2012 – The Year Of Living Dangerously

There is an article posted on The Burning Platform, entitled 2012 The Year of Living Dangerously. It has a great analysis of why we are we are right now and where we are going.

Here’s an excerpt:

“…[the] core elements that created this Crisis and the reaction of generational cohorts to the implications of debt, civic decay and global disorder will drive all the events that will occur in 2012 and for as far as the eye can see. Linear thinkers in mega-corporations, mainstream media and Washington D.C. focus on retaining the status quo, their power and their wealth. They believe an economic recovery can be manufactured through monetary manipulation and Keynesian borrowing and spending. They are blind to the fact that history is cyclical, not linear. In order to have an understanding of what could happen in the coming year, it is essential to keep the big picture in focus. As we enter the fifth year of this twenty year Crisis period, there is absolutely no chance that 2012 will see an improvement in our economy, political atmosphere or world situation. Fourth Turnings never de-intensify. They exhaust themselves after years of chaos, conflict and turmoil. I can guarantee you that 2012 will see increased mayhem, riots, violent protests, recessions, bear markets, and a presidential election that will confound the establishment.”

- an excerpt from The Burning Platform (January 8, 2012)

Read the full article here: The Burning Platform

In extreme situations, people will do extreme things. We (Muslims), unfortunately, will be the scapegoats. Don’t get me wrong, some “Muslims” will do some pretty stupid things, some pretty extreme things, because they too are pushed to extreme circumstances.

But there is opportunity…

(a) We can learn from articles such as the one above to prepare.

(b) When we are prepared, we are in a better situation to help our families, and our neighbors (Muslim and non-Muslim) when they are in need.

(c) When we are prepared, we can respond more appropriately to ignorance. We can take a moment to understand that as we are made into scapegoats, and people are suffering hardship, some will fear Muslims, some will mistreat Muslims. But if you are prepared – not just financially, physically, and emotionally, but also – spiritually, you will be in a better position to respond as Islam calls us to respond… with gentleness, kindness, and understanding. After all, you will not be asked about how people treated you. You will be asked how you treated them.

(d) The world is witnessing the collapse of riba-based economies. God forbade riba (interest/usury) in the Old Testament, Jesus (peace be upon him) obeyed the Law and also turned over the riba/money-changer tables in the Temple in the New Testament, and God forbade the riba in the Last Testament (the Qur’an). This is a wonderful opportunity to bring the world back to the faith-based, honest, just, and God-decreed monetary systems of the past.