Islam and the Over Reliance on the West : Time to Look East too

By this token, this has significantly reduced its capacity to speak up. Tun Dr Mahathir may have a point. Even then up to a point.

The religion of Islam is not merely about peace. It is also about having the capacity to speak truths to power; indeed all powers that be. In other words, be brave and courageous. Not just in blowing oneself up as a suicide bomber in sheer frustration but how to empower oneself intelligently; such as through sound acquisition of knowledge.

Over the last century alone, the Islamic world has diffused into more than 50 predominantly Muslim countries, all of which are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) now.

Although member states of OIC formed 1/4 of the world's international community, effectively 25 per cent of all the member states in the United Nations, the share of OIC to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is less than 5 per cent; roughly what China was in 1979 prior to it's economic reforms, which has now increased the share of it's global GDP to nearly 30 per cent.

China has advanced, as a single collectivity, whereas the entire membership of OIC is still languishing at a paltry number of less than 5 per cent of the global GDP.

If one removes oil and gas as a portion of the contribution, the actual share of global GDP could well be as low as 2 per cent.

Something is very wrong with the member states of OIC. It is not learning anything revolutionary or dynamic for a start. The Center of Islamic Studies in University of Oxford, ironically, enjoy more prestige than the Center of Islamic Knowledge in Istanbul or Kuala Lumpur for that matter.

Indeed, although OIC was formed on September 25 1969, even that after a crazed Australian Jew dashed into the Masjid Al Aqsa in Baitul Muqaddis (Jerusalem), to gun down some worshippers, the unity and purposive-ness of the Islamic world, as represented by OIC, has been low. It is not learning but leaning almost entirely on the West. And it is also not learning anything from the major powers in the East, such as Japan.

More importantly, the Islamic world which is divided into a motley group of nation states, do not know if they should be embracing democracy at all ? Without democracy and basic concepts of open society, how does it learn and earn its place in the world at all ? Therefore Tun Dr Mahathir is right. But only right up to a point.

By failing to solve and answer such a simple question (on democracy), the Islamic world has become confused, and often confounded. There are serious implications.

When Uyghur Muslims in China were detained to the tune of more than 1.2 million, a feat not seen since World War II, when the Nazi led regime of Adolf Hitler did the same and more between 1939-1945, the docility and silence of the Islamic world is shocking, safe for Turkey and to a little extent, Malaysia.

It is almost as if the Islamic world does not know that what China is doing can potentially lead to mass concentration and death camps.

Yet the late Louis Althusser, a French post Marxist scholar, has himself pointed out such "structural" and "symbolic violence" cannot be under estimated. They can and do lead to mayhem and murder by the state (s).

If not careful, such detentions can go haywire, leading to the punishment and massacre of thousands and thousands of innocent Uyghur Muslims —- be that as it may that the intention of Beijing is to "re-educate" them.

Islam, in other words, would be moulded to suit Communist "characteristics", the “communification of Islam”. Yet just as the Muslim world is weak viz a viz China, a new and emerging super power, the Islamic world is equally weak against the West by not learning from the East too. Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have advanced themselves scientifically. South Korea was behind Malaysia in early 1980s. Now they are way beyond Malaysia. Why ?

Why aren't the Islamic world learning from them ? In fact, one can even learn from China, if it does not go too far to detain the Uyghur on the flimsiest of reasons that they are Muslims.

Either way, the Muslim world is weak in the East and West, not just the West alone. And it is weak to the degree Islam, a religion of knowledge, where one has to reason about the existence of God and His grand design of the world, has been spent sprawling.

The Islamic world or the member states of OIC have collapsed, both internally and externally. The OIC in many ways are a complete defunct entity with only “lamb and baklawa” meetings.

Tun Dr Mahathir has merely opened a can of worm with this topic in Pakistan. Should a new Muslim alliance be established instead ? Be that as may Dr. Mahathir has to guide Malaysia, Pakistan and OIC to learn from Japan and other top Asian powers too.

Indeed, had Malaysian voters not sent the kleptocracy of the former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak packing on May 9 2018, Malaysia too would be the worst kleptocracy and kakistocracy of its own.

As it is, the Muslim is weak not merely weak against the West but against the East too. To redress the latter, the Islamic world must emulate the best practices of Japan and other top Asian countries.

A policy of learning from Japan alone would significantly alter the trajectory of the Islamic world, making it more ethical, honest and honorable, all of which are the basic edifice of a healthy society and democracy.

As things stand Japan is an open society that has embrace science and democracy. Japan is not perfect. But it has made considerable progress

It is a country that is generous on sharing its know how and resources. Yet with the exception of Malaysia, almost no Muslim country has tried to catch up with pre modern, modern, or current Japan through a Look East program.

Malaysia has a Look East policy which can cultivate it's citizens to be intellectually stronger, healthier and less abrasive.

But there is no way the Islamic world can rise up, or speak up, if it does not take the first step to learn from Japan and other top Asian countries, and concurrently to speak up against the monstrous atrocities against the Uyghur and Chinese Muslims in China.