Dare to Speak: Islam vs Free Democracy and Free Enterprise (I)
Section 5 (CONTINUED).
Table 4: Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) for 2006 (Source: Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal) (Red=Free Democracy, Blue=Struggling Democracy, Black=Islamic plurality/majority) | |||||||
Rank | Country | IEF | STATUS | Rank | Country | IEF | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hong Kong | 1.28 | FREE | 69 | Lebanon | 3 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
2 | Singapore | 1.56 | FREE | 70 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 3.01 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
3 | Ireland | 1.58 | FREE | 70 | Guatemala | 3.01 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
4 | Luxembourg | 1.6 | FREE | 70 | Oman | 3.01 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
5 | Iceland | 1.74 | FREE | 73 | Mauritius | 3.03 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
6 | United Kingdom | 1.74 | FREE | 74 | Qatar | 3.04 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
7 | Estonia | 1.75 | FREE | 75 | Nicaragua | 3.05 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
8 | Denmark | 1.78 | FREE | 76 | Brazil | 3.08 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
9 | Australia | 1.84 | FREE | 76 | Mauritania | 3.08 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
9 | New Zealand | 1.84 | FREE | 78 | Moldova | 3.1 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
9 | U.S.A. | 1.84 | FREE | 78 | Senegal | 3.1 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
12 | Canada | 1.85 | FREE | 81 | Guyana | 3.11 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
12 | Finland | 1.85 | FREE | 81 | Namibia | 3.11 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
14 | Chile | 1.88 | FREE | 81 | Turkey | 3.11 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
15 | Switzerland | 1.89 | FREE | 84 | Cote d’Ivoire | 3.14 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
16 | Netherlands | 1.9 | FREE | 84 | Mali | 3.14 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
16 | Republic of Cyprus | 1.9 | FREE | 86 | Colombia | 3.16 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
18 | Austria | 1.95 | FREE | 87 | Romania | 3.19 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
19 | Germany | 1.96 | FREE | 87 | Sri Lanka | 3.19 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
19 | Sweden | 1.96 | FREE | 89 | Djibouti | 3.2 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
21 | Czech Republic | 2.1 | MOSTLY FREE | 89 | Tanzania | 3.2 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
22 | Belgium | 2.11 | MOSTLY FREE | 91 | Morocco | 3.21 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
23 | Lithuania | 2.14 | MOSTLY FREE | 92 | The Philippines | 3.23 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
24 | Malta | 2.16 | MOSTLY FREE | 93 | Tunisia | 3.24 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
25 | Bahrain | 2.23 | MOSTLY FREE | 93 | Ukraine | 3.24 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
26 | Barbados | 2.25 | MOSTLY FREE | 95 | Burkina Faso | 3.28 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
27 | Armenia | 2.26 | MOSTLY FREE | 95 | Gabon | 3.28 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
27 | The Bahamas | 2.26 | MOSTLY FREE | 95 | Honduras | 3.28 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
27 | Japan | 2.26 | MOSTLY FREE | 98 | Chad | 3.29 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
30 | Botswana | 2.29 | MOSTLY FREE | 98.*** | Ghana*** | 3.29*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
30 | Norway | 2.29 | MOSTLY FREE | 100 | Argentina | 3.3 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
30 | Portugal | 2.29 | MOSTLY FREE | 100 | Ecuador | 3.3 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
33 | Spain | 2.33 | MOSTLY FREE | 102 | Paraguay | 3.31 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
34 | El Salvador | 2.35 | MOSTLY FREE | 103 | Pakistan | 3.33 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
35 | Slovakia | 2.35 | MOSTLY FREE | 104.*** | Zambia*** | 3.34*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
36 | Israel | 2.36 | MOSTLY FREE | 105 | Kazakhstan | 3.35 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
37 | Taiwan | 2.38 | MOSTLY FREE | 105.*** | Mozambique*** | 3.35*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
38 | Slovenia | 2.41 | MOSTLY FREE | 107 | Niger | 3.38 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
39 | Latvia | 2.43 | MOSTLY FREE | 108 | Dominican Republic | 3.39 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
40 | Hungary | 2.44 | MOSTLY FREE | 109.*** | Benin*** | 3.40*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
41 | Poland | 2.49 | MOSTLY FREE | 110 | Algeria | 3.46 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
42 | Italy | 2.5 | MOSTLY FREE | 111 | India | 3.49 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
42 | Trinidad & Tobago | 2.5 | MOSTLY FREE | 112 | Russia | 3.5 | |
44 | France | 2.51 | MOSTLY FREE | 113 | Azerbaijan | 3.51 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
45 | South Korea | 2.63 | MOSTLY FREE | 113 | The Gambia | 3.51 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
46 | Costa Rica | 2.69 | MOSTLY FREE | 115 | Rwanda | 3.53 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
46 | Uruguay | 2.69 | MOSTLY FREE | 116 | Guinea | 3.55 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
48 | Panama | 2.7 | MOSTLY FREE | 117 | Egypt | 3.59 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
49 | Kuwait | 2.74 | MOSTLY FREE | 118.*** | Suriname *** | 3.60*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
49 | South Africa | 2.74 | MOSTLY FREE | 119.*** | Malawi*** | 3.63*** | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
51 | Albania | 2.75 | MOSTLY FREE | 120 | Guinea-Bissau | 3.65 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
52 | Jamaica | 2.76 | MOSTLY FREE | 121 | Ethiopia | 3.7 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
53 | Belize | 2.78 | MOSTLY FREE | 122 | Indonesia | 3.71 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
54 | Croatia | 2.78 | MOSTLY FREE | 123 | Sierra Leone | 3.76 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
55 | Greece | 2.8 | MOSTLY FREE | 123 | Tajikistan | 3.76 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
55 | Macedonia | 2.8 | MOSTLY FREE | 125 | Yemen | 3.84 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
55 | Jordan | 2.8 | MOSTLY FREE | 126 | Bangladesh | 3.88 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
58 | Mexico | 2.83 | MOSTLY FREE | 127 | Uzbekistan | 3.91 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
58 | Mongolia | 2.83 | MOSTLY FREE | 128 | Syria | 3.93 | MOSTLY UN-FREE |
60 | Saudi Arabia | 2.84 | MOSTLY FREE | 129 | Nigeria | 4 | REPRESSED |
61 | Peru | 2.86 | MOSTLY FREE | 130 | Turkmenistan | 4.04 | REPRESSED |
62 | Bulgaria | 2.88 | MOSTLY FREE | 131 | Libya | 4.16 | REPRESSED |
63 | U.A.E. | 2.93 | MOSTLY FREE | 132 | Iran | 4.56 | REPRESSED |
64 | Bolivia | 2.96 | MOSTLY FREE | 0 | Afghanistan | SEE NOTE | 1 |
65 | Georgia | 2.98 | MOSTLY FREE | 0 | Iraq | SEE NOTE | 1 |
65 | Malaysia | 2.98 | MOSTLY FREE | 0 | North Cyprus | SEE NOTE | 1 |
67 | Thailand | 2.99 | MOSTLY FREE | 0 | Somalia | SEE NOTE | 1 |
68 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.99 | MOSTLY FREE | 0 | Sudan | SEE NOTE | 1 |
**** Country which, while not having a Muslim majority or plurality, is at least 20% Muslim.NOTE 1: The UN’s Report excluded North Cyprus, Taiwan, and Hong Kong because it does not recognize them as independent entitites. For Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, UN researchers were unable to gather the data for their studies. For this reason, these three nations are shown at the bottom of this ranking. |
Table 5: Summary of Indexes (Source: Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal) (Red=Free Democracy, Blue=Struggling Democracy, Black=Islamic plurality/majority) | |||||||||||
Country | Net oil exp. per capita | CPI | GDP per Cap | HDI | IEF | Country | Net oil exp. per capita | CPI | GDP per Cap | HDI | IEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 117 | 136 | ^ | ^ | Lebanon | 83 | 81 | 69 | 69 | ||
Albania | 126 | 84 | 63 | 51 | Libya | 88 bbl/yr | 117 | 54 | 53 | 131 | |
Algeria | 11 bbl/yr | 97 | 72 | 88 | 110 | Lithuania | 44 | 44 | 38 | 23 | |
Argentina | 4 bbl/yr | 97 | 48 | 33 | 100 | Luxembourg | 13 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
Armenia | 88 | 91 | 69 | 27 | Macedonia | 103 | 71 | 54 | 55 | ||
Australia | 9 | 11 | 3 | 9 | Malawi*** | 97*** | 140*** | 127*** | 119*** | ||
Austria | 10 | 9 | 17 | 18 | Malaysia | 4 bbl/yr | 39 | 51 | 55 | 65 | |
Azerbaijan | 137 | 86 | 86 | 113 | Maldives | ^ | 97 | 81 | ^ | ||
Bahamas, The | ^ | 38 | 48 | 27 | Mali | 88 | 127 | 133 | 84 | ||
Bahrain | 84 bbl/yr | 36 | 29 | 42 | 25 | Malta | 25 | 34 | 31 | 24 | |
Bangladesh | 158 | 111 | 112 | 126 | Mauritania | ^ | 110 | 117 | 76 | ||
Barbados | 24 | 39 | 29 | 26 | Mauritius | 51 | 48 | 59 | 73 | ||
Belgium | 19 | 13 | 9 | 22 | Mexico | 7 bbl/yr | 65 | 58 | 49 | 58 | |
Belize | 62 | 78 | 77 | 53 | Moldova | 88 | 117 | 98 | 78 | ||
Benin*** | 88*** | 129*** | 124*** | 109*** | Mongolia | 85 | 115 | 97 | 58 | ||
Bolivia | 117 | 106 | 96 | 64 | Morocco | 78 | 95 | 105 | 91 | ||
Bosnia & Herzegovina | 88 | 78 | 60 | 70 | Mozambique*** | 97*** | 124*** | 129*** | 105*** | ||
Botswana | 32 | 58 | 108 | 30 | Namibia | 47 | 76 | 106 | 81 | ||
Brazil | 62 | 62 | 56 | 76 | Netherlands | 11 | 15 | 11 | 16 | ||
Brunei | 180 bbl/yr | ^ | 28 | 32 | ^ | New Zealand | 2 | 26 | 19 | 9 | |
Bulgaria | 55 | 60 | 50 | 66 | Nicaragua | 107 | 105 | 95 | 75 | ||
Burkina Faso | 70 | 124 | 134 | 95 | Niger | 126 | 131 | 136 | 107 | ||
Canada | 7 bbl/yr | 14 | 8 | 4 | 12 | Nigeria | 7 bbl/yr | 152 | 123 | 121 | 129 |
Chad | 7 bbl/yr | 158 | 121 | 132 | 98 | North Cyprus | ^ | 75 | ^ | ^ | |
Chile | 21 | 55 | 36 | 14 | Norway | 270 bbl/yr | 8 | 3 | 1 | 30 | |
Colombia | 4 bbl/yr | 55 | 70 | 61 | 86 | Oman | 84 bbl/yr | 28 | 46 | 62 | 70 |
Comoros | ^ | 140 | 109 | ^ | Pakistan | 144 | 109 | 110 | 103 | ||
Costa Rica | 51 | 56 | 46 | 46 | Palestinian Territories | 107 | 131 | 87 | ^ | ||
Cote d’Ivoire | 152 | 120 | 125 | 84 | Panama | 65 | 72 | 51 | 48 | ||
Croatia | 70 | 53 | 44 | 53 | Papua New Guinea | 130 | 107 | 111 | ^ | ||
Cyprus, Republic of | 37 | 31 | 28 | 16 | Paraguay | 144 | 84 | 73 | 102 | ||
Czech Republic | 47 | 36 | 30 | 21 | Peru | 65 | 82 | 67 | 61 | ||
Denmark | 11 bbl/yr | 4 | 7 | 13 | 8 | Philippines, The | 117 | 83 | 72 | 92 | |
Djibouti | ^ | 124 | 115 | 89 | Poland | 70 | 45 | 35 | 41 | ||
Dominican Republic | 85 | 76 | 80 | 108 | Portugal | 26 | 36 | 25 | 30 | ||
Ecuador | 11 bbl/yr | 117 | 93 | 69 | 100 | Qatar | 310 bbl/yr | 32 | 24 | 39 | 74 |
Egypt | 70 | 97 | 101 | 117 | Romania | 85 | 66 | 57 | 87 | ||
El Salvador | 51 | 87 | 88 | 34 | Russia | 15 bbl/yr | 126 | 56 | 56 | 112 | |
Eritrea | 107 | 129 | 123 | ^ | Rwanda | 83 | 121 | 122 | 115 | ||
Estonia | 27 | 41 | 37 | 7 | Saudi Arabia | 110 bbl/yr | 70 | 50 | 65 | 60 | |
Ethiopia | 137 | 131 | 130 | 121 | Senegal | 78 | 117 | 120 | 78 | ||
Finland | 2 | 14 | 13 | 12 | Sierra Leone | 126 | 136 | 135 | 123 | ||
France | 18 | 17 | 16 | 44 | Singapore | 5 | 22 | 24 | 2 | ||
Gabon | 88 | 78 | 104 | 95 | Slovakia | 47 | 42 | 39 | 34 | ||
Gambia, The | 103 | 115 | 118 | 113 | Slovenia | 31 | 31 | 25 | 38 | ||
Georgia | 130 | 103 | 85 | 65 | Somalia | 144 | 140 | ^ | ^ | ||
Germany | 16 | 18 | 20 | 19 | South Africa | 46 | 52 | 102 | 49 | ||
Ghana*** | 65*** | 109*** | 112*** | 98*** | South Korea | 40 | 33 | 27 | 45 | ||
Greece | 47 | 30 | 23 | 55 | Spain | 23 | 25 | 21 | 33 | ||
Guatemala | 117 | 87 | 100 | 70 | Sri Lanka | 78 | 93 | 78 | 87 | ||
Guinea | ^ | 114 | 119 | 116 | Sudan | 4 bbl/yr | 144 | 111 | 114 | ^ | |
Guinea-Bissau | ^ | 136 | 131 | 120 | Suriname*** | 78*** | 96*** | 73*** | 118*** | ||
Guyana | 117 | 90 | 91 | 81 | Sweden | 6 | 18 | 4 | 19 | ||
Honduras | 107 | 105 | 99 | 95 | Switzerland | 7 | 10 | 7 | 15 | ||
Hong Kong | 15 | 21 | ^ | 1 | Syria | 70 | 97 | 90 | 128 | ||
Hungary | 40 | 42 | 34 | 40 | Taiwan | 32 | 23 | ^ | 36 | ||
Iceland | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | Tajikistan | 144 | 127 | 103 | 123 | ||
India | 88 | 103 | 107 | 111 | Tanzania | 88 | 139 | 126 | 89 | ||
Indonesia | 137 | 100 | 93 | 122 | Thailand | 59 | 63 | 64 | 67 | ||
Iran | 15 bbl/yr | 88 | 63 | 84 | 132 | Trinidad & Tobago | 59 | 40 | 52 | 42 | |
Iraq | 18 bbl/yr | 137 | 101 | ^ | ^ | Tunisia | 43 | 63 | 75 | 93 | |
Ireland | 19 | 5 | 8 | 3 | Turkey | 65 | 66 | 79 | 81 | ||
Israel | 28 | 27 | 22 | 36 | Turkmenistan | 7 bbl/yr | 155 | 69 | 82 | 130 | |
Italy | 40 | 20 | 18 | 42 | Ukraine | 107 | 72 | 66 | 93 | ||
Jamaica | 64 | 92 | 82 | 52 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 350 bbl/yr | 30 | 2 | 39 | 63 | |
Japan | 21 | 12 | 11 | 27 | United Kingdom | 4 bbl/yr | 11 | 16 | 15 | 5 | |
Jordan | 37 | 87 | 75 | 55 | United States of America | 17 | 4 | 10 | 9 | ||
Kazakhstan | 22 bbl/yr | 107 | 66 | 68 | 105 | Uruguay | 32 | 60 | 45 | 46 | |
Kuwait | 320 bbl/yr | 45 | 37 | 43 | 49 | Uzbekistan | 137 | 117 | 94 | 127 | |
Kyrgyzstan | 130 | 111 | 92 | 68 | Yemen | 4 bbl/yr | 103 | 134 | 116 | 125 | |
Latvia | 51 | 46 | 47 | 39 | Zambia*** | 107*** | 134*** | 128*** | 104*** | ||
**** Country which, while not having a Muslim majority or plurality, is at least 20% Muslim.^ Researchers did not rank this country according to this particular index. |
These tables send a clear message: No matter how you slice it, Free Democracy, together with Free Enterprise, produces prosperity, while Islam produces hardship. These tables also indicate why the European Union may have good reasons for resisting Turkey’s efforts to join it. Despite Turkey’s physical proximity, its people live in a world that has more in common with the House of Submission than with the European Union. After reviewing these statistics, it is safe to predict that the prosperity of oil-rich Islamic nations will fall back in line with other Islamic nations after their oil reserves run out, or after the West reduces its dependency on oil. Verdict: Islam’s road to economic Hell is paved with pious intentions Despite the obvious failure of Islam’s economic principles, Muslims insist that Islamic economics is superior to Free Enterprise. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islamillustrates the Muslim perspective:
- In capitalist nations, the problem (of struggle between the haves and have-nots) is only partially addressed by scant welfare and social programs whose existence is always begrudged and under constant assault.
[1]… For every person who lives well, someone else has to make due with much less.
[2]These sound like convincing reasons to call Free Enterprise a failure, until one considers that the beneficiaries of those “scant” welfare and social programs, who “make due with much less,” have incomes and benefits that are several times the average incomes of people living in Islamic nations that do not export oil. Moreover, the zero-sum thinking of the second quote goes beyond simply being wrong. By ignoring the fact that many people have become wealthy by enriching the world with new inventions and ideas, it gives poor people a rationale for hating those who succeed. By pitting the poor against the rich, the author uses a tactic right out of the old Communist playbook of class warfare, enflaming the “proletariat” against the “bourgeoisie.” Until the Islamic world either rejects the tenets of Islam regarding finance, which is unlikely, or until they find a way to explain that modern finance was actually Islamic all along and practiced by the Prophet, which is slightly more likely, the financial well-being of Islamic nations will continue to lag dramatically behind that of the West. Unfortunately, with their unwillingness to question the Koran’s and Muhammad’s teachings, we can expect Muslims to continue to blame their plight on Infidel exploitation rather identify the true culprit: Islamic Law.
REFERENCES FOR SECTION 5 (CONTINUED):
[1] The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam, by Yahiya Emerick, Alpha Books, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2002, Chapter 12, Introduction, page 139.
[2] Ibid, Chapter 12, section entitled The Burden of Wealth, page 140.
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