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RESURRECTION OF THE ISLAMIC GOLD DINAR
The Moral Imperative from the Muslim Perspective as Perceived in the West
by J. Kent Willis
AGAPI Financial, LLC
December 2, 2004

Introduction

As a fellow sound money proponent I enjoy reading the numerous thought provoking and well-researched articles regarding anything of interest to the “gold-as-honest-money” community. I have been studying the issue of the resurrection of the Islamic gold Dinar as a viable means of international trade settlement, e.g. for national balance of payments (BPA) as well as a legitimate mechanism for initially undermining and ultimately bypassing the hegemony of the US Dollar (USD). Articles by Jim Sinclair, Tim Wood, Julian D.W. Phillips, Jay Taylor and others have appeared in the gold community related websites. I don’t wish to duplicate any of their efforts; there are many fine contributions archived for reference. I have simply tried to tie everything together and place it in a macro context for the reader. Hence the justification for another paper.

The utility of the internet to study the current trends and political implications of any such threat to the dollar is without equal. Very few understand the horrific implications of the wholesale bypassing of the USD by the rest of the world. Regardless of how Americans view our lovely, crisp, counterfeit-resistant (to everyone but us!) IOU’s provided almost free by the Federal Reserve, the opinion of the rest of the world regarding their value will ultimately determine our economy stability, military success, way of life and our place in history. Will it be a worthy epitaph? Or shall we reside in disgrace in the rubbish heap alongside the vulture-picked carcasses of every other banana republic who believed they could have lasting prosperity by issuing ephemeral fiat?

Let me say at the outset that although I have studied the Koran for several years, I am neither an expert in the Koran nor intimately familiar with Islamic culture. I have been a zealous student of the Bible for over 25 years. I am simply piecing together the comments that appear in numerous English language Arab-origin websites and newspapers so I can walk a mile or two in their sandals.

This Is No Game. The Stakes Are Very High

The momentum, determination and sense of world destiny among the Islamic people regarding the repudiation of most of western ideals as epitomized in the concept of an almighty dollar is likely to roll over and crush any who are unprepared. I am heartened by the Judeo-Christian faith and belief in the Bible by many of those who view gold and silver as essentially the only good, just, honest and righteous medium of exchange. Clearly the majority of the men and women who frequent gold-bug websites are those who embrace specific nuggets of Biblical wisdom. They instinctively recognize the degree of success (i.e., the measure of peace and prosperity) or longevity of any government (and hence the economic society which develops under that rule of law) is directly proportional to the extent in which they embrace fiscal truth, educate their citizens about money and enforce these simple rules. Honest, logical, sober minded and reflective men penned our great Constitution. God bless them. May all men and women who inherit their power and authority by democratic vote act with the same conviction and discipline. God help them.

All students of financial history are aware of the economic ruin which follows every nation without exception that debases their currency in pursuit of national pre-eminence. I love my country and thank God that I was born here. For these reasons I am greatly concerned about the eventual consequences of rejecting history. I believe it is dangerous to reject Biblical wisdom and quite frankly, “logic” with regard to monetary integrity. God is the sole author of true wisdom. Men profit greatly by simply reading, meditating upon and practicing the principles freely given to all by an incomparable, generous God who knows what He is doing. Every faithful Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc., shares this common belief. Some, regrettably, combine misdirected passion with the ageless, bitter bromide that “my God is better than your God”. All men of unquenchable faith should believe such; it is the true essence of their zeal. That faith motivates them to either cleanse their own heart (in the case of the righteous) or purge the blood of others instead. One is infinitely easier to accomplish.

My basic premise is thus: Truth is universal. Wisdom (defined as righteous application of truth refined through experience) will benefit all men regardless of their culture, systems of political thought, ethno-centric bias, flavor of government, language, skin color, etc. The same set of universal rules (a la Adam Smith’s “unseen hand”) will benefit all men. The smallest unit of society (little more than a single family) or the largest behemoth of the democratized, modern west are successfully established and maintained by the same core principles. Deviation from that foundation is ultimately destructive, regardless of the economic prowess, military might or grandiose cultural and technological achievements of that society. Every “gold and silver as honest money” patriot accepts this as self-evident. Even if they reject the idea that any “religious” book is the source of this wisdom. Everybody agrees that truth, whatever it is, is unifying, and that error or folly (market, political or personal) is by nature, divisive. The endless debates have always been about just what is “truth”. The differences, which lead to polarization, hatred and bloodshed, are all centered around the debate that one collection of sacred writings is superior to the others. Such debates lead naturally to the calculation of “righteous penalties” that should be meted out to those that disagree and blaspheme the sacred texts. The problem is therefore in the hearts of the men; not in the principles the books have in common.

Great and scholarly authors often quote other men when illustrating their points. We see things like “….John Maynard Keynes said…” or “Adam Smith noted this….” or “Murray Rothbard described…”, “Von Mises taught that” or “H.L. Mencken remarked so and so…”. As a highly educated product of the U.S. university system (with majors in Applied Science & Engineering, minors in Mathematics, Philosophy, and Economics), I recognize all of these gifted thinkers and give them their just due. I appreciate pretentious humbugs as much as anyone! But twenty-five years of study of the Bible leads me to one indisputable fact: if any writing of man is true, just, wise or beneficial, it has an ultimate original source in something that God already said long, long ago. Therefore I must give God, not man, the credit.

Interestingly, there are many passages in both the Bible and the Koran, which share the same foundations of justice and integrity regarding fair dealing between people. Any serious student of both the Bible and the Koran recognizes countless similarities in the teachings regarding money, honesty, integrity of heart, service to others, compassion for the poor, defense of the weak and upright conduct before God. Everyone agrees that these are the cornerstone of any viable economy. Of course anyone who believes that militant Islam (primarily Wahhabism and its derivatives) is only seeking to improve the economic fortune of its adherents is hopelessly naïve. It is clear that all Muslims are not militant. Many see the surpassing benefit of mutual understanding and cooperation with the west with regard to trade, cultural exchange and peaceful coexistence. Unfortunately, a rapidly growing percentage consider assimilation of any “decadent” western ideals which are contrary to the Koran as cancerous and destructive. They believe that Allah is not pleased with them for this tolerance, and even worse, the embracing of any principles associated with the “infidels” (defined as unbelievers who reject the teaching of Mohammed and the nature of the deity of Allah). They must remove anything that is not pleasing to Allah from their collective societies (the “ummah”) and individual lives so that they might then and only then enjoy the blessings and rightful destiny in this life and, more importantly, the next. If they don’t, they are “locked out” of the blessings that Allah wishes to give them. Not only that, they fear the curse and condemnation accorded to infidels that Allah will mete out to those who do not follow his instructions as clearly indicated in the Koran. That is one powerful motivation to clean house. And they are sweeping every nook and cranny. Religious conviction is always the trump card; it exceeds any other possible secular reason for economic integrity.  This is true for any man who is zealous for whatever he believes to be the commands of his God. Eternal rewards for keeping his God’s word are incomparable. Likewise are the horrors, which await anyone who rejects his God’s wisdom. This principle applies equally to devotees of the Koran or the Bible.

History is a cruel and repetitive master. In every nation that finds itself either coming apart at the seams during the death throes of collapse, or facing overwhelming frustration at not obtaining its “rightful” place in the world (i.e., external recognition, status and prestige for their achievements), the politicians and theologians battle it out for the so-called hearts and minds of the people. The politicians preach economic innovation, increased military strength and demand for more authority to keep the whole mess going. The bogeymen are limitations in authority and a disintegrating rule of law, which supposedly prevents addressing internal and external threats, which are responsible for the crisis du jour.

The theologians perceive the same threats, real and imagined, yet place the blame squarely upon rejection of divine edicts, which serve as the only legitimate foundation of a successful civilization. Both “factions” are right about the need for authority. Except the politicians have their cart before their horse. They don’t need more human authority. They need a practical knowledge of and respect for the divine variety. It is clear from all sacred writings that “right makes might”. This is the wisdom of God. The idea that “might makes right” as practiced by the western flavors of the military-industrial complex is foreign to the Bible. That is the wisdom of men.

Every single time the ancient nations of the Bible effectively substituted one for the other through selfish pursuit of this world’s goods as practiced by a pampered people they suffered. Divine judgment from Jehovah‘s storehouse unflinchingly requited them with a number of penalties including tremendous economic hardship through disease and famine, or they were killed in great numbers, or, suffered ignominious military defeat by lesser rivals and were deported as slaves of their enemies. Every time. It’s hard to beat God’s track record for warnings of inevitable dire consequences when his people reject his principles. Only hubris of the highest order would permit any mortal creature to suppose otherwise.

Make no mistake: the most cherished principles of the American people are squarely in the crosshairs of our enemies. Their main target was not the New York skyline. The New York skyline is only a symbol of American economic dominance exported and imposed upon other sovereign states via the US dollar. They, along with other European, Asian and many non-Muslim peoples have decided that this dollar dynasty must end. Any perceptive individual realizes the tangible and far-reaching monopolistic benefits afforded the single nation, which prints the so-called “reserve” currency of the entire world. What an incomparable privilege! Alan Greenspan and every central banker worth his ink press have publicly stated such. It sure angered Charles DeGaulle; he was making so much noise squawking outside the gold window Nixon slammed it on his fingers in 1971.

The USD is truly “Monopoly Money” in more ways than one. America’s enemies are meticulously preparing a competing system that has none of the deficiencies of fiat paper and all of the intrinsic, self-sustaining benefits of the “eternal” monetary metals gold and silver. If they succeed, there will be no competition with the dollar in its present incarnation. The dollar will be on the canvas, down for the count, along with the US economy. Inevitably in short order much of the rest of the globe will follow. The survivors, although shell-shocked, will be only those with sound currency. Likewise for the Euro, Yen, Pound, Renminbi, Franc and any other fundamentally worthless paper you can name. Why do you think that the Islamic world is not trying to introduce a paper currency to be demanded and used exclusively by faithful Muslims among themselves for private local debt settlement as well as ultimately international exchange? Hmm…“This Paper Dinar Is Legal Tender For All Debts, Secular and Religious”. That sounds silly; they recognize that. I will discuss this issue in detail later when we review the Koranic principle of Zakah.

It’s largely laughable that other Western or Eastern governments are all trying to create the next great paper. They are wasting their time. China thinks they can save and even elevate the international status of the Renminbi merely by unhitching it from the dollar. No doubt China is actively and discreetly preparing for that day after they have dumped large USD cash reserve holdings (or the cash proxy of US Treasury debt) for other currencies (including gold). But unless they hitch it intelligently and convertibly to something of real value to defend against Forex speculators, well, we know how that will work out. Just ask George Soros.

The Gold Dinar Isn’t New; It’s Back From The Dead

The word “dinar” and its variations come from initially Koine Greek (denarion) and later Latin (denarius) roots relating to counting by tens. The concept led to barter-enabling coinage of a more or less certain weight (not a face-value denomination) which had a certain value in the economies where it circulated. The Roman denarius was a small silver coin and the most common in the ancient Roman world. Because of its relatively stable weight of intrinsically valuable silver it was widely accepted wherever it migrated. The Pax Romana was actually a “Pax Argentum”. Many have cited its value as typically representing a full day’s wage for a manual or unskilled laborer. It is likely the so-called “penny” of Matthew 20 issued with the likeness of Tiberius between 14 and 37 AD and weighing about 4 grams of silver. Throughout history Arab-world dinars have been made of copper/bronze, silver, and gold but today largely of non-precious metals and “paper”. Dinar denominated fiat coins and paper circulate today in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, and Serbia and a few other nations.

The modern appeal for return of the real gold dinar can be traced backed to pre-Koranic roots. The early Arabian empires minted a gold dinar issued under the Umayyad caliphs (roughly 630-750 AD). Power was consolidated in old Damascus and much of what is now the modern Arab world. The caliphs also wielded significant influence and domination throughout North Africa and parts of Gaul (Spain). The original gold dinar was very close in diameter to today’s modern Lincoln cent and contained about 4 grams of gold of varying purity. The new gold dinar coin, minted in 4 nations (including Malaysia) contains 4.25 grams of 22 karat (0.9167 fine) gold and is just under one inch in diameter at 23 mm. It therefore contains 3.896 grams of pure gold. At $450/ounce fine gold it has just over $56.37 worth of gold.

As you can imagine, ancient coins were not always exactly equal in size or net gold content because of the variability of ancient refining, assaying and minting techniques. However, ancient coins could be very accurately compared on simple lever-type balances to a standard weight. The underweight ones could be remelted and the overweight ones could be carefully clipped or filed until they were acceptable. This method, while crude, was very effective and legitimate if the purity of the gold used to start with was relatively constant (a specious assumption). Traders who valued their market privileges and their smooth necks in many locales used only weights bearing the seal of the king who vouchsafed the reference. The penalties for false, counterfeit or unapproved weights in the marketplace were merciless. And permanent. And the same as in the early days of the fledgling American republic as stipulated in the US Mint Act of 1792. I wonder what they will be under the new Dinar?

For a relatively pure material with a known or “reference” density, a given weight must occupy a certain volume. It must have a recognized size, shape or “heft” familiar to the trader. If it is legitimate, it can’t be larger (or smaller) than a certain size and still be correct. Long familiarity with the “feel” of good coin by the populace would immediately arouse suspicion if something wasn’t quite “kosher”. This is the method whereby debased coins, no matter how nefariously blended into the economy by ancient kings seeking to “expand the money supply” were quickly recognized. Gresham’s law is ancient. The previous mintings of coins (pre-debased) were then kept safely in the moneychanger’s bag. The newer “improved” versions were deftly passed on to the unsuspecting or wayfaring trader. Same old king’s face on the slug. Same old inscriptions. New (lesser) amount of good metal beneath the surface. Same old game.

The Father(s) Of The Resurrected Gold Dinar

The ardent spokesmen and proponents primarily associated with the resurrected gold dinar are the former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad and his senior economic adviser Nor Mohamed Yakcop. The motivation behind the revitalized Islamic gold Dinar is not new; it has been under serious discussion since early 1991. Bin Mohammad, trained originally as a medical doctor, retired in 2003 after leading his country for 22 years. Although now age 78, he is still working passionately behind the scenes. Dr. Mohammad’s legacy is clearly the reduction of political and economic strife among the many ethnic divisions in Malaysia; primarily between native Malays and immigrant Chinese.

More importantly, the intellectual and “ethical” force behind the far-reaching doctrine is voiced by Umar Ibrahim Vadillo. Vadillo has written the best single book available titled The Return Of The Gold Dinar. The actual text is difficult to find but I have read extensive review commentary. (Note: I would be interested in obtaining a copy if any reader knows where it can be easily located). Vadillo is clearly the most articulate and influential master of the subject. His cause is crusade-like in its zeal; he clearly has an absolute conviction that all paper money is essentially a form of “fraud” that Allah despises. As a consequence, any true Muslims who would be faithful followers are enjoined with the responsibility to reject it. The absolute worst thing that a faithful Muslim can do, in his opinion, is to accept, use, trade and transact in the most vile of paper money; that issued by the United States.

Vadillo’s Views On Paper Money

Vadillo’s work on the subject appears in many websites; the one we found most useful was www.shaykhabdalqadir.com and this section is extracted from his work “Paper Money: A Legal Judgment”. In summary:

1. Paper currency is NOT VALID MONEY in Islamic law.

2. The Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham are the ONLY valid means of exchange that meet the requirements of the Koran as expressed in Sharia (Islamic religious law).

3. The Arab world paper dinar is certainly, in their opinion, “better” than any western fiat currency, but still not “good” in the eyes of Allah.

4. Trusting others outside the “House of Islam” (dar al-Islam) who are not believers (the “kuffar”, or “infidels”) with money, etc. is forbidden. They can’t be trusted to pay it back. A true Muslim would never trust a “kuffar” to watch over his money, either paper or metal. Arab world writers often cite the anecdotal evidence of seizure of Arab/Muslim wealth by American authorities during the current “war on terrorism” as proof of Allah’s warnings regarding what happens if “infidels” can find your piggybank.

5. Paper money has no intrinsic value, therefore when given in exchange for any other valuable good (food, clothing, oil, material objects) it represents to a great extent “contractual fraud”. It isn’t a fair trade. Giving specie (gold or silver coin of known integrity/purity in agreed upon amounts) is a legitimate trade of “value for value”.

An interesting and necessary conclusion is that it would be fraud to trade paper dollars of no intrinsic value for anything of true value, especially gold and silver. This dilemma, which is conveniently sidestepped by the Islamic banking experts, has not stopped them from trading dollars for gold as fast as they can drive their limousines to the back gate of the London Metals Exchange. It is justified before Allah….you are simply getting rid of the unrighteous for the righteous. It is accomplished by proxy with an inconvenient middle step. The original source of the dollar bills was the lawful, fair, free-market sale of oil, which is legitimate wealth given to the Arab/Muslim peoples by Allah. The dollars were obtained for this oil, and then traded for gold. So the net effect is already a trade of oil for gold. THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS IS THE VERY MECHANISM THAT PERMITS THE FAITHFUL MUSLIM TO HAVE A CLEAN CONSCIENCE BEFORE HIS GOD WHILE SECURING RIGHTEOUS WEALTH AND THE EFFECTIVE RESULT OF THIS CORE TENET IS DESTABILIZING TO THE WORLD ECONOMY. They will continue until they succeed, even if they don’t get the whole thing right the first time. Or die trying. Any financial talking-head, speculator, currency trader, investor, or naysayer who ridiculed the “silly gold dinar” as an amateurish experiment with a handful of coins that will be DOA just does not “get” it.

The Islamic Concept Of Charity (Zakah)

Zakah, or the “works of charity” are one of the five well-known “pillars of Islam”. Every Muslim who would be faithful to his Master embraces the five pillars as the bedrock of his faith. Number 5 below is the key to our whole discussion. The pillars are:

1. Confession that there is no God but Allah and that he is “one” in his nature. This is in direct antithesis to Judeo-Christian concepts of the three-fold trinity of the Godhead. This is the basis for the most militant behavior espoused by the Wahabbi. To them, the ultimate blasphemy starts with believing in a concept that God is “divided” somehow. In their judgment, such apostasy is worthy of the coldest steel of Islamic justice. It is their contention that there is no common ground among the major religions of the world because they disagree with them over this absolutely unequivocal issue about the basic nature of Deity. Never underestimate the significance of this “show-stopper”.

2. Make a determined effort to travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. This is the “pilgrimage” or “hajj” enjoined upon those whose health and finances permit.

3. Observe Ramadan faithfully in prayer, fasting and devotion every year.

4. Establish and keep a routine of daily prayer; typically three times a day.

5. Give generously things of good value to the poor Muslims. This is Zakah. This is not voluntary, it is a responsibility placed by Allah upon all Muslims who have more than the minimum amount of subsistence. It’s typically assessed at 2.5% of net gain, known as “a one quarter tithe” = ¼ of traditional 10%. The minimum amount, below which the poorest of Muslims is truly the receiver and not required to give alms, is known as “Nisab”. The eight classifications of recipients are: the poor, the needy, those who have the authority to collect the contribution, those who may benefit from the reconciliation of their heart (for influential “fence-sitting” Muslims who are not fully converted yet in order to “cement” their faith) to free “kidnapped” captives (ransom) or repurchase slaves, relief of poor debtors (blood money to settle tribal/clan disputes), the down and out wayfarer/sojourner, and for the “sake/cause” of Allah. You can’t provide true, honest, righteous relief to the poor by handing them worthless paper; even though many Muslims have been doing this for years with US dollars that circulated openly alongside national banknotes or thrived underground undeterred by black market penalties. You must give something legitimately good to the poor or you have cheated both Allah and the poor. The bulk of the Muslim faithful life requires giving ONLY things of good value to the many worthy recipients. Paper has no value, surrendering it is not a sacrifice. Therefore, as they see it, the heart is empty and “Allah sees all and will repay”.

Summary

As espoused by many Muslim voices of varying degrees of fundamental zeal and political influence, the current plight of the Muslims is succinctly stated in that Allah is not pleased with them for a host of reasons. Support of US hegemony via acceptance of the omnipresent USD (especially for oil) keeps the war machine of oppression oiled and running. Running over innocent Muslims in every corner of the globe. The true reasons for the resurrection of the Gold Dinar are summarized as follows:

• Allah commands all the faithful to respect the Koranic teachings regarding money and wealth, including lawfully obtaining it and doing good unto the poor. Violating the doctrine is sin and will result in divine judgment from Allah.

• The interpretation and practical application of the Koranic laws for the Muslim communities worldwide (collectively known as the “ummah”) are provided by teachings, doctrines and decrees of the “Ulama”. The Ulama are considered absolute experts as more or less successors to the prophet Mohammad. Their word is law when propagated as a “fatwah”; they speak an eastern flavor of “ex cathedra”. The “Imams” are faithful and authoritative instructors to the masses through organized teaching in the Madrassas (religious schools) and in mosque prayer and worship assemblies.

• Their spiritual leaders recognize the foolishness of condemning the dollar and all other forms of worthless paper currency without providing for a legitimate alternative “something” that would be acceptable to Allah and his people. The gold Dinar is that something. Their approach is multi-pronged:

1. Teach the ancient principles of righteous zakah etc, to both the young and the old alike in the Madrassas and the mosques.

2. Bring together their greatest scholars and spiritual leaders to justify the economic doctrine in the light of Koranic edicts. Hold international seminars to debate and discuss the mechanics of implementation in many of the Arab economic centers. Pass legislation to facilitate the transition.

3. Vilify and isolate any of the non-militant Muslim nations or communities who do not agree that the gold dinar and silver dirham are the only solution. Any oil producers who still take dollars, or euros, or anything paper which is “non-gold-dinar” must be ostracized.

4. Now that the dinar has been minted, it must be circulated among the Islamic people and used for every aspect of trade; from the stuffiest stalls of an open air market in exchange for Silk Road spices, to the high polished marble bank vault floors in Dubai for international current account settlement.

5. The petri dish controlled experiment among a few “early adopters” with only a few thousand of the actual coins must eventually give way to international balance of payments and trade settlement in gold units with billion-dollar magnitudes, primarily for oil. That’s a lot of Dinars.

6. Teach the Muslims that the gold dinar has spiritual and intellectual superiority to any fiat currency because it is “so good” in concept and utility that it presents itself as the no-brainer, first choice of a truly free people. They note, that by force, and not by choice, do the “fools” of the West ever multiply and propagate their paper. If its value has to be decreed by governments and forced upon the people, it carries no independent worth. Essentially, Allah wants his people to be free; they choose freely what is clearly superior while the West remains a slave to ignorance, inflation, and endless economic upheaval. In their view their (our) punishment is just.

• Bring together powerful nations as intimate trade partners for precious and limited natural resources of gas, oil, and minerals. Increase cultural exchange and encourage mutual intra-national capital investment. The emergence of the unholy Trinity of Iran, China and Russia is the single most important geo-political event in the past few years. They can provide capital, labor, military hardware, economic expertise and shift 2.5 billion de-facto converts to the new paradigm; all ingredients which must be brought together if the Dinar is to succeed. Iran has for some time sought to bypass London’s IPE which is the primary market for almost all Middle Eastern oil. The concept of a trading bloc who will only take gold, for example, for their oil and liquefied natural gas will likely destabilize the world in an unforeseen but most assuredly negative fashion. How will Americans satisfy their thirst for oil? All we have are dollars. What if the gas man isn’t taking dollars today? Or tomorrow? Horrific wars have been fought over far more trifling issues.

• Allah has blessed the Muslim people with great natural wealth (primarily oil). That wealth should be used to improve the lot of all Muslims worldwide. Taking worthless paper money (dollars) from the “Zionist crusading Americans” which allows them to maintain their econo-military is an absolute abomination and worthy of swift and merciless judgment of Allah. From their perspective, the “Zionist” label refers to all those who provide carte-blanche support of Israel in their oppression of the Palestinians.

• The sectarian disputes between the Sunni, Shiites and Sufi are weakening the cause of Islam. The warring factions should set aside their doctrinal differences and focus on the one true thing that they all have in common; hatred for western hegemony.

• Allah is to some extent very angry with most Muslims who continue to trade true wealth (oil) for worthless promises from their greatest enemy. They believe that they are not able to defeat the west (including both United States and Israel) in either economic or military conflicts because of their lack of obedience to Koranic teachings. Until the Muslim people “repent” and reject the western influences as personified in the dollar as all things corrupt, Allah will not grant them victory against their enemies. This is of fundamental importance.

• The faithful will not be discouraged by setbacks, complexities and economic counter-attacks. For them it is an absolute matter of eternal life or eternal death. The establishment of an alternative economic system to challenge all things western is divinely ordained by Allah. They may not be immediately successful, but they most assuredly will not be deterred.

• The most important message is that they understand that force and the so-called “color of authority” is required for any unbacked paper currency to “succeed”, even marginally. The issuing government must, by sovereign decree or imprimatur, declare paper to be valid in all economic applications under threat of force and punishment against all tactics to circumvent, obstruct or reject it. In their opinion, the US dollar is, in reality, backed after all, by something tangible: lead (bullets in the guns of U.S. soldiers) and, plutonium (the ultimate manifestation of decree by force). All of these so called intimidations and threats are nothing before the power of Allah. The wisdom of Allah is the trump card which is greater than any invention of man. Allah, in his wisdom put oil, gold and silver in the earth and commanded his people to use them all righteously and faithfully. They will succeed in finally achieving their destiny in the world if they follow their God faithfully. 

In conclusion, all of this combined makes our opponent VERY dangerous, all rhetoric aside. Martyr-like zeal in the heart of a few warriors can achieve “great” things. This establishes the mindset; they will continually refine their methods and techniques until they succeed. If they fail in battle, for example, they will take a closer look at the reasons; it must be due to something in the Koran that they failed to do correctly or completely. If they keep refining their strategies, sooner or later they will have removed every flaw and failing in their service to Allah. Then, and only then, will he reward them with success, however it is defined from their perspective. It most assuredly would include complete destruction of the Western economy and our way of life. The method to their madness is not necessarily military in nature. Certainly those that wish to die a martyr’s death in the service of Allah can go to their reward tonight. Or they can live to fight another day with a much more sophisticated weapon: sound money. Economic “jihad” is much more insidious and more difficult to eradicate. It has the potential to cause the loss of far more innocent lives than all the car bombs, plane crashes and beheadings ever perpetrated in the name of justice. For the sake of western and ultimately global stability, I pray that our leaders wake up to this reality.

© 2004 J. Kent Willis
Editorial Archive

The opinions of FSU contributors do not necessarily reflect those of Financial Sense.