1) What is the significance of the 4th World Islamic Economic Forum to be held in Kuwait?
All measures that lead the Islamic world to act in unity and union are highly valuable and important. In these terms, the 4th World Islamic Economic Forum to be held in Kuwait is an exceedingly valuable assembly. All believers have a responsibility to bring Islamic countries together in the light of a single objective and to remind all Muslims that they are one another’s brothers and helpmates. The Islamic world is today exposed to various troubles. But each one of these is actually a sign of a bright future. The way that these signs are growing and increasing with every passing day is an indication, insha’Allah, that this bright future is drawing ever closer. The salvation and future of the Muslim world lies in the construction of an Islamic Union in which the Sunnah of our Prophet (saas) and the moral virtues of the Qur’an are scrupulously adhered to. The Islamic Union, actually a voluntary union, will represent salvation for all Muslims. With the foundation of the Islamic Union, all economic difficulties will come to an end, to be replaced by days of abundance, enlightenment and well-being. The Islamic world will finally enter a blessed age for which it has been longing for so many years. In addition, the Islamic Union will be a means whereby people of different faiths and with different beliefs, not just Muslims, all come to live in peace and security. The establishment of this union will constitute a significant step towards world peace.
2) What are the main aims of the 4th World Islamic Economic Forum?
One of the main responsibilities incumbent upon Muslims today is to set aside all differences and different ways of thinking and to build a union based on love and compassion. All the problems afflicting the Islamic world will immediately vanish in the wake of union and solidarity. If Muslims act as one for the approval of Allah, expecting no earthly reward and demonstrating a devotion to the moral virtues of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas), then there is no difficulty, Allah willing, that cannot be resolved. In the Qur’an, Allah commands Muslims to constitute one spiritual whole. It is also the legacy of the Prophet (saas) to us all. We must not forget that all Muslims are brothers. If a believer is troubled or in need, that is a matter of enormous importance for other believers. That is because believers regard the needs of their brothers in religion as more important than their own. This fact must never be ignored in analyzing economic problems. Allah creates all things with wisdom and goodness. Everything in the world today, and especially in the Islamic world, that may superficially appear to be a difficulty, is in fact a trial our Lord has created within the destiny appointed by Him. Every believer is tested by whether or not he acts in conformity with the Qur’an, whether or not he lives according to the moral values commanded by Allah, and whether or not he demonstrates the appropriate devotion to our Prophet (saas). This vital truth must therefore never be forgotten in evaluating the subjects on the agenda of this most important assembly.
3) What results may emerge from the forum?
First and foremost, it is most essential that the whole Islamic world be called to union and togetherness. In terms of revealing the importance of Muslims acting as one and how they can thus come to constitute an effective force, this forum is a most excellent role model. In the Qur’an, Allah commands believers to be “in ranks like well-built walls.” Muslims have a responsibility regarding the hunger, poverty and suffering afflicting so much of the world. What needs to be done is to identify the principle cause behind these problems. The widespread global prevalence of violence, terror, oppression, poverty and conflict show that the world is full of corruption. In the face of this, many issues that have come to pose difficulties among Muslims in fact lose all their importance. All this oppression and degeneration draws strength from and develops thanks to false systems founded by people who deny the existence and oneness of Allah and who have no belief in the Hereafter. What Muslims must do in the face of this is to ally themselves in goodness. By Allah’s leave, this alliance will be one of the most important stages in the intellectual defeat of irreligious ideologies.
4) How can the establishment of an Islamic Union resolve economic problems?
With the foundation of the Islamic Union, the underground and above-ground resources and trade areas possessed by all Muslim countries will be used in the best possible manner, and cultural values will come to the fore. Measures such as the establishment of free trade zones, regional trade agreements and the abolition of customs tariffs will lead to economic and social progress. Security will be achieved more easily thanks to mutual defense pacts, and disagreements will be resolved with ease. Every country with mutual defense opportunities will reduce military spending to a minimum and thus permit the resources saved to be invested in the cultural and educational fields. All the countries that join together under the banner of Islam will contribute to the establishment of world peace and order, will guarantee their economies and military statuses, and will also assume a more effective role in the international arena. Joint investments and initiatives will be an important step in this direction. Thanks to joint initiatives, countries will be able to benefit from one another’s experience and the investment fields they establish will represent a source of income for the economies of both parties. Islamic moral values require Muslim countries to give each other economic support. Helping the needy and social solidarity are two of the most important attributes of Muslims. Through joint initiatives that will combine the resources and strength of the Islamic world, it will be possible to manufacture many high-tech products in Muslim countries. Thanks to the Islamic Common Market to be set up, products manufactured in one country will easily be able to be marketed in other countries, without becoming caught up in border problems such as tariffs and quotas. Trade zones will expand, the market shares of all Muslim countries will increase and exports will grow, and this will speed up the process of industrialization in Muslim countries. Economic progress will in turn lead to advances in technology. Muslim countries will be able to act as a joint force in the face of other investment groups and will become an important component of the global economy.
This will be made possible, in particular, by Islamic countries instilling the Qur’anic morals and the moral structure required by the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas) in their own societies; in short, by an Islamic cultural awakening. The Islamic Union must be at the forefront of this awakening and of the political and economic alliances that will ensue.