PROF. JAMIL FAROOQUI portrays a bird’s-eye view of the prevailing system in the world and presents certain traits and conditions necessary to make ‘just world order’ a reality.
Humans have been struggling from the very dawn of civilization to establish an ‘order’ wherein they can fulfil their aspirations, and live with their brethren in peace and harmony with dignity and honour. They have made serious and rigorous efforts in this direction but it still remained only a dream. They thought it could be possible if they created sophisticated means of livelihood, developed adequate and advanced technology and mechanical devices to satisfy their urges. As a matter of fact, they developed knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge (which is believed to be capable of curing all of their ailments), discovered the treasures of nature, invented great machines and tools, provided humanity with utmost material comfort and made human life more and more comfortable.
They also developed different socio-economic and political systems as well as advanced methods of governance, which may ensure individual freedom, safety of their lives and property as well as their genuine right of existence. In spite of all these efforts and developments, the human world remains unsafe and human life is more fragile than we ever imagined. Our scientific discoveries and sophisticated technologies made the environment highly polluted to the extent that it is difficult to taste the fresh air. Our socio-political systems have failed to protect individual freedom, safeguard human dignity, and guarantee the human right of existence to every individual irrespective of caste, creed and colour. Our economic system failed to provide bread and butter to millions of our brethren who are leading an animalistic life. Our governance fell flat in shielding the rights and interests of poor, downtrodden and innocent people who are still struggling to get an adequate opportunity to live with grace and dignity.
The fact is that we have failed rather miserably to remove exploitation, oppression, suppression of humans and deprivation of their genuine rights by others. Human suffering, distress, agony and anguish are at the highest magnitude on earth. The irony is that these catastrophes are created by our own leaders who profess to be alleviating these very problems: the dominant persons at local levels, the commanding ruling elite at the national level and the affluent and powerful nation at the international level. Humanity is gasping in gloom and groaning in anguish.
Voices have been raised from different quarters to establish just world order, as humans have reached the pinnacle of material civilization and now it is time to show their eminence by laying the foundation of a society which would be just and humane in the true sense. Many heads of the affluent and powerful nations claim that they are proceeding towards ‘new world order’. Our thinkers and intellectuals assert that ‘new world order’ has already emerged at the surface of the globe and the next step is to give it body and soul. Former Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in his 1988 United Nations General Assembly address felt the need for “a quest for universal consensus in the movement towards a new world order”. Later, then US President George W. Bush in his speech to Congress on Sep. 11, 1990 spelled out the concept of a new world order which, according to him, was struggling to be born and which was quite different from the one which people knew. It was characterised by rule of law that supplants the law of the jungle, shared responsibility of nations for freedom and justice, and respect for the rights of the weak by the strong.
The US President and other US dignitaries further talked of other traits which the new world order was supposed to embody, namely promotion of democratic practices, free market economics, collective resistance to aggression and upholding of ‘universal values’. These soothing concepts lost their meanings and relevance when thousands of innocent and weak persons were massacred in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine under the garb of these concepts by their own champions for socio-political and economic ascendency. A considerable number of people are starving, suppressed, exploited, deprived of their rights and forced to live heinous and egregious life in different parts of the world in the name of democracy, free market, resistance to aggression and for the universal values due to the hegemony of the affluent and powerful nations.
Substantial interference in the internal affairs of weak and poor nations, including plundering of their economic resources, deprivation of their rights and taking advantage of their indigence on a large scale, is still continuing. This distressing situation of our world is the result of the strategy of prosperous nations to impose their hegemony on the world, using humanitarian principles, international organisations and charters to lend legitimacy to its acts. As a matter of fact, the poor and weak nations are losing their faith in these principles and consider the ‘new world order’ to be a strategy of affluent nations to dominate and utilise the resources of the poor and weak nations for maintaining their prosperity and hegemony. This is the reason that Gareth Evans, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, remarked that “one can’t help but feel that its time has not quite yet come. The new world order will seem a long way away . . .” The fact is that the ‘new world order’ is in fact the old one, in the garb of new words, even then limited to the speeches and pages of some books and magazines.
The question is why humans have failed to establish a just and peaceful world order and make this world worth living in. Why could their attempts in this direction not bear fruit, despite strong feeling and earnest desire for this necessity? The reason is that humans have failed to restrain their greedy nature – to rein in their wild desire to get more and more at the cost of others and to control their ambitions of dominating others and commanding the world order. They consider they are the choicest persons, made of superior stuff, having superior culture, the best technology, the finest systems of governance and the most appropriate and pleasant ways of leading life. Consequently, they have the right to rule others, dominate others and enjoy the privileges of the world, and to thrust their system and views on others because they are superior to all.
The sense of superiority and the feeling of dominating others motivate people to introduce such systems as can accord them much privilege while others remain subjugated. These unwieldy cravings press people to use systems and doctrines, whatever their nature, for their own benefit and to legitimise their acts under the various pretexts. That being so, a small section of humans, the so-called most civilized creatures of the world, are the most prosperous and powerful, dominating the events of the world, setting forth new theories, coining new words and concepts for maintaining and legitimising their ascendency which others are forced to follow. The rest of the population is inferior and deficient, supposed to follow what the so-called civilized dictate, breathe under their shadow, accept their theoretical and conceptual frameworks and lead life accordingly.
In this situation the concept of a ‘just world order’ is what the prosperous and powerful nations envisage, express and project in the media, and it is not thought proper that the poor and weak nations throw off the yoke of subordination from their shoulders. The just world order will remain a fool’s paradise if this situation prevails; if humans do not restrain their wild ambitions, act to please their egos and do not treat others on the same footing as themselves. The essential requirement of a just world order is to create a mind-set, a distinct psyche to consider this world to be God’s unique creation to live in peace and tranquillity, treat all human beings as one, kith and kin of each other and give all privileges to others which one wants for oneself. The essence of a ‘just world order’ lies in the cardinal principles laid down by the Creator for human beings to live in this world in the most appropriate way with dignity and honour. God is the epitome of benevolence and mercy and wants that humans would also manifest the same traits in dealing with living beings in general and with their brethren in particular. However, there are certain conditions that are indispensable for laying the foundation of a just world order.
AUTHORITY OF GOD
The concept of ‘just’ should be traced to the authority of God. An act, an idea, a concept and a programme can be considered just if they are sanctioned by Him and is in consonance with the Divine commandments. The raison d’être is that He is the most just; His guidance and commandments are just, for all and in the best interest of human beings. He has laid down certain principles and criteria of what is just based on virtues and righteousness. If anything fulfils those criteria, it is just. Man-made principles and criteria of being just are influenced by his ego, aspirations, his affiliation to groups and other factors. Moreover, humans always try to interpret and twist the principles and facts in their own favour or in the favour of their group. If they accept the authority of God, consider Him the embodiment of justice and the true judge Who knows the intention of humans that lies behind their acts, they will avoid using principles and facts in their favour.
God’s bounties are not limited to one person or a group of persons but to all living beings irrespective of their ethnic and physical backgrounds. All creatures get equal benefit from the bounties of God. The sun and the moon do not give comfort more to white and less to black. The fact is that the cosmic order is the most just order. Similarly, if we accept Divine guidance and implement it in true sense on earth, we will succeed to create a just world order full of peace, tranquillity and serenity and devoid of suppression, exploitation and deprivation.
UNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS
The verity of human existence on earth is that the entirety of humanity is one and the same. All humans are one, created by the One and the same Creator, progeny of the same father and mother, made of the same stuff and having the same physiological traits. They stand on the same footing. They have close affinity with each other and thus constitute a ‘single brotherhood’. The minor differences of shape, colour, community and place of birth are not important at all, as they are for identification and not for granting superior rights or privileges. God addresses human beings in clear terms:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the more righteous of you (Qur’ān, 49:13).
Thus, all humans are equal, having the same privileges, rights and duties, and responsibilities on earth, and they are accountable before the Lord in the same way. No one has superior rights to others or more privileges. The Prophet also declared during the last pilgrimage that no Arab is superior to a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab to an Arab except in righteousness. The social order must take care of all members, treat them equally and give them equal rights, and it should not discriminate against anybody on the basis of their ethnic and cultural background. At the same time it should not allow anybody to deprive others of their rights and usurp others’ property.
RIGHT TO EXIST WITH DIGNITY AND HONOUR
The basic principle of living together with peace and harmony is to grant every individual the right to exist in this world. The right to exist is fundamental to every civilization and carries vast meanings. It means that every individual must be given proper and adequate opportunity to live in this world as he/she wants. Existence does not only mean physical existence; it also includes ideological and cultural existence. This is the foremost responsibility of a society and a major function of the system of governance – to provide full security for the life and property of its members.
At the same time the system should create conducive conditions to survive with all of one’s ideological and cultural traits as well as one’s priorities and preferences. First, proper respect should be given to human life. It is the precious gift from the Lord and it should not be destroyed at any cost but protected to the best of human endeavour. Homicide is a heinous crime if it is done without genuine reason. The Qur’ān considers the destruction of a life to be the destruction of the whole humanity. It clearly states: “If anyone slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – he slew the whole people” (5: 32). A system can only be just if it has requisite provisions and provides sufficient facilities for individuals to survive according to their faith, ideological fervour and cultural traits and protect their lives and their systems as well.
PROTECTION OF THE WEAK, DOWNTRODDEN
The weaker members of humanity, including women, and poor and disabled persons, must be given protection. They are our kith and kin and an essential part of our society. We cannot leave them at the mercy of circumstances but must save them from all atrocities and excesses of others. It is the duty of society to come for their rescue and provide them with all possible help so that they could lead a dignified life. A system cannot be just if it fails to discharge this responsibility.
SECURITY TO DIGNITY OF WOMEN
The dignity of women must also be protected in a just social order. In the wake of the freedom of individuals, equality between sexes, modernity, and ‘sexual liberation’, women have ironically been reduced to sex objects. They are encouraged to wear short dresses exposing different parts of their body and are used to attract their counterparts in different ceremonies and functions. Moreover, in the media, their air-brushed nude and semi-nude pictures are published to objectify women and give psychological pleasure to men (and insecurity to women). Consequently, crimes against women and attacks on their dignity and chastity are increasing day in and day out. These uncivilized acts in the name of civilization must be banned and women should be given a dignified position so that they can perform a constructive role in a society.
ECONOMIC SECURITY
The most important factor for human beings is to satisfy their basic requirements in an adequate way. If they are not provided proper ways to create means of subsistence and satisfy their urges, they cannot play a positive role in a society. Instead, they are forced to adopt undesirable means of livelihood that promote deviation from the harmonious model desired by the Creator. They will always be at the mercy of others who will exploit them and use them for their own benefit. It is also necessary for a society to produce potential members. It cannot be strong and stable if it fails to produce potential members and fails to provide proper facilities to satisfy the basic needs of its members. Furthermore, the purpose of a system – social and political – is to enable humans to lead life in a righteous, dignified and peaceful way. This is only possible when the system makes adequate provisions for food, clothing, shelter and taking care of the health of its members. In the absence of these, the order or system is meaningless.
JUSTICE CORNERSTONE OF AN ORDER
An order can only be just if it is based on justice in a real sense. It should have adequate provisions of dealing with individuals and situations in the most judicious way. It should first provide justice for every member of society and subsequently motivate its members to do justice to themselves, to the community and to humanity as a whole. Justice in fact is the defining characteristic of humanity. This is the reason that God instructs: “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice” (Qur’ān, 5:8).
COOPERATION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Another important trait of a just word order is that it should extend all help and cooperation in virtuous and righteous acts. It should motivate and encourage people to follow virtues and righteousness and reject evil and misdeeds. Virtues and righteousness are the characteristics of piety and austerity which are necessary to establish a fair and upright system, as well as a ‘just world order’. God commands: “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not in sin and rancour” (Qur’ān 5: 2). If a society or a system establishes these principles, it will flourish; if it does not, it must face its doom.
These are some of the conditions necessary to make ‘just world order’ a reality and establish it on earth. We should leave no stone unturned to employ these principles in our actions, follow them with all sincerity and devotion in dealing with others as well as in living in this world. Mere expression – verbal or written – is not at all sufficient for establishing a just world order, but it should be manifested in our thought and action. We should struggle to create an atmosphere where we should respect humanity, share the grief and joy of others as it pleases our Lord. We should make this world a God-dominated system, and not a human-dominated tyranny.