This is an article from a free-market libertarian website (called The Free Market) regarding the Grameen Bank, the institution run by the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Younus. Among other things, the "bank" is not really a bank and doesn't make its own profits, but rather redistributes state and international grant money at 20% interest, making future business dependent on not only the borrower's own repayments, but those of a whole group of them. The institution also invades borrowers' family lives:
"Confidentiality breeds lies," says Yunus, and that rule applies to more than finances. The bank's ideological mission requires that when you borrow, you turn over your private life to the bank's staff. Borrowers must take vows to "keep our families small," to "build and use pit-latrines" and to "plant as many seedlings as possible during the planting seasons."
It gets stranger. The bank requires borrowers to attend weekly physical-training exercises. They must participate in parades where they repeatedly chant the "Sixteen Decisions," a narrative summing up the bank's worldview. Among the choruses is this: "We shall take part in all social activities collectively." ...
Yunus was cheered at the UN conference because 93% of Grameen's borrowers are women. But this fact too is a function of its social agenda. Yunus — and the international organizations that fund him — have concluded that population and marriage are the primary causes of Bangladesh's poverty. Women drawn into the Grameen orbit "emancipate" themselves from family and biology and enslave themselves to Grameen instead. ...
Borrowers with children are strongly "encouraged" to send them to one of 18,000 "feeder schools" from a very young age. There they are taught with Grameen textbooks that promote the Sixteen Decisions. People who work for the bank must also demonstrate loyalty to the Sixteen Decisions.
This article from the New Internationalist also indicates that micro-credit is not all it is made out to be, and that the local women struggle to make the point (hat tip: DrM).
Assalamu alaikum, you know, this sounds really scary! Not to mention, isn't some of this a little, well, "un-Islamic"? Especially when you're talking about interest? Hmmm...
Salaams:
Grameen, in that vein, also requires women to sign a pledge waiving their right to any mahr. Not just to protect them from the adopted practice of women's families going into debt in order to follow old Hindu customs, but also requires them to waive their Islamic right to a mahr from the husband.
UZ: thanks for clarifying that. The article does mention that they interfere with the dowry, but I was wondering whether it referred to the Muslim dowry as well as the Hindu one, which requires the girl's family to pay money to the husband's, which is why I did not quote the section on dowry.
Thank you for the article. After reading about the noble prize going to a muslim i was intrigued, but never really had the time to chase up on it. So thank you once again for your comments.
That said this is fascinating! (not the grameen brain-washing and unislamic practises!!!) How a people number in the billions can not muster the strength to get together and help out the poor muslims around the world. Wouldn't it be a grand idea if a few well off muslims organised an institute to help people in poorer regions for instance to help establish a livly-hood for themselves. To help establish schools and social affairs of the people. I know there are quite a lot out of groups doing this sort of work (al-muntada for example). But surely the rest of us can get off our butts and do something? (that includes me btw). I come across so many well educated, very well financed young muslims on a daily basis. Surely with these resources and given the strengths of the muslims in the uk, it would be an easy task in taking up the cause. Khair may Allah help us all.
Salam Aliakum,
Umm Zaid, where did you find out about the mahr being waived?
i think healthy skepticism is a good thing, especially in this post nobel enbhironment.
but folks, most discerning debhelopmenteers habhe problems with microcredit practices.
but consider this. Most blog sitters contribute little or nothing to debhelopmental uplift, and the 'islamic' sectors are copying and ethically adapting grameens model.
traditionally organisations of the reactionary islamist flabhour stand firmly against grameen. But you must look at the positibhe aspects of it and the conidence boosting ability of the nobel award.
yes there is some political element to the peace prize, isnt their always. what do we eexpect.
but folks, dont be mean spirited to the extent of confusing the western debhelopment industry's idiocy with the hard work and creatibhity of prof yunus.