5. WORLD PROBLEMS

 

Human beings interact with and must adjust themselves to the rest of the planet earth in which they exist. It is evident that the planet earth itself interacts with, and must adjust itself to the whole Cosmos. The events and processes on it depend on the exchange of materials, energy and information. Human beings, their characteristics and behaviour patterns are not independent of the whole world process. They are produced by it and they, in turn, transform the world. The geo-physical, social and psychological factors are interdependent. Human life is an interaction between inner values and outer facts, and it is this which gives meaning to life. A problem is produced because of a conflict between the two which needs a solution or reconciliation. This we see as the task for Philosophy.

We do not know what is happening in other parts of the Universe, but here, on this planet, it is certain that human beings have arisen because of the processes affecting conditions on it, are part of it, are modified and learn by interaction with it, and have also transformed it. There should, therefore, be a science which deals with the whole of this complex in a unified manner. Movements have arisen, changed the world, produced new problems, which produced new movements to solve them. There is, however, a certain amount of independence so that no guarantee exists that a community, humanity, a species, or the planet, instead of developing, will not be destroyed instead. Nature experiments, tests and selects. The apparent success of a species or Civilisation has not prevented its annihilation. It is obvious that Nature has its own criteria which are distinct from that of the species or civilisation. As the world is evolving it is also clear that different times will have and require different characteristics. This presents us with problems. What are the factors required for survival and development, and how can they be established?

Islam came to solve the problems of its time, and would have made no progress if it had not been relevant to these problems and had not offered valid solutions. The Muslim world degenerated when it failed to solve the problems created by the new conditions of life. These new conditions were produced by Islam itself, but the solution was left to other peoples who, in their turn, created still other problems.

But apart from its relevance to a certain people in a certain place and times, Islam, as other religions, also has an aspect which is valid for all times and the whole world. If Islam and Muslims are to have any relevance in the world, then the problems existing in the world today and those likely to arise in the future must be addressed. And this requires that these problems should be known and the principles and techniques should exist by which appropriate solutions can be developed.

The main problems of humanity, it is claimed, are poverty, disease and ignorance. These are the results of the expansion of population brought about by the success of man himself. These problems, it is claimed, can be reduced to environmental, organisational and technological ones. It is also claimed by some people that Science can solve all of them. Though some success has certainly been gained and some nations are more prosperous, healthier and better educated, the evidence is that the sum total of human suffering throughout the world has increased. There is more starvation, deprivation, war, social alienation, oppression, injustice, criminality, cruelty and destruction than ever before.

The view of what the fundamental human problems are is much too naive and simplistic. It is suffering which is an indicator of problems and there are many more causes for this than the above. Indeed, the solutions offered consist of certain human actions on their physical and social environments, but these depend on human nature which also produced most the problems. The religious attitude seems to be much truer. Human beings are faced with an enemy which they must fight, and this consists of the evil and inadequacies within themselves. These are primarily fear, hate and greed which pervert not only motives but also perception and action. They are to be overcome by the cultivation of justice, love and truth, and of ability, compassion and wisdom, From the Islamic point of view they arise from even more fundamental defects, namely atrophied consciousness, conscience and will. Lack of Truth shows itself not merely as ignorance but as stupidity and as prejudice, superstition and fantasy. Most diseases are psychosomatic in nature, and therefore, caused by psychological problems. Poverty is caused more by inadequacies in the economic system, in the way finance, commerce and industry is organised, in cultivation, production and distribution. It is caused also by wars which are based on aggressiveness. Science is a servant which will serve any master. The use to which it is put depends on human motivations and goals and Science has no control over these. Nor has Politics. Only religion has.

There is little doubt that the Western World has dominated the rest of the World directly (politically), semi-directly (commercially) and indirectly (through its culture and ideologies). Though other peoples have also gained from this, the over all result has been that they have suffered due to exploitation. In particular, the Muslim nations are suffering not only from Western domination but also from internal tyrannies and conflicts and from persecution by other peoples. Does this show that the West is much more well adjusted to Reality? Or in religious terms: Does this show that Allah approves more of, is more pleased with, and therefore, rewards, the Western peoples? Or is it that Allah is punishing the Muslims for having abandoned their religion and degenerated? Or should it be interpreted as being meant to teach them a lesson, to educate and awaken them?

The answer in all three cases must be “Yes”. But it is relative. There is no doubt that there is much that is wrong with the Western Nations, but there is even more wrong with the nations which call themselves Muslim. It may even be the case that they have certain virtues to a greater degree but that these are outweighed by their defects, or that the conditions of life are not yet suitable where these virtues can become effective. A scientist, philosopher or saint would have been out of place in a primitive tribe living in a jungle where his talents gave him no advantages. On the contrary, many an advanced soul has been persecuted by lesser men and civilisations have been destroyed by barbarians. Suffering is not merely a punishment but an education, a stimulus to development for the intelligent, and a testing.

“ (thus is it ordained) that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He renders not their actions vain.” 47:4

This verse not only implies that the faithful are tested by their willingness to risk their lives in a righteous cause, but also that the enemies are tested as to whether they will reform. Though the verse was addressed to the Muslims when they were righteous, it can easily be interpreted as applying to them when they are not.

The state of a civilisation depends on three inter-dependent factors:- (a) The psychology of the people which depend on inherent factors, on their culture and on personal efforts. (b) Social factors which include economic, political and cultural organisation, institutions and inter-relationships which have been set up and on population levels. (c) The environment, on its resources and the fertility of land, on geophysical or cosmic factors which determine climates, earth movements etc.. All these may change without human control, though human beings also affect these and have some direct or indirect affect on them.

Apart from this, temporary superiority does not imply long term superiority. Some nations are at high points and declining, while others are at a low point and rising. The Quran tells us that Allah gives people benefits in this world or in the Hereafter according to which they ask for, but that the rewards in the Hereafter are better than those in this world (3:145). What is considered good may not be so on objective grounds at all. Progress at one time by some people may not be considered to be so by others or at other times. It is, therefore, necessary to make a study of the factors which cause development or degeneration.

We shall examine:-

1. The reason for the ascendancy of the West.  

2. The problems within the Secular way of life.

3. Problems with Religions.

4. General Problems common to mankind

5. The Islamic answer to these problems.

6. The problems of establishing an Islamic nation.

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(1) Characteristics of Western Civilisation

 

The contribution of the West to the evolution of mankind and the reason for its domination and triumph over the rest of the world depend on certain inter-dependent characteristics which we need to examine in order to assess whether they are essential and should be cultivated by Muslims or other people. This study is necessary because there is a fundamental difference between the religious and secular view of life. Religions, including Islam, also present us with a set of characteristics, vices to be avoided and virtues to cultivated which might be different and even contradictory to those on which civilisation is based. We must compare the two, and their effects and decide whether the consequences are compatible with the human function.

Among others, the main religious virtues are:- consciousness, conscience, will; integrity, loyalty, unity; faith, love, hope;  objectivity, responsibility, self-control;  wisdom, compassion, righteousness;  peace, harmony, tolerance; purposiveness, striving, endurance;  patience, perseverance, courage; honesty, justice, discrimination;  fidelity, chastity, purity;   unselfishness, charity, consideration.

The main characteristics of Western civilisation are as follows:-

1. Vigour and energy is, of course required by all civilisations. The older ones tend, like individuals, to get tired, particularly when they get trapped in old habits and institutions. This vigour is shown in the search for knowledge, experiences, ideas, and materials; the desire for exploration, adventure and enterprise. Though these have been stimulated by the desire for profit, power and fame this is not always the case. Sometimes it is an interest or enthusiasm for knowledge or achievement or connected with a self-image, the desire for self-fulfilment or the fulfilment of a perceived cosmic function, or a means to immortality. It produced great men in the sphere of philosophy, science, literature, art, humanity, statesmanship, engineering, exploration, industry, invention, government, architecture and so on. Without the arising of such men in great numbers there would have been no Western Civilisation. Though they in turn created conditions in which other such men could arise, their numbers, except in science, appears to be dwindling. It is necessary to know what the social conditions are which give rise to them or led to their decline. Without this knowledge civilisation merely rises and falls in an uncontrolled and accidental manner. It is probable that each stage in history requires different conditions. The same conditions and talents which worked at one time will not work in another. That is why civilisation also moves from one area to another.

2. Individualism. This has three aspects.

(a) The idea of the freedom of the individual to make his own choices, to think for himself and to fulfil his own desires and needs as far as possible. This often means license to fulfil prejudices, fantasies and illusions. While this produces creativity, initiative, resourcefulness and a sense of responsibility, it also brings competition, self-assertion, rivalry and conflicts in all fields. It makes for an undisciplined society. Human beings are, of course, also inter-dependant. Cooperation, compassion and unison are also required, but these have to be imposed by force in an individualistic society. Freedom means both the ability to do good and evil. The one is paid for by the other, and the possibility of doing good is worth the risk of evil. Only the development of increasing intelligence and discrimination changes the balance in favour of the beneficial.

(b) Individualism is connected with variety. Nature requires variety so that the possibility of selecting what is more useful in changing circumstances is increased. Unity, however, is strength because it channels all energies, which would otherwise be dispersed, in the same direction. Variety leads to conflicts and increased dependence on other things and disintegration. However, increased versatility and ability to adapt replaces external variety. Cooperation and organisation make possible both unity and variety.

(c) Individualism is connected with rebelliousness. Change, progress and evolution requires the flouting of convention, conditioning and habit which tend to create stagnation. Individualism militates against social order and the rules and laws which have been created for the common welfare. There is, therefore, a tendency to persecute and suppress individualism in well established communities. Recently well disciplined societies such as the Japanese have become more successful than the individualistic Americans. Change, however is inevitable. Life is a balance between order and chaos.. Both excessive order and excessive chaos destroy an organism. Rebelliousness and Conformity are two sides of the same coin and one leads to the other. It is precisely because there is conformity that change makes rebellion necessary and vice versa. The development of consciousness and intelligent control, however, make both unnecessary. From the Islamic point of view Self-discipline ought to replace both extremes.

3. Faith in man and self-confidence - the idea that man is capable of controlling his own affairs, solving all problems, and making progress independently and without limitations. The idea that human reason can understand everything, particularly through science. Self-confidence is, therefore, linked with arrogance. This often leads to mistakes, and disasters. Since human limitations and his dependence on the environment, cosmic forces and the laws of nature are ignored, these factors often render human institutions and projects unpredictable and uncontrollable. Self-confidence is certainly required for any achievement but ought to be linked with a measure of humility. But as the two are incompatible the Islamic solution is the cultivation of faith in Allah. The link between man and his environment must receive greater attention in future. This is already integral to the notion of vicegerency.

4. Enterprise. The willingness to take chances and actualise an ideal or dream. Courage is required. An enterprise may have good or harmful results. A great amount of harm has been done which has to be counteracted by good enterprises. There is then an increase in complexity without any overall change. Enterprise must be linked to a sense of responsibility.

5. The idea of Free Will - the idea that man can change his condition and that he is not subject to fate or a slave to causation. Human beings are, therefore, often blamed or praised for what is beyond their control and no attempts are made to deal with the causes of behaviour. On the other hand the attempt to condition, indoctrinate, manipulate, reward and punish human beings, all of which assume causation, is regarded as a legitimate activity. These contradictions require resolution. The Islamic attitude is the reverse of this. Man has no free will, but he ought to put himself under the correct causal forces. He is responsible for his own actions.

6. Competitiveness. This is connected with individualism. Whereas it leads to the achievement of excellence and to continuing development, superiority can also be obtained by reducing others. This may lead to a downward spiral. There can be only one winner but many losers. It tends to destroy cooperation and unison. It divides the community and creates conflicts, violence, injustice and crime. In future, because of the greater population and interdependence of people, cooperation will be more important. The Islamic view is that competition as well as cooperation is legitimate only if directed towards a good goal.

7. Freedom. The creativity and initiative of the individual is not to be hampered, and he should be able to fulfil his needs and nature. There can be no argument that this is required both for human happiness and his development. However, the desires and activities of some people may clash and inhibit those of others, especially when they have been exaggerated or perverted. There is sadism, addiction to power and greed for wealth, and a tendency to distort the truth through rationalisation of self-interest. Freedom can be used for evil or good purposes. Freedom cannot be confused with license, and must be associated with duties and obligations.  There is physical, social and psychological freedom. They affect each other. A harsh environment may leave no time or energy for thinking and creativity, nor will physical debility created by disease or poverty. Ignorance and psychosis debilitate. Economic, political or social pressures may inhibit certain actions while forcing others. The discovery of America and Australia relieved many of these pressures. The collapse of religion has released human beings from certain inhibitions, controls and even superstitions. All religions abhor greed, pride, lust, arrogance, selfishness and vanity since these are the causes of conflicts, persecution, exploitation and suffering. But it is these which have been harnessed and channelled to provide the incentives which drive Western man. This has produced a self-contradiction because while bringing success in this life to some people, life ends in death which destroys all the achievements for that individual. It is also gained at the expense of others within the same and other nations. This is now becoming an overwhelming problem. Freedom, then, cannot be a goal in itself, but a means to good.

8. Questioning. The tendency to question everything. Not to rely on the authority of some scripture, institution, tradition or expert. It has destroyed many superstitions and false assumptions, counteracted gullibility and deception, and allowed exploration, the progress of knowledge and the proliferation of a variety of other ideas. But it has also the tendency to destroy many truths and render them ineffective. It has encouraged the development of scepticism, cynicism and doubt. It leads to speculation. It allows lying and exaggeration by journalists, advertisers and politicians who take the public scepticism for granted. It also produces disrespect for authority, and, therefore, a tendency to produce an undisciplined society. A balance is required.

9. Rationalism and Intellectualism. It was possible to manipulate data, conduct trial and error, and work out problems much more efficiently in the mind and then apply the results to the physical world. But it confines man within the limits of that faculty which also increases the power of fantasy and rationalisation. It neglects the feelings and increasingly neglects the motor faculties often causing emotional and physical malfunctions. People have to deliberately set aside periods for physical exercise and these have nothing whatever to do with their work. The human faculties, instead of being coordinated have fallen apart into separate often contradictory processes. Thus a great amount of irrational emotionalism has also developed. It is also evident that the society has been divided into those who work intellectually - and theory often conflicts with practical realities; those who work mainly in the emotional field without regard to rational or physical requirements; and those who labour physically without intelligence or feeling. There is often no coordination between these three. Perception of reality needs the coordination of all three faculties.

The human child as well as the race, humanity, and the whole Biosphere may be regarded as developing through several evolutionary stages. At first there is physical development, and behaviour is governed by action. We have childhood. This is followed by the development and exercise of the feelings and emotions. At the third stage behaviour is governed by the intellectual faculty. The existence of a higher faculty, however, is affirmed by all religions and its presence explains a number of phenomena, even the advance of science. Islam requires the development and exercise of what is called the Heart. There should be a coordination between thinking, feeling and action controlled by consciousness. The difference between the intellect and the heart can be seen by a comparison between the achievements of the leading lights of ancient Greece in Philosophy and those of the Muslim Sufis such as Rumi, Saadi, Ghazali etc., or between the Quran and a Text book in Science. Observation shows that whereas the Western world has entered into the Intellectual Age the Muslim world is largely still stuck in the Emotional Age. They ought to have advanced into the coordinated conscious age, the Age of the Heart.

10. The missionary spirit inherited from Christianity. It is supposed that there is a right to carry their civilisation, their culture, organisation and technology to other peoples, replacing the native ones which are regarded as inferior. This not only creates self-righteousness and arrogance in supposing that they alone are right and have all the virtues, but also leads them to convert, dominate and manipulate others or to persecute them as people who are wrong, deluded, ignorant and even evil. Ideological conflicts must inevitably result. This attitude can no longer be sustained. There is only a distinction between what is more beneficial and what is more harmful, between greater truth and falsehood, the more beautiful and the ugly and the more useful and the counter-useful. These may be different for different people in different circumstances.

11. Self-expression. The development and release of human energy, creativity, imagination, enterprise, ambition, and curiosity. But this is done often in a destructive or perverse rather than a constructive manner. It releases all passions in an uncontrolled and undirected manner. It is not often questioned whether a person has anything useful or valuable to express, and how to improve its quality.

12. Practicality. The idea that knowledge or virtue or beauty are not goals in themselves but are to be applied to fulfil human needs, desires and ambitions. The U.S.A, in particular, has become dominant because of this attitude. It has the genius for commercial exploitation of ideas. Truth is understood as that which can be applied and works, and is not to be regarded in terms of moral virtue, metaphysical abstraction or religion. There is, however, no definition of what ‘practical’ or ‘useful’ means. A thing may be useful to kill someone or for some other purpose which may not be a good thing at all. Sometimes the word is understood in a political sense as being expedient. The word ‘practical” can only be correctly understood in the sense of applying something having value.

13. The idea of progress and success. This is conceived only in material terms. The social and psychological dimension tends to be rudimentary. Human beings, however, only have a limited life span on earth, and the evolution of the individual or species is objectively much more important.

14. The desire to dominate, control, exploit and subdue, rather than to cooperate with, administer or cultivate. This applies to the physical environment, nature and human beings. It leads eventually to the destruction of the very factors on which life depends.

15. Aggression. This is required to solve any problem. But it may be constructive or destructive. It may be turned inwards, towards real problems or towards other people where it becomes the willingness to use violence. It may exist within the community or it may be harnessed against foreigners and on the international field. It may be diverted from a real focus to an illusory one. This is often done by governments for political purposes. It may take a military, political, commercial or ideological form. The West has robbed, impoverished, persecuted, devastated and decimated many other peoples in order to enrich themselves. This wealth, however, has given them the means and leisure required to make the cultural, organisational, scientific and technological achievements on which their civilisation depends while the other people were stagnating in a dead end. These are now spreading also to all the other peoples. It seems, therefore, that this is compatible with the process of evolution. But evolution in a local area is not guaranteed. There are signs that aggression has become self-destructive. Aggression against people generates aggression against the aggressor. There is then mutual destruction. It creates rather than solves problems. The increase in armaments in one nation stimulates, through fear, armament in others. It turns out, therefore, that all are wasting their resources in order to maintain the same balance. Many civilisations in the past were destroyed by the raids of barbarians. A strong military force for defence is, therefore, necessary. But in the West it is the self-defined civilised people who threaten civilisation. Barbarism is cultivated, and because technology gives them military power, modern civilisation can destroy other civilisations as well as decline without being destroyed by external barbarians. It is, however, perfectly possible to create a culture in which aggression is used constructively.

16. Externalism. The main characteristic of most peoples, but more highly developed in the West, is what might be called Worldliness. This has three aspects.

(i) The belief that only that which comes through the senses is real.

(ii) The belief that it is only through external force and coercion or conditioning that anything can be achieved.

(iii) That the only things worth pursuing or aiming for are sensual pleasures or material goods. This is generally called materialism.

This neglects the inner (psychological) and interactive (social) factors which are also significant in human behaviour. Having given individuals freedom then in order to solve the conflicts which inevitably arise between them, and in order to ensure cooperation, it is necessary to use coercive forces through the Law. Since this is formal and man-made it is rigid, narrow and open to abuse. But the strength of organisations has relatively reduced the power of individuals. Education and organisation could be used to strengthen the psychological and social influences.

17. Dissatisfaction with things as they are. The constant desire for variety, change and stimulation. Though this gives rise to innovation, change, the solution of problems, search and research, it also causes vandalism, delinquency and crime. It leads to over production of unnecessary goods, or activities which have no value. Needs and desires are not satisfied and inner suffering continues. Sport and Games, often of destructive and life-threatening types, and other methods of creating excitement or of suppressing boredom such as alcohol and drug-taking arise. Boredom at home and the oppressive nature of conventions probably led the British to military adventures abroad. This is probably because, having turned attention outwards, real needs have not been understood and interpreted correctly. The things pursued and sought do not produce the satisfaction expected. To a large degree, therefore, the wealth and achievements are illusory. The cultivation of interests and a purpose in life should be integral to the educational system.

18. Specialisation, division of function and compartmentalisation. Since people concentrate their attention and effort on only a small aspect of the totality it is possible to develop that aspect to a high degree. This is achieved at the expense of coordination and wholeness. The mind of the individual also becomes compartmentalised, he cultivates only some aspects of himself neglecting others and becomes unbalanced. In fact the whole of life is under the control of no one, and remains subject to accident. The Unitary view of life is lost. A great number of dichotomies and conflicts also appear, e.g. between the religious and the political, between theory and practice, between Idealism and Materialism. There is a contradiction, for instance, between the mechanical determinism found in science, technology and organisation on the one hand and the belief in individual free will on the other.

19. Democracy. This follows from individualism and the belief in freedom. It too has three aspects.

(a) It is usually understood as applying in the field of Politics. Here it means that individuals have a say in what the collective whole will do with respect to some external or national problem. It could mean that the will of the majority will supersede that of minorities. On the other hand it could mean that it is agreed collectively to protect the rights and freedoms of the individual against abuses of power and against tyrants. It could mean that the people should not be ruled without their consent and the rulers have to explain their actions and educate the people. All these are different ideas and there is no consensus as to the meaning of the word. In practice people elect representatives to think, speak and act for them. They seldom have any say in affairs themselves. Democracy usually means conditions in which there is freedom of action for people according to their advantages, vociferousness, vigour and cunning. This produces political stability since the frustrated have no excuse to resort to arms and the ambitious can achieve the power they are seeking. Democracy, however, does not mean that the most able will control affairs, or that they will do so for the good of the people.

(b) There is also commercial Democracy. This means that Industry and business has to supply the demands of the consumer whatever they may be. No question is asked as to whether these demands are reasonable, beneficial or good. It does not mean that the workers have any say in their industries. They are controlled, used and discarded like any other materials by the owners of the industries according to their interest.

(c) There is democracy in the field of ideas, in Science, philosophy, literature and religion.. The consensus of opinions of scientists, for instance, in a given field determines what is considered to be true in that field. Thus politics enters science. But politics is in no way the same thing as truth. Scientists are not free from prejudices, fantasies, social conditioning, political influences and self-interest. They also differ in their abilities and powers of comprehension. The same applies to the other categories. Religion, too, is regarded as a matter for the consensus of people. There is, however, probably no way round this problem except by cultivating the humility which recognises the limitations of the mind, the superior quality of others and the changing character of knowledge.

20. Nationalism. People join together into groups for security and the promotion of their interests. A people collectively can achieve much more than individuals separately. It allows some people to use their advantages to increase them at the expense of others. But it also produces conflicts between these groups. Nationalism has allowed the West to conquer people who were divided. But it is also the cause of conflict between nations. It creates double standards for behaviour within the group and towards others. Though Islam is said to have given rise to the idea of Nationhood, the Islamic nation is not based on territory, race or culture, but on (a) a particular outlook on life (b) a common goal derived from it and (c) methods of achieving it. In so far as outlook is concerned it distinguishes the non-religious from the religious, but this is an inner difference of consciousness and understanding. In so far as the goal is concerned it is at one with all other religions and is a psychological one. In so far as the methods are concerned, it is specific but does not deny the efficacy of other methods.  

21. Organisation. An organised system is more powerful than one which is merely a collection of individuals since it allows concentration of functions, cooperation and coordination between them. The organisation can be regarded as an extension of the arms, legs and brains of those in control of it. This power, however, is gained by reducing variety since it disables most people and renders their own initiative relatively powerless. It creates a struggle for power in which position is gained by trampling over others. Organisations can be taken over by unscrupulous people. A tyranny may be established. To prevent this the power of the various officers has to curtailed by rules and regulations which makes the organisation into an unintelligent machine. Every organisation also excludes other possible organisations. The organisation tends to work by its own momentum. The possibility of adaptation to changing circumstances is reduced. This is why centralised organisations are dangerous. It is necessary to have sufficient independence or flexibility to change the organisation or set up new ones. Islam is in favour of inner means of organisation through cooperativeness rather than external socially imposed organisation. Unfortunately, the Muslims failed to develop either and became victims to those better organised.

22. Research. Research is a deliberate search for knowledge and people are hired to conduct it. This is not left to chance, but is funded by those who control the money mainly because it is profitable to industry or politically advantageous. This gives research a bias. Other areas of research which would completely change the picture as a whole are ignored. There is no substitute for research based on the desire for truth. Islam is certainly in favour of the pursuit of knowledge.

23, Education and Training. This is not left to individual desires or whims but made compulsory, and also controlled by authorities according to their bias or interests. Training consists of the deliberate formation of certain habits. These are more efficient than intelligent and conscious application. Only the intelligent and conscious effort of the few is required, since the results of these can be incorporated in a training program for others or into a machine. The intellectual development of the rest of the population becomes a disadvantage. All this increases power by channelling it in certain directions only. It also implies regimentation and narrows down diversity and possibilities. Knowledge may, therefore, be distorted. It has a political purpose. Education directed to enable people to live a fuller life, to adjust to the world and to develop their potentialities is of a different kind and has other consequences.

24. Technology. Attention has been diverted from direct action to methodology. A change of level has occurred. There are three kinds of technology:-

(a) Methods of interaction. Instead of manipulating materials directly, machines and instruments have been created to extend human sensory and motor faculties, and computers have been created to extend the human intellect. The machine has also provided the template on which social organisation and science was based.

(b) Methods of action. This refers to various techniques of doing things.

(c) Methods of thinking. Thinking is not done directly but by means of certain procedures.

All these have produced a great amount of power. The success and reliance on these have caused human beings to abandon any attempts to improve their own inner capacities, though they have also forced the development of some new skills. And yet it is obvious that the outer world is interpreted as well as formed by factors in the inner, psychological world. In so far as this is neglected perception, motives and actions must be regarded as accidental and haphazard. Techniques also create a bias since they refer to efforts in certain directions while neglecting others.

There is still a further level to which it is possible to go, namely the methods of cultivating human potentialities upon which the creation of methodology depends.

25. Charities. In so far as responsibility is attributed to the individual and it is his needs, desires and opinions which count, then to overcome the problems which competition and a struggle for power produces, such as the disadvantages suffered by the weak, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, and the unfortunate, there has to be charity. There have to be people who champion the causes of justice for the victims and the oppressed, the poor and the deprived. This is left to a third force, private organisations which influence both individuals and the State. The State mainly devotes its power and resources to organisation, law and international affairs. The discrepancy of power between the strong and the weak, and between the State and the individual, gave rise to the formal notion of Human Rights. This idea did not exist before. It does not exist among the so called primitive tribes. We have a separation into a triad - Human self-seeking, the formal idea of human rights, and charity. These rights have to be verbally and strictly defined and enforced by the law irrespective of whether they are deserved or not and have no connection with duties. Wisdom and ability are also divorced from charity. The charities have to be organised and also tend to be mechanical in application. There is usually no coordination between them or between the demands of self-seeking, rights and charities. Such a triad would not be necessary where there is true brotherhood and fellow feeling.

26. It has been observed by many people in the West that despite the decline of religion a legacy of morality was left embedded in the sub-conscious mind. A kind of capital was produced which continued to sustain the civilisation. But this capital is running out and the results of this are increasing social disorder, loss of direction, purpose and values.

This should not be regarded as a complete list of the characteristics required to ensure continuing development. More research is required. Many of these characteristics have both a positive and a negative aspect. Depending on circumstances they or their opposites or various combinations of them may be appropriate. Many of them are interdependent, and may be aspects of something much more fundamental. Human beings ought to increase their adaptability and self-control sufficiently to use the characteristics which are most appropriate in given circumstances.

The continuing development of science and technology, will lead to the increasing extension of transport, communication and information processing, and to increasing human power to manipulate the processes of nature, environmental, social and human, through electronic, genetic, and psychological engineering. The future will probably require the following qualities:-

People who are highly educated with a wide range of knowledge, skills, and versatility, possessing initiative, creativity and responsibility; a higher sense of unity, purposiveness and significance; greater objectivity in thought, motivation and action; psychological integration, stability and flexibility; self-reliance, integrity, cooperativeness, reliability, tolerance; having a heightened state of consciousness, conscience and self-control; the capacity to think for themselves, for self-motivation and self-regulation; the ability to apply themselves, to concentrate with courage, patience, and endurance. These are also the qualities which Islam requires us to cultivate. The problem is how to ensure the development of these qualities.

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(2) Limitations of Secular Civilisation

 

The triumph of the West now depends entirely on:-

(a) Science and technology. (b) Industry and commerce. (c) Social and political organisation.

It does not depend upon:-

(a) The social system. (b) The culture. (c) The spiritual or religious conditions.

Yet it is these which affected the others and are, in turn, affected by them. There is little doubt, and more and more people in the West feel this, that the very factors which have contributed to their triumph have destroyed their psychological and spiritual balance, disrupted their social welfare, leaving a vacuum. The cost of this triumph has been too great for mankind and the planet itself. It has left them more and more dissatisfied and unfulfilled. The environment created by man has become more sophisticated but man himself has made little progress. It may be pointed out that a fool and a rogue living in a hovel is no better off if he is transferred to a palace, especially if it surrounded by a desert.

Human beings have three fundamental needs:- (a) economic or physical, (b) social and emotional, and (c) psychological or spiritual. That is, to obtain the means of a fairly comfortable life, food, fresh air, security, shelter, clothing etc.; to have a fairly happy family and circle of friends; to have a purpose for life and the freedom and capability to fulfil it, to see ones position in the scheme of things and to adjust and cooperate with this. To be at peace and harmony inwardly with oneself, with ones fellow human beings, and with the rest of nature, of which we are part, and which has produced us. Man has needs and urges which go far beyond those required merely for self-preservation or reproduction. Observation shows that all species have a function with respect to some higher system. One species is eaten, for instance, by another in order to keep the whole ecological system in balance; animals utilise the oxygen produced by plants and produce the carbon dioxide used by plants; bacteria and fungi break down dead plants and animals to provide the materials by which plants and animals grow. There is a higher purpose than self-preservation and reproduction. There is evolution. The success of the West has been almost wholly confined to the Economic, at the expense of the others.

But judging from the constantly occurring depressions and inflation which cause unemployment and deprivation, it has not even fulfilled this need adequately. It has also produced malfunctions and diseases and created artificial wants which do not refer to any needs or benefits at all. To a hungry man a house full of cars, television sets, big wardrobes and a host of luxuries do not constitute wealth. His hunger remains and produces suffering. Industry produces goods and by advertising and propaganda, creates a demand for them. It is seldom the case that a need is first identified and then production geared to fulfil it. The misery of poverty and unemployment has not been solved even in rich countries. The wealth in the West has been obtained at the expense of greater poverty, oppression and misery elsewhere in the world. It has often caused great destructive wars and much human suffering.

It is generally supposed that the West has made progress. But many people are questioning this. It is, for instance doubtful that the sum total of happiness in the world, or even in the West, has increased. Or that man has developed. Civilisation appears to be a very thin veneer which is easily peeled off under stress. It needs only a small disturbance to cause a riot, raping, killing, torture, destruction, burning and looting. We need but look at the daily news to see that the amount of injustice existing even in the relatively free nations is still very great.

Scientific and technical progress has created as many problems as it has solved. There is the question of pollution, the destruction of the eco-system, the wastage of resources, the adulteration of foods, the congestion of cities, the diseases caused by stress, the problems caused by disruption of the social system, such as illegitimacy, crime, delinquency, personality problems and psychological, psycho-physical, moral and spiritual illnesses.

Greater wealth and the decline of moral values has brought about problems of security. Locks, safes, filing, recording and supervisory systems, police, courts and so on , all add to costs and efforts and use up energy, resources and attention which would otherwise be quite unnecessary.

Since most work has been made monotonous, repetitive and stressful by mechanisation, organisation and routinisation, it has to be compensated for by the need for pleasure, entertainment and escapism. People work in order to earn money to pay for the means to overcome the very stresses produced by the work. People do not have more leisure as a result of mechanisation, but seem to be working harder merely to survive.

There are vicious circles of many other kinds.

For the sake of efficiency factories were centralised, for instance, to produce the means of transportation, cars and lorries etc.. This meant that raw materials and workers had to be transported in to the factory from distant places. The finished goods had to be transported out. All this required the means of transport. The transport factories were, therefore, to that extent only making themselves necessary. It is true that advances of medicine have eradicated most infectious diseases. This has increased the population, thereby causing problems for agriculture and industry. It also creates the congestion which causes and spreads disease. At the same time other more organic and psycho-somatic diseases have increased. It is possible that Medicine did not remove the causes but only the symptoms. The result is that other symptoms constantly arise which need further medicine. Bacteria merely mutate to produce new diseases. It is also well known that medicine itself creates diseases due to the side effect of drugs and the disabilities resulting from operations. And both of these are quite often unnecessary. It is estimated that a quarter of the illnesses suffered by people in advanced countries have been created by medicine itself, and most of the others by the sedentary way of life, self-indulgence or the stresses caused by domestic, social, industrial, political and ideological systems or by the structures and conditions of cities. Medicine does nothing about the real causes of diseases which lie in these system rather than in bacteria. There is often little objective evidence for the efficacy of much of medical practice, but is used mainly because of the prestige of medicine, the desperation and faith of patients and because it is a lucrative business for doctors.

Intensive agriculture has produced deserts in some places, wasted irretrievably much of the fertilizers of the world. There has been genetics interference with many plants and animals which has sacrificed their nutritional value for size, shape and good looks. In many cases short term gains in production have created major problems for the future.

It is said that knowledge has increased. Though it may exist in books and libraries, it is doubtful whether the individual knows more than he used to, though purposive and systematised knowledge is superior to accidental and random knowledge. In fact, one kind of knowledge has accumulated at the expense of other kinds. The student who spends his time at school and university loses out on the experiences he would otherwise have elsewhere. He will study only certain subjects while neglecting others. Knowledge and technical skill has increased at the expense of character, morality and the capacity for self-control.. Though there is much information on facts and great expertise in creating the means, there is no systematic knowledge or criticism of goals and purposes. This remains primitive and infantile. The capacity to think has improved in certain directions but atrophied in others.

Some moral progress has been made in that people are gentler and kinder and more concerned about each other under certain conditions. There is less blatant oppression and exploitation in the West. Yet events in the wars and the types of crimes committed show even greater brutality and sadism than ever before. Wars are frequent and more destructive. Torture has become a fine art. Physical coercion, oppression and torture have also been replaced with emotional and intellectual ones. Charities have become businesses. Bureaucratic administration of charities is usually slow, callous and unfair. Slavery is said to have been abolished, but the conditions of employment created by the West both within their borders and elsewhere in the world, are often worse than slavery or no different. The relative affluence of some employees in the West obscures this fact.

Politics and Commerce, two of the three basic power bases of the West, do not and cannot function without dishonesty. This tends to corrupt the rest of life. The third base, Science is also often dishonest. For instance the research scientists are often looking for profit, fame, triumph in rivalry, or confirmation of their prejudices, the interest of their employers, or some other advantage rather than for the truth. The scientists working for say, the Tobacco or drug companies or farmers interests will reach different conclusions from those working for some Health or Environmental organisation. There are great number of known facts in every field which are entirely ignored by science because they contradict current theories. Prejudice, superstition, illusions and fantasies are propagated by advertisers, propagandists and the media. Most people are conditioned to a greater extent than formerly by the media of communication and the dominance of opinion makers. In so far as they have neglected tried and tested traditions they tend to be lost without a rudder, drifting aimlessly, confused and afraid. Most people cannot think, feel or act for themselves, or correctly, intelligently and objectively. This has allowed a great number of ambitious people to exploit them for their own profit, power and prestige. Few have the vigour, enterprise, creativity, initiative, vision or sense of responsibility, and fall under the control of those who have.

Those who have the money, rich individuals or large firms, can and do control opinion, information, behaviour, the conditions of life and fashion to serve their own interests. Where market forces reign there usefulness and truth, goodness and beauty are sacrificed, except in so far as they serve profit. Fine Art, for instance, is bought because of its commercial value. It does not matter to the collector that two pictures by different artists are equally beautiful. The picture by an artist who has a reputation will have a cash value hundreds of times greater. We have a vicious circle here. The demand created by investors for such works of art increases their price, and it is this price increase which makes them profitable and, therefore, creates the demand. The value of the picture has become an illusion.

A commercial and consumer civilisation has been created in which everything is valued and measured in terms of money and profit and no other values are recognised. To a Greengrocer, for instance, the fruit and vegetable he sells have no value except the profit he can make out of them. The nutritional value is quite unimportant. People are persuaded to want and buy what they do not need and may even harm them, while what they need and benefit them is ignored. The extraction of money from the public, irrespective of how it is done, for personal gain is considered a legitimate activity. Mass production and mass appeal usually means catering for the lowest common denominator, the sacrifice of quality to quantity. The economic system is such that competition ensures that people must take their livelihood away from each other.

Though all people want the same wealth which the few countries have achieved it is probably an impossible dream. The earth does not possess the resources, nor can it stand the resulting pollution. Nor are the richer countries willing to share their good fortune. They still have borders to keep out immigrants and control the outward flow of wealth. Politicians and governments which try to redistribute wealth in a fairer manner become unpopular and are toppled by the selfish. Things are as they are because they take place automatically without any deliberate value judgements. And no such judgements can be made by those who are conditioned by their culture and have made no objective studies of the sources of their motivation and value systems in a deliberate and systematic way. We still have the same primitive state in the realm of social interactions as was the case in Industry before the coming of science. No research and objective standards are applied. If no value judgements are applied then all things are equally futile and nothing at all is being done in a purposive manner. There is no direction whatever, only aimless drifting.

Science has proved barren in giving guidance on how to live and to answer the fundamental questions about existence. It has not given a purpose and meaning to life or provided a value system. There exist in the world today, two rival systems of living, namely Capitalism and Socialism, Communism being an extreme form of it. They are not merely Economic or Political systems, but also Ideologies. Communism is much more thoroughly systematised since it contains its own metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics and science. But neither of them have satisfied social and psychological needs and even failed economically and environmentally. Thus, though religions have been abandoned the need for them remains. People have constructed substitutes for them.

Capitalism is based on Individualism. But conformity is required in the factory and in the consumer, and induced by propaganda. It is supposed that the individual possesses free will, and that creativity and initiative arises from him, and the community is defined as a collection of individuals. Emphasis was placed on inherent factors and the environmental factor in human development was ignored. If every individual pursues his own interest freely (and who knows his own interest better than the individual himself), then the social good will also be served. However, it also implies that the few and the strong can exploit and dominate the many and the weak. And that some can inherit wealth and power and exercise it without reference to merit, ability or the good of the community. It requires competition, power and compulsion - a reversal of community feeling, humanity, brotherhood, empathy, respect and recognition of others as being like oneself. Having organised themselves into nations, this attitude was turned towards other peoples.

The Capitalist attitude has been successful in pioneering days while land and resources were plentiful and expansion was possible. But space and resources have dwindled and the population has expanded. Things have become more organised and people have become more interdependent. It became evident that certain contradictions began to develop. The development of science, organisation and machinery require order in thought and action. On the other hand chaos and disorder arose because of the different interests of individuals pulling in different directions. While people may want peace, the system provides competition and, therefore, war. Though the profit motive provides the incentive for development, profits can also be made without providing people with what they need or want and without considering the social good. Most fortunes are made by gambling on the stock exchange. Deception, swindling and intrigue are widely practised. To curb these destructive tendencies the state has to take ever greater powers.

Socialism, including Communism, it is not surprising, developed as an anti-thesis, a revolt against Capitalism. It tried to base itself on science and, therefore, on materialism, determinism and on the Principle of Objectivity. According to this all phenomena were caused by external forces. Thus human nature was formed by the environment and the social conditions and could be altered by changing these. It wanted order and, therefore, everything had to be planned. Conformity and cooperation were essential and competition had to be removed. Inherent factors were ignored and individual initiative was discouraged. It placed its emphasis on training and indoctrination rather than on incentives. It adopted the Philosophy, the very opposite of that of Capitalism, that the individual is a cell within the community and has no meaning apart from the Society.

One of the worst aspects of Communism was that because they consider economic conditions to be the supreme cause of social change, they did not differentiate between truth and utility, between fact and comment, between information and propaganda. From their point of view that which is useful is also true and the useful could only be defined as that which the Communist Party declared to be useful. Thus, they contradicted the very foundations on which they were based, namely the assertion that communism was based on truth or science.

Communism hoped to create an Ideal Society. A more caring, less selfish, less aggressive, more cooperative and self-sufficient Society in which the people are not driven so much by personal ambition but by greater social responsibility. But the method adopted destroyed the very creativity, initiative and sense of responsibility which could produce such results. On the other hand Communism was the only alternative for people for whom all other avenues of shaking off their parasitic exploiters was closed. Peoples all over the world, badly exploited by the West, became communists not because they believe in communism, but only because they saw no other alternative to end their suffering.

Few people have noticed that a contradiction is involved here in both Capitalism and Communism. The emphasis on the whole rather than on the part is more in conformity with Idealism than Materialism, and that it is the scientific, analytical attitude which is more consistent with Capitalism. It is the Communists who preached Materialism but tried to establish the Ideal Society, while the Capitalists preach idealism and are in practice Materialists. It is Communists who consider Economics to be the dominating driving force in history and social change, and yet, owing to absence of incentives and personal responsibility, they were economically very inefficient.

When a community has become degenerate and people have lost all higher values and motives, then there are usually only three courses open to them:- (a) to continue to decline and finally to be destroyed, (b) to be invaded or dominated by more vigorous and progressive people, or (c) to set up a dictatorship of their own which will force them to develop. This dictatorship must inevitably be tyrannical because the people, being degenerate, full of old habits of thought, motivation and action, will necessarily be reluctant and even antagonistic. Opposition must be crushed and intense forms of regimentation and conditioning must be employed, populations must be reorganised and relocated, and all kinds of defences must be used against external and internal sabotage. Indeed, even changes in the distribution of genes and Psychons (Psychenes) may be required by selective murder and marriages. Usually, changes are brought about by the use of an inexperienced and pliable youth which must replace the older generation in all strategic positions.

There are problem connected with all Utopias or Ideals:-

1. They are generally based on a selection of only a section of all facts. They, therefore, neglect all other facts which may be included in other ideologies. Thus a conflict is inevitable between the Ideology and Reality, and between different ideologies. It is not at all certain that a man made Ideal is realistic and workable, that it is sufficiently comprehensive and flexible to include all aspects of life and all changes in conditions. What is certain is that it will be based on relative ignorance and error.

2. It needs someone or some organisation to take control to establish it. Different people will have different Ideals or different interpretations of it. And each is incompatible with the others. Conflicts become inevitable. Unless the consent of all is obtained it becomes tyrannical in practice. Dissenters must be eliminated. And in order to gain such consent crude conditioning tactics are employed. Indeed, the more enthusiastic the Utopians and the more impatient to bring about changes, the worse is this repression and persecution liable to be.

3. Since they place all their eggs in a single basket then if there is an error, which is inevitable, it must lead to a major disaster. No alternatives exist which could be employed instead.

4. They tend to be established by a revolution. But revolutions merely replace one set of rulers by another with the same limitations. The new set being less experienced at ruling, are less capable of doing so, and their problems are worse owing to the destruction and havoc caused by the revolution. The result is a worse conditions then before. The society suffers from a set back from which recovery takes a long time. In the meantime the worsened conditions sow the seeds of another revolution.

 

There are, however, three other possibilities and these usually combine. The first is that a new Teacher, Prophet or Spiritual leader arises who can inspire and transform people. But this depends not on ordinary man since he is conditioned by his circumstances. The second is that suffering has reached a level sufficient to decondition some people and to awaken them. The third is the possibility either that those who wished to create the ideal society could withdraw to a separate area, or that the state provided facilities for dissenters to establish the conditions they favoured. The success of a system would then ensure its growth and multiplication, while the unsuccessful ones would be displaced. The original Islamic State, it will be remembered, started in this manner when the Muslims withdrew to Medina. Later within the Islamic State provision was also made to allow the existence of people of other faiths. A Political system ought to be wide enough to accommodate many different ways of life while regulating the interactions between them.

In fact, both cooperation and competition are necessary. Man is an individual but also a social being. A human being exists to reconcile the two. Both philosophies, the capitalist and the communist, are ideas, each depending on different parts of the truth in the same way light can be seen either as corpuscular or wavelike in nature, though one view excludes the other.

The Quran points out that there is a pair in all things and these must be transcended to create a Unity. Islam is the Balanced Way. It should not, therefore, be surprising that Islam provides a third way of organising life which, it may be claimed, is the only one which is likely to work in the future by avoiding the malfunctions of the other two. It is much more complete since it unifies the spiritual, political, economic, cultural and ideological aspects into a single harmonious system, and it has its own metaphysics, epistemology and logic. However, this system has not been established anywhere in the world because human beings were not yet ready for it.

The arrival of an idea long before it finds general application is not unusual in the history of man. The Islamic teachings had to be introduced long before their time because:-

(a) the social changes it brought about in the world generally were only gradual and the new methods of organisation would only apply later.

(b) The preparation and development of the people had to be undertaken.

(c) An ideal had to be provided with respect to which the defects of existing systems could be recognised.

(d) An ideal is not something which is necessarily established as an actuality. A situation cannot change into another without forces in it which change it. The new actual situation contains elements which come both from the ideal and the previous actualities. It is balance between opposites.

Unfortunately, however, there is no sign that it will or can be established in the foreseeable future, even by Muslims.

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(3) General World Problems

 

Life, as we have repeatedly pointed out, is a balance between three factors:- the inner nature of man, the nature of the environment and the nature of the social order they create. Mankind evolved to form small communities living in villages in which all the individuals knew each other, cooperated, undertook responsibility for each other and could interact and adjust to each other in ranks according to ability and social function. But Life on this planet has changed considerably for man owing to the increase in population, technology, organisation and knowledge. These created bigger and more complex cities and nations, increasing congestion, anonymity and formalism. The complexity of life grew greater than any individual could cope with. Artificial organisation and ways of life replace biologically natural ones. And it has increased human power to do and transform without increasing their ability to adjust or developing their moral and value systems. The new conditions, therefore, create (a) psychological, social and environmental conflicts (b) stresses which not only have psychological and social consequences but also physical ones in that they weaken the immune system. This produces a number of physical, social and psychological diseases and malfunctions. (c) Human beings also affect and transform their environments according to their nature, and this, in turn, also affects their social and psychological welfare.

The problems so caused will have to be dealt with by Islamic systems if they are to have relevance in the modern and future world. They can be classified as follows:-

Psychological problems:-

1. The construction of civilisations means that Cultural factors are becoming increasingly more important than inherent ones in affecting human behaviour. The former overlie and obscure the latter and produce inner conflicts and contradictions. This produces artificial and often perverse behaviour. A kind of crust is formed and consciousness is confined to its surface.

2. Adaptation. Social and environmental changes are taking place with increasing rapidity, but human adaptability has lagged behind. This creates great psychological stresses and maladaptation.

3. Self-control. Technology, organisation and routinisation have made life much easier in certain respects. Self-indulgence has increased and self-discipline has declined. Intellectual laziness is particularly evident. Despite increasing education children do not learn to think. There are also few incentives to think. Indeed, the need for conformity in an organised society discourages it. Most of the work is left to calculators, computers and other machinery. The mental work is left to the few and that in selected directions alone.

4. Addiction, obsession, attachment or Greed, and the obsession with pleasure is a fundamental problem throughout the world. It involves conflicts with others and within oneself. The pursuit of pleasure leads to pain either to others or to the person himself. This is comparable to someone who continually eats sweets which will cause damage to his health. Yet the more sweets he eats the less pleasure they will give. He who pursues wealth will find that the greater his wealth, the less value does each item have. In the pursuit of wealth he may also have neglected other needs, made enemies and overlooked or flouted the needs of others, including loved ones. He may have sacrificed a great number of things which would have given him happiness and fulfilment. These sacrifices seldom appear as prices to be paid when balancing the budget. Most people are willing to sacrifice important things in their life for the sake of some relatively trivial whim or obsession.

5. Proneness to fantasy, prejudice, fanaticism, illusions and delusions.

6. The assumptions, attitudes, interests and modes of action. The way people think and interact, in their values systems and in their metaphysics, epistemology and logic and in discussion, argument and debates. These have been dealt with in various sections of this book.

7. Unquestioning obedience to or unreasoning rebellion against authority, which is the other side of the coin. People will when instructed inflict pain on others, commit torture, robbery or any other kind of immorality or crime. People are willing to leave their conscience, responsibilities, decisions and thinking to others. Thus single individuals obtain great power because many people act as their limbs. People are sheepishly led. As long as responsibility is given to someone else, most people are willing to commit the worst of excesses.

8. The formation habits of thought, feeling and action; mental conditioning and expectancy. It prevents adjustment to change. Given limited experience and the fear of the unknown, people tend to invent their own patterns around their experiences. They create a World of illusions. They expect certain things to happen, or to be true and are disappointed when this is not so. A great deal of unnecessary suffering and conflicts results from this in families and nations. The closed mind, what has been called ‘tunnel vision’ and ‘seeing through tinted or distorting glasses’ is a major problem.

9. Intolerance. People are inherently, experientially and culturally different. This fact has not been accepted. Most people spend their time criticising, persecuting each other as if their own opinions, needs and practices are the only valid ones or have the sole right to exist. The unfamiliar causes unreasoning fantasies and fear. People are interested in the defects of others, but will not admit their own which alone they have power to eradicate. This follows from a desire to obtain significance by being better than others. But action is more difficult than fantasy and self-deception. What is worse, people tend to persecute others in order to hide, often the self-same, defects within themselves.

10. Psychological diseases. These are widespread to various degrees of intensity. Some are not even recognised as such because they are so prevalent as to be considered normal. They affect perception, social relationships and motivation. They result from a wrong attitudes, wrong interpretation of experience or from a wrong way of life. It is likely that all physical and moral diseases are caused by psychological factors. The bacteria causing diseases, for instance, are always present in the body but in restricted numbers, They do not begin to multiply until the conditions are ripe. Their function may be to break down already malfunctioning organs. These malfunctions are usually caused by stresses, inner contradictions and wrong attitudes and conduct. This affects the immune system. When medicine treats only symptoms, the causes continue to produce new symptoms. Having got rid of infectious diseases, they have been replaced by organic ones. Moral diseases such as crime and anti-social behaviour are usually attributed to social and domestic conditions, but these do not affect everyone in the same way. This is probably because it is not experiences themselves but the way they are interpreted which affects behaviour. Psychological malfunctions not only create problems, but also prevent people from seeing what these problems are and from solving them.

11. The problem of knowledge. The amount of knowledge available has become too great for any one person or even for a small group of people to absorb, coordinate and apply. It tends to accumulate at a superficial level, rather than be processed and assimilated. This is due both to the amount of time available and the limits in the capacity of the brain. Thus knowledge is selected according to the accident of interest or fashion. The acquisition of certain kinds of knowledge implies the loss of other kinds of knowledge. Knowledge may exist unused in Libraries rather than in the human mind where it can be controlled and applied. The problem is solved partly by specialisation, so that different people have different kinds of knowledge. But this creates the problem of mutual understanding and coordination. Another way of solving the problem is by ever increasing systematisation, synthesis and the invention of more comprehensive concepts. This requires the expansion of consciousness.

12. Extroversion and Introversion. Whereas people look outwards without self-awareness, others, often the same people, live in a world of their own in a self-centred way without considering others or with a dim awareness of their surroundings. They occupy themselves with fantasy and brooding rather than self-examination, self-criticism, self-control and self-development.

13. Human beings have three faculties, intellect, feeling and action. The modern emphasis is on the training and use of the intellect, while the feelings and motor faculties are ignored. This produces unbalanced development. Ideas become more important than experience and the verbal description and written word more than the actuality to which it refers. The emotions remain crude and there is often a contradiction between what a person thinks, feels and does. The society as a whole also becomes divided into sections according to which of these faculties are most active, the intellectuals, the manual workers, and people such as artists charity workers and people with social concerns. Some people can do, but cannot think or feel; others think but cannot feel or act; still others have strong feelings, but cannot think or act intelligently. There is little coordination between these and much conflict.

14. Insecurity and anxiety appear to have increased owing to rapid changes and the complexity of life, but effective means of dealing with them have diminished. Religion used to be a means but has lost its hold. The result is escapism through alcohol, drugs, numerous cults, gangs, sources of excitement, flocking to charismatic authority figures and so on. This escapism prevents the tackling of real problems.

15. Most of these problems are connected with the disintegration and atrophy of the self, and the instability, variability and narrowing down of consciousness, conscience and will. Habits and systems of thought rather than actual awareness and experience are more important, ideologies or expediency take preference over intelligence and inherent instincts, and automatisms created by training are more powerful than critical examination and volition. Life has become departmentalised so that there are different kinds of behaviour in different situations without an overall consistency. This leads to inner and social conflicts and contradictions of which few people are aware and they cannot, therefore, see or solve the problems so caused.

16. Most of the conflicts between people are based on differences in belief, motivation and modes of behaviour. These depend partly on inherent psychological differences, partly on differences in experiences and partly on the efforts people have made in processing, in interpreting and organising. As all human beings are formed by the same processes, these differences are inevitable. They are also valuable in that they increase the range of human characteristics and abilities so that every individual benefits from the talents of others which he does not himself possess. But, whereas, some differences can be tolerated, others cannot because they interfere with each other. This requires the cultivation of greater tolerance as well as the creation of a social system which gives each person a greater space. Communities and families tend to break up into smaller units when differences are exaggerated by the increased variety in training, culture and knowledge. As this variety increases, choices increase, and the limits of the brain allow only a decreasing proportion to be absorbed. The human mind becomes selective. This selectivity is driven by interest, assumptions, the framework of reference, habits, conditioning, and activities of people. Thus differences of opinion and conflicts become inevitable. The importance of (a) expanding the range of consciousness, interests, assumptions, activities and the conceptual framework of reference, (b) the development of humility and the contraction of egotism and arrogance and (c) the willingness to incorporate an element of uncertainty and tolerance into opinions is, therefore, evident.

17. Differences in belief present the greatest problem because each person is then convinced that he is right and the other wrong. Usually these depend not on rational thinking but on inherent temperamental differences or on the accident of circumstances in which a person was brought up. It has become usual to accuse others of having been brain washed. This, of course, applies also to the accuser. In general the word ‘religion’ is used to refer to a system of beliefs. But this applies equally to Science, various political and economic ideologies and the numerous cults which have arisen throughout the world. Had a Jesus, Buddha or Muhammad arisen in modern days, they, too, would have been accused of forming cults and brain washing their followers.

In fact beliefs, if they are rational, depend on three inter-dependent processes:- (a) the search, selection, interpretation and organisation of sense data (b) rational argument and (c) the consciousness of consistency between the outer and inner, in particular with a purpose and all over all view. There is often a contradiction between these. The senses tell us that the sun rises in the East and sets in West, but rational argument tells us that the earth is rotating in the opposite direction. The requirements of living on this earth make the first important while abstract thought or space travel may make the second important. The motion of sun has quite a different significance to the farmer or the artist.

18. Apart from selectivity, illusions, delusions and hallucinations affect perception. A great number of mutually contradictory rational arguments exists. Different kinds of Hypothesis are created even in science because they seem appropriate, before they are tested. The construction of these depends on the capacities of the scientist, their experiences and interests. Thus, we cannot distinguish beliefs except that some are much more comprehensive than others and facilitate adjustment either to the society we live in or to reality, the latter being ultimately much more important.

19. One of major problems causing the degeneration of man is cowardice, though naivety (the lack of knowledge of what they are doing), the lack of effective capability and disorganisation are also responsible. Courage is required to over come every obstruction and deal with every problem be it an inner psychological limitation, a social or an environmental one. The injustices and evils in a society, the political oppressors, the swindling businessmen, the bullies, the violent extortionists, the perverse manipulators, these flourish and multiply because of the cowardice in the general population which does not stand up to them, oppose and retaliate against them or support the few who do. It becomes easier to join or support such people and assume the same tactics, and eventually the need for survival itself demands that they do. It is the threat of violence and deprivation which becomes successful. These are adopted as a policy and allow those who do to dominate and control the society, both infecting the whole of it with the same characteristics and inducing further cowardice and loss of power.

It is also observable that the few who have necessary courage and take action are dubbed “terrorists” by those in authority, and this tends to mislead, salve the conscience and inactivate the populace. This is not to say that there are some true terrorists - violent criminals or oppressors, those who do intentional real harm to the society. But these may well be in positions of authority and regarded as highly respectable. There are also others who have good motives but do harm because of incompetence.

20. Another feature which has similar consequences as above is apathy and indifference for others, the environment or higher values such as knowledge or truth, goodness, or beauty. This may arise either because (a) the capacity for interest has atrophied; (b) interest has become directed and confined inwardly to oneself exclusively, to personal pleasures and comfort; (c) interest has been diverted to illusions, futilities and relatively unimportant things such as sport, pop music, hobbies and so on. 

Social Problems:-

1. The erection of barriers and obstructions between people. Nationality prevents the movement of people from places where resources are scarce to where they are more plentiful, thus creating inequalities of wealth and opportunity. Secrecy and exclusiveness prevent distribution of information. Class structures, group identification and sectarianism create unnecessary conflicts which waste attention, effort, time and resources, excessive inequality in the distribution of wealth, power and opportunities, the wastage of talents and possibility of self-fulfilment. The extreme poverty of some people causes malnutrition which affects their development, and therefore, also their mental and physical capabilities, quite apart from the lack of education and training. There are many conflicts fuelled by racial, religious, national and communal prejudices.

2. The increase of population has created:-

(a) A strain on space and resources. It is no longer possible for individuals to find the land or resources to fulfil their own needs. Everything is already under ownership. They, therefore, depend on others for employment and particularly on the State to provide conditions where employment is obtainable.

(b) Congestion. This brings its own stresses. Experiment with rats congested into small areas, similar to human beings in large cities, showed a great many symptoms which were displayed by people in similar conditions. These included homosexuality, anti-social, neurotic as well as psychotic behaviour, withdrawal, loss of tolerance, violence, suicidal and murderous tendencies, the abandonment and mistreatment of the young and so on.

(c) Another effect of congestion is that people compensate for it by constructing barriers and isolating themselves behind them from others. This results in much defensive, aggressive and artificial behaviour. It has produced individualism, loneliness and the nuclear family which is economically and culturally much less efficient. The social system has disintegrated and this has to be compensated for by greater formal imposed organisation.

(d) Increasing inter-dependence. In order to serve ones own interest it is often necessary to persuade others, and to form pressure groups against other pressure groups. Conflict is intensified. The methods used to persuade others may consist of bargains and compromises and since the object is to get ones own interest not that of others, all kinds of amoral or immoral methods are also used.

(e) The control of the population has become necessary through contraception. This reduces the size of families. Women must find other occupations. They join the labour force to increase production and incomes. Family life and the social structure is destroyed. Their earnings are used to purchase the products of industry. Production, therefore, increases, contributing to pollution and the exhaustion of resources.

(f) It is likely that if the sexual energies of people were channelled and sublimated in cultural interests, in social and psychological development then the population would stabilise itself without contraception. Greater sexual activity appears to be necessary mostly among those who have no such interests or opportunities, and whose life is a drudgery. The artificial stimulation of sexual activity is practised almost everywhere and is certainly connected with the existence of low values and stresses which have to be neutralised.

(g) The reduction in size of families means that the average age of the population and the proportion of older people is increasing. But competition and the profit motive create a bias towards the employment of the young who are faster and more energetic. This problem increases because the need to reduce unemployment requires early retirement while advances in medicine increase longevity. The experience and wisdom of the more elderly is wasted to an increasing extent. This also means that respect for the elderly diminishes and the life of the community becomes more impulsive and less restrained. There is an increasing generation gap. This problem is connected with the development of the nuclear family which consists only of husband, wife and their children, and, therefore, facilitates the disintegration of the society and prevents continuity through the transfer of experience and tradition from one generation to the next. The elderly tend to retire into separate communities. The relatively smaller working population has to financially support a relatively increasing elderly population and this is likely to set up stresses and protests. The elderly may be reduced to poverty or the termination of life after a certain age may be required. A generation war may ensue.  

3. The destruction of the social structure because of economic and political developments; the increasing divorce rate, illegitimate births, the revolt of the children, and the increase in delinquency, vandalism and crime. The stresses of life have increased. Adultery, fornication, incest, abuse and cruelty to children, and various other sexual perversions have multiplied. There is increasing infanticide and abortion. Children are neglected and grow up neurotic, bewildered and inadequate. Many cities contain a growing number of children coming from broken families, abandoned by fathers and even mothers, who are homeless, earn their living by prostitution or crime and drug addiction is rife among them. Their lives are wasted and they become a burden on the resources of the society. Parents have relinquished their responsibilities towards the children and they have been abandoned to the educational, social and often to the Legal system, which is unable to inculcate moral values and adequate emotional development.

The development of transport, the need to go in search of work and promotion, the development of large organisations which send their members to distant places, have created a mobile and dislocated people. People no longer grow up with each other in close communities. They have not learnt to adjust to each other, do not know each other well and cannot develop close community relationships. They become more self-centred and isolated with weaker allegiances and loyalties. Although the people become more broad minded and are open to a greater variety of influences, traditions and previously secure rules of living and behaviour tend to crumble. The political consequences of this are the need to create alternative institutions by which communal integrity can be maintained and collective action can be undertaken. Such institutions are necessarily formal, rule bound and open to abuse. All this has particular implications for the Muslim in so far as Islam is based firmly on the community.

4. Life has become increasingly complex. There is more and more knowledge and variety of work. No individual has the mental capacity to deal with everything. Thus there is increasing specialisation. Life has become subject to compartmentalisation. This applies to their thinking, their social system and all other activities. The whole being divided into many parts, the wood cannot be seen for the trees. The overall pattern is obscured. The need to forge links between the compartments creates increasing complexity which becomes more difficult to deal with and control. There is a loss of understanding between people owing to increasing cultural and ideological differences. Conflicts and contradictions often arise. Unable to grasp all aspects of reality a person or the whole society often concentrates its attention and activity on one or just a few of the many aspects. But since the world is a unity in which the parts are interdependent such activities always lead to unforeseen results in other departments. Man has constructed economic, political and cultural machines which work by their own built in mechanisms and control him, rather than man being able to control them. Unemployment and misery and the unpredictable cycles of booms and slumps all show lack of human control.

It is impossible to make any progress while concentrating on one aspect of a whole situation. Progress depends on tackling all aspects. It is, for instance, absurd to try to produce economic development alone since it depends also on science, politics, social and psychological factors. After a certain time such actions will tend to be self-contradictory. Political progress cannot be made by itself, nor can progress in knowledge or morality. It is not possible to make intellectual progress without also making emotional progress in empathy and motivations or physical progress in skills. The division into parts also means instability and changeability due to lopsided development and due to the motion of attention from one thing to another. This is as if only each wall of a building was being built separately without any idea about the whole building, its nature or purpose. Specialisation has made people more dependant on each other. This intensifies the conflicts due to sectionalism - racialism, nationalism, or sectarianism.

5. In the past the majority of people lived on the land by agriculture and the various crafts were practised as small businesses in the villages and towns. People were involved as families in which men, women and children had their own function. But with the establishment of large scale centralised industries and companies things changed. The men were drafted into factories and offices; the children were taken into formal educational institutions, and the women were left behind, their roles having been eroded. The Companies and even the Government built large formal housing estates in the suburbs of cities, often lining long roads which destroyed the community feeling and isolated people from one another. This was quite incompatible with the social needs of people, and particularly unsatisfactory to women. Later shop, factory and office began to absorb women as workers, who went to them partly from boredom and partly from economic necessity. Thus a segregation of the sexes took place and inter-sexual cooperation and the family as a unit of society was destroyed. An institution or commercial firm became the new social unit. This must be regarded as backward step since it gives priority to material, economic or self-preservative considerations rather than to social or reproductive considerations and much less to psychological or spiritual ones. The means have become the ends. Competition becomes greater than cooperation.

6. In the past people lived in relatively small communities in which all members knew each other and they were able to adjust to each other. Industrial and political advances have created ever larger organisation, in extensity (size), intensity (the amount of control within an organisation), cotensity (the number of aspects of life it affects) . There are industrial, legal, political and cultural organisations. The results of increasing organisation are:-

(a) The creation of formal institutions and systems of control. These are mechanical in nature and do not correspond to human nature.

(b) Power. The power and freedom of the individual has been reduced considerably in relation to such organisations. The power of others has increased enormously because of their control of organisations. This increases the stresses and injustices and reduces the possibility of rectification. Technological advances are advances in power which concentrate control in fewer and fewer hands. This power is financial, political as well as ideological - that is, over new ideas and information. Censorship is exerted by publishing, television and industrial companies, by governments as well as by academic institutions and organisations. No equivalent redistribution of power has taken place.

(c) Remoteness. Those who give the orders and make the plans are remote from the place of work and the people who do the work. They do not know the situation they are dealing with and affecting. Though this has some advantages in that it compels certain kinds of work to be done, it also reduces efficiency and the ability to assess and rectify side effects.

(d) Automatism. Power has to be defined and limited by rules and regulations. The relationship between people becomes formal and indirect. The flexibility which exists for compromise and fine adjustment in a face to face relationship between people is lost when each is restricted by rules or separated by machinery. The Bureaucracy is a notoriously inhuman, ponderous and unintelligent robot. It exists not only in Government but also Industry. Many transactions such as banking are done through machines. Machines are also being installed as substitutes for doctors and nurses in hospitals. Since the psychological factor is being neglected it should not be surprising that recovery is hampered.

(e) Inadaptability. There is an increase in work concerned purely with organisational and administrative affairs. To a large extent the organisation is a self-propagating organism having great inertia. It cannot adapt easily to change.

(f) Demands. There is an increase in clerical and paper work. Endless numbers of forms have to be filled in, and rules and regulations learnt. The mind which could have been more usefully employed is cluttered up with trivial information.

(g) The possibility of injustices and oppression has increased. Most organisations are run entirely by a small number of people. They have the finance and power to control people directly or indirectly by suppressing, falsifying, inventing and manipulating information.

(h) The organisation controls not only the work of people, but also increasingly, their thinking and feeling, their social behaviour and conscience. Its increasing power and importance has affected and distorted the social structure as well as the ideologies and psychologies of people.

(i) Abstraction. People have become mere symbols, names or even numbers which can be manipulated in the thinking of planners. Humanity has been taken out of them. Things which can be done with names and numbers could not have been done to human beings, and vice versa. It is perfectly possible for someone to order the movement, expulsion or even the killing of hundreds of people without any feeling or conscience. A Hitler or Stalin was not necessarily an evil man but just one without imagination. He probably could not have done the things himself which he ordered. But others who were so ordered had to carry them out on pain of death.

(j) In hierarchical organisation there is a struggle for promotion. The persons reaching positions of powers are not those with greater abilities, but people who are more self-assertive and who reach the position through intrigues, political manoeuvring, trampling and destroying others or by cultivation of a public image which is usually quite contrary to their real nature. Promotion can only be obtained through ingratiation or conformity with the desires, opinions or prejudices of those in power. Their social talents have little to do with the talents required for the profession in which they are, and yet they control those who have such talents.

(k) Idealisation. Theory versus practice. Increasingly the planning and policy is dictated by theoreticians who have little or no experience of the actual situation. Ideas become more important than realities.

(l) Industrial and other companies and organisations are growing larger and larger. These Companies have become international affairs and are not subject to democratic control. Yet they affect the economies and even political and social policies of Nations. The national governments even when democratic have little control over them, and hence over their own affairs.

(m) A great amount of Information about all individuals in a nation is collected and held by a number of State and Commercial Agencies, and affects the way banks, shops and government departments treat an individual.. This information may be false but the citizen does not normally know this and has no control over it. Surveillance is done by governments as well as business, and cameras are being installed in city squares, roads, banks, shops and offices. Spying on citizens does not only take place under  Tyrannies but also in the so called Free Nations.

7. Narrow allegiances to groups, gangs, parties, race, class and nation. Nationalism and patriotism. People do not see each other as human beings but according to some label. Therefore, they oppress, persecute, manipulate and exploit each other. There are conflicts based on racial, ethnic and religious prejudices, political unrest, conflicts, revolt, rebellion, strikes, wars (civil and international), organised crimes, various underground movements.

8. Vicious circles. Fear of others especially in times of uncertainty creates aggression, and this aggression breeds fear. When A attacks B because of fear and misunderstandings, then B must retaliate which confirms the need for the attack in A. The result is often a complete break down of the social order. Each then blames the other while seeing themselves as being forced into the conflict. And, indeed, everyone is caught in a process over which they have no control. Fear breeds delusions and prejudices which reinforce the fear. Such states of Madness can occur at any time any where.

9. The Frankenstein effect. Though institutions and systems are created by human beings for their own benefit, when they become large enough they become independent, self-maintaining entities with their own structures and motivation and operate against the welfare of man. A great amount of technology is of this type. Chemical factories and Nuclear Stations poison the environment, government departments experiment on people and so on. It is difficult to change them since an increasing proportion of their energy is channelled into self-perpetuation rather than towards their original purpose.

10. Increasing automation of machinery means that fewer and fewer people are needed for manufacture. As the factories are owned by the few, this means ever increasing unemployment and differences in wealth. The problem could, of course, be solved by reducing the hours of work proportionally, but this is not seen by the owners as being in their interest. The workers have no say in the policy of the firms they work for though their livelihood depends on it.  

11. The collapse of Economies, recessions, inflation, national debts, mass unemployment, failures in coordination of production and distribution, great differences in wealth, poverty and deprivation in large sections of the population while there is wastage in others.

12. The arising of new forms of disease and epidemics. Some of these brought about by new mutations created by the new conditions of life. Medicine itself induces the arising of resistant strains of bacteria, There is also an increase in organic diseases caused by the stresses and strains of life.

13. The malfunction and collapse of institutions such as the social, legal and educational systems.

14. Masses of people, especially among the young, are opting out of the social system and creating their own separate ones, having become disillusioned with, and being unwilling to bear the stresses of, a system which has grown ever more remote from human nature. There is often a conflict between these two ways of life.

15. Moral problems. Science and technology are giving man increasing powers to do what nature unaided cannot or does not do. But the ability to do them is no reason why they ought to be done just as the ability to murder and rob does not imply that they should be done. These abilities are of three kinds:-

(a) Those which allow the manipulation of the environment. Some are due to advances in Physics such as nuclear power, electronics, ceramics, and super-conductors. Chemistry produces new useful substances but also poisons. Biological research not only allows the improvement in the yield of crops and animals and produces new sources of food, but also creates new strains of disease.

(b) Those due to Biological and Medical research such as artificial insemination, changes in personality due to surgery, drugs and genetic engineering.

(c) Those due to Psychological and Sociological research such as the possibility of indoctrination and manipulation of motives, behaviour and personality.

The great problem for mankind is the decline of morality, fellow-feeling, and inhibitions while there is an increase in stress, neurosis and psychopathy. At the same time scientific and technological progress has created great power which can be selfishly used. The great threat to mankind comes not so much from nuclear weapons as from electronic, chemical, biological, psychological and sociological weapons. There is no defence against these except a general improvement in the level of morality. But all the indications are this is being eroded by the collapse of the family, the commercial and political system and by the culture, including science itself.  

16. Tyrannical Political systems. One of the greatest threats for mankind is the arising of Fascist systems. These are based on the worship of power both for individuals and the State. Like Communism they are centralised, but they do not pretend to be Democratic. They are based on the right of the inherently superior individual to control and use the rest of society for their own benefit. Superiority in these systems, of course, means the ability to do just this. Self-restraint and all cultural and moral values are, therefore, regarded as weaknesses. Force, compulsion, coercion, regimentation, discipline, conditioning and propaganda are regarded as the most legitimate and effective methods. and as a good thing for the society. A strong dictatorship is, therefore, only favoured by people when they have been internationally humiliated or are under the threat of political disintegration, chaos and civil war. As international economic, political and even ideological competition ensures that the prosperity, power and stability of some countries will be gained at the expense of others, then there will be nations who will try to regain their power or prestige in this way. Dictatorships and Fascist regimes are, therefore, constantly arising and threatening peace, prosperity and progress. Nations have not yet learnt to cooperate and help each other even for their own sakes.

As social and moral systems break down and self-discipline atrophies, governments have to replace these increasingly with laws, regulations and security systems. This begins to reach oppressive and stifling proportions. The break down of communities is the result of ever increasing centralisation of factories, offices and shops where people become strangers to each other and do not feel the same fellow feeling and mutual responsibility.  

17. The degeneration of morality and cultures and the increasing perversion and crudity of behaviour and life in general. In the past the decline of a civilisation in one area allowed the arising of a civilisation in another. But if the world becomes unified and culturally uniform then this possibility is lost. In order, therefore, to allow such a unification to take place it is necessary either to ensure that diversity is built into the system or that the causes of the rise and decline of civilisation are known and can be manipulated.

18. Fashions of belief, motives and action which come and go without any objective basis for them. There is, for instance, what is called the Technological Imperative which requires that expensive new technologies should always be used regardless of whether they are more beneficial or effective than other methods. This applies in medicine and science as well as Industry and commerce. The reason for this is that it is more impressive since more faith is placed in it. It is a modern form of superstition. People tend to be impressed by that which glitters, is spectacular, exciting, mysterious, and is associated with power, wealth or prestige and has scientific sounding names. They become bored with the mundane and seek variety to escape from it. There are fashions in science and in medicine, and in industry and commerce as well as in clothing and manner. Since they are irrational they tend to interfere with rational control. However, some people are able to manipulate them in their own interest.

19, Cynicism and distrust owing to the lying, dishonesty and self-seeking of authorities and the falsification of exaggerated claims. This produces difficulties in leadership, and is one of reasons why concerted purposive action becomes difficult. On the other hand desire and fears produce gullibility of which politicians, commercial interests and various cults and movements take advantage, misleading thousands and creating much mischief, corruption and conflicts in the nations. Cynicism and gullibility are usually linked, each creating the other.

20. Respect for wisdom, compassion, character, self-control, ability, knowledge and experience appears to have largely declined owing, perhaps to Democracy which regards all as equals. This tends to remove the incentive to acquire the same qualities, and this has an evolutionally negative result. The only incentives appear to be external ones, the acquisition of wealth, power, fame, freedom and pleasure, which do not modify the individual. Since their acquisition by one person usually means that others lose them, and those who acquire them will die, they also appear to be futile goals. One of the reasons why respect has become unfashionable is the fact that those who are treated with deference tend to become arrogant, exploit their advantages and do not respect the dignity or humanity of others. Since they have a tendency to humiliate others and take advantage of them, the latter find it necessary to retaliate. This would not be case if the educational system also taught them how to behave.

21. Population pressure, organisation and technological developments are causing a reversal in the roles of men and women. Whereas there is an increasing number of careers open to women and they have adjusted to the new situation, men have yet to find a new role as machines replace them and make them redundant. This creates frustration, tension and maladjustment between the sexes.

22. Energy consumption is constantly increasing. There are more and more factories, new inventions and the speed of transport, communication and processing is constantly increasing. This causes:-

(a) The constant search for and exhaustion of energy resources and increasing costs. As resources diminish industrial and economic problems increase.

(b) The speed, variety and intensity of life and the rate of change increases. This causes an increase in stress because of the limits in the ability to learn and adapt. This often distorts the psychology of people and creates new needs. They have to be counter-balanced either by increasingly more bizarre types of entertainment and escapism or treated by medicine, psychiatry and social services.

(c) Economic and Political and Social institutions and organisations cannot adapt sufficiently quickly to cater for the new conditions and this causes further stresses.

(d) Superficiality. The mind is bombarded with so much information with which it cannot deal. It flits superficially from item to item and experience to experience without having the time to analyse, digest and assimilate it.         

(e) The speed of decision making has to increase and this inevitably means that it is concentrated in fewer and fewer people. Consultation with others becomes difficult. Thus, the likelihood of disasters due to mistakes and their consequences increases. The power having been concentrated in the few there is an increasing loss of control for people in general and the democratic process is undermined.

(f) Reliance on machines, particularly computers and data banks, rather than human beings, is constantly increasing. The decision making process is being taken out of human hands completely. One of the consequences of this must be that cold mechanical logic rules human affairs, and all the uniquely human features such as leaps of insight, inspiration, and the values which depend on perception and feeling such as humanitarian concerns, compassion, art must be increasingly excluded.

(g) Confusion. The individual is subject to an increasing number of ideas from newspapers, magazines, television etc.. These are often contradictory and cause confusion. Different people select different parts of the whole in an arbitrary manner. There is, therefore, an increasing diversity of opinions, held to various degrees of strength and this leads to conflicts.

(h) An important feature of man today is impatience and hurry. They make decisions without much thought. They pursue immediate satisfaction at the expense of future welfare. They borrow to purchase goods today, thereby enslaving themselves tomorrow.

(i) The rate of change is also faster than the ability of nature to adjust and compensate or rectify.

23. Intensifying competition increases the need for self-defence and aggression which increases competition. Each side in the competition forces the other into the same activities and reduces the freedom to find new forms of adaptation. This can be seen in the arms race and in the competition between Capitalism and other systems. This is not the case in nature where variety also arises. The only way of overcoming this is by mutual agreements or the construction of super-systems which control the competitors. But competition itself militates against this.

24. There are several degenerative tendencies in the modern world and there is evidence that the quality of people is degenerating. Mechanisation, computerisation, organisation, division of labour, standardisation, the simplification and routinisation of work and methods of training have made it possible for people of low quality to enter all the professions, removed the need for striving, and an increasingly smaller proportion of the population is required to do the actual intelligent and creative work. Even the research and technological innovation has become a matter of a set of procedures and rules, and so has the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and political action. The use of intelligence is declining. The less intelligent reproduce faster than the more intelligent, and advances of medicine allow the multiplication of people with defects which nature would normally have eliminated. The proportional increase in the number of low quality people is becoming an ever increasing social problem.

25. Increasing differences in wealth. The gap between the rich and the poor is constantly increasing both internationally and within nations. This causes wastage of both material and human resources on the one hand and deprivation on the other. The poor are forced to live in squalid and congested conditions and suffer from greater malnutrition, more diseases, higher rates of mortality, lower educational levels and fewer opportunities for improving themselves. They, specially the unemployed, usually find themselves in a hopeless trap from which the only escape is in alcohol, drugs or crime and these increase their problems. In general the better off cannot identify themselves with the poor, and this applies also to those who hold the reigns of power and government. Indeed, even if they sympathise with the poor, they are hardly likely to give away their wealth and become one of them. There is, therefore, a class distinction no matter what people may say to the contrary. It is not merely a social one but a psychological one.

26. Life has become more comfortable owing to technology, organisation and routinisation. The state or the firm or richer parents tend to provide the needs of the individual and are expected to. Self-reliance, personal effort, patience and endurance have diminished. It has become much more difficult for modern man to deal with difficulties and hardships and much which was relatively easy has become difficult. Problems are, therefore, increasing faster than they are solved.

27. There is an increasing tendency to invent and retreat from reality into a fantasy world created by man. This is produced not only by newspapers, magazines, novels and advertisements, but also by the cinema, video tapes, television and increasingly by computers in the form of virtual reality. This will increase maladaptation to reality by diverting attention from the examination and solution of real problems. The media of mass communication and entertainment have a profound effect on the culture, education and formation of people, on their thinking, feeling and behaviour, but those who control them appear to be wholly irresponsible and without standards of any kind. They tend to propagate trivia, useless gossip and inculcate violence, immorality and perversions. The need to educate and control them has become a matter of urgency. There is a fear of censorship lest the freedom of information is replaced by the self-interest or prejudices of dictators, but controls need only apply to what is known and agreed to be false, evil, harmful, useless and ugly, things which can easily be established by research and distributed by the educational system.   

Environmental Problems:-

1. Pollution of the environment - land sea and air - through waste disposal from factories, sewage, exhaust fumes and the burning of coal and oil and other fuels, and the use of insecticides. Through biological, chemical and nuclear manipulation, human beings have created substances which did not exist before and though nature has a tendency to adjust, recycle and compensate this takes time. But the rate of pollution is increasingly faster than this. There is, therefore a cumulative effect. This reacts on the food production and health of people. Human waste was once incorporated into the land to provide fertilizers. It is now wasted by pumping into rivers and seas. There is also pollution by noise, unpleasant smells and sights. The destruction of the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere by various domestic and industrial chemicals allows an increase in the heat and harmful rays of the sun to penetrate into the earth. Various gases emitted by industry, particularly carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide produce the green house effect which by preventing the escape of heat increases the world temperature. This causes the disruption of the weather systems leading to floods, droughts, storms, heat and cold waves, the melting of polar ice, and the consequent rise of the sea and erosion of land. No doubt earth quakes are also caused by the changes in heat and energy distribution. The growth and distribution of plants and insects is affected. Forests and farms are killed off by acid rain and fish by polluted rivers and oceans. The population of birds and animals are decimated. The mutation and multiplication of various pests and disease causing bacteria is also facilitated.

2. Adulteration of foods with chemical additives which produce harmful effects on man. Degradation of the nutritional value of foods by methods of mass production, genetic engineering, processing, refining, preserving, canning; the factory farming, hormone treatment and unnatural feeding of animals.

3. Exhaustion and wastage of energy, mineral, plant and animal resources. Selective cultivation, deforestation and the extinction of many species of animals also depletes the genetic stock. The advanced industrial nations have used up the more accessible sources of minerals, energy and fertilizers. It is becoming more and more difficult and expensive to extract these from poorer sources. Though it is possible to recycle some of these resources this too is becoming more expensive in energy and human effort. The use of resources always entails an increase in entropy, a leaching or wearing away so that the materials are more finely distributed and unavailable for recollection. In the future, therefore, even if the population is stabilised, and the relative distribution of wealth remains unchanged, the general standard of life will be reduced unless technology makes use of other hitherto unused resources, extra-terrestrial resources are found and existing resources are more responsibly managed.

4. Destruction of the Ecological balance between different species. The attempts to solve a problem in one direction have often created a problem in another direction. The introduction of one species to control another into an environment where it did not exist before has resulted in a chain reaction because of the inter-dependence and of species, thereby upsetting the balance and creating unforeseen problems. If A lives on or is dependent on B, B on C, C on D, and D on A, then getting rid of C means that B and, therefore, A will also die while D will multiply because of lack of predators. But to do this it must eat more of A which is already dying off. Thus lack of food will cause D to be reduced. The whole system must, therefore, readjust. But things are much more complex than this because A, B, C and D may be groups, each consisting of several species and these are also connected with others within and between groups. This complexity does not only exist in the biosphere, but also in human institutions. The attitude which looks at problems and solutions in isolation from the system to which they belong is wide spread and affects industrial, civic and political planning as well as the whole culture, including science and technology.  

5. Transformation of the natural environment into an artificial one by building cities, roads, mining, farms, dams without adequate thought for compatibility. Many areas have been turned into deserts which cannot sustain life. Erosion and loss of fertile soils by deforestation and agricultural mismanagement.

6. Increase in the number of hazards and possibility of accidents. These hazards come not only from traffic on land, sea and air because of congestion and technical failure, but also in homes, factories and offices. Large chemical, biological and nuclear installations and laboratories have explosions. The proliferation of arms and sophisticated electronic devices can be used by criminals and psychopaths.

7. The misapplication of technology has also produced economic disasters in many countries.

General Problems:-

1. Every nation by its industrial activity affects the whole planetary environment, atmosphere, sea and land, on which the whole human race depends. The burning of the forests in Brazil and elsewhere, the use of chemicals, the emission of carbon dioxide by the use of oil and coal affect the weather of the whole planet - the temperature, rain fall, winds on which crops depend. The resources, the oil and crops grown in one country are needed by another. Rivers flow through several countries and their waters are shared. It is not possible, therefore, to argue that what happens within a nation is the exclusive concern of that country’s government. It is inconceivable that a people in one country will stand by doing nothing while the people suffer or starve because of events in another country. Those who have the military power will certainly intervene. Impoverished and desperate people will use military power if they see no other alternative. Therefore, military power has become even more important than before. But from a planetary point of view rather than a nationalistic one, this constitutes not just an utter waste, but is positively destructive.

2. The advance of science and technology has had several consequences:-

(a) It has forced great social changes many of which are harmful. It has often been applied without considering consequences or while there was inadequate knowledge about consequences, thereby causing many disasters. The need for an over all comprehensive and self-consistent and coordination view is necessary.

(b) It gave people great power while there was no equivalent moral development. The need for psychological development is becoming increasingly evident.

(c) Experts such as scientists, politicians, directors and managers of industries and so on acquire much greater power over others to whom no compensatory powers are given. It is, therefore, ever more important to re-empower people.

(d) It has created much greater and more complex industrial organisations which carry the risk of greater and less reversible disasters. These institutions behave according their own inner laws. They control people rather than people controlling them. Human beings have become powerless owing to a form of idolatry. This cannot be changed without a complete change in the basic attitude.

(e) The machines and industries created by man are designed to run continuously. But human beings have certain inbuilt rhythms as a result of which their performance changes gradually in harmony with the 24 hour day as well as the seasons. There are, therefore, incompatibilities and stresses between man and the world he has created. Most of the major accidents occur between the hours one and five at night when the human system is at its lowest ebb.

(f) The most important aspect of technology is the increasing speed of change. Social and psychological adaptation has not been able to keep up and this has led to increasing social and psychological stresses. But if a nation were to adopt policies to slow down the rate of technological changes in order to prevent these stresses, then international competition would cause it to lag behind, and as in the Soviet Union, this would lead to its economic and political collapse. It is, therefore, impossible for a single nation to bring about changes unilaterally. International agreements must be made, supervised and enforced. But this leads one back to politics which in its turn lead one back to psychological factors.

Only three alternatives seem possible:- either there is a world-wide agreement to limit technological development, or there is a world government which controls such development, or techniques are created and applied to increase the adaptability of people.

3. There are several levels of development:-

(a) At first there were only mechanical devices which reduced human labour, increased products, improved efficiency and precision and made possible much that was impossible before, both good and evil. These machines and instruments extended human senses and powers.

(b) The development of transport and communications - Cars, Railways, Aeroplanes, Telephones, Radios, Television, Videos, Computers and the Internet etc.. This shrunk the world and brought diverse peoples into greater contact. It also increased the amount of information.

(c) The development and application of chemicals which interfered with foods and human physiology as well as the environment. It has produced medicine but also poisons for man.

(d) The discovery and application of electricity which revolutionised the way people live, not only by making light and heat available, but also cinemas, radio, television, gramophones, and various domestic appliances.

(e) Automatic and self-controlling machinery, new artificial materials such as plastics and new sources of energy such as nuclear power. These promise great prosperity, but also make human beings redundant as a work force and create leisure which may be used for good, but is usually used for futile purposes. Boredom has to be relieved.

(f) The development of computers and information technology. They replace brain work and increases the speed of scientific development. Even the understanding of scientists has lagged behind these advances. They often merely have to manipulate formulae mechanically. It has become an esoteric subject just like religion.

(g) The development of nuclear energy. The degree to which good can be done by this is also matched by the degree of harm it can do.

(h) The power and precision of weapons has increased. Single individuals could kill millions of people and destroy vast areas. The fact that modern societies breed psychopathy makes these a source of almost inevitable disaster.

(i) Genetic engineering which has made possible interference with life forms, in plants, animals, bacteria as well as man. Though diseases can be cured and food production increased and even new foods created by bacterial activity, it is also possible to create new strains of deadly viruses and germs,

(j) Psychological engineering has already begun and its power is potentially the most dangerous. The few could then manipulate the many, and use them merely as extensions of their own bodies and minds.

(k) There is the possibility of controlling the weather and the climate to the benefit of mankind. But the effects so far have been to change it for the worst. there appear to be more floods and droughts, more extremes of heat and cold waves, more violent storms, and even earth quakes induced by mining and disturbances of the balance of magnetic and other geophysical forces.

(l) Space travel and exploration has become possible. This could relieve congestion on this planet by the discovery of new territories to populate, and also as new sources of materials. Population increase and economic pressures themselves may force such expansion. Economic, political and cultural problems may, however, prevent such development.

(m) Micro-engineering may allow the production of minute computer controlled instruments and machines which could even travel through human veins to perform precise surgeries. But these could also be used by criminals and psychopaths to control people.

Thus we see that human control is increasing and that it depends on cooperation and organisation, and that this increases both the possibility of benefiting and harming man. That it is not due to planning by any individual. It is not, therefore, possible to regard man as the end or goal of these processes. All these possibilities arise from human potentialities which have arisen from factors not under human control. These tendencies are part of evolution and are irreversible. There is an incompatibility between the idea that man is free, the origin and goal of all his activities on the one hand and these processes on the other. This incompatibility is itself the reason why he is unable to benefit himself by his activities. If he is the goal why does he not benefit rather than harm himself ? What can be the point in doing anything? This attitude must, therefore, change to bring about any benefits. It requires Surrender.

4. The biggest problem for mankind may be one of genetics. The future of humanity, whether it destroys itself or over comes its problems and develops, depends on the kind of people that are bred. The social conditions in many places appear to contain a contradiction. While the technological and educational development creates a bias in favour of those with greater ability, it also encourages the multiplication of people who are inadequate in many ways. The work done by the few able people can be multiplied and made available to all while the majority are discouraged from using or developing their abilities. These people tend to destroy or obstruct progress. There are only a limited number of positions for the able. In some countries there are too many well educated people who cannot find a position and must take up menial jobs. The less able are organised to conform and obey those who have the greater ability. They become the instruments or limbs of the latter. It makes them useful. This multiplies the power of the one but diminishes that of the others. Inadequacy, however, makes an increasing number of people a burden on the society and diminishes the general level of the ability to cope with problems. On the other hand, because this increases the number of problems, it provides the incentive to solve them. Many able people are employed in just such problems.

It is also evident that the people who lead and control nations, and who are best adapted to the social conditions and are the safest in the face of major disasters are those who are most self-seeking, ambitious, arrogant, cunning, cynical, manipulating, callous, indifferent to others and totally without conscience. They do not mind causing turmoil, suffering and slaughter among masses of people while they are themselves immune enjoying the fruits of the earth. Some of these are spiritually quite dead. They are also the people who have the greatest capacity for self-deception and reject all warnings of disaster. This was so in the past as the scriptures tell us and it is so today. The social systems create them, bring them to power and encourage their multiplication. And yet both the Christian Gospels and the Quran tell us that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5, Psalms 37:11, Quran 21:105). Indeed it seems unlikely that the earth can survive otherwise. There must be a way of getting rid of them.

5. Industry depends on the use of energy. It has been using up, in only a relatively few years, the energy of the sun locked up in the coal and oil over millions of years. This energy is converted into heat and radiated out into space. The question is:- Is there enough solar energy being trapped on earth to replace this or is the degradation of the earth increasing. The effects of the radiations of the earth on the Solar System are likely to be very small given the relatively tiny size of the earth. On the other hand very small factors are known to have large effects because of catalysis. Every industry uses energy to construct something. It creates order. But such construction can only be attained by a greater increase in disorder according to thermodynamic laws. The over all advantages are, therefore, less than the advantages. The increase of order in one direction may also be obtained at the expense of order another direction. There is a trade off between material goods, human organisation and psychological development.

6. On the one hand the natural instincts of people have been suppressed by the artificiality of life created by the culture, the social organisation and the changed physical environment, and on the other hand people have not learnt and are not taught how to live. They, therefore, create their own diseases. But they treat the symptoms of these by still further artificial means which increase the inner contradictions. There are three sources of disease:-

(a) Dietary habits. There is a natural balance between the amount of nutrition taken in, processed and output. The energy and nourishment we need depends on the work we do. But an imbalance has been created owing to the fact that most work has become sedentary owing to technology on the one and appetite is governed by greed, habit and conditioning on the other. It is also governed by what is available and this depends on trade, import and export. Numerous investigations have been conducted which show that most people have no idea what and how to eat. Apart from consumption of obviously harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs, the diet of most people is wholly unbalanced. In the prosperous countries there is consumption of too much fat and sugar relative to the work and exercise they do, while in the poorer countries there is a lack of proteins and vitamins. Foods are often preserved rather than fresh. They have deteriorated and all kinds of artificial substances have been added to preserve them or enhance their looks and taste.

(b) Social interactions. People have not learnt to interact without tension. This is because they have learnt very little about human beings, particularly owing to lack of introspection. Many housing estates, organisations and rules are made without considering human nature.

(c) Psychological factors - Attitudes, frameworks of reference, and basic ideas. Life and events fail to be interpreted in a harmonious and comprehensive manner and there are contradictions in thought, motives and actions. Excessive pessimism, optimism, paranoia, expectations, confrontations, and so on, creates inner tensions and maladjustment.

7. There are tragedies due to famines, floods, abject poverty, starvation, deprivation, disease, lack of facilities and education, and death and destruction due to civil wars in many parts of the world. When the United Nations organisation was formed there was hope that international problems could be solved in a just and bloodless manner. In fact, however, its activities were paralysed by international bickering and power struggles, by the manipulations of powerful nations to their own advantage, and even by sabotage. Many nations even fail to pay the fees required to maintain its various agencies. Had the nations been serious they would have provided this organisation with a powerful military force while limiting or abolishing national armies, so that it could maintain world order while leaving each nation to settle its affairs intelligently and peacefully. It is evident, however, that the political will does not exist. Narrow self-interest takes precedence despite the fact that it is evident that such interest involves a contradiction. The maintenance of world order, international cooperation, and free aid in developing the material and human resources of backward nations would be less costly and more advantageous to all. Priorities have not been defined.

8. There is a division and difference of interest between the people on the one hand and the governments and ruling classes on the other in all nations, even those which regard themselves as Democratic. Governments are concerned with maintaining and enhancing their power and control of the people, and not with truth, goodness, beauty or usefulness which concern people. Governments are always controlled by those who have the power and cater for the interests of the powerful. They are inert, neutral and inactive in areas outside these purposes, and have to be forced by the people or power groups to act within these. They are machines imposed on people and devoid of consciousness, conscience or will. Since they exist to control people, they use coercive measures and tend to be secretive to avoid interference. Their agencies exploit the people of other nations, using them as materials for their own purposes and usually also people within their own nations. They create rather than solve many of the world problems. They, therefore, invite the arising of oppositions, which are then condemned as terrorist organisation since these disturb the political order and threaten the power of the State. They are always oppressive to various degrees unless there is constant vigilance and opposition. Since all governments are the same, there is a conflict between all governments except where their interests are perceived to coincide, or compromises can be made. But the perception of common interest is very restricted and, wherever possible, since no considerations other than power are sacrosanct, governments will take advantages of favourable conditions to flout agreements. Thus international bodies, such as United Nations are always places where there is squabbling and a struggle for power. They are:-

(a) Effective when the profit or other interest of those possessing the wealth and control is involved. An international force successfully operated against Iraq, for instance when Oil supplies were threatened.

(b) Completely ineffective when no such interests are involved, though great issues of genocide, mass murders, deportations, tortures, atrocities, destruction, plunder, oppression and injustice were involved such as in Bosnia and Africa.

(c) Indifferent to famines, starvation and disasters unless forced by public opinion. It is usually voluntary charities which deal with such situations first and publicity forces them to act reluctantly, belatedly and in an adequate manner.

It is, therefore, evident that little in the way of human progress can be expected from governments and political systems.. Human societies, themselves, have to take control. But they continue to exist precisely because human beings are lazy, apathetic, cowardly, ignorant.  

9. It is argued by some people that most of these problems have nothing to do with religion and they ought not to be a subject in a book on religion. But it has been shown that the psychological, social and environmental aspects are inter-dependant. Islam makes no distinction between the different parts of life and does create a unified cosmic view. Religion is not regarded as an accident confined to a particular locality or people, but an integral part of world processes. It is not, in fact, possible to treat these problems separately owing to their interconnectedness.

The human condition depends on inner psychological states, social conditions and the environment. There must be a balance and coordination between these. This requires a fourth unifying, controlling factor which has not been developed, namely religion.

The psychological state, too, has to integrate three factors, namely consciousness, conscience and will (thinking, motivation and skill or wisdom, compassion and ability, or truth, goodness and power). Objective Values and purpose are needed as well as the capacity to perceive facts and the power to manipulate and develop techniques. Social control also requires the triad knowledge, organisation and resources, which must also be coordinated. This is generally the function of Politicians, but their capacities are limited. The environment, too, may be described as a triad consisting of materials, energy and order. Coordination is required here, too. We should, therefore, understand the Principle of Unity (Tawhid) and the verse below much more deeply:-“ Say not ‘Three’ - Cease. It is better for you - Allah is only One God.” 4:171

In order to deal with their problems human beings require correct knowledge, correct motivation and correct abilities. The environmental problems and the solution to most of them is already known, and it is not beyond human ingenuity to discover the solution to the other problems. As for abilities, these, given human potentialities, could also be developed. The difficulty lies not in the knowledge and the ability but in the motivation. It is not difficult to see that the sources of human problems are social factors, and that these in turn exist because of the psychological condition of people. There is little doubt that the advances in science promise a Heaven on earth in the future, but also a Hell. The choice provided by science is no different in this respect from that provided by religion. But science has nothing to tell us about how we should live our lives and reach the correct goal. This is the function of religion. And this requires Surrender.

The solution of problems requires (a) awareness of the problems, (b) appropriate techniques for solving them (c) the will, ability and action. There are three interacting ways of solving problems:-

(a) By the action of governments. But this requires the existence of enlightened politicians who also have power.

(b) By general discussion in the community and consensus of opinions. The environmental and animal right movements appear to have arisen in this way and force governments to act. But popular movements depend not only on the arising of enlightened people, but also on existing economic realities. These depend on technological and political changes.

(c) Through psychological and spiritual changes, new states of consciousness. These depend on the existence of spiritual teachers, their example, and the education and transformation exercises they bring.

All political systems in the world are concerned with power; all businesses are occupied with profit; most academics are interested in prestige. None of those engaged in these pursuits, with some exceptions, are interested in what is really useful, good, beautiful or true. Yet the perception and solution of the problems of the world require the application of just these values. It is, therefore, impossible that the problems of the world can be solved by the present world system. It is only when suffering reaches the critical point that the present systems will collapse and something new will arise. But the arising of the new system depends on there being a sufficient number of people who have already woken up and are able gradually to replace these others and take control. The solution of these problems cannot be purely economic, political, technological or academic, and cannot arise spontaneously from a community which is already conditioned by their past or by accidental changes in the environment over which they have no control, but has to be religious in the deeper meaning of the term.

10. There are certain self-propagating tendencies which obstruct human progress. Some of these are as follows:-

(a) Nations which concentrate their efforts on material, economic and technological progress at the expense of social and psychological progress force other nations, in self-defence, to do the same. Those who do not follow suit are at a disadvantage. This problem can only be solved if (i) a nation maintains a sufficient technological lead to ensure sufficient leisure and resources for other pursuits, or (ii) it deliberately follows a policy of self-sufficiency, diversity and partial self-isolation, or (iii) There is a world-wide agreement to limit competition in these fields and cooperate in the maintenance and development of environmental, social and psychological welfare. Unless the psychologically most advanced people separate themselves out from the rest of the population to create a new species, the last of these alternatives is the only feasible one.

(b) Civilised people who have developed a measure of sensitivity, compassion and values find themselves at a disadvantage in the face of barbarians who lack these qualities. Civilisations tend to develop only as long as the barbarians are fighting each other, but a time comes when the prosperity in the civilised lands attracts their attention and they tend to destroy it. There are three ways of tackling the problem:- (i) That civilisations maintain a strong military force into which all those who have barbaric tendencies both foreign and domestic are confined and separated from the rest of the population. As long as wars are fought between such armies the barbarians would destroy each other while protecting the civilised. Unfortunately wars now involve the whole population. (ii) Measures are taken by civilisations to help and civilise other nations. Since human beings are inter-dependant, the level to which any section of the population can rise is limited by the general level of development. (iii) That human beings develop greater adaptability, versatility and control so that they can use any appropriate set of characteristics where required without one set inhibiting other sets.

(c) The ignorant and unintelligent are always ready to solve their problems through physical force while those with intelligence and knowledge tend to use reason. But in a confrontation the latter are at a disadvantage. This problem has been solved through organisation which increases the power of the latter while limiting that of the former.

(d) The number of criminals and miscreants is relatively small but their influence on a community is much greater than their numbers because of the precautionary measures which have to be taken. The Laws, rules, procedures, technologies and devices such as security systems which are designed to prevent crime affect and limit the whole population. They cause direct harm to a large number, waste resources and they also influence the community indirectly by example and by the retaliatory measures which others have to take. Whereas it may be argued that there are a great number of innocent victims, the fact is that the community is not innocent. People are inter-dependant and self-centred behaviour is a form of stupidity. The criminal arises because the social conditions create him or allow him to flourish. This is, of course, also true of selfishness and other anti-social characteristics. The problem cannot be solved without greater social responsibility.

(e) Those who have a surplus of resources, inner or outer, can use these for further development. This increases their surpluses. Those who do not, cannot. Those who have less, will gradually degenerate. Thus the gap between those who have and have not has a tendency to continually grow, and this increases tension, conflict and callousness. Some obtain their surplus by depriving others, and some of those who have a surplus waste it. This applies to money, skills, knowledge as well as compassion. When nations are poor it is not possible for them to develop unless they can accumulate a surplus by extracting it from those who are already poor. Therefore, an increase in oppression and suffering is inevitable. This happened in Europe, in Russia and may happen elsewhere. And it may not produce good results in the future owing to wastage and mis-management. The only solution to this problem is that some of the surpluses are transferred to those who have none and that this is accompanied by knowledge, skill and good motives. Charity in its proper sense is required.

(f) The obvious world problems are, of course poverty, disease, lack of education, homelessness, abandoned children, injustice, and oppression. But these exist because they have been produced by the economic and political systems, and are maintained by the indifference of the rich people of the world. They could have been solved by a system of Zakah, whereby each nation contributed to a World Fund a percentage proportional to their national income above the world average. An organisation could then be set up to eradicate these problems. But governments consult only their own self-interest, and cannot see that this would be in their own long term interest. Clearly, we have here a lack of consciousness, conscience and will which are psychological problems.

(g) All human problems ultimately reduce to this, that greed, fear and hate stimulate each other and destroy love, faith and hope which are the impulses on which human development depends. They narrow down attention and consciousness. Greed causes fear of deprivation and hatred of that which threatens deprivation. Hate causes aggression which induces fear and hate in others. Fear of deprivation causes greed. The only solution to this problem is the expansion of consciousness, conscience and will so that the individual sees himself as only a part of a greater totality rather than the whole of it. There is no substitute for religion.

11. One of the great problems of the modern technological age is connected with the media of mass communication - books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, advertising material, cinema, radio, video recorders and films, satellite television, computers and the worldwide Internet. These have several advantages:- (a) They create the possibility of making all information available to all, thereby allowing rapid action on a global scale. (b) They allow free exchange of ideas and opinions which stimulates development. (c) They make universal education possible. (d) They facilitate the process of Democratisation because the systems are becoming available to all and cannot be easily controlled by any individual or group. (e) They make the world into a single integrated unity.

But it is also evident that there are several severe disadvantages. Though there was great hope for them as instruments of human development they have been overwhelmed by perverse and depraving influences. (a) It is these media which have become the main source of experience for people, a second hand influence which conditions their personalities. Passive television watching has become a substitute for personal activity and participation, displacing reading and writing, conversation, social and family activities, gatherings meetings and conferences. Parents no longer act as role models or teach their children. (b) These media have been taken over by commercial firms to advertise goods and create greed for their own profits. This requires that there should be mass appeal and policy should be dictated by the lowest common denominator. These systems are, therefore, overwhelmingly cluttered up with frivolous material, pure rubbish, perverse and even psychologically harmful and degenerate material. This makes it difficult to extract anything valuable. They are dominated by low quality entertainment appealing to, and stimulating, the baser impulses of arrogance, violence, avarice, hatred, prejudice, lust and various kinds of perversions. (c) All this material is accessible to children who are educated and formed by it rather than by their parents and the educational system. They learn adultery and fornication, rebelliousness, anti-social behaviour, indiscipline and disrespect for parents and authority, and cynicism. (d) In ordinary life a person is exposed to many random events and influences, but those who spend their time with these systems select those things which accord with their natures. This constantly re-enforces particular features in them at the expense of a more general adaptation. The result must be to narrow down human potentialities, increase and entrench differences, prevent mutual understanding, increase conflicts and neurosis. (e) Communication through these systems is remote. It replaces inter-personal relationships with formal and mechanical devices. It isolates people. (f) These systems create a substitute or virtual reality and a world of fantasy since they depend on selection of data and imagination. They are substitutes for real experience and cause Alienation from the real world. (g) These systems affect the economy, politics, culture, the social system and the whole psychology of people. And yet they are controlled by only a small percentage of irresponsible people accountable to no one. Indeed, even they have no conscious control since their behaviour is governed by the conditions which they have themselves created. In effect no human control exists over human affairs. There is little control of standards. (h) It has become impossible for any community or nation to protect itself from these wholly perverse influences because they ignore all borders being beamed down via satellites. The richest and most powerful companies, the very ones which attained that position by these corrupting practices, have the most influence world-wide.

12. People differ in their personalities, interests, talents and experiences both horizontally, vertically and comprehensively. What some might consider important, interesting or valuable might not be thought to be so by others. Indeed, variety is important in nature not only (a) because this allows adaptation of a species to a variety of different conditions but also (b) because nature has a wider pallet from which to select the best, and (c) cooperation between the different individuals allows the species as a whole to be much more versatile and powerful. But it is also evident that the quality of people differs vertically. The highest qualities are possessed by few people. The above problem is the consequence of the fact that the greater the number of people the lower is their average quality. It is also known that geniuses who have contributed a great amount to the society, scientists, artists, statesmen, industrialists, because of some extra-ordinary quality were nevertheless deficient in some other qualities. Many failed to perform well at school, were neurotic, avoided domestic and family responsibilities, had bad habits and characters, and were maladapted to most situations other than those in which they distinguished themselves. These facts present one with a problem. On the one hand, there is obviously a need for control and law to ensure development and to prevent degeneration and harm being done. On the other hand the same control could also prevent the arising of what is valuable. On a third hand, who is to do the controlling? The controllers will also differ in quality. The present Western attitude is that this control should be left to a Formal Law which is itself established by a formal political machinery. This formal process is either imposed by a group of those who hold the power or ideally by the common consent of the people. But the people could consent to a Dictator or to a process which gave control to the most able. It depends on their culture and education.

 

The human world is in the midst of a major revolution greater than that which brought about the Industrial Revolution. It has three aspects:-

(1) Transport and Communication are making the world into a single place transcending national barriers. Trade and Business is conducted on a world wide scale through the communications network linked by computers. The same goods and cultural ideas are being distributed worldwide Television brings world-wide information almost instantly to people everywhere. People are travelling more to all parts of the world and this tourism has to be catered for. National governments are impotent in the face of international companies and better informed public. National identity is becoming obsolete.

(2) Automated and computerised machinery is taking away all the labour intensive jobs causing mass unemployment. Governments appear to be unable to cope with this problem.

(3) The advance of science is bringing in new ideas and technologies which require a complete re-orientation of thinking and the development of new skills.

These three factors are creating a tremendous amount of insecurity. The result of this is the retreat into the comfort of religion. Unfortunately, this revival of religion is a step backward to past certainties not a step forward in understanding; it has causes not reasons; it is a sub-rational emotional reaction not a super-rational spiritual action; it creates conflicts not unity; it produces fanaticism not awareness. This cannot solve problems. It seems, therefore, that there are great troubles ahead unless the religions can be formulated in terms understandable by the new mind, not in the traditional obsolete ones. It will be impossible for human beings to solve any of their problems as long as they remain self-centred and trapped within the confines of their conditioning. Only the development of true objective behaviour, at least in some people, can deliver them.

“Say: If your fathers; or your sons, or your brothers or your mates or your relations, or the wealth you have acquired; or the losses you fear in your businesses, or the dwellings in which you delight - if you love any of these more than you love Allah and His messenger, and the striving in His cause: then wait until Allah brings His decision. Allah guides not a rebellious people.” 9:24  

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