advice and solutions. For example, UAE’s Central Bank unveiled a $10 billion bailout package to address Dubai’s problems – mimicking America, Canada, and Europe.

Islam: Do Not Imitate Other Nations

Rasul’Allah (saw) has clearly forbidden us from following the ways of other nations:
“You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah’s Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words) “those before you”? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?” [Muslim]

As a result, if we attempt to imitate the Capitalist nations we will fail to achieve prosperity in this life and face humiliation in the next life because of our disobedience to the Messenger of Allah (saw). As we witness the spectacular collapse of the Capitalist financial system – in Dubai or in America itself – we should take the time to realize that it is only through Allah’s (swt) assistance that we can achieve economic success.

Intellectual Decline: The Key Obstacle to Progress

The greatest resource that the Muslim Ummah has is not its scientific discoveries, its vast number of doctors and engineers, massive oil & mineral reserves; or even its enormous population. The greatest fortune this Ummah has is the Islamic thoughts, which emanate from the Islamic Aqeedah. Material wealth, scientific discoveries, and industrial inventions are of much lower importance than the Islamic thoughts.

In fact, any material and scientific progress depends on the Ummah embracing the Islamic thoughts and implementing them in society.The Islamic thoughts are not restricted to matters of ibadat. They encompass all issues that a human being will face in this life.

Allah (swt) revealed:
And We have revealed the Book to you as an exposition to all things, a guide, a mercy and glad tidings to Muslims.”[TMQ 16:89]

When the Muslim Ummah was a leading nation, it relied solely on Islam to deal with all the affairs of life, including economy, governance, foreign policy, etc. The majority of Muslims used wahy (revelation from Allah (swt)) to judge the challenges that faced them. As a result, the Ummah was productive in all spheres of life, including science and technology. For example, during the Mongol invasion, the Muslim Ummah came across “Al-Yaasiq”; a law-book compiled by Genghis Khan, which contained some rulings that were derived from various religions (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc) and his own opinions. The book became the legal code followed by the children of Genghis Khan.

However, ibn Katheer (rh) looked at the issue in light of the ayah revealed by Allah (swt):

“Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm faith?”[TMQ 5:50]

Based on this (and many other ayat and ahadith), he rejected al-Yassiq and enjoined on the Ummah to also reject it and follow the laws reveled by Allah (swt).

Unfortunately, the Ummah has lost this productive way of thinking. This process occurred over centuries, but was most pronounced during the military and intellectual invasion of Europe that has persisted since the 18th century until the present day. During this period, the Ummah became fascinated with the material success of Europe and blindly adopted the Capitalist solutions – without fully realizing that these solutions were alien to Islam. Dubai’s approach to economy (e.g. adopting Capitalist solutions of the free market, riba, bailouts, etc) is just a current example of this phenomenon. With the Islamic way of thinking abandoned, we see ourselves mired in poverty – despite the abundance of material resources in our lands.

However, today, with the help of Allah (swt) the Ummah is responding to the call to resuming the Islamic way of life through the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah in the Muslim lands. Muslims are re-gaining their confidence and trust in Islam and openly calling for its implementation

Khilafah: Making the Islamic Aqeedah Central to Society

The path to progress begins with embracing the Islamic Aqeedah: recognizing that Allah (swt) is the sole Legislator and being confident that the Shariah is more than capable of managing the affairs of the Ummah – in all spheres of life (i.e. ibadat, politics, economy, etc). Once we understand this as the way forward we must work to purge the Muslim lands of Capitalist thinking. The Capitalist solutions are man-made and they are as limited as the minds of the men who laid them down. Consequently, they will inevitably fail.

To understand how the Islamic thought process works, we can examine how Islam approaches the issue of economy in contrast to Capitalism. In Islam, the key economic problem is the distribution of wealth. This is based on understanding of why the Messenger of Allah (saw) divided the booty gained from Bani Nadheer exclusively among the Muhajireen and the poor members of the Ansar. Regarding this incident, Allah (swt) revealed:

“What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships, belongs to Allah,- to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) circulate between the wealthy among you.”[TMQ 59:7]

Based on this ayah (and other rulings in economy, such as the prohibition of riba), Allah (swt) makes it clear to us that the Khalifah must work to ensure that the wealth circulates through the whole of society. The Capitalists, on the other hand, believe that the economic problem is to maximize production. For example, we see the Capitalists measure the economy by looking at the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and not how many people are homeless, hungry, etc. Thus, for the Ummah to progress economically we must adopt the Islamic idea that the key economic problem is distribution – as this is the Haqq (Truth) – and reject the idea that we must increase production at all costs – as this is Batil (Falsehood).

Once the Haqq is clear from the Batil, we must work to make Islam the sole reference point in society. This means the thoughts, emotions, and systems – political, education, economic, and social – will be based solely on what Allah (swt) has revealed. This can only be achieved through the re-establishment of Khilafah in the Muslims lands. Muslims must work globally on the Prophet’s (saw) method of intellectual and political struggle, which requires us to join a group and purge ourselves of Capitalist concepts and solution and replace them with Islamic concepts and solutions from the revelation of Allah (swt) through intense study. We must also interact with the Muslim Ummah and promote the Islamic alternative. In the Muslim lands we must also seek the nusrah (support from influential members of society) just as our Prophet (saw) did from al-Ansar (ra).

May Allah (swt) help us to establish the Khilafah Rashidah in the Muslim Lands according to the method of the Prophet (saw) and build a global economic system that will bring prosperity to all.

“And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their mila (way).”[TMQ 2:120]