Problems of Islamic World: Analysis and Suggestions

Today, the Islamic world is confronted with many . Some of these problems have accumulated
over past decades and others are collateral consequences of the transformations experienced by
the world at the current juncture. Others yet grew out of specific factors inherent to the
approaches adopted in tackling these critical issues. The gravity of these problems has worsened
to such extent as to constitute a serious source of alarm, in the absence of a suitable resolution
applied with strength of mind, clear vision and a realistic approach that takes cognizance of all
elements and can delve to the core of matters while steering clear of the phantasms and delusions
that result from lack of civilizational vision and a flawed understanding of the nature of all these
problems. Before all the problems endured by the Islamic world at many a level, and particularly
the wars, conflicts, sectarian strife, division, extremism and terrorism shaking many parts of this
world today, the wise and farsighted observer will recognize that the problems besieging Muslim
countries from ocean to ocean in these critical times are too great to be met with limited
endeavors, within a narrow framework and with means that are too poor to apprehend the
dimensions of the global development battle the Islamic world has to fight and win, and to move
from there to the battle of rebuilding the civilizational edifice, a mission involving political,
economic, scientific and technological, as well as cultural and intellectual edification. This is not
a pessimistic look at the current reality of the Islamic world, nor is it a short-sighted vision that
falls short of anticipating the future.
Following are the problems with which the Islamic world is going through;
1. Educational Boundaries
2. Security and Counterterrorism
3. Western Dominance
4. Integration and Identity
5. Living in the Western Countries
6. Media and Politics
7. Poverty
8. Blasphemy Issues

Educational Boundaries:
Illiteracy among Muslims is still the most dangerous scourge and challenge that impede any
optimum investment of human resources in the implementation of the national development
plans in their countries. Due to many complex factors related to the political, cultural, economic,
social and demographic conditions, the efforts led so far in several Muslim countries to combat
and eradicate this scourge still prove inadequate. Worse even, this scourge has taken on alarming
proportions in countries with a long-standing record of political and social instability. The truth
of the matter is that illiteracy is besides being an economic scourge on the individual, his family
and country, it is also a danger on the stability of people and social and political institutions,
given that such citizens can be easy prey for extremists that use them to achieve their vile and
dangerous objectives. We must consider the educational curriculums adopted in Islamic
countries, knowing that education is the first step toward refining the talent and minds of
scientists, inventors and innovators. Yet, our curriculums and our teachers, being the products of
cultural norms in most Muslim countries, remain wedded to the past and unable to produce
persons of creative minds and innovative ways of thinking. Why is this so? Because these
curriculums and the attitudes of teachers fail to value or embrace the disciplines that are vital for
today, such as subjects like mathematics, chemistry, physics, philosophy and logic, which have
been disregarded and replaced, with all due respect, by mostly religious subjects and teachers
who seek to impose religious dogma upon their students.
While there is nothing wrong with religious classes at educational institutions devoted
exclusively to religious instruction and training, such classes may impair scientific study if they
are taught intensively in non-religious educational institutions. It has been proven throughout
history (and beyond any doubt) that no nation can progress if it uses an educational system that
focuses on purely religious curriculums that are based on memorization and blind obedience.
Instead, the curriculums that have produced brilliant thinkers throughout history are based on
understanding, comprehension, experimentation and invention. Indeed the Holy Qur’an
repeatedly asks: Do they not reflect? Do they not ponder? Do they not understand? This certainly
encourages thinking and contemplation, rather than blind unquestioning obedience to religious
dogma. But how can we change this paradigm?

Security and Counterterrorism:

It is far too easy to focus on individual acts of terrorism and extremism, and ignore the global
patterns in such violence. The Burke Chair at CSIS has assembled a wide range of indicators that
help quantify and explain these patterns, and that look beyond the crises of the moment to
examine longer term trends. They include a range of tables, graphs, and maps that help put the
global patterns of terrorism in perspective, and that show the relationships between extremist and
terrorist movements, the reject of such movements by the vast majority of Muslims, and the
critical role that Muslim states play as strategic partners in the fight against such movements.
Any analysis of the patterns in terrorism faces major challenges simply because of the lack of
reliable and comparable data, and the tendency to compartmentalize analysis to deal with given
threats, nations, and regions. The problem becomes much greater when the analysis attempts to
deal with issues as controversial as the links between Islam, extremism, and terrorism.

It is far too easy for analysts who are not Muslim to focus on the small part of the extremist
threat that Muslim extremists pose to non-Muslims in the West and/or demonize one of the
world's great religions, and to drift into some form of Islamophobia—blaming a faith for patterns
of violence that are driven by a tiny fraction of the world's Muslims and by many other factors
like population, failed governance, and weak economic development.

It is equally easy to avoid analyzing the links between extremist violence and Islam in order to
be politically correct or to avoid provoking Muslims and the governments of largely Muslim
states. The end result is to ignore the reality that most extremist and terrorist violence does occur
in largely Muslim states, although it overwhelmingly consists of attacks by Muslim extremists on
fellow Muslims, and not some clash between civilizations. If one examines a wide range of
sources, however, a number of key patterns emerge that make five things very clear:
 First, the overwhelming majority of extremist and violent terrorist incidents do occur in largely
Muslim states.
 Second, most of these incidents are perpetrated by a small minority of Muslims seeking power
primarily in their own areas of operation and whose primary victims are fellow Muslims.
 Third, almost all of the governments of the countries involved are actively fighting extremism
and terrorism, and most are allies of Western states that work closely with the security, military,
and counterterrorism forces of non-Muslim states to fight extremism and terrorism.
 Fourth, the vast majority of Muslims oppose violent extremism and terrorism, and,
 Fifth, religion is only one of many factors that lead to instability and violence in largely Muslim
states. It is a critical ideological force in shaping the current patterns of extremism, but it does
not represent the core values of Islam and many other far more material factors help lead to the
rise of extremism.

Western Dominance:
The impact of the globalization process, which has brought unprecedented changes in societies
and accelerated the pace of the scientific and technological development has caught the human
beings unprepared and there is still a number of issues at mega and micro levels which need to be
examined with great care to protect ethical and human values, as well as, the unique
characteristics of societies. However, when we cut through the elitist’s rhetoric of globalization,
we find ourselves twinkling around at the glimmering light of the western world. The culture and
liberal capitalism that is being pushed, under the cover of globalization, in the Muslim countries
is not global; it is but a western culture based on the core values and core achievements of the
western civilization. It’s simply an attempt at imposing of the cultural-forming institutions of the
dominant west on the feeble and frail nations – nations who suffered cultural degeneration during
the long colonial rule and incapable of mounting any formidable resistance against the onslaught
of western social, cultural, and political ideology. In the context of globalization, the
safeguarding of the cultural specificities of Muslim people has become an essential factor to
preserve their identity and a vital element that enriches cultural diversity and the expected
dialogue among cultures and civilizations.3 Throughout their history, original education
institutions have played an important role in protecting the Islamic identity and withstanding any
attempt to obliterate or dissolve it.4 They have, indeed, significantly contributed to raising
human, economic and social development indicators in the Islamic countries by reducing
illiteracy rates and enabling young people access the labor market by providing them with
theoretical and practical training and infusing them with the values advocating action and
income-generation. Now, there is a need to enhance this education in the light of cultural and
economic requirement of the modern world: dialogue, tolerance, peace, gender issues,
employment,

Integration and Identity:

Recognition of human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty,
freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights,
including the right to participate in politics and culture, the right to food, the right to work, and
the right to education, is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provided basic foundation to proclaim that
all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Islam has always
promoted human, civil, economic and social rights; asserting these rights provides firm
foundation for peace and justice and allows all human beings to live with each other with dignity
and freedom.17

Woman is equal to man in pursuits of knowledge and same vital to life. The status of women in
Islam constitutes no problem. Islam grants equal right to woman to contract, to enterprise, to earn
and to posses independently. Efforts will have to be continued to promote gender equality and
balance. Acknowledgement of social rights of women is an urgent necessity and has undeniably
to be followed by projecting women’s role in social development, keeping in view Islamic
principles and values.18

Conferences, seminars and symposia will have to be organized to examine women progress
towards empowerment and gender equality and social, economic, political and cultural obstacles,
to increase their capacity. Projects will have to be implemented to strengthen their role in social
development through cross-cutting themes especially related to poverty alleviation in poor
localities. In order to uplift women especially in rural and urban areas. Formal and non-formal
education and training will be utilized in order to alleviate their role and provide equal
opportunities in the social development of their societies and to achieve self-fulfillment.

Living in the Western Countries:

Muslim minorities play a significant role in western perceptions of Islam and Muslims. The
Muslim minority presence in western societies continues to increase due to the flow of
immigrants, asylum seekers from war-torn areas, and communities displaced by natural disasters,
as well as the increasing number of recent converts to Islam. Questions persist about the role of
culture versus religion in shaping identity, as well as about the assumed tension between western
and Muslim identities. Can Muslims be fully western and still live as Muslims? Some individuals
and groups in the West are uncomfortable with the social expressions of Islam, generating much
debate about whether Muslim communities can be part of western society. Discussions about the
difference between integration and assimilation abound. Muslim communities in the United
States and Europe face similar challenges, despite the fact that the responses from each
government and each society have been different. In the case of the United States, the
government has not imposed policies requiring complete assimilation into society. In contrast,
there have been policy bans on mosque minarets in Switzerland,7 on face veils in France8 and
Belgium,9 and European Muslims have struggled to establish their place in society.10 These
policy bans have emboldened neighboring governments to introduce restrictive policies in their
own countries.11 Are these government policies detrimental to integration efforts, and will they
be perceived as promoting assimilation and the dilution of religious identities? European
countries like France, Germany, and Denmark are case studies that should be further examined.
Another major challenge Muslim communities face in the West pertains to issues of security,
violent extremism, and the radicalization of American and European Muslims. With high levels
of distrust on both sides,18 debates are ongoing about the critical balance between ensuring
 security while preserving civil rights and liberties. For example, a growing concern among
Muslim Americans is that their relationship with the U.S. government is solely focused on
security, and many would instead like to see the relationship move toward normalization on all
issues. These challenges, however, cannot downplay the role that Muslim communities have in
preventing radicalization and violent extremism in their countries.19 The United States and
European governments need the help of local Muslim communities in their efforts against violent
extremism. Irrespective of government policies that might encroach on civil liberties issues and
the fear mongering promoted by some, Muslim communities are best suited to lead the way
toward a solution to this global problem. Understanding the motivations and drivers of violent
extremists and working toward a metanarrative that drowns out the voice of fringe hate-
preachers is an essential first step. As a prerequisite to any effort by law enforcement, society
must ensure that youth—to make them immune to vitriol and less susceptible to recruitment by
terrorist affiliates— know about the human values preached by all faiths.

Media and Politics:

The media is also presenting a negative image of the Islamic world and there are many political
benefits associated with it as well. Muslims are considered to be an enemy of any other religion
or of the whole mankind just because of some media publications and political benefits.

Poverty:
Poverty is a global problem and the phenomenon is alarming in the third world including the
Muslim Countries. Three broad categories of poverty alleviation measures have been analyzed.
According to 
Abul Hasan M. Sadeq (International Islamic University, Malaysia and Chairman
of Social Science Institute, Bangladesh) fighting poverty can take the following path:20

 First, the positive measures which include income growth, functional distribution of income, and
equal opportunities to all.
 Second, the preventive measures which are control of ownership and prevention of malpractices
in economics and business that lead to income concentration.
 Third, corrective measures which include compulsory transfer payments, recommended transfer
payments, and state responsibility.
The positive measures are expected to lead to high level income and its equitable distribution, the
preventive measures are expected to limit concentration of wealth, while the corrective measures
are meant for correcting imbalances in the distribution of income and wealth, and to upgrade
economic conditions of the worse‐off population in the society. If these measures are applied, the
problem of poverty could be solved quite substantially. The paper concludes with some
recommendations with respect to poverty alleviation in the context of Muslim countries.

Alleviation of poverty, a scourge that is widely spread in the Islamic countries, has always
remained a target under various programmes of international organizations. In view of the
significant impact of poverty on sustainable economic development, Islamic States will have to
initiate policies, projects and national plans and support the implementation of appropriate
strategies and solutions to reduce the plight of poverty. Activities of Non-Governmental
Organizations working in the field of social and human sciences were strengthened to tackle
issues of vital concern for populations living in poor localities.
 Initiatives will have also to strengthen the action of the parties engaged in the alleviation of the
suffering of impoverished populations. Training programmes are to be conducted to foster the
capacities of the underprivileged and physically-handicapped people of the society. Creation of
economic opportunities for the unemployed and empowerment of women will also remain a
targeted area of action. Islamic States will have to work jointly with the United Nations agencies
both in the organization of conferences and seminars and in the implementation of in-field
projects to alleviate poverty.21

Muslims will have, also, to undertake efforts and implement actions to deal with social and
human problems and issues which are not resulting from poverty or emanating from an extreme
form of it. Special projects and awareness campaigns will have to be launched to enhance
understanding among religions and cultures. Propaganda against Islam will have to be countered
through provision of knowledge about Islam’s principle of peace and tolerance.

Today, it is axiomatic that the development of education, science, culture and communication
hinges on security and peace, within or between the Member States both at the regional and
international levels. No development will be conceivable under a climate filled with ethnic,
sectarian and religious tensions. The same is true for the lack of justice and mutual respect,
which are key elements for creating international relations that could promote prosperity and
human development.

Also, it is internationally recognized that the alliance of civilizations represents the sole means
that can restore balance to the world and establish peace, respect for diversity and the
acknowledgment of the legitimate cultural rights and cultural specificities of the different
peoples and nations.

Today, there is no doubt that challenges to building intercultural dialogue include: building
intercultural competencies, promoting interfaith dialogue, and reconciling conflicting
memories.22

 Intercultural dialogue requires intercultural competencies – the ability to engage effectively and
appropriately when interacting with those who are linguistically and culturally different.
 Interfaith dialogue is a crucial dimension of international understanding, and thus of conflict
resolution. Misunderstanding and ignorance of religion heighten tensions.
 Divergent memories have been the source of many conflicts throughout history. The different
forms of institutional memory preservation and transmission tend to embody alternative views of
the past, each with its own logic, protocols and perspectives.
And the Muslim world must meet these challenges at once to be able to dispel allegations of
intolerance, extremism and dislike of the other.

Blasphemy Issues:

The question of how blasphemy came to monopolize the political conversation in many Muslim-
majority countries including Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, is clearly a question
about Islam. But, contrary to what liberal intellectuals in these countries often think, the answer
has to do with a lot more than just religion.
About 30 of the some 50 countries that currently outlaw blasphemy, according to a 2014 Pew
Research Center report, are majority Muslim. Beyond the expected theocracies like Saudi
Arabia, this includes states with aspirations to democracy and modernity like Turkey, Malaysia,
Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia, which is officially secular but home to a population that is about
87 percent Muslim.

The use of the charge ranges from the nominal to the horrifying. Since 2016, the Egyptian poet
Fatima Naoot has been serving a three-year prison sentence for criticizing the slaughter of
animals during Eid al-Fitr on Facebook. A Malaysian man was charged with blasphemy
for posing questions to his religion teachers. Even the mere accusation of blasphemy poses the
threat of violence: In 2015, an Afghan woman was beaten and murdered by a mob in Kabul after
arguing with a mullah, and last month, a Pakistani university student was killed by a mob over
allegations, later discredited, of posting blasphemous content on social media.

The Quran itself says little about the charge. “There is one verse that says if you hear God’s
word being mocked, don’t sit with those people — that’s all! Don’t sit with them,” said Mustafa
Akyol, a Turkish intellectual currently at Wellesley College’s Freedom Project.

“There is one verse that says if you hear God’s word being mocked, don’t sit with those
people — that’s all! Don’t sit with them,” said Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish intellectual
currently at Wellesley College’s Freedom Project.
“It doesn’t say go and punish them or even silence them.” But advocates of blasphemy laws
point to verses in the hadith, the reported sayings and habits of the Prophet Mohammed that play
a critical role in Islamic theology and jurisprudence, as theological grounds for punishment.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-country alliance based in Saudi Arabia,
has long campaigned for a global blasphemy law as protection from a broadly defined
“Islamophobia,” sometimes butting heads with the United Nations. “We will protect the sanctity
of [the] Holy Prophet at every cost,” said a Pakistani hard-liner, calling for the execution of a
Catholic woman accused of blasphemy. Such arguments echo the basis for blasphemy trials in
pre-modern Muslim states — just as injunctions in Leviticus and elsewhere did in medieval
Europe. But whereas medieval blasphemy laws were gradually abandoned or allowed to fall into
disuse as Christian states secularized, Islamic countries, especially Gulf states like Saudi Arabia,
have kept them on the books — and in the courts.

“As far back as the 1750s, the Saudi polity really was based on religion and specifically
Wahhabism [the puritanical, literalist strain of Islam founded in 18th-century Arabia],” said
Kamran Bokhari, a senior analyst at Geopolitical Futures. Due to a pact between the Saudi royal
family and the preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in 1744, Wahhabism is effectively the
state religion of Saudi Arabia. “Wahhabism is, truly, all about blasphemy. What is true Islam and
what is not,” Bokhari said. “Really, to them, most Muslims who don’t subscribe to their exacting
views are committing blasphemy in some way or another.”

Modern Islamic countries, meanwhile, have accrued their blasphemy laws not as a medieval
inheritance but through one of two major routes: as leftovers of European colonialism or as
products of the 20th-century “Arabization” of the Muslim world in the model of the Gulf state.