How science has demonstrated chemically that prayer makes us more charitable and empathetic with others - fascinating short talk by Neuroeconomist Paul Zak who has published on this subject in the prestigious journal Nature:
http://blog.ted.com/2011/11/01/trust-morality-and-oxytocin-paul-zak-on-ted-com/
Perhaps also explains how marriage is 'half your deen' and how stabilising it is for young men of high testosterone
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Friday, 21 October 2011
The Spirit Level - Book Review
Every so often, a book comes along that forces us to radically re-think our basic assumptions. Wilkinson and Pickett’s ‘The Spirit Level’ a culmination of fifty years painstaking research work is exactly that. What is most remarkable of all, is that after half a century of research and numerous scattergraphs later, two British Professors of Epidemiology draw conclusions that look remarkably similar to those recommended by the Qur’an and Sunnah fourteen hundred years ago.
In the wake of the riots, many of us ask ourselves - how can we build a society where people are happy, healthy and safe? In the midst of the financial crisis, we ask how to maximise economic progress and entrepreneurship?
The answer to these questions lies in something that Western societies have been failing to do for many years now, with major consequence. Simply reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Using multiple sets of data from organisations such as the US Census, WHO, World Bank and United Nations, comparing a spread of developed countries, Wilkinson and Pickett show time and time again that countries that are unequal come out worst.
Whether its societal trust, literacy rates, crime, drug abuse, childhood welfare and even rates of imprisonment we are shocked to discover that America, Britain and Portugal do the worst. The best performing countries include Norway, Sweden and Japan which conversely have much greater equality.
What is notable is that the countries that do worse on one measure of social deprivation tend to score worse on every measure. Astonishingly, the US and the UK do worst on mental illness, women’s status, life expectancy, infant mortality and even international aid given. According to the statistics, we are even more violent and conflict ridden than the other countries sampled.
Admittedly there is no data from the developing world, simply because this is unavailable, but the evidence consistently points to a relationship much more connected to financial inequality than culture, religion or even national GDP.
The research also concludes that inequality does not just affect the poorest in society, but also the richest, who do less well than they would have done in a more equal country. Reducing the gap between rich and poor, will increase everybody’s well being and life expectancy, it is argued.
So how does this research connect to Islam? The study concludes that it does not matter how you reach equality, but merely that you do reach it. Intrinsic to Islam, are two major mechanisms that level out wealth. One is the clear prohibition of interest:
‘O you who believe! Fear Allah, and forgo any remaining usury’ 2:278
Interest is one of the main reasons that the rich are getting richer and the poor remain dependent. Through the maintenance of debt such as mortgages and IMF loans, there are few opportunities by which the poor can escape the pit they are in.
Secondly, Islam reduces inequality by enforcing Zakat (obligatory charity). Although this is only 2.5% of one’s surplus wealth given annually, it is a very effective way of re-distributing societal wealth, particularly when it comes from the very rich. The encouragement of further charitable giving in other parts of the year, such as Ramadan and Eid, also further reduce inequality, which as we now know help to improve society for everyone.
Why does a relationship exist between inequality and social deprivation? The authors suggest that the tendency of the rich to look down upon the poor, or the perception by the poor that they are discriminated against may be the reason for poor performance. In 2004, Hoff and Pandey, two world bank economists, did an experiment in India where they took 321 high caste and 321 low caste boys and set them a maze-solving task. The first group did the puzzle without being aware of each other’s castes. The second group of boys were asked to first stand up and declare their name, village, caste and parentage. The results showed a dramatic drop in performance of the low caste boys and an improvement in the high caste boys.
Resentment and anxiety due to discrimination, they argue, may explain poor mental health, personal achievement and greater crime rates. As the poor are increasingly ghettoised, the problem is continually compounded – few role models, bad experiences and low aspirations.
Once more, Islam has within it the capacity to prevent this kind of decline. Gatherings such as the five daily prayers, the Friday sermon, Eid gatherings and even Hajj force the very rich to stand shoulder to shoulder with the very poor, as the whole community come together with one purpose – the worship of Allah. A rich Muslim can never fully isolate himself from the problems of his poorer brother, nor can he justify looking down upon him, for he knows that the only thing that matters with Allah is his piety and not his wealth. Indeed, if he was genuine in increasing his status with Allah, he might do this by giving charity to his poor brother discreetly and in a way that would not affront his brother’s dignity (as is clearly commanded in the Qur’an).
What remains to be seen is whether Wilkinson and Pickett’s powerful book can impact society sufficiently to bring about change. Will the average Brit hear about the findings, care enough to act on it and lobby government? Everyone benefits after all.
I hope so for the sake of humanity. Yet there remains some doubt. I do not believe that the rich will stop hoarding wealth voluntarily. It is unlikely that the socially deprived will get to hear of this work through the popular press. And so it rests upon the educated to equip themselves with this knowledge and disseminate it to their friends to create something of a democratic tidal wave. Whilst the work has been very well received, is there enough societal momentum to sustain a change?
As Muslims this should be a subject area that we care deeply about. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said: ‘He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour is hungry’ Tabarani
So I put it to you, the reader, will you stand up and make a change?
Unveiling the Truth
Are Muslim women really pressurised into wearing the Niqab? Is it really a barrier to education and employment? How have French sisters responded since the ban? The answers to these questions and more are revealed in an extensive report published in April this year by the Open Society Foundations. The group, which works to bring about vibrant and tolerant democracies, interviewed 32 French Muslimahs on their motivations for wearing the Niqab, their experiences of it and their opinions of the recent French ban.
The report, which aims to address many of the myths propagated by the mainstream press, has yielded a number of interesting conclusions. Whilst public discourse paints Niqab wearing women as backwards, uneducated and unaspiring, the report’s findings suggest something rather different.
Of the sample interviewed, just under half had completed A-level equivalent education, and about a third were employed, with the majority expressing a desire to work in the future. Most had active social lives, only hindered by rising levels of Islamophobia encountered when out.
Public debate often assumes these women are either pressured into wearing the Niqab or have chosen to do so as an outright rejection of Western values. In reality, most women cited spirituality as their main reason for wearing the Niqab, describing the experience as joyful and a means to better connect with Allah.
The study also found that there had been a recent rise in the number of young women opting to wear the Niqab, often at the disappointment of parents and husbands – a finding which directly refutes common misconceptions. Mosques and Imams were found to have played no role in influencing these women either and some expressed disappointment that public Muslim figures had denied the veil’s role within Islam.
Unfortunately a majority (19 out of 30) were experiencing regular verbal abuse about their mode of dress when out and about, with these incidents increasing at the time Niqab was profiled in the media.
Reactions to the ban included frustration and disappointment that the French government were scapegoating the Muslim community in a bid to gain more votes. A desire to relocate to a Muslim country or more tolerant non-Muslim country was also expressed.
Whilst the report confirms what many of us knew all along, its publication is significant in informing debate. As Muslims ourselves, it is our responsibility to take material like this out to the public and raise its profile. We must not allow other people to speak for us or indeed about us on issues of freedom of religion. This week as France passes further legislation to ban street prayer, we must recognise that oppression is being normalised in Europe. The right to practise one’s religion is encoded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must be upheld as such. We have to take an active stance now in order to prevent further violations in the future. To access the full report visit:
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Arabick Roots
Did you know that the Muslim world paved the way to the eradication of smallpox? Were you aware that scientists such as Boyle and Halley were heavily influenced by the work of Islamic scholars from the golden age? Did you know that even the founding of the Royal Society itself, which has played host to scientists as influential as Newton, was inspired by the scientific method pioneered by Muslim scholars?
All this information and more can be found at the Royal Society’s ‘Arabick roots’ exhibition in London running until November this year. The exhibition which is by prior appointment only, comes with a free colour guide book featuring a preface from Dr Salim Al-Hassani from the award-winning 1001 Inventions exhibition previously held at the Science Museum.
‘Arabick roots’ is a wonderful acknowledgement of the long overdue debt of gratitude that Western Science owes the Islamic civilisation before it. In the words of Dr Peter Collins, Director of the Royal Society Centre for the History of Science ‘No scientist works alone, and no scientist works without understanding and appreciating the work of those who have gone before…as Isaac Newton famously wrote ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’’
Whilst much of the Media would have us believe that scientific development has always been hampered by Religion and that the only rational people on this planet are Atheists, this exhibition stands up and opposes this misconception. The exhibition explains that the scientific method was actually pioneered by Muslim scientists including Ibn Al Haytham (Al Hazen) and Chemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber) who were some of the first people in history to consistently test out their theories with experimentation. This concept was resurrected in 1660 with the founding of the Royal Society by British Scientists and preserved in its motto ‘Nullius in verba’ – meaning ‘take nobody’s word’.
Displaying remarkable critical thinking the exhibition quotes the words of Ibn Al-Haytham himself, an underacknowledged giant in scientific history ‘thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency’
May Allah allow us to tread in the footsteps of our ancestors in re-establishing such a lofty Muslim scientific legacy – Amen.
For more information on booking times and the exhibition in general visit http://royalsociety.org/events/Arabick-roots-exhibition/
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