Why Are Most Muslim Countries Poor?
Economies Ruled by Muslim Theocracy
A countries economy is influenced by many factors. Examining this objectively one could ask the question, Why are countries that are ruled by Muslim theocracy overwhelmingly poor and underdeveloped? A brief examination of Iran and Afghanistan demonstrates exactly how detrimental it can be to the economic health and the wellbeing of people living there. Iran has a true Theocracy, over 99% of the population identifies as Muslim. (CIA 2015) The country is ruled by a theocratic leader that has direct control over all branches of government including the military. (Sadjadpour, K. 2015) The economy of Iran is the second largest in the middle east. (Worldbank 2015)
When you compare the economic success of Iran with a GDP of $945.5 Billion dollars annually to that of its neighbor Afghanistan with a paltry GDP of $20.84 Billion the difference is staggering. (WorldBank Data 2015) A major economic difference between these two countries is the development of natural resources. Iran has large amounts of oil that they produce and refine for sale on the world markets. The profits of these resources are used by the ruling clerics under the direction of the ayatollah to preserve the power of the ruling class. The economy of Iran could easily grow and be much larger than it is currently if the ruling party adopted policy to support this. Unfortunately they do not adopt policies that create opportunity for Iran to thrive in the global community. They are not concerned with the wellbeing of the general population, they are only concerned with solidifying control and power to satisfy the agenda of the ayatollah.
Afghanistan by contrast, has not developed and is constantly stymied by conflict within its borders. This conflict arises from a patchwork of various tribes and local factions that are quarreling under the umbrella of religion. Much of this animosity and quarreling is directed at the current government by various ethnic and religious groups. This internal conflict prevents the country from developing its resources and improving the lives of the people living there. One could argue, that a contributing factor to this internal strife is deeply rooted in religious conflict between Sunni, and Shia. The reasons for the religious conflict can be ignored as the conflict itself is not rooted in any tangible place or thing but a disagreement in the details of religious fiction. The results of the conflict upon the local economy however are devastating.
Many countries in this region suffer the same detrimental economic effects. Unfortunately, the region has been for centuries, utterly controlled by religion. It then becomes near impossible to find rational common ground with a political or religious viewpoint that differs from the viewpoint currently in power. Any such concession is seen often as a betrayal of religion and can have lethal consequences when the local citizens and governments enforce penalties for that betrayal. Until the grip of religion is removed from power, the economies ruled by Muslim theocracy will continue to be hindered and will never fully thrive or flourish globally.
References
CIA_The World Factbook. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2015, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html
Sadjadpour, K. (2015, August 1). The Iran Primer. Retrieved December 14, 2015, from http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/supreme-leader
WorldBank_Iran Overview. (2015, September 29). Retrieved December 14, 2015, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/iran/overview
WorldBank Data_ Afghanistan. (2015). Retrieved December 14, 2015, from http://data.worldbank.org/country/afghanistan
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