August 6, 2001
Economic globalisation is a serious threat to the OIC's move for establishing an Islamic Common Market. This was observed by speakers at a seminar on "Globalisation Impact on Trade, Banking and Finance of Developing and Muslim Countries" here yesterday.
They called for strong unity of the Muslim Ummah to protect the cultural ,economic and political identities of the Muslims from the onslaught of the globalisation. M Kabir Hassan, Associate Chair and Professor of Finance of the University of New Orleans, presented the key-note paper at the seminar organised by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium. It was presided over by BIISS Chairman Shafi Sami.
Professor Hassan in his paper stressed the need for massive transfer of funds from the oil-rich Arab countries to the non- Arab Muslim countries in the interest of the solidarity and the unity of the Muslim Ummah. He said that when the European investors focused on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics, the Japanese on East and South East and South East Asia and the US invested in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, the Arab countries must do a lot for the Muslim countries in Asia and Africa.
In this connection, he said "Capital surplus OIC countries do not invest their funds in other member countries. Most of these surplus funds are invested in the developed nations for higher returns". "Today, Islamic finance is one of the world's fastest growing capital. Since 1985, the funds managed by Islamic Banks have multi-plied five fold from only US D 5 billion to current estimates of USD 80 billion." Professor Hassan said.
He also mentioned that the total turn over of Islamic funds was projected to reach the US dollar 100 billion mark by the turn of this century. Participating in the discussion, former Foreign Secretary ambassador Farooq Sobhan stressed the need for political will of the member countries for their meaningful trade and economic cooperation.
He said that with the western world considering Islam as a challenge, the entire Muslim Ummah must be united for survival Farooq Sobhan discouraged the concepts of groupings and re-groupings among the Muslim countries for development of trade, investment and economic cooperation among them. "Degree of cooperation among the D-8 countries is negligible" he said in this connection.
He suggested that preference to be given to Muslims in the job market in the Muslim countries. Shafi Sami said emotion could not be the only basis for developing cooperation.
He called for taking pragmatic steps like expansion of trade and economic cooperation among the OIC countries. Brigadier (retd) Sakhwat Hossain and Group Captain (retd) Dastagir also participated in the discussion.
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