Island Nation – The Blueprint for a Golden Age

Time. It is momentary. It is fleeting. It is ever so elusive – and boundless. It is the delicate fabric from which the universe is twined and fused. It is the bedrock of the past, present and future. Yet, the present is all we have. The past and future are distant strangers veiled in mystery. And, yet, ironically, we learn from the past to prepare for a better future.

Madinat as-Salam,  once upon a time, was a paragon city – home to the Bayt al-Hikmah, the House of Wisdom – concretising the apotheosis of the Islamic Golden Age. It became the Ummah’s architectural insignia carved into the Middle East. It is a symbolic testament to the immeasurable fortune promised by Islam to those who earnestly pledge themselves to our covenant and its ways. The city epitomised what Islam stands for: peace. Be it a believer, Islamic convert, or foreigner, everyone coexisted in harmony and helped the world grow. Its unfortunate destruction is also a lesson. It is what happens to us when our ruling elites indulge in corruption, divide their people, bend their knees to colonial powers, and betray their nation and creed. Today, we cannot even find its remnants. Its glory only lives on through historical chronicles and archived records.

The legacy of the Islamic Golden Age is timeless. In this writing, though, I will explore the golden ages as an abstract concept for the future to chart a course into the unknown.

Golden Ages – العصور الذهبية

For some historians, it is innovation and discovery that symbolises a golden era. For others, it is economic or societal prosperity. The common denominator in every historical golden era, though, was a happy and thriving society. It was never a single figurehead that led a golden age. It was always the collective – the Ummah united. The Golden Era would never have happened were it not for the scholars, inventors, translators, polymaths, economists and Sheiks.

Even the Maldives enjoyed a golden age – a Ranzamaan. Ask every elder – from a time before the 30-year rule, before party politics – about the past. They will eagerly verify this. Most among them will sing this tune in unison – and they will chorus harmoniously and unanimously. The Maldives was united and peaceful then. Imperfect, but close to excellence, even if the rulers at that time were also motivated by power. We were halfway to a true Ranzamaan. With the colour parties' advent, though, we took one small step forward and several strides backwards. In fact, it appears that every party rule we have endured thus far has violently suppressed those who oppose their "freedom" and "liberty." How ironic!

 

The State of Maldives – الدولة المحلديبية

This was what our forefathers called our lands following our conversion to Islam. People often deem the present hopeless. They have surrendered to the ruling colours because they feel defeated. They feel it is impossible to bring about any true change. So, when I suggest we could recreate a new Maldivian golden era, I am met with doubt and derision. "The real world runs on logic," they claim, "the economy does not work like that." Yet when presented with macroeconomic projections founded on cumulative real-world data, they vehemently reject them.

They sardonically dub me a dreamer. In fact, I take that as a compliment. It takes courage to dream. Allowing yourself to dream does not mean you have forsaken reason and logic. My dream does not require overpriced sci-fi ventures and projects – I am not proposing we invest billions in fairytales like underwater cities, floating islands, or sentient robots. My dream is a mutual journey. It is a path towards a place to truly call home, where everyone receives equal necessities and compensation to live a life beyond struggling just to survive.

A Golden Era is achieved only by the collective community – empowered, united, and autonomous. We must erase the need for masters or ruling elites from this equation. This is a blueprint for a dream. These are not solutions nor proposals. These are conditions we must achieve. This is the what, not the how.

1. Social Prosperity

It is crucial that every citizen receives free shelter, food, water, healthcare, electricity, and other necessities they require for basic survival. This does not mean the state should provide everything for everybody or abolish the medium of exchange – money. This means we must provide necessities, not luxuries. To those who argue that this is economically unfeasible, I contend thus: variety is vital in our lives. Given a high discretionary income, we would spend it on luxuries, invest it, start new businesses, or save. Newness is integral to our lives. New shows, new tournaments, new food, and new products – the way these are exchanged must remain unchanged to compensate for the hard labour behind them.

The nation must also compensate for labourers involved in the process that generates these essentials – we must pay them far more than what they are currently making today to reward the work that contributes to our nation's livelihood. Our capacity for wants is abysmal. When people are left with a higher discretionary income to spend on their desires, it will all circulate within the market – it would render the economy healthier than it ever was. Tourism and natural industries are our true economic lifeline. If we truly cared about universal wellbeing, we would stop selling our lands to foreign parties. We would not allow the elites to monopolise the industry. Instead, we would use it as the backbone to reinforce our communities. If we currently have such a robust economic model, why is the entire nation suffering while the elites grow richer?

2. Religious Unity

This is the most important element. Today, our Ummah is torn asunder by sects, parties, and ideologies. Liberal interpretations, republican interpretations, and so on. They have divided us within our own religion. The ruling elites use our religion as a weapon to smite their enemies and guard their power.

Believers must follow religion as it is in the Quran and instructed by our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). One Deen, One Ummah, One God. We must cooperate and coexist. We must not resort to violence – that is what the colonisers and ruling elites want. They wish to smear our image as terrorists, engineer violence in our communities and overtake us wielding "anti-terrorism" as a decoy. For those who reject our way or shun it, we must practise the same tolerance practised by our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) – we must either lead them by peaceful example or ignore the doubters and build our own path to the Creator.

Violence must remain the absolute last resort – only for self-defence, no less.

3. Wealth Redistribution

From each according to their ability to each according to their needs. Even Adam Smith – the father of economics who elitists infamously misinterpret and misunderstand – fiercely emphasised how important it is to eradicate inequality. Consider, for instance, "…What improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconvenience to the whole. No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable." – Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, 1776

This is just one example among a myriad more. If wealth was redistributed equitably, the economy would thrive, not collapse. Why? With adequate discretionary income, time, and energy, our people will dedicate their lives to creativity and innovation. They will spend time developing new ways to amass collective wealth and run our economy efficiently. They will create new art and invent new ways to save our environment or generate energy. With the new minimum wage, our citizens struggle just to survive – even before that, it was not so different either. Yet the ruling elites claim that Maldivians are "simple-minded," apparently, with no ambitions or goals beyond basic survival. Who made us that way? Who keeps things that way? Our people must no longer remain cogs in the economic machine – they must run this machine.

4. Decentralisation

Every ruling elite speaks volumes about decentralisation. They would toss vague terms around in a word salad and dress it with promises, but seldom do we see them propose, prepare, or contrive sensible solutions. A common promise is to raise every single island to the economic standard held by the Greater Male’ area. That is economic illiteracy. That is a fairytale we do not have the resources for. Most importantly, these impractical promises – these utopian fantasies – are why no ruling elites prior and present have nothing more to offer than another futsal field. Creating four or five more city centres across strategic locations in the archipelago, on the other hand, is economically sound. In these centres, citizens in islands far from the Greater Male’ area must receive the same opportunities, resources, and services as they would in the Greater Male’ region.

Had our ruling elites set their priorities in order, accomplishing this would require little effort or time. This short-term accomplishment would become a baby step towards total atoll decentralisation within the next few decades.

5. Sincere Leadership

Some people read Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Machiavelli’s The Prince, and other treatises on strategy a few times and then assume, in their self-reverent megalomania, that they have mastered strategy. They feel ready to conquer the world. The central focus of these strategic treatises is on mercy, winning without warfare, and preventing war. However, compassion is lost on these people.

 

"ވެރިކަން ކުރެވޭނީ މަކަރުހަދަން ކުޅަދާނަ މީހަކަށް"

 

This is a resounding belief some people have as if to imply a compassionate leader is an inept one. Just because they had stolen your money, deceived you, suppressed your voice, harmed people, earned wealth through illicit means, spread propaganda, and jailed their opponents does not mean they were strategists. They were adept liars and criminals, not strategists or leaders. They will lie and sell their way into power. Their only strength was the people that believed in them, the people whose trust they had broken and the people who continued to believe in their lies. They only know how to market themselves with lies – they do not know how to lead, strategise, or build a future. Why do you think these people ended up where they are right now?

That is why Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) always takes power away from them. Compassion is not naivety. Capacity for evil does not equate to aptitude for strategy. It is time we stopped idolising such figures and started valuing the collective. A true strategist would realise Machiavellian core principles – to rule with fear, treachery, and deception – will only spell ruin, as history dictates. So much for makaruverin.

 

To the Stars – إلى النجوم

There are several other conditions I have not mentioned, such as sincerely working towards net zero emissions and bolstering national food security – not because they are any less important, but because I believe we all unanimously agree on these stances.

Perhaps these conditions fused together do not sound like a typical Golden Age scenario with futuristic technology and infrastructure that take to the skies. As mentioned before, these are conditions to achieve, not the solutions. If we achieve these conditions, however, this is what I predict will happen, in this exact order:

1.   Recovery: Our community repairs the damages done by colour-party politics, western colonial ideologies, and dictatorial rules. Most people would no longer have a reason to commit violent crimes or alienate themselves with addictive lifestyles. No one will worry about where their next meal will come from anymore.
2.   Growth: With abundant time, energy, and wealth at their disposal, people will focus on worship, creativity, invention, and contributions to society. Their dreams will take root and grow healthily, come what may.
3.   Flowerbed of Dreams: Everybody's dreams would coalesce. This flowerbed expands into a many-hued garden. Empowered, people constantly create new art, build new ways to save our islands, build new economic mechanisms, and more. People no longer live to serve the economic machine.
4.   Golden Age: The people will achieve a golden age together. It is a natural process that we would not credit to one person or group. We would collectively – as people of power – achieve a golden age. We would become autonomous, sustainable, and leaderless, answerable to none but the law and the Creator.

Achieving the conditions set forth previously will set this process in motion. Hence, this writing does not provide direct solutions to specific societal struggles; it is only a blueprint for a Golden Age. These are merely the steps we must take to reach the ship that will take us to our destination, to our Golden Age. Once we reach this ship and set sail, there is nothing that can stop us, Insha Allah. 

Remember, the economy is nothing without its people.