Disowning Altruism

what islam suggests is neither absolute giving
up of one`s material life, nor the dog eat dog
world of capitalism. what the ideology suggests
is a sort of balance. but aggree with much of
what you`ve said in this article. have often
wondered on this myself.
altaf

SI, if there are people such as those you
describe, who stay outside of being assimilated
into the corporate culture, that is great.
The article is, however, calling to attention
those who`ve made it their life to gain a
foothold onto the corporate ladder. And there
are plenty of young muslims in this league. At
issue is if this attempt at being part of the
``cut-throat capitalism`` is compatible with Islam.
If not, then what are the options of the young
bright educated muslims, in this land of plenty?
altaf

Kazim,

You raise important questions. there are quite a few Pakistani men I know struggling up the corporate ladder religiously and doing the namaaz, roza bit. Truly decent, conservative sorts. I guess their adherence to religious ritual and political conservatism are not at odds with each other. I suppose what is missing from their lives is the `spiritual` dimension.

A question: is an anti-capitalist/anti-competitive ideology more compatible with Islamic spirituality?

It is great food for cynicism to see the inconsistent response from ``enlightened Muslim
liberals`` towards Islam`s various ``recommendations`` affecting public (and private)
life spheres of individuals.

The spirit of discouraging slavery and polygamy without actually prohibiting them is not very different from the way charity and altruism are encouraged without making them mandatory. The difference, of course, is that slavery and polygamy are mostly an academic debate for most of us, whereas amassing wealth (and hopefully giving away the meager zakaat to keep a clear conscience)
is still a practical issue. I must admit, Sura Takasur is a fun read, and even more fun to hear its commentary at Juma prayers from our very own
``entrepreneur.``

Islam doesn`t scoff at making money, only at keeping it! The only reason charity wasn`t made
compulsory by Islam was to make sure we had a chance, at least, to infiltrate that damn Goldman Sachs program!