Poverty in Islamic Nations

Part 1 The War from the East

• Session 1.1 Is This War?• Session 1.2 Islam – One of the Great

Monotheistic Religions• Session 1.3 The Fight for the Soul of Islam• Session 1.4 Dar al-Islam – The House of War• Session 1.5 The Global Caliphate• Session 1.6 Islam – Religion of Peace?• Session 1.7 The History of the Conflict• Session 1.8 Poverty in Islamic Nations

Outline

• Overview• Religious Freedom• Economic Freedom• Political Freedom• Freedom of Enquiry • Corruption• Technological Deficit• The Root of the Problem

The Poverty

Overview

The Decline of Islam

• Islam has declined from its “Golden Age of Andalusia”- into poverty

• She has fallen behind the West and East Asia

• The reason is a change in “mindset”– Figuratively from Mecca to Medina– From persuasion to sword– From “revelation + reason” to “revelation only”

Religious Freedom

Three Classic Positions

• Freedom of Religion – Judeo-Christian Theism

• Freedom from Religion – Secularism

• Tyranny of Religion – Jihadism

The corollary, namely, that religious liberty begets economic freedom is now provable.

Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, PhD Founder & Chairman

Spiritual Enterprise Institute

The countries with the least religious liberty also suffer the worst economic freedoms and are lacking in political rights.

Lack of Religious Liberty

Figure 1.1: Religious Freedom by Area

Religious Freedom Rating

North Africa and West Asia Western Europe and North Atlantic

1 Ireland, United States

2 Austria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Norway,Portugal, Spain, Sweden

3 Israel Belgium, France, Germany, Greece

4 Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman

5 Algeria, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, Tunisia,Turkey, Yemen

6 Afghanistan, Bahrain,Egypt, Pakistan, Palestinian Areas

7 Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia

Center for Religious Freedom - Survey Files (2007)The Range of Religious Freedom by Paul Marshall

Figure 1.2: Religious Freedom by Religious Background

Religious Freedom Rating

Catholic Judeo-Christian Orthodox Islam

1 (Most free) HungaryIreland

EstoniaUnited States

2 Austria, Brazil, Chile,Ecuador, Guatemala,Italy, Lithuania,Portugal, Spain

Botswana, Denmark,Norway, South Africa,Sweden

Ukraine MaliSenegal

3 Argentina, Belgium,France, Nicaragua,Peru, Philippines,Venezuela

Kenya BulgariaGreeceRomania

4 MexicoSlovakia

Tanzania Armenia, Georgia,Macedonia, Moldova,Russia, Serbia

Jordan, Kosovo,Kyrgyzstan,Malaysia, Morocco,Oman

5 Columbia Zimbabwe Algeria, Azerbaijan,Bahrain, Comoros,Egypt, Indonesia,Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya,Syria, Tajikistan,Tunisia, Turkey,Yemen

6 Cuba Belarus Afghanistan,Bangladesh,Mauritania, Pakistan,Palestinian Areas

7 (least free) Iran, Iraq, MaldivesSaudi Arabia,Sudan, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan

Center for Religious Freedom - Survey Files (2007)The Range of Religious Freedom by Paul Marshall

Religious Freedom and Civil Liberties

Economic Freedom

Economic Freedom

GNP “The combined gross national

product of twenty-two Arab states … was less than that of Spain.”

Fouad AjamiThe Foreigner’s Gift

Political Freedom

Freedom and World Population

From Freedom House’s 2008 Global Survey of Political Rights and Civil Libertieshttp://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fiw08launch/FIW08Tables.pdf

Freedom

Political Freedom

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of the Press

Corruption

Corruption Index

Technological Deficit

The Root of the Problem

Culture

The Mind, Not the Ground

• Arabs see their resources coming from the ground.

• They demonstrated during the “Golden Age of Andalusia” that the mind of the Muslim people was the key to development.