Recent heightened economic co-operation in the Turkish-Islamic world
Harun YahyaIn his books and statements about the Turkish-Islamic Union, Adnan Oktar emphasizes the importance of economic co-operation among Muslim countries. Mr. Oktar says that a kind of common market needs to be set up between Muslim countries, and notes that significant regeneration can be initiated with joint investments and co-operation with regard to the labor force and raw materials. Various significant steps have been taken of late on the subject of economic co-operation, to which Mr. Oktar devoted considerable space in his book A Call for an Islamic Union. His concentration on the subject, both in his works and in television interviews, has of course played a significant role in progress towards a Turkish-Islamic Union being stepped up to the extent it has.
EXAMPLES OF ADNAN OKTAR’S STATEMENTS ON THE SUBJECT
| PRESS CONFERENCE DATED 8 MARCH 2008 PRESS: You have spoken of a political system based on Islamic Union, could you expand on that? How will that system be built? How will it be integrated into today’s international system? Could you expand? ADNAN OKTAR: Let me expand on that system. For one thing every state will be an independent state within the system. Turkey will still be Turkey, Azerbaijan will still be Azerbaijan, Turkestan will still be Turkestan, everyone will be separate. This is a union of hearts, a union of love. It is a union of affection, an idea based on human love, that co-operates against terror and violence, THAT CO-OPERATES ON ECONOMIC REGENERATION, that stresses altruism and generosity, and keeps love of Allah to the fore. |
| EAST TURKESTAN, Radio Free Asia (RFA)-June 16, 2008 ADNAN OKTAR: We are thinking of starting with Azerbaijan. I have already said that. We shall make intensive efforts for the freedom of East Turkestan,the Turkic states and the Islamic world ... the unification of Azerbaijan with Turkey is in the most appropriate position at the moment. ... Turkey and Azerbaijan will unite, they will be two separate, unitary states with a secular system. But passports will be abandoned. Visa formalities will be lifted. There will be freedom to settle anywhere people wish. TRADE WILL BE AS FREE AS POSSIBLE and there will be a military pact. And there you have the first stage of the Turkish-Islamic Union. |
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Joint ventures and project partnerships will be an important step in the right direction, for they will enable countries to benefit from one another's experiences and the income earned from investment projects will benefit all of the participating countries. Such mutual financial support is compatible with Islamic morality, for helping the needy and having a sense of social responsibility are important characteristics that Muslims strive to acquire. Many verses in the Qur’an remind Muslims to watch over the needy.
Society's internal cohesion must be extended to international relations. As international cooperation within a partnership cannot be one-sided, employment and income levels will rise in both countries. For example, one country will produce oil and another one will process it, and agriculturally dependent countries will be able to import the food they need from agriculturally developed countries. A manpower-poor country’s need will be met by another Islamic country, while rich countries will be able to invest in and help out a manpower-rich country that does not have enough jobs for its people. This will be to the benefit of both. Sharing know-how and experience will increase prosperity, and all Muslims will benefit from technological developments.
Joint ventures that realize the Islamic world's unification of opportunities and means will enable Muslims to produce hi-tech products. The Islamic common market will make it possible for Muslim-made products to be marketed in other Muslim countries without the hindrance of customs, quotas, and other cross-border obstacles. The marketplace will grow, the market share and exports of all Muslim nations will rise, industrialization will speed up, and economic development will bring progress in technology. When all of this comes to pass, Muslim nations will operate as a consortium against other investment groups and will become an important part of the global economy.
... All of these can be realized only under a central authority's leadership and coordination. Achieving this will be possible if Muslim nations adopt the Qur'an's values and the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) Sunnah, or, in other words, if they adopt Islamic culture. The Islamic Union must lead the way to this cultural awakening, as well as the resulting political and economic cooperation.
