About this blog

In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.

This blog is dedicated:-

1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.

13 Jun 2009

MP Expenses: After the fiddles come the freebies


The seamlessly ongoing Westminister scandal has found numerous MP’s red-faced and red-handed with their paws comfortably settled in the public kitty. There has been public outrage and rightly so as so many ministers have been discovered riding the gravy train at the tax-payer’s expense.
The extent of money claimed, and extravagance of purchases made under the MP’s allowance scheme is truly beyond the pale. £93 million in expense claims are submitted each year by 646 MP’s – that amounts to on average £144,000 per MP per year. This is of course on top of their salary which is a ‘measly’ £63,291 a year.
Rather than utilising the allowance system according to its true purpose - for basic requirements that would facilitate a Member of Parliament in doing his or her job and serving the public, they have been found using the coffers of public money as a self-service ATM to subsidise lavish lifestyles, accumulate property portfolios and amass personal fortunes. One wonders whether the next, “We’re clamping down on benefit cheats” advert will include footage of Westminister and Downing Street.
Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons, attempting to defend the indefensible stated, “In our system, we do not have the level of corruption that obtains in many other countries.” ‘Not from want of trying’ would be a thought running through the mind of many an electorate, alongside the question of whether this difference in ‘level of corruption’ was due to elevated moral scruples or lack of opportunity.
Senior members of all parties have been implicated in the scandal. Claims range from the ‘cheap and nasty’ such as barbeque equipment, bath plugs, toilet seats, dog food, coat hangers, chocolate biscuits, a wooden spoon and of course - a lemon, to the ‘outrageous’ such as £14,000 claimed by one MP for a wet-room and £8000 by another for fitted bookcases. Other individual MP’s have been found milking the system, claiming thousands of pounds on designer furniture, fitted kitchens, plasma TV’s, the upkeep of country estates, tennis courts and swimming pools and cleaning and gardening services. £10,000’s have been claimed on refurbishment and redecoration of homes by interior designers. Multimillionaires owning multiple properties across the country have been found guilty of claiming £1000’s in expenses from the taxpayer.
Many MP’s have been found to have been exploiting the ‘Second home allowance’ that permits MP’s to claim up to £24,222 each year for the basic requirements of a second residence either in London or their constituency. Some have amassed property empires and large fortunes by converting this living allowance into a fund to buy, refurbish, and sell houses for huge profits at the taxpayer’s expense. Other MP’s stand accused of “flipping” designated second homes in order to maximise allowance claims on different properties.
MP’s Serving Themselves Rather than Serving the People:
What made the Telegraph’s details of MP’s expenses even more infuriating was that on the same day that the revelations were published of MP’s living the high-life on the back of £1000’s of taxpayer’s money, came the news that almost 3 million children still live below the bread line in Britain with 1 million of these unable to even invite a friend over once in a while for tea because their family could not afford this. That same week when the public discovered the true loathsome extent of abuse of their money by those who are supposedly in governance to take care of their needs, came the story that the number of working adults living below the breadline rose by 300,000 this year to 11million – effectively 1 in 6 of the UK population – and that the UK income gap between the poorest and richest in society was the widest since the 1960’s, with the incomes of the poor falling and that of the rich rising.
In an economic climate where individuals are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, their representatives in power are able to claim over £24,000 for a second home – an amount that is in excess of the average yearly earnings of an ordinary UK citizen (£20,492/year). In an economic crises where single mothers, pensioners, those who have joined the unemployment line are desperately trying to put 3 basic meals a day on the table for themselves and their families, those who have been elected to look after their affairs are permitted to claim up to £400 a month on food from public money.
Blaming the Allowance Rules

– A Convenient Smokescreen for the True Cause of Dried Rot!
Many MP’s have defended their claims based upon the fact that they acted within the rules of the system – rules that are set and policed by MP’s themselves (One could perhaps use the analogy of criminals acting as judge and jury over their own trials). Therefore, many have laid the blame for the current scandal at the foot of the present allowance scheme (screams of “The rules made me do it!” seem to be resonating from the chambers of Westminister).
However, this is obviously too narrow a reading of the situation and a convenient smokescreen to hide the root cause of this problem. To understand this root cause, requires asking certain questions.
Why is it when the median income for the UK last year was £393 a week, those who have been elected to look after the needs of the people feel that it is OK to set rules that allow individual MP’s to claim £1000’s on designer furniture and up to £750 on a single TV set?
What is it that creates the mentality within those who have been elected to serve the people that it is OK to abuse the system in order to subsidise their lifestyle and accumulate personal fortunes off the back of the hard-earned cash of those they are meant to serve?
Why is it that prior to media exposure, politicians from all sides felt that a system that allowed its MP’s to live the high life from the money of those they pledged to help and protect, was totally acceptable?
The answers to these questions and more, is that it is not only the MP expenses system that is rotten to the core but also the governing ‘Capitalist System’ of the country. The capitalist ideology promotes a philosophy of pursuing financial self-interest up and above social responsibility or the needs of others - whether it is the example of bankers playing casino in the city to maximise profits at the expense of the economy of the country or the livelihood of millions; OR benefit fraudsters who play the system for their own gains regardless of the knock on affect for those who are in real need; OR MP’s who fill their pockets with public money while those they serve struggle to make ends meet.
With the pursuit of individual financial interest taking centre-stage and the pursuit of the £ or $ dominating the prevailing culture within capitalist societies, it is clear to see that it is not only autocratic states that can rob the people of their money. It is not only dictatorships that make ruler-orientated laws. Those who govern capitalist states can also follow suit, adopting a mentality and developing the art of serving themselves verses serving the people.
Whether it is US politicians profiteering from war, or ruling bodies enacting laws in favour of big business to secure large donations, or the cash for honours or cash for influence scandals – it reflects a system that benefits the few at the expense of the majority. One only needs to reflect on the government’s multi-billion bail-out of banks while leaving ordinary citizens at the mercy of the market - only to lose their businesses, jobs and homes.
Morality – the Unfortunate Victim of Capitalism:
Some have talked of introducing a moral form of capitalism. This is an oxymoron. Those who have made such a suggestion seemed to have overlooked the fact that the moral compass of any form of capitalism will always point firmly at the £/$ sign.
Morality or virtuous principles of economics or governance will more often than not be viewed as an inconvenience or take second best to securing individual status and wealth within such a system. Why, for example, when capitalist states lecture the Muslim world on the need for transparency in governance, did it take investigative journalism to reveal to the public details of how much of taxpayer’s money is used by those who govern over them and for what purpose?
This is surely a basic right for the citizens of any country. Why did MP’s engage in a 3 year battle against requests made under the Freedom of Information Act for details of their expenses to be made public? And why did it take a media scandal and the fury of the public for leaders of all parties to address the extravagance in expenses of their party members, while knowing for years that this abuse of the system was going on?
Many wonder whether this current holier than thou approach of MP’s signing cheques back into to the public coffers is related to a sudden growth of moral conscience or desperately trying to save face with the voter to retain seats in power?
The Dangers of this System:
The danger is this – that the fortune-driven, careerist politics of capitalism does not bode well for fulfilling the needs of ordinary citizens. The fact that so many MP’s viewed the perks that they enjoyed off the back of the taxpayer as perfectly acceptable, reflects the marked detachment in capitalist societies between the “have’s” in the ruling body from the “have-nots” in the general society. How would the former, being so out of touch with the reality of the lives of ordinary people within their societies, ever have a true appreciation of their struggles and strife in order to legislate in a manner that sincerely takes care of their affairs. If they cannot be trusted to look after public money with integrity then how are they to be trusted to enact laws that are truly in the public interest in other areas of life?
How can people have trust in such a political system, regardless of how many regulations on the MP allowance scheme are introduced?
Capitalism had already been shown to have failed the people in the economy. This current scandal has further revealed its failure in the political field. Furthermore, one only needs to look at the level of crime, broken families, and antisocial behaviour in Western capitalist societies, to understand the social meltdown caused by capitalism through the promotion of values such as individual freedom and a "do as you please" culture. Globally, an alternative to capitalism is far overdue.

[Extracted from the article ‘Capitalist Politics: The Art of Self-Service verses Serving the People’ by Dr Nasreen Nawaz]
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What they said...

“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”





[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]





"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"





[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]





"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."





[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]





"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."





[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]



"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."





[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]





“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”





[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]





"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."





[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]





"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."





[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]





“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”





[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]





"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"





[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]





"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."





[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]





"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."





[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']





"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"





[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']





"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.





[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]





"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"





[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]





"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"





[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]





“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”





[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]







“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”





[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]