Environmental education

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Environmental education ("EE") refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to post-secondary. However, it is sometimes used more broadly to include all efforts to educate the public and other audiences, including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc. Related disciplines include outdoor education and experiential education.

History

The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) created three major declarations that have guided the course of environmental education.

Stockholm Declaration

June 5th-16th 1972-The Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment. The document was made up of 7 proclamations and 26 principles "to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment."

The Belgrade Charter

October 13th-22nd 1975-The Belgrade Charter was the outcome of the International Workshop on Environmental Education held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The Belgrade Charter was built upon the Stockholm Declaration and adds goals, objectives, and guiding principles of environmental education programs. It defines an audience for environmental education, which includes the general public.

The Tbilisi Declaration

October 14th-26th 1977-The Tbilisi Declaration "noted the unanimous accord in the important role of environmental education in the preservation and improvement of the world's environment, as well as in the sound and balanced development of the world's communities." The Tbilisi Declaration updated and clarified The Stockholm Declaration and The Belgrade Charter by including new goals, objectives, characteristics, and guiding principles of environmental education.

Antecedents

Some of the antecedents of Environmental Education were Nature Studies, Conservation Education and School Camping. Nature studies integrated academic approach with outdoor exploration (Roth, 1978). Conservation Education brought awareness to the misuse of natural resources. George Perkins Marsh discoursed on humanity’s integral part of the natural world. The governmental agencies like the Forestry Service and the EPA were also pushing a conservation agenda. Conservation ideals still guide environmental education today. School Camping was exposure to the environment and use of resources outside of the classroom for educational purposes. The legacies of these antecedents are still present in the evolving arena of environmental education.

About

Environmental education has been considered an additional or elective subject in much of traditional K-12 curriculum. At the elementary school level, environmental education can take the form of science enrichment curriculum, natural history field trips, community service projects, and participation in outdoor science schools. In secondary school, environmental curriculum can be a focused subject within the sciences or is a part of student interest groups or clubs. At the undergraduate and graduate level, it can be considered its own field within education, environmental studies, environmental science and policy, ecology, or human/cultural ecology programs.

The North American Association for Environmental Education ^[1] has established the following "Guidelines for Excellence" for environmental education:

1. Fairness and accuracy: EE materials should be fair and accurate in describing environmental problems, issues, and conditions, and in reflecting the diversity of perspectives on them. 1.1 Factual accuracy. 1.2 Balanced presentation of differing viewpoints and theories. 1.3 Openness to inquiry. 1.4 Reflection of diversity.

2. Depth: EE materials should foster an awareness of the natural and built environment, an understanding of environmental concepts, conditions, and issues, and an awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes, and perceptions at the heart of environmental issues, as appropriate for different developmental levels. 2.1 Awareness. 2.2 Focus on concepts. 2.3 Concepts in context. 2.4 Attention to different scales.

3. Emphasis on skills building: EE materials should build lifelong skills that enable learners to address environmental issues. 3.1 Critical and creative thinking. 3.2 Applying skills to issues. 3.3 Action skills.

4. Action orientation: EE materials should promote civic responsibility, encouraging learners to use their knowledge, personal skills, and assessments of environmental issues as a basis for environmental problem solving and action. 4.1 Sense of personal stake and responsibility. 4.2 Self-efficacy.

5. Instructional soundness: EE materials should rely on instructional techniques that create an effective learning environment. 5.1 Learner-centered instruction. 5.2 Different ways of learning. 5.3 Connection to learners’ everyday lives. 5.4 Expanded learning environment. 5.5 Interdisciplinary. 5.6 Goals and objectives. 5.7 Appropriateness for specific learning settings. 5.8 Assessment.

6. Usability: EE materials should be well designed and easy to use. 6.1 Clarity and logic. 6.2 Easy to use. 6.3 Long lived. 6.4 Adaptable. 6.5 Accompanied by instruction and support. 6.6 Make substantiated claims. 6.7 Fit with national, state, or local requirements.

Related Disciplines

Environmental education has crossover with the disciplines of outdoor education and experiential education. Both disciplines compliment environmental education yet have unique philosophies.

• "Outdoor education means learning "in" and "for" the outdoors. It is a means of curriculum extension and enrichment through outdoor experiences." (Hammerman, 1980, p. 33) Environmental education is often taught or enhanced through outdoor experiences. The out of doors experience while not strictly environmental in nature often contain elements of teaching about the environment.
• "Experiential education is a process through which a learner constructs knowledge, skill, and value from direct experiences" (AEE, 2002, p. 5) Experiential education can be viewed as both a process and method to deliver the ideas and skills associated with environmental education.

While each of these disciplines have their own objectives, there are points where both disciplines overlap with the intentions and philosophy of environmental education.

Trends

One of the current trends within environmental education seeks to move from an approach of ideology and activism to one that allows students to make informed decisions and take action based on experience as well as data. Within this process, environmental curricula have progressively been integrated into governmental education standards. Some environmental educators find this movement distressing and a move away from the original political and activist approach to environmental education while others find this approach more valid and accessible.^{[citation needed]}

Movement

Overall there is a movement that has progressed since the relatively recent founding (1960s) of the idea of environmental education in industrial societies, which has transported the participant from nature appreciation and awareness to education for an ecologically sustainable future. This trend may be viewed as a microcosm of how many environmental education programs seek to first engage with participants through developing a sense of nature appreciation which is then translated into actions that affect conservation and sustainability.

References

1. ^ http://www.naaee.org

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2008)

• Gruenewald, D.A., 2004, A Foucauldian analysis of environmental education: toward the socioecological challenge of the Earth Charter, Curriculum Inquiry 34(1):71-107.
• Malone, K. 1999, Environmental education researchers as environmental activists, Environmental Education Research 5(2):163-177.
• Palmer, J.A., 1998, Environmental Education in the 21st Century: Theory, Practice, Progress, and Promise, Routledge.
• Science (ed.), 1997, Overhauling environmental education, Science, 276:361.
• Smyth, J.C. 2006, Environment and education: a view of a changing scene, Environmental Education Research 12(3,4):247-264.
• Roth, Charles E. “Off the Merry-Go-Round and on to the Escalator”. In From Ought to Action in Environmental Education, edited by William B. Stapp, pp. 12-23. Columbus, OH: SMEAC Information Reference Center, 1978. Ed 159 046.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_education

Obama Worked to Distance Self From Blagojevich Early On

By Eli Saslow
Washington Post Staff Writer

Like every other politician in Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich waited for Barack Obama's call this summer. He told colleagues that he expected a speaking role at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, a nice bit of payback for being the first governor to endorse the senator from Illinois in his campaign for president. By showing off a connection to Obama in Denver, Blagojevich hoped to repair his own diminished reputation.

Obama's campaign made speaking offers to the Illinois treasurer, the comptroller, the attorney general and a Chicago city clerk. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) was asked to introduce Obama on the convention's final night; Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (Ill.) was told he would speak on television during prime time. Finally, fed up and embarrassed that he still had heard nothing, Blagojevich joked to a crowd at the Illinois State Fair that, yes, he also had been asked to speak -- at 4 a.m., in a Denver area men's bathroom.

Long before federal prosecutors charged Blagojevich with bribery this week, Obama had worked to distance himself from his home-state governor. The two men have not talked for more than a year, colleagues said, save for a requisite handshake at a funeral or public event. Blagojevich rarely campaigned for Obama and never stumped with him. The governor arrived late at the Democratic convention and skipped Obama's victory-night celebration at Chicago's Grant Park.

Even though they often occupied the same political space -- two young lawyers in Chicago, two power brokers in Springfield, two ambitious men who coveted the presidency -- Obama and Blagojevich never warmed to each other, Illinois politicians said. They sometimes used each other to propel their own careers but privately acted like rivals. Blagojevich considered Obama naive and pretentious and dismissed his success as "good luck." Obama disparaged Blagojevich for what he viewed as his combativeness, his disorganization and his habit of arriving at official events half an hour late.

Under different circumstances, friends said, Obama might have derived some satisfaction from seeing Blagojevich handcuffed for allegedly trying to sell off Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder. But, only six weeks after Obama won the presidency by casting himself as a reformer, the Blagojevich scandal is a jarring reminder that Obama's political origins are in a city and state long tainted by corruption.

Blagojevich was elected in 2002 as a reform governor, but he has faced a series of investigations and charges of ethical irregularities ever since.

"Obama saw this coming, and he was very cautious about not having dealings with the governor for quite some time," said Abner Mikva, a former congressman and appeals court judge who was Obama's political mentor in Chicago. "The governor was perhaps the only American public officeholder who didn't speak at the convention, and that wasn't by accident. He's politically poisonous. You don't get through Chicago like Barack Obama did unless you know how to avoid people like that."

But Obama and Blagojevich shared pieces of the Chicago political network, which is why this has been an uncomfortable week for Obama's presidential transition team. Senior adviser David Axelrod once advised Blagojevich. Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a developer who was convicted in June of fraud and money laundering, raised money for both men. Robert Blackwell Jr., a longtime Obama friend, served on Blagojevich's gubernatorial transition team. Blagojevich appointed one of Obama's closest confidants, Eric Whitaker, as director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The president-elect's connection to Blagojevich is emblematic of his political rise in Chicago. Obama had contact with corruption, but rarely firsthand. He relied on the establishment when he needed it, but he maintained enough distance to cast himself as an outsider.

"Few people I've ever known have as good a sense about who might end up getting you in trouble," said Denny Jacobs, a retired Illinois politician from East Moline who befriended Obama when they both served in the state Senate. "It's like a sixth sense. Chicago's a mess, and he was surrounded by it. But he knew the people that could drag you down and tarnish your image."

Even though they both began their careers in Chicago, Blagojevich and Obama operated on distinct tracks. Blagojevich, the son of a steelworker who was born in Serbia, grew up on the city's predominantly white North Side and rode a pair of buses with his mother to his first Chicago Cubs game. He married the daughter of a gritty, deal-making alderman and entered politics as an unapologetic product -- and representative -- of the Chicago Democratic machine. He drew support from the city's white middle class and was elected to the state legislature in 1992.

Obama, a transplant from Hawaii and New York City, moved into the progressive, integrated Hyde Park neighborhood and attended White Sox games on the South Side. In his campaign for state Senate, he cast himself as the righteous alternative to what he called "old-school politics" and pitched his case to a coalition of African Americans and Hyde Park's liberal upper class.

Obama and Blagojevich rarely interacted until Blagojevich ran for governor. Obama told his friends in Springfield that he was unimpressed by Blagojevich's résumé, and he tried to lobby his friend Durbin to enter the race before deciding to support Roland Burris in the Democratic primary.

"When Blagojevich beat me, I told Barack to get on board with him," Burris said. "It was kind of like swallowing his pride a little bit, because he didn't really see that they had anything in common."

About all Blagojevich and Obama shared was searing ambition, which is what occasionally brought them together. Obama recognized that a Democratic governor could help him pass legislation and build his résumé in anticipation of a U.S. Senate run, so he helped Blagojevich's campaign as an informal adviser. Once Blagojevich was elected, he and Obama formed an awkward, arranged marriage: Obama passed a steady succession of legislation and built his reputation as a power player in Springfield; Blagojevich signed the bills and took the center seat at celebratory news conferences.

It worked just fine, Springfield politicians said, until Obama started to eclipse Blagojevich as the rising star in Illinois politics. Blagojevich never endorsed Obama in his U.S. Senate bid in 2004, and he expressed a preference for two other Democratic candidates. On the campaign trail, Obama sometimes made a point to highlight his distance from Blagojevich and the rest of the administration. "Nobody sent me," he often told his crowds.

"The governor didn't offer his support, and to be honest, we didn't really ask for it," said Jim Cauley, a Kentucky native whom Obama hired to run his U.S. Senate campaign. "We weren't going to the old hall or chasing the county chairs. We wanted to show we weren't a part of that world."

While Obama prepared to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a speech that would launch him to stardom, Blagojevich was back in Springfield watching his own reputation dissolve. After a poor first term, he fought over the state budget with Democratic leaders before flying to Boston and arriving an hour late at a party held in his honor. The event was sparsely attended. Obama made only a brief appearance.

We have one salvation, and that is Barack," Jacobs, the state senator, said at the time. "It probably knocks Blagojevich down a peg from the leadership chart."

Not long thereafter, Obama started cultivating Illinois leadership of his own. He mentored a basketball buddy, Alexi Giannoulias, and supported his run for state treasurer. He befriended Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes. On one night in August, Obama boosted the gubernatorial hopes of all three by inviting each to speak during the opening night of the Democratic convention. Blagojevich watched from his seat.

As Obama went on to win the presidency and his rift with the Illinois governor crystallized, Blagojevich grew increasingly desperate. In phone calls reported in the criminal complaint, he pined for a spot in the Obama administration. Maybe, the governor reasoned, he could let Obama pick his own Senate successor in exchange for a job as an ambassador or as secretary of health and human services. Or maybe Obama could set up Blagojevich's wife, Patricia, with a cushy, high-paid position on a corporate board.

But Blagojevich's solicitations went nowhere, and it became clear that Obama had abandoned him for good.

"They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation," the governor told his chief of staff, John Harris. "[Expletive] them."

Staff writer Peter Slevin in Chicago contributed to this report.

Source : www.washingtonpost.com

Menolak Tawaran Jabatan

Oleh Uti Konsen ,U.M

"Jabatan adalah puncak keriyaan, kesenangan jiwa, dan sasaran tipu daya setan. Orang–orang saleh tidak mau menerima jabatan publik kecuali terpaksa". (Abu Bakar Al Anthaki).

Dikisahkan ada seorang saleh zaman doeloe diminta untuk memimpin lembaga peradilan. Ia berkonsultasi dengan gurunya, "Wahai guru, apabila aku jadi diangkat sebagai hakim, tidak ada yang akan aku lakukan kecuali amar ma’ruf nahi mungkar ". Sang guru memberi nasehat : "Sebenarnya apa yang ada dalam benakmu tersebut hanyalah tipu daya setan. Sebab, orang-orang sebelum kamu tidak mampu menegakkan apa yang engkau ucapkan ". Muhammad bin Al-Wasi’ menambahkan : "Orang yang pertama kali didakwa pada Hari Kiamat adalah para hakim, dan sangat sedikit dari mereka yang selamat".

Suatu ketika Syaikh Al-Muzani ditawari jabatan hakim agung oleh seorang gubernur di Irak. Beliau menolak. Alasannya, masih banyak orang yang layak memegang jabatan tersebut. Namun gubernur memaksanya untuk menerima jabatan tersebut. Akhirnya Al Muzani menerima tawaran itu, namun dengan satu syarat : "Engkau dan orang-orang di lingkungan kekuasaanmu bersedia dihukum olehku jika melakukan kekeliruan ". Sang gubernur berkata, "Aku memilihmu sebagai hakim agung karena aku yakin engkau dapat menghukumku jika aku berbuat salah. Sebab, aku perhatikan, hakim-hakim di lingkunganku tidak mau menghukumku dan kerabatku jika melakukan kekeliruan. Aku bersyukur kepada Allah mendapatkan orang sepertimu. Semoga Allah memperbanyak manusia yang bermental seperti dirimu ".

Dari Buraidah RA, Rasulullah SAW bersabda : "Hakim itu terdiri atas tiga kelompok, dua kelompok berada di neraka dan satu kelompok berada di surga. Kelompok pertama adalah hakim yang mengetahui kebenaran (fakta) kemudian ia menetapkan keputusannya berdasarkan kebenaran tersebut, maka ia akan berada di surga". "Kelompok kedua, lanjut Nabi Muhammad dalam hadis Hakim itu, "Adalah hakim yang tahu kebenaran (fakta) tetapi ia tidak memutuskan berdasarkan kebenaran itu, maka ia berlaku zalim dan tempatnya adalah di neraka. Ketiga, hakim yang tidak tahu kebenaran (fakta) dan ia menetapkan keputusan kepada manusia berdasarkan kebodohannya, maka tempatnya di neraka ".

Didalam buku ‘ 99 Akhlak Sufi " oleh ‘Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Sya’rani antara lain dikatakan, "Beberapa sufi ada yang tidak mengizinkan pengikut mereka untuk menjadi pejabat pada suatu lembaga atau memegang amanat yang tidak mengandung unsur keselamatan di dalamnya." Muhammad bin Al-Wasi berkata, ‘ Orang yang pertama kali didakwa pada Hari Kiamat adalah para hakim, dan sangat sedikit dari mereka yang selamat ".

Umar bin Khathab, seseorang yang dianggap sebagai penghulu sufi, tidak pernah terlelap dalam tidur, siang atau malam, selama ia menjadi khalifah. Ketika ditanya tentang sebabnya, beliau menjawab, "Jika aku tidur di waktu siang, urusan rakyatku akan terbengkalai. Sedangkan, jika aku tidur di waktu malam, urusan Tuhanku terabaikan ". Ketika Umar dilantik menjadi khalifah kedua, beliau berkata antara lain "Kalaulah aku tahu ada di antara kamu lebih baik dan lebih kuat dariku dalam menjalankan tanggung jawab sebagai khalifah, aku lebih rela leherku dipotong daripada menerima jabatan itu ". Ketika hampir wafat setelah ditikam, beliau berpesan kepada anaknya Abdullah, "Wahai Abdullah, keluarga Umar tidak menaruh niat sedikit pun untuk menjadi khalifah. Cukuplah di kalangan mereka Umar Al Khattab saja yang akan ditanya oleh Allah SWT tentang tanggung jawabnya terhadap umatnya. Anakku, sekali-kali jangan, jangan engkau mengingat-ingat akan jabatan khalifah ini…"

Fudhail bin ‘Iyadh berkata, "Orang yang mencintai kekuasaan senang menceritakan aib orang lain dan membenci untuk menceritakan kebaikan orang demi menjaga kewibawaannya dan mempertahankan kekuasaannya." Imam Syafei memberi nasehat, "Jauhilah orang yang suka mencari kedudukan atau meminta jabatan. Sebaliknya, dekatilah orang-orang yang meninggalkan kekuasaan dan membenci kedudukan". Imam Syafei ketika ditawari jabatan memerintah, ditolaknya. Demikian pula Imam Ahmad. Namun mereka tetap memberi nasehat kepada pemerintah agar berlaku adil.

Abuya Syeikh Imam Ashaari Muhammad At Tamimi dalam bukunya ‘Meninjau Sistem Pemerintahan Islam’ antara lain menulis " … dalam sejarah Islam seperti yang dipraktekkan oleh ulama-ulama besar, salafussoleh, tokoh-tokoh sahabat, imam mazhab yang empat dan lain-lain, jabatan sebagai pemerintah tidak direbut atau diminta-minta. Mereka bukan saja tidak berani mengaku untuk bersikap adil pada rakyat, bahkan mereka merasa takkan mampu berlaku adil. Karena jabatan itu tidak diminta-minta bahkan ditolak ketika ditawarkan. Mereka sanggup didera daripada jadi Pemerintah. Tidak pernah terjadi di kalangan mereka ada yang dipenjara karena gila merebut kekuasaan. Rasulullah sendiri pun pernah menolak permintaan Abu Hurairah yang meminta untuk menjadi Pemerintah. Sedangkan sahabat itu adalah orang yang cukup baik ".

Abu Sa’id bin Samurah RA berkata bahwa Rasul SAW telah bersabda kepada saya : "Ya Abu Sa’id , jangan menuntut kedudukan dalam kepemimpinan/pemerintahan karena jika kau diserahi jabatan tanpa diminta, kau akan dibantu oleh Allah dalam melaksanakan tugasnya. Tetapi kalau dalam jabatan itu karena permintaanmu, maka akan diserahkan keatas bahumu atau kebijaksanaan sendiri. Dan apabila engkau telah bersumpah untuk sesuatu kemudian ternyata jika kau lakukan lainnya akan lebih baik, maka tebuslah sumpah itu dan kerjakan apa yang lebih baik itu " (HR.Bukhari dan Muslim). Wallahualam. **

Source : www.pontianakpost.com

Editorial: Global solution to crisis

Indonesia will not immediately reap great benefits from the commitment made by the leaders of the world’s 20 largest and emerging economies (G-20) — including Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — at their summit in Washington over the weekend to launch coordinated fiscal and monetary measures to counter the global economic slowdown.

But their determination to enhance cooperation to restore global growth, achieve badly needed reforms in the financial systems and give more say to emerging economies in global economic policy making would be a confidence-building block in the effort to curb wild financial volatility.

This new mechanism of international economic cooperation has yet to be deliberated at their next gathering scheduled for April but this is already a good signal for similar reforms within the decision- and policy-making processes at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Yet most promising is the leaders’ strong commitments to reform the governance of the financial system — including the banking industry — and to provide joint economic stimulus to mitigate the effects of the deepening global downturn as the recession has spread from the United States to Europe and Japan.

This and similar commitments by the central bankers around the world to ease credit strains and support faltering economic growth would be a boost to further global cooperation in coping with the financial crisis and economic slowdown.

However, Asia should support the promises by the G-20 leaders with its own coordinated policies in monetary, fiscal and exchange rate areas to ensure financial market stability for macroeconomic management. This is where Japan, China, South Korea and ASEAN should show leadership.

The leaders of these leading Asian economies should bring to the next G-20 meeting a coordinated Asian macroeconomic policy framework since economic expansion in Asia will not only help to sustain Asia’s own economic growth and employment levels but also will also help to put a floor on the coming global slowdown.

Trade-wise, higher growth in Asia will also mean more sales of U.S. goods in Asian markets, thereby helping to moderate the U.S. and European recessions as well. For this reason, coordinated macroeconomic expansion among China, Japan, and Korea will be highly appreciated in all other parts of the world.

A few days before the G-20 summit, the World Bank and IMF came up with a grimmer economic outlook for next year, projecting an economic contraction of 0.1 percent for the advanced economies and a growth of only 4.5 percent for developing countries. Global trade, which grew by 9.8 percent in 2006, is projected to fall in 2009 for the first time since 1982.

The strongest message from the G-20 summit which is most relevant to Indonesia is the need to provide strong fiscal stimulus and rescue packages. As the international financial condition has now become much tighter, with capital flight leading to sharp falls in equity markets and steep rises in government and corporate bond spreads, the government needs to provide most of the pump-priming force. Aggregate demand needs to be sustained by fiscal policy.

This is the momentum for both the public and private sector to better coordinate measures to facilitate basic infrastructure development which needs little foreign exchange financing.

However, fiscal stimulus alone is not enough. It should receive strong support from an easier monetary policy, especially since inflationary pressures have weakened due to the combination of lower import prices and falling demand.

But again an easier monetary policy without significant improvement in the business or overall investment environment could provide more ammunition for foreign exchange speculation against the rupiah.

We suspect that the estimated Rp 50-70 trillion (US$4.5-6.3 billion) in additional liquidity made available by the lowering of the minimum reserve requirement at commercial banks last month to 7.5 percent from 9.5 percent (of deposits) played a part in the latest wave of speculative attacks on the rupiah over the last two weeks.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com

COULD THE CRISIS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY BE ONE OF THE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES?

By Harun Yahya

The beginning of October saw the beginning of a historic crisis in the world economy, and in the USA in particular, that had long since been sending signals of its impending arrival. A number of experts and analysts predict that this crisis could even dwarf the Great Depression that began in the 1920 and continued throughout the 1930s.

However, in addition to its economic aspect, there is another side to this crisis that is prompting various countries to take joint decisions and implement precautionary measures. This crisis may be a sign of important events due to take place in the next period of world history. (Allah knows the truth.)

The hadith of our Prophet (saas) contain much detailed information and many signs about the End Times that will take place close to Doomsday. According to the information provided by our Prophet (saas), a great many significant events will take place – one after the other – in this period. The growth of corruption, unlawful things being regarded as lawful, worldwide confusion and chaos, the Iran-Iraq War and the invasion of Afghanistan are some of these signs reported in the hadith and that have recently been taking place.

The economic crisis that will take place at a specific time in the End Times is, according to various accounts, a most significant portent that will take place immediately before the return to Earth of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the coming of the blessed Mahdi and the Dajjal. Indeed, the economic collapse that has been anticipated for some time and that has affected the whole world economy, starting from America in early October, shows that another portent of the End Times we are living in has taken place. (Allah knows the truth.)


As revealed in the hadith of our Prophet (saas), the worsening of the global economic outlook is one of the portents of the End Times that are currently taking place one after the other.

“What are they awaiting but for the Hour to come upon them suddenly? Its Signs have already come. What good will their Reminder be to them when it does arrive?” (Surah Muhammad, 18)

How Do the Hadith of Our Prophet (saas) State That the Economic Outlook Will Worsen?

Economic problems are one of the most discussed issues today. A great many people in the world are living at the poverty threshold and many countries of the world could not survive without external aid. But aid by itself is not enough, because the countries in question face greater problems due to an inability to pay the interest accruing from that aid.

There is an economic bottleneck in all countries today, from the richest to the poorest, and unemployment is on the rise. On the one hand there is great wealth, waste and squandering, and all forms of degeneration resulting from this, while on the other hand people come to blows over a crust of bread. Articles are always being written and symposiums and meetings held on the subject, but no permanent answer can be found; indeed, hunger and poverty are increasing by the day.

The continuing collapse of global markets despite the precautionary measures in central banks and rescue packages announced in various regions of the world, from Frankfurt to Washington, and from Hong Kong to London, caused a loss of more than $4 trillion in the financial markets within one week. www.patronlardunyasi.com/ news_detail.php?id=51295

The crisis that began in the USA in October has not affected that country alone; it has turned into a global crisis that has rocked all the economic markets across the world, from Britain to Germany and from France to Russia and the Far East. Poverty has stopped being a problem of concern to only certain countries in the world and has become a danger threatening societies in modern countries, too. But this latest instability in the global economy has a far greater importance than that of the economic. Some 1400 years ago, our Prophet (saas) revealed in the hadith that the economy would be generally impaired during the End Times, and described this as a portent that would take place before the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) and the Mahdi. The hadith say:

Before the Mahdi appears, trade and roads between nations will be severed, and strife between people will grow. [i]

"Everyone complaining of low earning... The rich being respected for their money..."[ii]
"The markets being stilled, a decrease in earnings..." [iii]

What Is the Main Reason for the Crisis in Countries’ Economies?

The world has gone through several crises since that of 1929, in which business lost 72% of its value, or 60% of volume. The last 20 years (1990-2008) in particular have seen major crises closely connected to the economy today; the 1992 European crisis, the Mexican crisis, the Asian crisis, the Russian and Brazilian crises, the Argentinean crisis and the latest US crisis...

The factor triggering a crisis may differ from country to country, and may be internal or external. For example, a significant change in the domestic political balance, or an economic collapse in a field such as real-estate or the banking sector, which previously enjoyed an unlimited flow of capital, may trigger a crisis inside a country. However, whether it be the latest U.S. crisis or the crises in the economies of the other countries of the world, the fundamental cause of all crises is moral degeneration.

Moral degeneration such as corruption , unequal distribution of income, bribery, and people tending to – rather than production – based revenue (the interest system, in other words) lies at the heart of all such crises. These are all things forbidden by Allah.

People with no fear of Allah, who do not live according to His commandments, have no hesitations about going down unlawful paths. In a society that knows no moral bounds, that fails to admister justice and that acts solely for the sake of its own interests, the climate of confidence essential if the economy is to remain healthy disappears.

Crises will naturally follow on one another’s heels when there is no climate of confidence. In addition, the post-crisis period bring with it a time full of injustices. As with Argentina, which suffered an economic crisis in 2001, mass protests on the streets, acts of looting and pillaging and even the deaths of many people are all fundamentally the result of moral deficiencies.

The true solution, therefore, lies in abiding by the moral values of the Qur’an, which prohibits injustice, corruption and bribery and instead commands people to help one another, to aid the poor and orphaned, to give alms and to compete with one another in performing good deeds.

Everything is under the control of Allah. Believers who know this and have a sincere faith in Him submit to our Lord under all circumstances, material and physical, in the awareness that they are following their destinies. Allah has flawlessly created every detail from the creation of the world right up to Doomsday. Everything, including the latest economic crisis, is recorded in the book known as the "Lawh al-Mahfuz" [the Tablet of Allah’s Decrees]. Everything has already happened in a single moment in the sight of Allah, Who is unfettered by time and space. The timing and place of every event has already been ordained, as set out in the verse, “communication has its time, and you will certainly come to know.” (Surat al-An’am, 67)

THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

* In the middle of September (2008) the 158-year-old Lehman Brothers, America’s fourth largest investment bank, filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to weather the difficult conditions of the economic crisis.[iv]

* Merrill Lynch, the world’s largest investment bank, suffered losses of around $46 billion because of the global crisis. As a consequence of those losses, it was bought by Bank of America, the second-largest US bank.[v]

* Following the collapse of investment banks, the USA’s largest savings bank, Washington Mutual, filed for bankruptcy at the end of September (2008). This brought the number of banks folding in the USA since the beginning of 2008 to 13.[vi]

* According to a report by the US Department of Employment, the number of those losing their jobs in August stood at 73,000, compared to 159,000 in September. This figure, the worst redundancy level for the last 5 years, brought the total number of job losses for the preceding 9 months to 760,000.[vii]

* Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, has also been affected by the global crisis. Yamato Life Insurance, an insurance company dating back 98 years with debts totaling $2.7 billion, declared bankruptcy in October 2008. [viii]

* Iceland, standing in third place on the United Nations’ List of Most Prosperous Countries, has been severely affected by the economic crisis. The country was unable to meet its external debt, and its three largest banks, with total debts of 44 billion euros, were taken over.[ix] Long queues began forming in front of Icelandic bank branches.

* A public opinion poll in Belgium showed that 57% of the public were worried about their savings.[x]

* The Hertie retail chain, with 4,100 employees and 73 branches across Germany, declared bankruptcy in July 2008. The finance company affiliated to Hertie announced losses of 30 million euros. [xi]

* XL, Britain’s third largest tourism company with a fleet of 21 planes, went bankrupt in September 2008. British Airways also cited the crisis as the reason for making 1,200 employees redundant. [xii]

Natural Disasters Also Point to the End Times

It is a statistical fact that there has been an increase in the number and intensity of natural disasters in recent years. Disasters caused by the climate changes over the last 10 years are regarded as a turning point. It is very probable that the increasing numbers of natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, lightning strikes and floods are also portents of the End Times that will take place, according to the hadith of our Prophet (saas) near to Doomsday. (Allah knows best.)

Doomsday will not take place until 10 portents are seen. The tenth is a storm that will hurl people into the sea...[xiii]

Doomsday will not happen until these events occur ... earthquakes will increase... [xiv]

Doomsday will not happen until a fierce rain pours down that leaves no house or home standing. [xv]

Lightning strikes will so multiply as Doomsday approaches that people will say (to one another): “Who did it strike yesterday?” and they will answer, “It struck so-and-so yesterday.” [xvi].

Some of the natural disasters of the last 5 years:

* Various disasters have occurred in Asia and the Far East throughout the course of history. Terrible destruction has been caused by these, and vast numbers of people have lost their lives in them. However, the worst of these was the tsunami that struck South Asia on 26 December, 2004, costing the lives of more than 225,000 people.

* Hurricane Katrina that struck the US Gulf of Mexico in August 2005 wreaked terrible destruction in the region. The hurricane cost the lives of 1,836 people and caused damage estimated at $81.2 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in American history.

* On 8 October, 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck 95 kilometers to the east of Islamabad in Pakistan, costing 73,320 lives. A further 1,244 people lost their lives due to the quake in the Indian region of Kashmir.

* In June and July 2007, 1,750 died due to monsoon flooding in Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan.

* The tropical storm Nargis that struck Myanmar in May 2008 resulted in the deaths or disappearance of more than 134,000 people. Another 2.5 million people were left in need by the storm.[xvii]

* Sixty-five thousand people were killed, 23,000 disappeared, 360,000 were injured and 5 million left homeless in an earthquake measuring 8.0 in China’s Sichuan province. The earthquake also caused damage totaling $9.6 billion in Sichuan alone.

The profound economic troubles caused by the interest system have manifested themselves in many countries, and the peoples of those countries are having to pay the heavy bill for them. Allah has made the solution to these difficulties, caused by personal interests and immoral earnings and that continue to plague many countries, quite clear in the Qur’an. Allah has made the unfair consumption of assets and wasteful use of existing resources unlawful, and forbids us to regard other people as worthless and inflict troubles upon them for the sake of our own interests. The solution to the problems in the economy is for an efficient, just and entrepreneurial social system in which everyone lives according to the moral values of the Qur’an.

As noted in this report, there are certainly very many apparent causes for the recent economic crisis. But the important thing here is that the dire state of the economy may be a portent of the End Times revealed in the hadith. (Allah knows the truth.) Because as with all events that take place in the world, it is Almighty Allah Who created the conditions and causes of the economic crisis happening today.

Some Hadith of our Prophet (saas) Regarding the Impairment of the Economy in the End Times:

· Revenues will revolve around a few people, and those with limited incomes will fall into hunger and trouble. [xviii]

· Everyone will complain of “being unable to earn and make ends meet.” [xix]

· The poor will grow in number. [xx]

· “Hunger and high costs of living will spread to the fullest extent.”[xxi]

· When trade and roads are severed and corruption multiplies... [xxii]

· Business becomes stagnant. Everyone will complain, “I cannot sell, or buy or earn anything.”[xxiii]

The great majority of Muslim countries both enjoy a geo-strategic advantage and also possess valuable energy resources and natural wealth, especially oil and natural gas.

Yet these resources and strategic advantages have not been properly exploited for hundreds of years, and Islamic countries have been unable to assume a leading role in the global economy, despite all the means at their disposal. Yet as economists have recently noted, this state of affairs is changing rapidly and the economic center of power is shifting from the West to the East. By Allah’s leave, the 21st century will see the strengthening of the economy in the Islamic world and Islamic countries shaping the global economy.

Qur’anic Moral Values Are the Only Source of Social Justice and Economic Stability

Since people who take the moral values of the Qur’an as their guide, act out of a fear of Allah, they strive not only for their own interests but for the interests and well-being of everyone. Because unity, togetherness, mutual aid and solidarity are very important in Islamic moral values. Nobody trespasses on anyone else’s rights, because Allah has forbidden such ugly behavior. No bounds are transgressed. No system that exhibits the injustice of atheism, that is based on self-interest, in which the strong oppress the weak and in which people misappropriate what rightfully belongs to others is possible in a society that lives by the moral values of the Qur’an. There is no waste nor wasteful consumption of resources in a society guided by the Qur’an. Thanks to solidarity and justice, people’s economic strength grows. A wealthy society emerges. This is one of the clearest proofs of the Age of Happiness, when people lived by Qur’anic moral values, and which is renowned for its wealth and well-being.

It must not be forgotten that various temporary solutions to poverty may be proposed. But the important thing is to believe that the true solution, as with all problems, is to live by the moral values of the Qur’an. Because the superior moral virtues revealed in the Qur’an, such as feeding the poor and orphaned even though one is in need oneself, never giving other people things one would not want oneself, and helping others without making them feel a sense of obligation, can only emerge when people fully live by Qur’anic moral values. Allah has revealed in Surat an-Nur how materially powerful people should behave:

Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the very poor and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah.* They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nur, 22)

To What Is Social Justice Ascribed in the Risale-i Nur Collection?

In his Risale-i Nur Collection, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the 13th century (Hegira style), noted that social problems such as economic injustice and huge financial gulfs arise when two concepts prevail in society. The first is selfishness, that disregards others’ situations and says, “So what if others die of hunger as long as I am full?” ^[xxiv]The second is the mindset that thinks, “You labor so that I can rest; you work, so that I can eat.”[xxv] These are the main causes underlying the economic crisis today. Moral and economic collapse is inevitable in societies in which people enjoy financial interest even though this is forbidden in the Qur’an, in which they think only of themselves because they fail to abide by the moral values of the Qur’an, in which they feel no unease about hurting others for the sake of their own interests and in which they have no qualms about oppressing others and making use of their labor.

IMPORTANT STATEMENTS FROM MR. ADNAN OKTAR ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS

(From an interview by www.patronlardunyasi.com website in October 2008)

* Why There Is An Economic Crisis in the World:

“Materialist philosophy’s prevalence in the world has an immense effect. If a Turkish-Islamic Union exists in the world, economic crisis, terror and distress disappear; abundance and great wealth in their real sense reign.”

Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's 04.12.2008 dated Kaçkar TV Interview

This economic crisis is also a sign of Mahdi’s appearance. That is to say as a result of this economic crisis the Turkish-Islamic Union will become even stronger and develop even better. And this economic crisis will become a means for the Turkish-Islamic Union. If we wait for a while, this will be seen, inshaAllah.

---The most important event right now in Turkey is this economic crisis. This is a sign stated in the Surah Yusuf. Because Allah attracts our attention to the number 7 in Surah Yusuf. There is a sign for 7 years of famine and a 7 another year of affluence in the Qur’an. The event is locked with 7. The economic crisis started in 2007. My conviction is that, Allah knows the truth, it will continue until 2014. In the Surah Yusuf, our attention is attracted to agriculture and stockbreeding. There is also the issue of taking measures against the economic crisis in the Surah Yusuf.

--- Importance should be given to both agriculture and stockbreeding. And even to poultry raising. Interest should be drawn down to zero, the taxes should be decreased considerably, and lots of money should be distributed to the poor; that is to say, distributing money by making a raise in their salaries, and the market should be accelerated by ensuring a raise in their purchasing power. Aside from this, if possible, services given in the hospitals should be free. Poor people should have access to free medical examination. When medical examinations are charged, they should be fairly decreased and this need of the public should be met easily. Pharmaceutical industry should be supported. That is to say, medicine prices should be reduced considerably, and the poor people should have access to free medicine. These are issues of vital importance. In these issues, the government should take measures against the crisis. If credit will be provided, these should be given to pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, agriculture and stockbreeding, and energy sector. These are vital matters. Once these are ensured, by Allah’s leave, our nation will survive this crisis very easily. But intensive measures should be taken. And these should be taken without delay. If it is delayed, it may be very difficult, it may be very troublesome, I think.

The 21st Century Will Be One of Economic Prosperity through the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Blessed Mahdi

As we are told in one of the hadith of our Prophet (saas), "My community will enjoy such well-being in that period, that it will definitely never have seen its like before...." (Sunan Ibn Majah, 10-347/ Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 508), the Golden Age refers to a time close to Doomsday when the moral virtues of the Qur’an rule and when people live widely by religious moral values. Our Lord will make the Mahdi, in other words a servant possessed of superior moral virtues who bears the title of “he who leads the way to the truth,” instrumental in ending social injustice, materialist trends such as Darwinism, heretical teachings such as reincarnation, oppression and conflict in that period.

By Allah’s will, in the Golden Age, under the leadership of the blessed Mahdi and the Prophet ‘Isa (as), who will return to Earth at the same time as this holy individual, Islamic moral values will rule the world, underground resources in Islamic lands will be used as efficiently as possible and the climate of regeneration and justice in Islamic countries will have a powerful effect on the global economy. Through the Mahdi and the Prophet ‘Isa (as), who will act in the light of Allah’s words in the verse “Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the very poor and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah.* They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful,” (Surat an-Nur, 22) there will be global economic prosperity and social injustices will be eradicated. In this period when the moral values of the Qur’an prevail, there will be great equality between people from all sections of society and, by Allah’s leave, a climate of peace and security will result.

Some Hadith of our Prophet (saas) Concerning the Golden Age to Take Place under the Leadership of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Blessed Mahdi:

· In that time my community, the good and the bad, all of them, will be blessed with blessings the like of which they have never seen before. [xxvi]

· In his (the Mahdi’s) time, the ground will cast forth the treasures within it. [xxvii]

· There will come such a time that someone will distribute the gold alms (he has set aside) and there will then be no-one (no poor person) to take those alms from his hand.[xxviii]

· It is certain that in that time goods will multiply and flow like water, but no-one will (deign to) accept them. [xxix]

[i] Book of Portents of the Coming of the Great Mahdi, p. 39

[ii] Portents of Doomsday, Al-Barzanji, Pamuk Publishing, p. 146

[iii] Portents of Doomsday, Al-Barzanji, Pamuk Publishing, p. 148

[iv] http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080915/bs_afp/useconomymarketsfinancebankbanking

[v] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26708958/

[vi] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Washington_Mutual_files_for_bankruptcy/articleshow/3534825.cms

[vii] http://yenisafak.com.tr/Ekonomi/?t=08.08.2008&c=3&i=142990

[viii] http://www.financialexpress.com/news/japans-yamato-life-insurance-files-for-bankruptcy/371728/

[ix] http://www.timeturk.com/Izlanda-ekonomisi-iflas-etti-29594-haberi.html

[x] a.g.e.

[xi] http://www.radyokassel.de/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10510

[xii] http://www.nethaber.com/Ekonomi/74439/Ingilizlerin-en-buyuk-ucuncu-tur-sirketi-iflas

[xiii] Portents of Doomsday, Al-Barzanji, Pamuk Publishing, p. 288

[xiv] Ramuz Al Ahadith, 476/11

[xv] Portents of Doomsday, Al-Barzanji, Pamuk Publishing, p. 253

[xvi] Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, 4/444

[xvii] http://www.haberler.com/asya-da-yakin-zamanda-gorulen-en-buyuk-dogal-haberi/

[xviii] Portents of Doomsday, Lectures by Ramuz al- Ahadith, Ist. 1983

[xix] Ibid.

[xx] Imam Sharani, Death-Doomsday-The Hereafter and the Portents of the End Times, p. 455

[xxi] Ibid, p. 440

[xxii] Small Book of Portents of the Mahdi of the End Times, p.52

[xxiii] Portents of Doomsday, Al-Barzanji, Pamuk Publishing, p. 152

[xxiv] Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, "Seeds of Truth", Letters, p. 456, Yeni Asya Nesriyat, Germany, 1994

[xxv] Ibid.

[xxvi] Small Book of Portents of the Mahdi of the End Times, p. 16

[xxvii] Book of Portents of the Coming of the Great Mahdi, p. 43

[xxviii] Imam Sharani, Death-Doomsday-The Hereafter and the Portents of the End Times, p. 462

[xxix] Imam Sharani, Death-Doomsday-The Hereafter and the Portents of the End Times, p. 464

Source : www.harunyahya.com

EVERYONE MUST JOIN FORCES AGAINST TERROR

By Harun Yahya

The world has been living side by side with terror for hundreds of years. Even though actions may differ from country to country, all terrorist organizations aim at defenseless civilians and send their messages by way of these people. In the terrorist attack in Oklahoma in the USA 167 people were savagely slaughtered, 19 of them children. A fanatical Jew who opened a hail of fire on Muslims praying in a mosque in Palestine caused the deaths of 29 people. Thousands of people have lost their lives in attacks against Muslims in India over the years.

Terrorist attacks both great and small have for years been perpetrated in France, Spain, the Philippines, Japan and Ireland.

One could go on. However, the entire world came face to face with terror in 2001. In the wake of the attacks against two major cities in the USA which led to the deaths and injuries of thousands of people, the concept of “terrorism” began to be debated once again. That was because that attack had been carried out at an unexpected time, against a country regarded as the world’s only superpower, and in a totally unforeseen manner. The attack created an air of fear and panic all over the world, especially in America.

Following the attacks, the USA embarked on a major fight against terror. Many countries have lined up alongside America in this struggle, and lent their support to it. The series of bombings in Istanbul, just when it was thought that the forces of terror had been brought under control, again reminded people of terrorism’s dark face: first synagogues, then the British Consulate, then the HSBC General Directorate building …

The Saturday prayer, which had been performed for centuries, was interrupted by the bombs exploded on November 15th. Twenty-four people were killed in the explosions at the Neva Shalom synagogue at Beyoglu Kuledibi and the Beth Israel synagogue at Sisli, and 300 were injured. Dozens of more people lost their lives in the explosions at the British Consulate and the HSBC building, and hundreds were injured. Images similar to those which followed the September 11 attacks began appearing on our television screens. Ruined buildings, people fleeing in panic, burned out busses, corpses lying in the streets …

The point we wish to emphasize in this article is the Islamic perspective on terror attacks and the killing of the innocent. All forms of terrorist attack are roundly condemned in Islam. According to the Qur'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:

… If someone kills another person—unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth—it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth. (Qur’an, 5:32)

This verse equals the killing of one innocent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:

Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbidden [them to] except with the right to do so; nor fornicate. Anyone who does so will incur a penalty. (Qur’an, 25:68)

In yet another verse, God issues the following commandment:

Say: "Come, and I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you": that you do not associate anything with Him; that you are good to your parents; that you do not kill your children because of poverty—We will provide for you and them; that you do not approach indecency—outward or inward; that you do not kill any person God has made inviolate—except with the right to do so. That is what He instructs you to do, so that hopefully, you will use your intellect. (Qur’an, 6:151)

Any Muslim who believes in God with a sincere heart, who scrupulously abides by His verses and fears suffering in the Hereafter, will avoid harming even one other person. He knows that the Lord of Infinite Justice will suitably reward him for all his deeds. In one of the hadiths, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) listed the kinds of people who are not pleasing to God:

"Those who act cruelly and unjustly in the sacred lands, those who yearn for the ways of the ignorant, and those who wrongly shed human blood." (Sahih Bukhari Hadith)

Another element we wish to concentrate on is the attack on devout Turkish Jews worshipping in their synagogues. Churches, synagogues and mosques are houses for the worship of God. It is a terrible crime in the sight of God to slaughter innocent people as they worship in their churches, synagogues or mosques. These are houses where the name of God is remembered, praised and recited. In the Qur’an, , God reveals that:

… God guides to His Light whoever He wills and God makes metaphors for mankind and God has knowledge of all things. In houses which God has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory morning and evening. (Qur’an, 24:35-36)

The people who go to those places are devout, prayerful people. All houses where the name of God is remembered are sacred in the eyes of Islam. Visitors to these houses may be Jews, Christians or Muslims. The important thing is that each one is a devout believer in God. A Muslim must respect and protect the holy places where the People of the Book worship God, and protect them. For Muslims, these places are precious because in these places, people, whether Jews or Christians, remember God. In the Qur'an, the places of worship of the People of the Book, ie. monasteries, churches and synagogues, are mentioned as places of worship protected by God.

…[I]f God had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him—God is All-Strong, Almighty. (Qur'an, 22:40)

As a manifestation of his loyalty to God's commands, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was most careful not to destroy the holy places of the People of the Book. Such destruction means, in the first place, opposing God's commands. This aside, it means preventing people who have faith in God worshipping Him. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) promised the Christians, who were the other party to a peace agreement he made, that their churches would not be destroyed and that they would never be harmed. The tax (Jizya) agreements he made with Christians also guaranteed the safety of churches.

The first agreement made after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) that guaranteed the protection of the temples was a tax agreement Khalid bin al-Waleed signed with the leader of the city of Anat. Ibn Ishaq stated that those agreements made by Khalid bin al-Waleed were also approved by Abu Bakr and the three caliphs following him. This aside, Abu Bakr offered the same guarantees that had been offered to the people of Najran by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Islamic societies that abided by Islamic morality after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) also paid special attention to this issue. Muslim leaders who adhered to the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) respected the places of worship of non-Muslims in conquered countries and showed great tolerance to the clergy.

Terror Will Disappear When People Come to Live by the Moral Values of Islam

In the Qur'an (32:9), God reveals that He has breathed His Spirit into man, His creation, and that man is His representative on Earth (Qur'an, 6:165). One of the most important differences between man and the animals is that man was created with both earthly desires and with a conscience. Every person possesses desires that incite him to evil, along with a conscience that inspires him to avoid it. Alongside such pleasing attributes inspired by that conscience-love, sacrifice, compassion, humility, affection, honesty, loyalty and kindness-he also possesses destructive and undesirable tendencies, stemming from his earthly desires.

Thanks to his conscience, however, the believer can distinguish between right and wrong and opt for what is morally right. Strong belief in and fear of God, faith in the Hereafter, powerful fear of the endless torments of Hell and a yearning for Paradise all keep the temptations of his earthly desires at bay. Therefore, he always behaves well towards people, is forgiving, responds to wickedness with good, assists those in need, and shows compassion, love, affection and tolerance.

Terrorists, on the other hand, listen to their earthly desire for violence instead of their consciences, and can easily turn to all forms of wickedness.

They become loveless, aggressive people who easily hurt others without the slightest pang of conscience. Having no fear of God, they do not know the morality of religion, nor do they practice it. Nothing can stop them from committing crimes.

In restraining its citizens, society's prevailing rules can go only so far. Thanks to its law enforcement units, the state may be able to partially protect streets and public spaces, and-thanks to a powerful system of justice-may be able to take necessary means to ensure public order and ensure that the crime rate drops. But since it's impossible to keep watch on every individual, 24 hours a day, it's essential that peoples' consciences enter the equation at some stage. Someone who doesn't heed the voice of his conscience can easily turn to crime when on his own, or surrounded by people of like mind. That being the case, a model of society emerges which is composed of individuals who lie when necessary, have no hesitation about making unjust profits, and feel no unease about oppressing the weak. It is clear that physical precautions and measures will bear no fruit in a society which has no fear of God and which has lost its spiritual values. Religious moral values, on the other hand, command a person to refrain from evil, even if he is all alone, even if nobody will punish him for his evil deeds. It is evident that a person who knows that he will be called to account in the presence of God for his every deed, his every decision and his every word, and that he will be suitably rewarded for these in the eternal life of the Hereafter, will scrupulously avoid committing evil.

Terrorist organizations can't possibly have any place in a society whose people avoid evil of their own free will. Where religion's morality prevails, problems that give rise to organizations supporting the use of violence will disappear naturally. If the whole society possesses superior virtues like honesty, sacrifice, love and justice, there can be no place for such things as poverty, unequal distribution of income, injustice, the oppression of the weak, or limitations on freedoms. On the contrary, a social order will emerge that meets the wants of the needy; where the wealthy protect the poor and the strong, the weak; where everyone can enjoy the very best health care, education, and transport systems. There, tolerance and understanding will dominate the relationships between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures.

For these reasons, proper morality is the key to solving so many social problems. The source of that key, in turn, is the Qur'an, which God has revealed as a guide for mankind.

It must not be forgotten that unless necessary measures are taken, unless deep-rooted solutions are brought in, the 21st century will continue to be a time of terror and violence, just as the 20th was before it. The homes of innocent people will be bombed, and women and children will be slaughtered. The ideological fight against terrorism, therefore, must be started with great urgency, to include very great numbers of people.

This fight will be fought on the level of ideas-between people who believe in God, who are loving, forgiving, compassionate and in full possession of their conscience; and those who draw their strength from ignorance and violence. In one verse, our Lord reveals, "Why were there not people with good sense among the generations of those who came before you, who forbade corruption in the earth…" (Qur'an, 11:116). Believers should possess the virtue that God describes in that verse. While terrorists hope to achieve their aims by violence, believers know that true success can be achieved only by clinging tightly to the religion of God, and acting accordingly. Jews, Christians, and Muslims will join together in that struggle, in a spirit of respect for all beliefs and ideas and, by the will of God, enjoy definitive success. This is God's promise to all His believing servants, which will definitely come true.

At this point, a great responsibility falls on all true believers, no matter what their religion. Jews must not ignore Old Testament statements calling mankind to peace and tolerance, and they must call on all other Jews to oppose terrorism. So should Christians call on all other Christians, taking as their guide the morality most pleasing to God. One should not forget that terrorism stems from wrong ideas and the basic struggle against terrorism should be on the level of ideas. Believers must explain that these ideas are wrong, and that no idea can prevail by means of violence, oppression and cruelty; and despotism can never bring about beauty.

Terrorist ideology is built on sand. Its foundations can easily be swept away by mobilizing a proper education campaign. Sincere believers in all parts of the world can help end the ignorance that breeds terrorism by searching for solutions, writing books and articles, promoting educational activities and disseminating their own cultural heritage. The prevalence of tolerance, peace and security on the Earth, as commanded by God, will make terrorism disappear into the pages of history forever. Adopting a defeatist, pessimistic attitude in the face of terror is unacceptable. Our hope is that this suffering will not be repeated, and that all measures will be adopted to that end.

May God have mercy on those who died in those hateful attacks, and may He heal the injured. Our sincere condolences to all mankind.

Source : www.harunyahya.com