Four countries are racing to control the oil under the eastern Mediterranean.
It’s far from a friendly competition. Of those four, two are locked in an ongoing state of war and the third refuses to recognize the fourth.
Tagged: economy Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Lawrence of Arabia
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Lawrence of Arabia
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Lawrence of Arabia
Because the story of the Brasilian Real (R$) is one of my favorite stories, and NPR has been telling the story recently…
If you are interested in the audio version, the story begins about 5mins into the Planet Money podcast that is linked there.
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Lawrence of Arabia
AMCL points out the massive destruction of value that is taking place in Saudi Arabia due to the isolation of women and lack of full female participation in the economic sphere.
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Lawrence of Arabia
Barney Frank and Ron Paul call for a major reduction in the military budget and worldwide military presence over the next decade. Finally someone is talking about the strain that military spending places on the American economy.
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thabet
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cbarwa
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thabet
I knew you’d have something to say; hence, the post!
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cbarwa
LOL, we seem to have quotas for everything these days! What Muslims really need apart from direct economic integration and opportunities is some sort of guaranteed political representation, there were reserved dual constituencies at independence for Muslims, but that quickly got removed for fears that it came too close to resembling something close to Muslim nationalism.
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johnpi
The Indonesian followers of Sheikh Abdalqadir as-Sufi are “shunning” “worthless” paper money in favor of gold and silver coins for their daily transactions.
The followers of Sheikh Abdalqadir as-Sufi — born Ian Dallas — trade goods such as food, medicine, clothes and phone cards with gold dinars and silver dirhams in line with a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
An official reports that the number of dinars on the local market more than doubled to 25,000 pieces last year.
“We decided to mint silver and gold coins in Indonesia following a fatwa issued by Sheikh Abdalqadir as-Sufi in Cape Town of South Africa, banning Muslims from using paper money,” Azis told AFP.
Abdalqadir, a former playwright and actor who converted to Islam in the late 1960s, bitterly opposes modern capitalism and advocates a return to forms of Islamic law practiced by the first generations after Mohammed.
….Some Muslims have countered that a world economy based on gold coins would lead to a powerful cartel of gold-producing countries, while others have noted the potential for market chaos if gold replaced the greenback.
But for the sheikh’s followers, such issues seem remote compared to the straightforward injunction to obey the Quran and emulate Mohammed.
We’ve had lively discussions about the Scottish-born Sheikh Abdalqadir as-Sufi’s ideas before at Talk Islam with the Granada bloggers…
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plimfix
Not the first time as-Sufi has gone in for minting his own money, in fact. A revealing source of info on the Shaykh is: Marcia K. Hermansen (2005) “The ‘other’ Shadhilis of the West” in The Shadhiliyya, edited by Eric Geoffroy, (Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 2005, 481-499). Interestingly, a Google scholar search revealed this: Bubandt, Nils (2009) Sacred Money and Islamic Freedom in a Global Sufi Order, ‘Social Analysis’, 53(1), Spring 2009 , pp. 103-122
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Naeem
Funny, as I was just sent two links from Australia’s The Age featuring articles on as-Sufi (one is the same as above). I wonder where this newfound interest in him is coming from?
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Pretty Pink Unicorns
Choice quote of the day is from the second one: “‘History has proven that, since the prophet Muhammad, the value of one gold dinar for thousands of years has always been equal to the value of one goat,’ said 33-year-old Kurniawati, who runs a shop in southern Jakarta.”
What a completely stupid statement. It is totally meaningless, the kind of cult drivel that followers repeat over and over with a kind of nervous authority.
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plimfix
I agree there is something of the cult about Murabitun, but having said that, I gather one or two of as-Sufi’s murids e.g. Aishah Bewley are held in some regard by academics for their scholarly work.
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Naeem
And I’m still puzzled to this day why more scholars haven’t made similar declarations against the usage of paper currency. It seems the vast majority adopted it lock, stock, and barrel. Its even more curious when considering the great scholarly debates that took place over such innovations as the printing press.
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cbarwa
The economic illiteracy on display here is stunning; if you invested in gold a few centuries back and kept your wealth locked in here; it would be massively devalued today. Moving to alternative currency systems like ones based on bullion only works if the exchange rate is relatively favourable or stable (which it isn’t, since gold has seen a secular long-term decline) and/or if those pariticipating in your new currency system can produce for exchange or consumption most of the goods/services you consume (highly unlikely, unless you can persuade the majority of people to switch to this system).
Of course dealing with quasi-paper currencies was actually adopted quite early by much of the Islamic world; there is a great bit in John Illife’s ‘Africa: A History of the Continent’ at the beginning when Europeans are trying to circumvent the monopoly Muslim traders have on the trans-Sahara trade networks and when one of the earliest explorers lands (in Benin, I think it is) he is short of coin and goes to try to exchange a promissory note at the local market and is surprised to be able to get a decent rate of conversion at the merchants who trade in these notes with the French embassies in Morocco. Much military expansion in the modern period wouldn’t have been possible without paper forms of currency; maintaining huge armies in the field necessitated a system payment for troops and supplies that couldn’t realistically be met by transporting large amounts of bullion, unless you wanted to be robbed. Mughal armies, like those of the Habsburgs, utilised regional banking networks to sustain their forces in campaigns far off from their powerbases.
Of course for many periods of great prosperity in the international trading system; like 1870-1914 and the postwar WWII boom til 1973; the world did effectively operate on a gold-standard system as most currencies were effectively fixed in relation to gold.
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Naeem
When I asked about the validity of paper currency, I didn’t mean ALL forms of paper money, only those that aren’t backed by gold, silver, etc.
the world did effectively operate on a gold-standard system as most currencies were effectively fixed in relation to gold.
And isn’t that the crux of the problem? While promissory notes from times past were directly linked to precious metals (thereby giving them real value), paper currency nowadays has lost that representation. And so, the value of money is mysteriously determined by black magic, goblins, and my grandmother.
How can such a cryptic system ever be considered Islamic? I’m especially critical of fiat money, which introduces an even greater mystical power into the mix, namely that of the government.
I’ll admit that my 4 years studying Electrical Engineering was easier for me than trying to figure out the theory of monetary policies, but some things just seem to be common sense (like money=gold).
I guess I’d prefer the more universal one coin = one goat approach.
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cbarwa
LOL, I wasn’t actually referring to you when I talked about economic illiteracy, but the display that was shown in the sources cited in the original post.
1) but what was the benefit to the Gold-standard system – you have to ask yourself that. It had some problems – ie the requirement of a global financial hegemon, that could underwrite the liquidity of the system (the UK where Sterling was seen as ‘good as gold’) and the fact that according to the specie-theory of money to maintain a Balance of Payments balance, deficit countries were meant to deflate while surplus countries were meant to inflate – of course in practise no surplus country really took any measure to correct its surpluses putting the entire burden of adjustment onto deficit countries causing quite a few structural problems.
2) Promissory notes weren’t actually fixed in relation to precious metals – I am not sure where you got that idea from. All they are is a guarantee to pay a fixed sum at a certain date to the holder – they were usually traded so that you could obtain a payment sooner but at a discount. The problem for metal currencies is that they only work on local areas it you want an international trading system based on them, it will be slow and clumsy – you will have a hard sell getting people to accept such falls in international trade, especially if it is linked to living standards!
3) I won’t pretend to pronounce on the ‘Islamic’ nature of such a syste, I am not qualified because I don’t understand Islamic economic theory, – but I will point out that the parts of the world that aren’t Islamic (ie 70% of the global population) will have no interest in adopting a system just because it is ‘Islamic’. So this will put quite a signficant brake on trade growth and financial flows for those ‘Islamic’ countries that do. Probably won’t matter to much to oil-exporters, will be quite disastrous for countries like Malaysia that are not. Can’t believe will argue for such a regression in economic development based on specific interepretations of religious belief – but that is of course just my opinion. However, your chance of even getting a hearing for such a move based on Islamic interpretation alone, is virtually nil.
4) lol, money value determined by ‘black magic’ well there is an element of truth in that, though it sounds very pre-modern to me. There is a good book by Michael Taussig, called the ‘Devil and Commodity Fetishism’ where he describes how Amerindian peoples regarded paper money just as you describe. There is however nothing ‘mystical’ about the power of government, even under a fixed monetary standard, the govt always had the power to change the rate of exchange to gold and even in bullion systems, govts always stole money by de-basing the metal coinage. So the arguement that somehow metal-currency will take away this power is inaccurate and deeply flawed. What restrains it is a system of accountability that places popular check on inflation and of course some public control over state expenditure and taxation. Might not be ‘Islamic’ but has proven to be the most effective long-term solution and by effective I mean less worse than the alternatives.
5) IMO the hostility and the problems towards the monetary system arise from the speculative aspects of the international financial markets – now these are really not conducive to growth and have little function apart from making some people rich and most other people poorer. These need to be either regulated and/or limited in size. That much I would agree with you, as their arcane operations are what really constitute an uncontrolled money base.
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johnpi
From the satirical Onion newspaper:
U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.
What began as a routine report before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday ended with Bernanke passionately disavowing the entire concept of currency, and negating in an instant the very foundation of the world’s largest economy.
“Though raising interest rates is unlikely at the moment, the Fed will of course act appropriately if we…if we…” said Bernanke, who then paused for a moment, looked down at his prepared statement, and shook his head in utter disbelief. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. None of this—this so-called ‘money’—really matters at all.”
“It’s just an illusion,” a wide-eyed Bernanke added as he removed bills from his wallet and slowly spread them out before him. “Just look at it: Meaningless pieces of paper with numbers printed on them. Worthless.”
According to witnesses, Finance Committee members sat in thunderstruck silence for several moments until Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) finally shouted out, “Oh my God, he’s right. It’s all a mirage. All of it—the money, our whole economy—it’s all a lie!”
Screams then filled the Senate Chamber as lawmakers and members of the press ran for the exits, leaving in their wake aisles littered with the remains of torn currency.
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johnpi
We probably don’t write enough around here about the economy and how the current economic downturn is affecting families and societies. The Atlantic article below ends on the point “…both inside and outside the U.S., lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive, and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.”
But I was also interested in this article for what it has to say about fatalism. I’ve blogged a few times recently about fatalism in Islam, but it’s important to put that in the context of fatalism in the larger society.
Ron Alsop, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the author of The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up the Workplace, says a combination of entitlement and highly structured childhood has resulted in a lack of independence and entrepreneurialism in many 20-somethings. They’re used to checklists, he says, and “don’t excel at leadership or independent problem solving.”
Alsop interviewed dozens of employers for his book, and concluded that unlike previous generations, Millennials, as a group, “need almost constant direction” in the workplace. “Many flounder without precise guidelines but thrive in structured situations that provide clearly defined rules.”
All of these characteristics are worrisome, given a harsh economic environment that requires perseverance, adaptability, humility, and entrepreneurialism. Perhaps most worrisome, though, is the fatalism and lack of agency that both Twenge and Alsop discern in today’s young adults. Trained throughout childhood to disconnect performance from reward, and told repeatedly that they are destined for great things, many are quick to place blame elsewhere when something goes wrong, and inclined to believe that bad situations will sort themselves out—or will be sorted out by parents or other helpers.
“Millennials” are those born between 1980 and 2001. On the other hand, many first-generation Muslims in the US are entrepreneurial, so it seems there are good examples in the community, though whether Muslim ‘millennials’ have been raised to value those examples or to integrate to the college-educated class culture described above is another question.
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willow
As a millennial, I call BS on this article. Neither I nor anyone I grew up with fits this description. To me this is just the time-honored smear campaign of a faltering generation against its heirs apparent; an attempt to shift focus from the disastrously failed social and economic experiments of the 1970s-90s by bad-mouthing those of us who have inherited the mess. I can’t tell you how many people my age grew up having to re-parent their parents, self-absorbed yippie ubercapitalists on their third and fourth marriages with the spiritual moorings of recycled toilet paper. And now some overeducated twirp named Twenge wants to talk about ‘lack of agency’? I’ve been succesfully self-employed since I was 22 years old. Give me a *break*.
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Samaha
What is everyone basing entreprenurial on? It’s not about self-employment. It is about being innovative, having the foresight to recognize opportunity and implement it, being able to manage others, and/or being specialized within a field (for example, not just having a degree in marketing but specializing in social media). But, is there a study about first generation Muslims being entreprenurial? You can’t just base things on observation because for every entreprenurial Muslim that you see – how many out there have taken on traditional professions in which they are not accessing entreprenurial roles in their field? How do they compare to their generation in the general US population?
@willow – I don’t think that the blame is being placed on your generation. From what I read, the responsibility for this lack of entreprenurial quality does lie with the parents. Considering that from your generation on (and even from my generation, too) – children of two working parents or children of single parents and children of divorced parents ended up with a structured lifestyle, it isn’t very surprising that when it came down to it that there would be a need for structure once they leave home.
I can’t site the source right now because the text isn’t at this location, but as educators and parents, we tried to teach time management skills to children who were not ready for those skills – these are skill that the brain does not “get” until later in life. For example, children are placed on schedules where breakfast, lunch, dinner, naps, playtime, homework become routine and habit which can be instilled in a child because they become rituals. However, we can teach children to keep a planner for homework and explain to them how it works, but it will not become natural for the child to use that planner or plan out their own schedules because these are skills in which the proper channels in the brain are not developed (they actually develop later in life). Perhaps that we’ve insisted that children live structured lives we’ve actually slowed the development of these channels because they require life stages and experience for the channels to develop.
I know from personal experience that I was not able to handle my assignment notebook and goal setting when I was younger or even a planner when I was a young adult. Today, I won’t buy a purse in which my planner does not fit. Eventually, you learn that you need to look over your planner on a daily basis, look into the future, juggle around items that can be done sooner than they are due because you noticed a hectic schedule the week prior to it being due. This is not something that can be taught through a textbook.
Yet, just about every parent I know has children that were up until the wee hours of the morning or didn’t sleep because they were doing a large project. Often, as parents we learn to compensate for our childrens consistent lack of pre-planning that we start reminding them, have them post their assignments to a family planner, etc. where we don’t even realize that we are often doing the planning for them. For us parents, in order for us to do proper time-management (for our own sanity) it involves managing our children’s time as well.
Anyway – I don’t think it is about bad-mouthing your generation – it’s about learning from parenting mistakes. We have to stop baby proofing the house for the rest of our children’s lives – you should all have to learn about electric sockets the same way I did – by sticking a hairpin in it
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willow
I find the tone of your comment, like the tone of the article itself, condescending and contradictory.
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Samaha
Pardon my dry sense of humor mixed with an explanation, I didn’t mean to offend.Even my generation had to adapt to a changing social structure in which divorce was becomming common place, both parents started working, and as children we suffered consequences. Generation X (which I’m a part of) is the first generation to make less money than their parents. And, I don’t mean to sound condescending but our experiences are quite different and some of the reason that your generation’s experiences were so different is because of things that were learned through my generations experiences.
For example, since the age of 8, I was the one watching my 4 year old brother and 3 year old sister between my parents shifts. By the age of 10, I was either making sure that what my mother put on the stove would not burn or I was preparing dinner. Additionally since the age of eight, I was walking over to friends down the street, by the age of 10, I was on the other side of the neighborhood hanging out with my friends. Don’t even get me started about the pedophile that would come to the bus stop while we waited for the bus unsupervised (me and the rest of the neigborhood kids).
Child molestations started comming to the news in the late 80′s and 90′s. Physicaly disciplining your children during that time was not considered abuse – I must have been 14 when the national debate took place when a mother slapped her child in a retail store. It was only in the 90′s where a child of 12 years old was home alone as her parents vacationed and laws were put into place as to what age a child could stay home alone for an extended period of time (but at least in the 90′s it was debated as to whether or not that was okay).
These examples are some positive laws that happened as a consequence of an evolving society. No child should have to be unsupervised nor should a child fear physical punishment.
However, there is cause and effect. You can’t expect that nothing will change between your generation and my generation considering the changes in the way children are treated. That doesn’t mean that those differences are negative or positive – it just means that there are differences.
It also doesn’t mean that more of your generation will never develop entrepreneurial qualities, it will most likely just happen later (which might be to your generation’s financial benefit).
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johnpi
Salaam alaikum Samaha,
You can’t just base things on observation because for every entreprenurial Muslim that you see – how many out there have taken on traditional professions
My thought here was that within the community of Muslims and the community of the family, models of the entrepreneurial possibilities are there.
Willow – Perhaps you should at least read some reviews or flip through Alsop’s book before concluding he’s just copped a big attitude on ‘millenials.’
Also, if you’re really serious about about thinking ‘millenials’ or ‘Gen Y’ as they’re also called, are getting a bad rap, you should head over to Wikipedia and try to edit the ‘Gen Y’ workforce description. I’d be curious to see what happens.
The Millennials are sometimes called the “Trophy Generation”, or “Trophy Kids,”[62] a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where “no one loses” and everyone gets a “Thanks for Participating” trophy and symbolizing a perceived sense of entitlement. It has been reported that this is an issue in corporate environments.[62] Some employers are concerned that Millennials have too great expectations from the workplace and desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace.[63] To better understand this mindset, many large firms are currently studying this conflict and are trying to devise new programs to help older employees understand Millennials, while at the same time making Millennials more comfortable. For example, Goldman Sachs conducts training programs that use actors to portray Millennials who assertively seek more feedback, responsibility, and involvement in decision making. After the performance, employees discuss and debate the generational differences they have seen played out”[62]
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willow
John we were saddled with this crap while we were still in diapers. I’ve been hearing it since before I was old enough to *have* a job, let alone suck at one. I’m not sure what you expect me to say when I and everyone I know work in a shrinking economy for less and less money and then get chastised for burnout by the pompous old pseudo-intellectuals who created this mess in the first place. I think an awful lot of Gen Xers would do well to get off their high horses.
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abunoor
The criticism of the millenials doesn’t make sense to me either Willow, but surely the mess we are in is the fault of the baby boomers, not Gen X. (maybe that’s showing my bias, anyways you’re just barely a millenial anyways Willow )
I don’t really know what to make of all this stuff. I do think there is some importance to generational dynamics in the Muslim community, but a lot of the influence of that can be credited to immigration/conversion patterns as well as big changes in the identity of Islam in the public imagination.
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johnpi
Gen X slackers are too lazy to climb onto a high horse, unless in the cause of irony, because we only live to make ironic statements…
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Samaha
Oh wow Willow. You think you guys have it rough – perhaps some of the earlier millenia generation understands what its like to have the same burnout and take pay cuts in this economy while trying to support a family. Try having 3 or 4 kids, your company being global, you’re managing a global group where you have to take phone calls 24/7 and now your even taking up the slack of others who have been layed off. Or you’re the one being layed off because they can replace you for cheaper oversees labor, younger newbies, etc.
Think of the criticism as being a freshman and having pennies thrown at you – it’s a right of passage that we all go through. I’m certain that you’ll be the stronger for it and that you’ll all show us what you’re made of.
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johnpi
Jazak Allah khair for the good intentions, but Willow is already wildly accomplished as a published author, journalist and comic book writer…
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Samaha
I’m very well aware of Willow’s accomplishments. I’m quite a fan of her work and have sung praises of her to my oldest daughter all the time.
I am referring to the generation as a whole in the last portion of the post. I’m sorry but I didn’t think that Willow would take the crticism of the millenia generation as a personal attack, but you are correct for pointing out that it could be taken that way – since she found me to be condescending in the original post. Thanks for pointing it out.
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Samaha
AA johnpi,
Usually within first generation immigrants of any ethnic group, the entrepeneurial models exist within community and family. However, each generation takes on aspects of the broader American culture most likely due to the pressure for assimilation – I’m not saying that complete assimilation occurs but it has been the model that has been pushed in educational and social constructs. Perhaps one day we’ll move towards pluralistic models within these realms, but that is somewhat hard to acheive within the very diverse nature of the U.S.
Some of the effects might be delayed as they often are with immigrants and their first generation American children, but we’ve either lacked the knowldege regarding other ethnic histories in this United States or we’ve willfully ignored it and we’ll likely follow the same trends of previous groups. I think at least within a community setting we do very little in terms of offering the youth leadership roles beyond youth clubs and recognizing the contributions that they could make. Abu Noor’s link touches upon the subject that the “true American Muslims” have disappointed the Muslim community, but I argue that they have been denied the atmosphere in which they desire to be part of the community and they are denied leadership roles. A nurturing atmosphere that accepts positive American cultural activities while promoting religious obligations is severely lacking and pushes young adults away from the community. Those who wish to stay, who could make positive changes in this regard are also pushed away when they aren’t supported in leadership positions.
Basically what we’re left with then is the family dynamic, which varies widely in the Muslim community. Perhaps we have less families in which both parents work due to the larger immigrant population compared to first generation American born Muslims. However, we do have to consider that the divorces amongst both immigrants and American born Musilms is on the rise. I still think it would be difficult to assess the situation. It would be nice if their was a study about this – let me see if I can find anything.
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thabet
Some employers are concerned that Millennials have too great expectations from the workplace and desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace
Work-life balance… one of the evils of capitalism.
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abunoor
I’m going to plug Amer Haleem’s article again here “Children of a Mixed Message: How generational dynamics have weakened the Muslim community in America and made it harder to raise our families.
Here was my blog post on that article from a while back.
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johnpi
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aziz
credit to the stimulus for keeping GDP growth on life-support… by the American Enterprise Institute?
…substantial support from fiscal stimulus, coupled with inventory rebuilding, boosted real GDP growth in the second half of the year to an estimated 3 percent annual rate. Without fiscal stimulus and inventory building, however, growth would have remained negative–an ominous fact because the fiscal stimulus will fade rapidly by mid-2010.
indeed. Maybe we should have another one. (btw, the taxpayer made a profit on the bank bailouts, too).
cbarwa and 
thabet are discussing. 
johnpi, 
the state is in retreat now in terms of economic activity in India; quotas will just ghettoise marginal communities imo; the time when it could have been an empowerment measure has passed. The only difference would be for Muslims, is in the police force; which is quite communal in some states; better representation here would make it an institution less hostile to Muslims.
The problem in India, is that too much of the formal economy is dominated by really a small range of social groups and it is very difficult to break into it here; apart from the 10% of elite jobs that are decided by qualifications and capability most of the rest of the job market, tends to allocate jobs by connections, networking and other considerations. Muslims generally lose out as they don’t have a foothold here, which is why they go into self-emloyment in such large numbers. I don’t think govt quotas is going to change this structural problem.