Case Study: Female Infanticide : In two modern cultural & economic superpowers- India & China.

The statistics are sickening. The UN reports approximately 200 million girls in the world today are ‘missing’. India and China are said to eliminate more female infants than the number of girls born in the US each year. Baby girls are killed or abandoned if not aborted as foetuses. Girls that are not killed often suffer malnutrition and medical neglect as sons are favoured when shelter, medicine and food are scarce. Trafficking, dowry deaths, honour killings and deaths resulting from domestic violence are all further evils perpetrated against women. This femicide has led the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces to report in ‘Women in an Insecure World’ that a secret genocide is being carried out against women at a time when deaths resulting from armed conflicts have decreased.

The brutal irony of femicide is that it is an evil perpetrated against girls by women. The most insidious force is often the mother in law, the domestic matriarch, under whose authority the daughter in law lives. Policy efforts to halt infanticide have been directed at mothers, who are often victims themselves. The trailer shows tragic scenes of women having to decide between killing their daughters and their own well-being. In India women who fail to produce sons are beaten, raped or killed so that men can remarry in the hope of procuring a more productive wife.

It is an oft-made argument that parental discrimination between children would end if families across south Asia were rescued from poverty. But two factors particularly suggest that femicide is a cultural phenomenon and that development and economic policy are only a partial solution: Firstly, there is no evidence of concerted female infanticide among poverty-stricken societies in Africa or the Caribbean. Secondly, it is the affluent and urban middle classes, who are aware of prenatal screenings, who have access to clinics and who can afford abortions that commit foeticide. Activists fear 8 million female foetuses have been aborted in India in the last decade.

The Chinese cultural bias towards male children is one exacerbated by the birth control policy. India, however, poses a more complex problem where the primary cause is a cultural one.

Summary

The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and has likely accounted for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history. It remains a critical concern in a number of "Third World" countries today, notably the two most populous countries on earth, China and India. In all cases, specifically female infanticide reflects the low status accorded to women in most parts of the world; it is arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that pervades "patriarchal" societies. It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, which targets female fetuses almost exclusively, and neglect of girl children.

The background

"Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females." (Marina Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) It should be seen as a subset of the broader phenomenon of infanticide, which has also targeted the physically or mentally handicapped, and infant males (alongside infant females or, occasionally, on a gender-selective basis). As with maternal mortality, some would dispute the assigning of infanticide or female infanticide to the category of "genocide" or, as here, "gendercide." Nonetheless, the argument advanced in the maternal mortality case-study holds true in this case as well: governments and other actors can be just as guilty of mass killing by neglect or tacit encouragement, as by direct murder. R.J. Rummel buttresses this view, referring to infanticide as

another type of government killing whose victims may total millions ... In many cultures, government permitted, if not encouraged, the killing of handicapped or female infants or otherwise unwanted children. In the Greece of 200 B.C., for example, the murder of female infants was so common that among 6,000 families living in Delphi no more than 1 percent had two daughters. Among 79 families, nearly as many had one child as two. Among all there were only 28 daughters to 118 sons. ... But classical Greece was not unusual. In eighty-four societies spanning the Renaissance to our time, "defective" children have been killed in one-third of them. In India, for example, because of Hindu beliefs and the rigid caste system, young girls were murdered as a matter of course. When demographic statistics were first collected in the nineteenth century, it was discovered that in "some villages, no girl babies were found at all; in a total of thirty others, there were 343 boys to 54 girls. ... [I]n Bombay, the number of girls alive in 1834 was 603."

Rummel adds: "Instances of infanticide ... are usually singular events; they do not happen en masse. But the accumulation of such officially sanctioned or demanded murders comprises, in effect, serial massacre. Since such practices were so pervasive in some cultures, I suspect that the death toll from infanticide must exceed that from mass sacrifice and perhaps even outright mass murder." (Rummel, Death by Government, pp. 65-66.)

Focus (1): India

As John-Thor Dahlburg points out, "in rural India, the centuries-old practice of female infanticide can still be considered a wise course of action." (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'," The Los Angeles Times [in The Toronto Star, February 28, 1994.]) According to census statistics, "From 972 females for every 1,000 males in 1901 ... the gender imbalance has tilted to 929 females per 1,000 males. ... In the nearly 300 poor hamlets of the Usilampatti area of Tamil Nadu [state], as many as 196 girls died under suspicious circumstances [in 1993] ... Some were fed dry, unhulled rice that punctured their windpipes, or were made to swallow poisonous powdered fertilizer. Others were smothered with a wet towel, strangled or allowed to starve to death." Dahlburg profiles one disturbing case from Tamil Nadu:

Lakshmi already had one daughter, so when she gave birth to a second girl, she killed her. For the three days of her second child's short life, Lakshmi admits, she refused to nurse her. To silence the infant's famished cries, the impoverished village woman squeezed the milky sap from an oleander shrub, mixed it with castor oil, and forced the poisonous potion down the newborn's throat. The baby bled from the nose, then died soon afterward. Female neighbors buried her in a small hole near Lakshmi's square thatched hut of sunbaked mud. They sympathized with Lakshmi, and in the same circumstances, some would probably have done what she did. For despite the risk of execution by hanging and about 16 months of a much-ballyhooed government scheme to assist families with daughters, in some hamlets of ... Tamil Nadu, murdering girls is still sometimes believed to be a wiser course than raising them. "A daughter is always liabilities. How can I bring up a second?" Lakshmi, 28, answered firmly when asked by a visitor how she could have taken her own child's life eight years ago. "Instead of her suffering the way I do, I thought it was better to get rid of her." (All quotes from Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.")

A study of Tamil Nadu by the Community Service Guild of Madras similarly found that "female infanticide is rampant" in the state, though only among Hindu (rather than Moslem or Christian) families. "Of the 1,250 families covered by the study, 740 had only one girl child and 249 agreed directly that they had done away with the unwanted girl child. More than 213 of the families had more than one male child whereas half the respondents had only one daughter." (Malavika Karlekar, "The girl child in India: does she have any rights?," Canadian Woman Studies, March 1995.)

The bias against females in India is related to the fact that "Sons are called upon to provide the income; they are the ones who do most of the work in the fields. In this way sons are looked to as a type of insurance. With this perspective, it becomes clearer that the high value given to males decreases the value given to females." (Marina Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) The problem is also intimately tied to the institution of dowry, in which the family of a prospective bride must pay enormous sums of money to the family in which the woman will live after marriage. Though formally outlawed, the institution is still pervasive. "The combination of dowry and wedding expenses usually add up to more than a million rupees ([US] $35,000). In India the average civil servant earns about 100,000 rupees ($3,500) a year. Given these figures combined with the low status of women, it seems not so illogical that the poorer Indian families would want only male children." (Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) Murders of women whose families are deemed to have paid insufficient dowry have become increasingly common, and receive separate case-study treatment on this site.

India is also the heartland of sex-selective abortion. Amniocentesis was introduced in 1974 "to ascertain birth defects in a sample population," but "was quickly appropriated by medical entrepreneurs. A spate of sex-selective abortions followed." (Karlekar, "The girl child in India.") Karlekar points out that "those women who undergo sex determination tests and abort on knowing that the foetus is female are actively taking a decision against equality and the right to life for girls. In many cases, of course, the women are not independent agents but merely victims of a dominant family ideology based on preference for male children."

Dahlburg notes that "In Jaipur, capital of the western state of Rajasthan, prenatal sex determination tests result in an estimated 3,500 abortions of female fetuses annually," according to a medical-college study. (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.") Most strikingly, according to UNICEF, "A report from Bombay in 1984 on abortions after prenatal sex determination stated that 7,999 out of 8,000 of the aborted fetuses were females. Sex determination has become a lucrative business." (Zeng Yi et al., "Causes and Implications of the Recent Increase in the Reported Sex Ratio at Birth in China," Population and Development Review, 19: 2 [June 1993], p. 297.)

Deficits in nutrition and health-care also overwhelmingly target female children. Karlekar cites research

indicat[ing] a definite bias in feeding boys milk and milk products and eggs ... In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh [states], it is usual for girls and women to eat less than men and boys and to have their meal after the men and boys had finished eating. Greater mobility outside the home provides boys with the opportunity to eat sweets and fruit from saved-up pocket money or from money given to buy articles for food consumption. In case of illness, it is usually boys who have preference in health care. ... More is spent on clothing for boys than for girls[,] which also affects morbidity. (Karlekar, "The girl child in India.")

Sunita Kishor reports "another disturbing finding," namely "that, despite the increased ability to command essential food and medical resources associated with development, female children [in India] do not improve their survival chances relative to male children with gains in development. Relatively high levels of agricultural development decrease the life chances of females while leaving males' life chances unaffected; urbanization increases the life chances of males more than females. ... Clearly, gender-based discrimination in the allocation of resources persists and even increases, even when availability of resources is not a constraint." (Kishor, "'May God Give Sons to All': Gender and Child Mortality in India," American Sociological Review, 58: 2 [April 1993], p. 262.)

Indian state governments have sometimes taken measures to diminish the slaughter of infant girls and abortions of female fetuses. "The leaders of Tamil Nadu are holding out a tempting carrot to couples in the state with one or two daughters and no sons: if one parent undergoes sterilization, the government will give the family [U.S.] \\$160 in aid per child. The money will be paid in instalments as the girl goes through school. She will also get a small gold ring and on her 20th birthday, a lump sum of $650 to serve as her dowry or defray the expenses of higher education. Four thousand families enrolled in the first year," with 6,000 to 8,000 expected to join annually (as of 1994) (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.") Such programs have, however, barely begun to address the scale of the catastrophe.

Focus (2): China

"A tradition of infanticide and abandonment, especially of females, existed in China before the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949," note Zeng et al.. ("Causes and Implications," p. 294.) According to Ansley J. Coale and Judith Banister, "A missionary (and naturalist) observer in [China in] the late nineteenth century interviewed 40 women over age 50 who reported having borne 183 sons and 175 daughters, of whom 126 sons but only 53 daughters survived to age 10; by their account, the women had destroyed 78 of their daughters." (Coale and Banister, "Five Decades of Missing Females in China,"Demography, 31: 3 [August 1994], p. 472.)

According to Zeng et al., "The practice was largely forsaken in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s." (Zeng et al., "Causes and Implications," p. 294.) Coale and Banister likewise acknowledge a "decline of excess female mortality after the establishment of the People's Republic ... assisted by the action of a strong government, which tried to modify this custom as well as other traditional practices that it viewed as harmful." (Coale and Banister, "Five Decades," p. 472.) But the number of "missing" women showed a sharp upward trend in the 1980s, linked by almost all scholars to the "one-child policy" introduced by the Chinese government in 1979 to control spiralling population growth. Couples are penalized by wage-cuts and reduced access to social services when children are born "outside the plan." Johansson and Nygren found that while "sex ratios [were] generally within or fairly near the expected range of 105 to 106 boys per 100 girls for live births within the plan ... they are, in contrast, clearly far above normal for children born outside the plan, even as high as 115 to 118 for 1984-87. That the phenomenon of missing girls in China in the 1980s is related to the government's population policy is thus conclusively shown." (Sten Johansson and Ola Nygren, "The Missing Girls of China: A New Demographic Account,"Population and Development Review, 17: 1 [March 1991], pp. 40-41.)

The Chinese government appeared to recognize the linkage by allowing families in rural areas (where anti-female bias is stronger) a second child if the first was a girl. Nonetheless, in September 1997, the World Health Organization's Regional Committee for the Western Pacific issued a report claiming that "more than 50 million women were estimated to be 'missing' in China because of the institutionalized killing and neglect of girls due to Beijing's population control program that limits parents to one child." (See Joseph Farah, "Cover-up of China's gender-cide", Western Journalism Center/FreeRepublic, September 29, 1997.) Farah referred to the gendercide as "the biggest single holocaust in human history."

According to Peter Stockland, "Years of population engineering, including virtual extermination of 'surplus' baby girls, has created a nightmarish imbalance in China's male and female populations." (Stockland, "China's baby-slaughter overlooked," The Calgary Sun, June 11, 1997.) In 1999, Jonathan Manthorpe reported a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, claiming that "the imbalance between the sexes is now so distorted that there are 111 million men in China -- more than three times the population of Canada -- who will not be able to find a wife." As a result, the kidnapping and slave-trading of women has increased: "Since 1990, say official Chinese figures, 64,000 women -- 8,000 a year on average -- have been rescued by authorities from forced 'marriages'. The number who have not been saved can only be guessed at. ... The thirst for women is so acute that the slave trader gangs are even reaching outside China to find merchandise. There are regular reports of women being abducted in such places as northern Vietnam to feed the demand in China." (Jonathan Manthorpe, "China battles slave trading in women: Female infanticide fuels a brisk trade in wives," The Vancouver Sun, January 11, 1999.)

Since the first allegations of widespread female infanticide in China connected to the government's "one-child" policy, controversy has raged over the number of deaths that can be ascribed to infanticide as opposed to other causes. Zeng et al. argued in 1993 that "underreporting of female births, an increase in prenatal sex identification by ultrasound and other diagnostic methods for the illegal purpose of gender-specific birth control, and [only] very low-level incidence of female infanticide are the causes of the increase in the reported sex ratio at birth in China." (Zeng et al., "Causes and Implications," p. 285.) They add: "Underreporting of female births accounts for about 43 percent to 75 percent of the difference between the reported sex ratio at birth during the second half of the 1980s and the normal value of the true sex ratio at birth" (p. 289). The authors contended that "sex-differential underreporting of births and induced abortion after prenatal sex determination together explain almost all of the increase in the reported sex ratio at birth during the late 1980s," and thus "the omission ... of victims of female infanticide cannot be a significant factor." Moreover, "Both the social and administrative structure and the close bond among neighbors in China make it difficult to conceal a serious crime such as infanticide," while additionally "Infanticide is not a cost-effective method of sex selection. The psychological and moral costs are so high that people are unlikely to take such a step except under extreme circumstances" (p. 295). They stress, however, that "even small numbers of cases of female infanticide, abandonment, and neglect are a serious violation of the fundamental human rights of women and children" (p. 296). (2002 update: A recent article by John Gittings of the UK Guardian cites national census results released in May 2002 that show that "more than 116 male births were recorded for every 100 female births," but claims the cause is overwhelmingly sex-selective abortion: "Female infanticide, notorious in China's past as a primitive method of sex selection, is now thought to be infrequent." See Gittings, "Growing Sex Imbalance Shocks China", The Guardian, May 13, 2002.)

In a similar vein, in April 2000, The New York Times reported that "many 'illegal' children are born in secret, their births never officially registered." And "as more women move around the country to work, it is increasingly hard to monitor pregnancies ... Unannnounced spot checks by the State Statistics Bureau have discovered undercounts of up to 40 percent in some villages, Chinese demographers say." (See Elisabeth Rosenthal, "China's Widely Flouted One-Child Policy Undercuts Its Census", The New York Times, April 14, 2000.)

Johansson and Nygren attracted considerable notice with a somewhat different claim: "that adoptions (which often go unreported) account for a large proportion of the missing girls. ... If adopted children are added to the live births ... the sex ratio at birth becomes much closer to normal for most years in the 1980s. ... Adding the adopted children to live births reduces the number of missing girls by about half." (Johansson and Nygren, "The Missing Girls of China," pp. 43, 46.) They add (p. 50): "That female infanticide does occur on some scale is evidenced by reports in the Chinese press, but the available statistical evidence does not help us to determine whether it takes place on a large or a small scale."

Even if millions of Chinese infant girls are unregistered rather than directly murdered, however, the pattern of discrimination is one that will severely reduce their opportunities in life. "If parents do hide the birth of a baby girl, she will go unregistered and therefore will not have any legal existence. The child may have difficulty receiving medical attention, going to school, and [accessing] other state services." (Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".)

Likewise, if a Chinese infant girl is turned over for adoption rather than being killed, she risks being placed in one of the notorious "Dying Rooms" unveiled in a British TV documentary. Chinese state orphanages have come in for heavy criticism as a result of the degrading and unsanitary conditions that usually pervade them. In one orphanage, documentary producer Brian Woods found that "every single baby ... was a girl, and as we moved on this pattern was repeated. The only boys were mentally or physically disabled. 95% of the babies we saw were able-bodied girls. We also discovered that, although they are described as orphans, very few of them actually are; the overwhelming majority do have parents, but their parents have abandoned them, simply because they were born the wrong sex." Woods estimated that "up to a million baby girls every year" were victims of this "mass desertion," deriving from "the complex collision of [China's] notorious One Child Policy and its traditional preference for sons." (See Brian Woods, "The Dying Rooms Trust".)

The phenomenon of neglect of girl children is also dramatically evident in China. According to the World Health Organization, "In many cases, mothers are more likely to bring their male children to health centers -- particularly to private physicians -- and they may be treated at an earlier stage of disease than girls." (Cited in Farah, "Cover-up of China's gender-cide".)

The Chinese government has taken some energetic steps to combat the practice of female infanticide and sex-selective abortion of female fetuses. It "has employed the Marriage Law and Women's Protection Law which both prohibit female infanticide. The Women's Protection Law also prohibits discrimination against 'women who give birth to female babies.' ... The Maternal Health Care Law of 1994 'strictly prohibits' the use of technology to identify the gender of a fetus." However, "although the government has outlawed the use of ultrasound machines, physicians continue to use them to determine the gender of fetuses, especially in rural areas." (Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".)

How many die?

Gendercide Watch is aware of no overall statistics on the numbers of girls who die annually from infanticide. Calculations are further clouded by the unreliability and ambiguity of much of the data. Nonetheless, a minimum estimate would place the casualties in the the hundreds of thousands, especially when one takes into consideration that the phenomenon is most prevalent in the world's two most populous countries. Sex-selective abortions likely account for an even higher number of "missing" girls.

Who is responsible?

As already noted, female infanticide reflects the low status accorded to women in many societies around the world. The "burden" of taking a woman into the family accounts for the high dowry rates in India which, in turn, have led to an epidemic female infanticide. Typical also is China, where

culture dictates that when a girl marries she leaves her family and becomes part of her husband's family. For this reason Chinese peasants have for many centuries wanted a son to ensure there is someone to look after them in their old age -- having a boy child is the best pension a Chinese peasant can get. Baby girls are even called "maggots in the rice" ... ("The Dying Rooms Trust")

Infanticide is a crime overwhelmingly committed by women, both in the Third and First Worlds. (This contrasts markedly with "infanticide in nonhuman primates," which "is carried out primarily by migrant males who are unrelated to the infant or its parents and is a manifestation of reproductive competition among males." [Glenn Hausfater, "Infanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives," Current Anthropology, 25: 4 (1984), p. 501.] It also serves as a reminder that gendercide may be implemented by those of the same gender.) In India, according to John-Thor Dahlburg, "many births take place in isolated villages, with only female friends and the midwife present. If a child dies, the women can always blame natural causes." (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.") In the United States, "every year hundreds of women commit neonaticide [the killing of newborns] ... Prosecutors sometimes don't prosecute; juries rarely convict; those found guilty almost never go to jail. Barbara Kirwin, a forensic psychologist, reports that in nearly 300 cases of women charged with neonaticide in the United States and Britain, no woman spent more than a night in jail." Much of "the leniency shown to neonaticidal mothers" reflects the fact that they are standardly "young, poor, unmarried and socially isolated," although it is notable that similar leniency is rarely extended to young, poor, and socially isolated male murderers. (Steven Pinker, "Why They Kill Their Newborns", The New York Times, November 2, 1997.)

A number of strategies have been proposed and implemented to try to address the problem of female infanticide, along with the related phenomena of sex-selective abortion and abandonment and neglect of girl children. Zeng et al.'s prescriptions for Chinese policymakers can easily be generalized to other countries where female infanticide is rife.

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Shar’ia (Islamic) analysis of the financial crisis

Shar’ia (Islamic) analysis of the financial crisis

From: http://www.islamqa.com/en/

What comments does the eminent Shaykh Muhammad al-Munajjid have to make about the financial crisis?

Praise be to Allaah.

It is obvious to everyone that the financial crisis is shaking the entire world, East and West. It is a serious event that is giving the politicians, decision makers, prominent thinkers and economists sleepless nights. It is a huge calamity that is very complex and has many implications, which explains the great turmoil being experienced by economists and politicians, and it also explains why so much is being written about it, analyzing it from different points of view. They are in a state of great confusion, and some of them have started to blame one another for what has happened.

This crisis requires some explanation in order to highlight some important (Islamic) shar’ia aspects that have to do with it.

1. The crisis is real : It has led to the collapse of major banks and financial institutions; international stock markets have declined, trillions of dollars have evaporated, billions have disappeared from the financial markets, many countries in the world have hit rock bottom, millions have lost their wealth, be it in the form of shares, savings or investments; the investments of the American people in the stock markets have lost $4 trillion. This crisis has become like a tsunami, striking the economies of many countries (of America, Canada, England, Iceland, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Russia, Romania, Spain, Kenya, Korea, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Philippines & many other modern countries).

2. “The roof fell down upon them” : Economy and money (consumption, gross-fashion, wastefulness, selfishness) are the main foundation of Western society, and when they were content with that and forsook the laws of Allaah, “Allaah struck at the foundation of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them, from above them, and the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive” [al-Nahl 16:26].

What we are seeing today of large scale destruction is about to utterly destroy them. The economic structure that they boast about and think will protect them has become the cause of their turmoil and decline. The calamity has come to them from above and from below. They thought that their financial system was perfect but from that system has come that which they never expected. “And the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive”.

3. “Say (to them), ‘It is from yourselves (because of your evil deeds)’” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:165] : Just as calamities and disasters have known, tangible causes, they also have spiritual causes. The fact that there are tangible causes does not contradict the fact that there are spiritual causes too. Oppression, transgression, sin, disobedience to Allaah and denying the rights of others are all causes of calamities befalling people at both individual and group levels, and even at the global level on occasion, as we are seeing in this crisis which involves calamities one after another.

“Evil (sins and disobedience to Allaah) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds)” [al-Room 30:41]

“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He (Allaah) pardons much” [al-Shoora 42:30]

In the saheeh hadeeth it says: “When zina (fornication, adultery) and riba (Usury/Interest) (usury, interest) appear in a town, then they have brought the punishment of Allaah upon themselves.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’ (679).

What has befallen the people is not a problem from heaven; rather it is a calamity that has befallen them because of their sin and what their own hands have wrought.

4. Allaah gives respite but does not forget : He gave them respite whilst they were dealing in riba (Usury/Interest) and consuming it doubled and multiplied (cf. Aal ‘Imraan 3:130) and waging war against Him for so many years, until He punished them with shortness of crops and destruction, as He did with Pharaoh and his people before: “And indeed We punished the people of Fir‘awn (Pharaoh) with years of drought and shortness of fruits (crops), that they might remember (take heed)” [al-A’raaf 7:130].

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah gives respite to the wrongdoer until, when He seizes him, He will not let him off.” Then he recited (interpretation of the meaning): “Such is the Seizure of your Lord when He seizes the (population of) towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful (and) severe” [Hood 11:102]. Agreed upon.

No one should think that Allaah in His exaltedness, might and power is leaving these people to wrong others and rebel (disobey Allaah) in the earth wrongfully (cf. Yoonus 10:23), disbelieving in Him and committing every major sin, then He will not send down His wrath and punishment.

5. The destiny of falsehood is to weaken and diminish : No matter how high it rises, there will come a day when it will inevitably be brought low. This is one of the laws of Allaah that never changes. “It is Allaah’s promise that nothing rises in this world but He will bring it down.” Al-Bukhaari, 2872.

The Westerners occupied the pinnacle of the global economy, and they said: “Who is stronger than us?” so Allaah brought them down from their financial fortresses and citadels, (which they built over the tear & blood of millions & millions of people) and instilled fear in their hearts and exposed the falseness of their claims.

6. Breaking of the stick of the Western world: The woodworm of riba (Usury/Interest) and haraam (forbidden) financial conduct has eaten away the stick on which the Western world was leaning and giving the world the impression that it was strong and standing upright, when in fact it was leaning on a stick that was rotten from the inside so when it fell it became clear to the jinn and mankind, east and west, that the structure was hollow and the foundations were rotten and cannot be saved or restored. The German Minister of Finance, Peer Steinbrueck, (and many others like them) stated: “The world will never go back to the way it was before the crisis.”

7. Allaah declares war on riba (Usury/Interest): “O you who believe! Fear Allaah and give up what remains (due to you) from Riba (Usury/Interest)a (from now onward) if you are (really) believers. 279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allaah and His Messenger …” [al-Baqarah 2:278-279]

This war is being manifested today in many ways: on hearts and minds, on abundance and prosperity, on wealth and power, happiness and peace of mind. It is a war of worries and fear, destroying and crushing as a result of this abhorrent riba (Usury/Interest)-based system, that is still being waged until today, consuming everything in its path.

Today they are affected by depression, anxiety, frustration and nervous breakdowns as a result of the financial crisis, to such an extent that the American psychologist Nancy Molitor said: “I have never in twenty years of practicing this profession seen a day like this. The levels of anxiety break all records.”

It has reached a level where murders and suicides are taking place as a result of the pressure of this crisis.

8. “Allaah will destroy Riba (Usury/Interest)” [al-Baqarah 2:276] : Destruction is both tangible and intangible. It takes away the blessing of wealth so that a person does not benefit from it, or it takes away the wealth altogether, as we have heard about the evaporation of $2 trillion in five days from the American pension funds. The crisis has led to the disappearance of sixteen banks, including the IndyMac bank which was controlling assets worth $32 billion and deposits worth $19 billion. In fact bankruptcy proceedings have been brought against seven major banks in Europe. (And many other banks & financial institutions are on this line too).

Some analysts expect more than 110 banks could be closed down, with assets reaching around $850 billion, by the middle of next year (2009-2010).

9. The one who deals in riba (Usury/Interest) will be punished in such a way that defeats his purpose : “And that which you give in gift (to others), in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting to get a better one in return) from other people’s property, has no increase with Allaah” [al-Room 30:39]

In the saheeh hadeeth it says: “There is no one who deals in riba (Usury/Interest) a great deal (to increase his wealth) but he will end up with little (i.e., his wealth will be decreased).” Narrated by Ibn Maajah and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

This has been proven to people in many ways, such as the ten richest people in Britain losing $40 billion; one of the major dealers in riba (Usury/Interest) lost his wealth over a period of four months at a rate of $7 million per hour; in Russia the losses incurred by businessmen have reached almost $230 billion, which represented 62% of the total wealth of the rich Russians! How deep is the regret of such people!

10. When riba (Usury/Interest) and gambling come together, it is a sign of doom and destruction : One of the results of this combination is that major American banks declared bankruptcy, such as Leman Brothers, Integrity, Washington Mutual; and the largest insurance company, AIG, which paid $11 billion in compensation, collapsed and incurred the greatest losses in its 90 year history.

Between 2 and 3 million Americans are faced with the risk of losing their home because they are unable to pay monthly installments.

Despite these reports, some of those in whose hearts is a disease are asking us to insure our deposits against bankruptcy!

11. The result of greed: Greed, avarice, deceit and cheating in contracts, as well as misleading people and taking advantage of their need are all factors which have a clear effect on the crisis. Some of these banks went to extremes in lending more than 60 times their actual capital, out of greed and desire for more profit. Some of their newspapers have commented on this crisis by saying: Put the blame on greed.

12. Dangers of dealing with illusionary assets: The crisis has shown a great difference between the tangible sector involving goods, services and real products, and the modern financial derivatives such as electronic money, financial bonds, credit cards which are like illusionary money, and electronic funds which do not exist anywhere except in computer memories, and which gained their value from the banks' guarantee of them. Once trust in the banks and financial institutions is lost, their value disappears.

What will they do after the astronomical figures of billions and trillions which were dancing across the screens of the stock exchanges evaporate?

13. The free economy and failure : This crisis is the greatest evidence of the failure of the theory of the free economy and leaving the door wide open so that the individual can do what he wants, without any limit or guidelines on his economic transactions, so that wealth may grow. This led to an increase of capital for one group in society, so the balance was tipped and the class system emerged, with consequences which are contrary to the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “in order that it may not become a fortune used by the rich among you” [al-Hashr 59:7].

Despite the so-called freedom, we find that their solution to the problem is interference of the state, with its authority, to nationalize the banks and financial institutions and pump money into buying assets, changing the system and limiting the freedom of owners in order to protect economic institutions from collapse. (Double standards & Deceitful systems)

14. Decline of capitalist principles: This crisis has exposed the failure of the capitalist system and its inability to achieve financial security, balance and social and economic justice between the various groups of society. How often the West boasted of its financial system and claimed that it was the most perfect ever achieved by mankind, to such an extent that Fukuyama said: “American society is the pinnacle of human perfection and human maturity, after which there is nothing.” Today Western leaders admit the failure of their financial system, and even describe it as worn out and worthless.

The French President Sarkozy even said: We need to rebuild the global financial and currency system from the roots upwards.

They called a summit in which the leaders of major nations met in order to set out a new global financial system before the end of the year.

(They were following a wrong ideology, they are following a wrong ideology & it seems that they want to follow a wrong ideology in the future)

15. Where are those who were deceived by this global economic system? : Those who thought that they had betaken themselves to a powerful support (cf. Hood 11:80)? They said: The global financial system is well built and cannot have any faults... then it became clear that they were following a mirage in which there is nothing real, and that they had been deceived by false appearances that did not deserve all this praise and commendation.

There was great wisdom in the delay in its fall, which served as a trial and respite for the wrongdoers and those who were deceived by them, as well as exposing the hypocrites and those who were tempted by the systems of the non-Muslims.

16. Then were they confounded with shame (cf. al-Anbiya’ 21:65): After going through the initial impact of the financial collapse, some hypocrites and capitalists emerged to defend their worn out financial system, claiming that the problem was not in the system, rather it was in poor application of it and the lack of some restrictions, and that there was no need to change it; rather it only needed some adjustments. This is stubbornness on the part of those who are not learning anything from events.

“And never came an Ayah from among the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord to them, but they did turn away from it” [Ya-Seen 36:46]

“Say: “Behold all that is in the heavens and the earth,” but neither Ayât nor warners benefit those who believe not” [Yoonus 10:101]

17. Dangers and harm of separating the economics from Islam : For a long time the hypocrites said that it was essential to separate between economy and religion, but implicitly they were saying what the people of Shu’ayb said: “ ‘O Shu‘aib! Does your Salaat (prayer) command that we give up what our fathers used to worship, or that we give up doing what we like with our property? Verily, you are the forbearer, right‑minded!’ (They said this sarcastically)” [Hood 11:87].

What does religion have to do with people's personal conduct and how they deal with their wealth, their political, social and economic life, their method of production and ways of distribution? The crisis has shown us that the economy, if it is removed from shar’ia rulings and principles, will wander in the darkness and lead to disasters and problems.

18. Shar’ia (Islamic) financial principles are a safety valve for the economy : Because the people overlooked these (Islamic) shar’ia principles in their financial dealings and transgressed the sacred limits of Allaah through lending and borrowing on the basis of riba (Usury/Interest), selling debts, illusionary transactions, selling before taking possession, selling things that they did not possess, deceitful and ambiguous transactions and dealing with gambling and insurance, that led to calamity and the collapse of their companies and banks. The size of the ill-fated financial derivatives which are the cause of doom in the world is more than $600 trillion.

19. A sound foundation leads to a sound structure: “Is it then he who laid the foundation of his building on piety to Allaah and His Good Pleasure better, or he who laid the foundation of his building on the brink of an undetermined precipice ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the fire of Hell. And Allaah guides not the people who are the Zalimoon [wrongdoers]” [al-Tawbah 9:109]

There can be no economy without the light of revelation, not as the hypocrites claim that “there can be no economy without banks and no banks without riba (Usury/Interest).”

20. A golden opportunity for (Islamic) da’wah : What has happened is to be regarded as a great opportunity for the followers of the Islamic economic system to explain that it is the only successful system that can achieve what the world needs.

Westerners (some) themselves have begun to realize this fact. The biggest economic newspaper in Europe has called for application of Islamic law in the economic field so as to escape from the clutches of the capitalist system which is behind the economic calamity that is overwhelming the world.

One of them even wrote, wondering: “Is Wall Street ready to embrace the principles of Islamic sharia?”

Sawati Taneja, a financial expert in Europe, said: “The financial crisis in America is giving a golden opportunity to Islamic economics which is opposed to usurious transactions.”

21. Readiness of political and financial systems to accept the Islamic system: After the system was opposed to it before, a book has recently been published by the Italian researcher Loretta Napoleoni, under the title Rogue Economics, in which she points out the importance of Islamic financing and says: “The Islamic banks can become a suitable alternative to Western banks.”

Some Arab banks have started to think seriously about stopping many financial dealings that have an alien Western character, such as selling debts and selling options. Unfortunately they only thought of that after the West decided to do so, following them step by step.

22. Investing in this crisis to convey the truth to people: One of the duties of Islamic financial experts is to seek out the principles of the Islamic financial system in the Qur’aan and Sunnah and present them to mankind in a complete, independent financial system, not following other systems or adopting a patchwork approach.

The Islamic system is not free of riba (Usury/Interest) only, and it is not limited to some rules in exclusion to others. It is not the system that offers Western products with an Islamic veneer; rather it is a complete and independent system that achieves the aims of sharia and justice in all financial transactions.

23. Manifestation of Allaah's wisdom in legislation : It has become clear to anyone who has a mind and deep understanding that Allaah does not prescribe anything except that which is in the people's best interests, and He does not forbid anything except that which is harmful to them in this world and in the Hereafter. This financial crisis has shown clearly the harm caused by riba (Usury/Interest) and financial transgressions. Glory be to the One Who forbade it and emphasized that prohibition.

It is no surprise that the editor-in-chief of Challenges magazine said: “If the people in charge of our banks had tried to respect the teachings and rulings that are mentioned in the Qur’aan, these disasters and crises would not have befallen us

24. Healing and recovery cannot be by means of that which Allaah has forbidden: The source of the money that was allocated to save the banks and rescue the financial system, as they say, was borrowing on the basis of riba (Usury/Interest) or unjustly increasing taxes, or printing more currency without anything to support it, which will lead to inflation. The French newspaper Le Parisien stated that the French government would give €10.5 billion to 6 banks with interest at a rate of 8%. This is also a loan on the basis of riba (Usury/Interest) from other banks and nations. What they are implicitly saying is: Treat me with that which was the cause of my illness.

25. Material strength belonging to anyone other than the believers, deceives them and makes them arrogant: And it leads them to be arrogant in the land and enslave others, and it makes them forget the might of Allaah, and make them disbelieve in Him and deny His signs. This is the serious problem that befell the people of ‘Aad: “They were arrogant in the land without right, and they said: ‘Who is mightier than us in strength?’” [Fussilat 41:15]

How many tyrannical nations and peoples in the past and at present behave in the same manner; Allaah will destroy them as He destroyed the people of ‘Aad.

The kuffaar today have no protection against the wrath of Allaah: “Are your disbelievers (O Quraysh!) better than these [nations of Nooh (Noah), Loot (Lot), Saalih, and the people of Fir‘awn (Pharaoh), who were destroyed)]? Or have you an immunity (against Our Torment) in the Divine Scriptures?” [al-Qamar 54:43].

26. The consequences of injustice, transgression and arrogance are bad: Those who act unjustly, transgress and are arrogant in the land unlawfully are not safe from a bad end and will not prosper. “Verily, the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) shall never be successful” [al-An’aam 6:21] “And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned” [al-Shu’ara’ 26:227]

The strongest nation in the world today is in need of help and wants to borrow by any means, after spending in its unjust war on Iraq more than $700 billion (& $350 billion for facilitating crime & murder in Afghanistan) , as some of its politicians admit. Some of their researchers have estimated that the cost of their military adventures throughout the world has reached $3 trillion.

27. The way in which Allaah deals with unjust nations is one and the same: “How many a town (community) given to wrongdoing, have We destroyed, and raised up after them another people!” [al-Anbiya’ 21:11] “And these towns (population, ‘Aad, Thamood) We destroyed them when they did wrong. And We appointed a fixed time for their destruction” [al-Kahf 18:59] “And a disaster will not cease to strike those who disbelieved because of their (evil) deeds or it (i.e. the disaster) settles close to their homes, until the Promise of Allaah comes to pass. Certainly, Allaah breaks not His Promise” [al-Ra’d 13:31]

The word qaari’ah (translated above as ‘a disaster’) appears in the indefinite and is general in meaning, so it may refer to any type of disaster, such as thunderbolts and storms, or it may instill panic and fear in people's hearts, such as financial collapses and crises. It is silent fear on the screens!

The British professor of political and economic science, John Grey, wrote an article in The Observer entitled The Tipping Point in America's Fall from Power, in which he said: “The era of American domination has ended.” Similar claims have also been made by Russian politicians and others (all around the world).

28. The bad consequences of sin affect everyone: This is apparent in the harm that has befallen all global economies and is confirmed by the words of the Secretary General of the United Nations: “The financial crisis threatens the livelihoods of billions worldwide.”

In a letter sent by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to 34,000 food safety offices throughout the world, it says: “The collapse of money markets in the world is going to lead to real famine that will affect 36 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America by the beginning of 2009.

The losses in global stock markets have reached nearly $3 trillion, and $155 billion evaporated from the Gulf stock markets in one week.

The president of the International Labour Organization warned that around 20 million people would lose their jobs by the end of next year as the result of the crisis.

Allaah spoke the truth when He said (interpretation of the meaning): “And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allaah is Severe in punishment” [al-Anfaal 8:25]

It is by the wisdom of Allaah that those who were at the centre of the financial earthquake have become hated in the sight of people throughout the world, as they regard them as responsible for this disaster.

29. Allaah has great wisdom in His will and decree: His decree is based on His wisdom and justice; this is the decree of the Almighty, All Knowing. Nothing happens in this universe contrary to His wisdom, for He is Most Wise, All Aware.

By His wisdom, He has made calamities and disasters a means of admonition, reminding and turning people back to Him. “And verily, We will make them taste of the near torment (i.e. the torment in the life of this world, i.e. disasters, calamities) prior to the supreme torment (in the Hereafter), in order that they may (repent and) return (i.e. accept Islam)” [al-Sajdah 32:21] “That He (Allaah) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allaah, and begging His Pardon)” [al-Room 30:41]

There are some people who will turn back to Allaah because of this crisis, but there are many on whom the punishment is justified (cf. al-Hajj 22:18); they will never repent or turn to Allaah. “When Our Torment reached them, why then did they not humble themselves (believe with humility)? But their hearts became hardened, and Shaytaan (Satan) made fair‑seeming to them that which they used to do” [al-An’aam 6:43].

30. True Sovereignty belongs to Allaah: He entrusted people with this wealth; what He wills He will leave, what He wills He will take; He makes rich whom He wills and He makes poor whom He wills; He gives what He wills and He withholds what He wills. This crisis is a lesson for those who were misled and deceived, who said what Qaroon said (interpretation of the meaning): “‘This has been given to me only because of the knowledge I possess’” [al-Qasas 28:78]. They forgot that Allaah is able to seize them and take away their wealth suddenly.

31. Man is impatient and irritable: This crisis has exposed the extent of impatience and irritability that affects people as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient; 20. Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him; 21. And niggardly when good touches him. 22. Except those who are devoted to Salaah (prayers)” [al-Ma’aarij 70:19-20].

If something bad happens, he panics and despairs: “And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us, and then withdraw it from him, verily, He is despairing, ungrateful” [Hood 11:9].

This crisis has resulted in cases of suicide, murder, heart attacks, strokes, chronic diseases, nervous breakdowns; mental crises… some studies have concluded that 57% of workers in stock exchanges are affected by psychosomatic illnesses. In a statement issued by the World Health Organization it says: “The financial crisis will increase levels of mental illness worldwide.”

As for the believer, his case is completely different. “How wonderful is the situation of the believer, for all his affairs are good. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks for it and that is good for him; if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him. This does not apply to anyone but the believer.” Narrated by Muslim (2999).

32. Man is very attached to money: This crisis is a clear example of the fact that Allaah has mentioned in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “And you love wealth with much love” [al-Fajr 89:20].

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world’s life; but Allaah has the excellent return (Paradise with flowing rivers) with Him” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:14].

The effect of that was that some of those who lost their wealth committed suicide, because wealth was everything in their lives, so when they lost it, they no longer had any motive to carry on living, so they committed suicide after becoming slaves to the dinar/dirham and dollar. This is the result of the heart becoming attached to something other than Allaah.

33. Weakness of trust in Allaah with regard to one's livelihood: This crisis has exposed the extent of anxiety about the future, as the result of fear of not being able to provide basic needs and get rid of debt and its consequences. If people believed in the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning), “And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allaah” [Hood 11:6] and “Verily, Allaah is the All‑Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:58], He would provide them with good and easily available provision as He provides for the birds.

34. In the loss of the tyrants' wealth there is a lesson that reminds us of the attitude of the two groups towards the tyrant Qaroon: When he appeared before the people in his pomp and finery, “Those who were desirous of the life of the world, said: ‘Ah, would that we had the like of what Qaroon (Korah) has been given! Verily, he is the owner of a great fortune’”[al-Qasas 28:79].

This is what the deceived say in every era. As for the people of knowledge and faith, they say: “Woe to you! The reward of Allaah (in the Hereafter) is better for those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and this none shall attain except those who are As‑Saabiroon (the patient in following the truth)” [al-Qasas 28:80].

When Allaah caused the earth to swallow him up, the outcome was: “And those who had desired (for a position like) his position the day before, began to say: ‘Know you not that it is Allaah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His slaves. Had it not been that Allaah was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up (also)! Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful’” [al-Qasas 28:82].

35. This world does not stay the same and it will vanish. “Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish” [al-Rahman 55:26]. : This world is a diminishing shadow; its pleasures will fade and its adornment is not real.

“The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing)” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:185] “The Hereafter is better and more lasting” [al-A’laa 87:17] “The Hereafter that is the home that will remain forever” [Ghaafir 40:39]

i.e., the Hereafter is the place of settlement, peace and tranquillity.

This world is green and sweet, and it deceives people. When the disbelievers thought that their wealth would last forever, after they had become successful in trade and industry, and had advanced in technology and invention, the Command of Allaah reached them and caught them unawares, as He says (interpretation of the meaning).

“Until when the earth is clad in its adornments and is beautified, and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it, Our Command reaches it by night or by day and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday! Thus do We explain the Ayaat [signs] in detail for the people who reflect” [Yoonus 10:24]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. (It is) as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers evildoers), and (there is) forgiveness from Allaah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers good‑doers). And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment” [al-Hadeed 57:20].

36. Shortcomings of mankind in analyzing and predicting crises: Some studies of future trends in the West suggested that it would continue to flourish and that the markets would continue to improve. Indeed one of the centers for the study of future trends predicted that 2009 would be a year of economic prosperity.

The American Morgan Stanley Bank expected the price of a barrel of oil to reach $150, and they said: “The era of cheap oil has come to an end.” Others expected the price to reach $200 a barrel.

With the advance of mathematical science and probability theories, and the invention of computers which analyze and work out very complex equations, some Westerners thought that that was enough to judge the future and know about it precisely, so they relied a great deal on the results of their research. So this crisis was a great disappointment and contrary to their expectations and studies, a shock which prompted them to admit their shortcomings and incapability, and admit that they were going to have to recalculate and adjust their predictions. Allaah spoke the truth when He said (interpretation of the meaning): “And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little” [al-Isra’ 17:85]

“They know only the outside appearance of the life of the world (i.e. the matters of their livelihood, like irrigating or sowing or reaping), and they are heedless of the Hereafter” [al-Room 30:7]

Some of their wise men had warned of this collapse and its causes, but they paid no heed until it was too late, after it was no longer possible to avoid it.

Finally, we ask Allaah, may He be exalted, to support His religion and make His word supreme, to cause Islam and the Muslims to prevail and humiliate the hypocrites and disbelievers, to compensate with good those Muslims who have been affected and increase their reward. May He help us all to do that which He loves and is pleased with. “And Allaah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not” [Yoosuf 12:21].

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