بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
News & Comment
Slave to Man Made Laws
News
Homeless people are among the victims in seven percent of all reported modern slavery cases in Britain, according to research that was released by the anti-slavery charity Unseen on Friday.
Unseen said human traffickers were "purposefully targeting homeless people for exploitation" and also making them commit crimes, most commonly through forced begging. (SOURCE: REUTERS 28/06/2019)
Comment
A report by rights group, Walk Free Foundation states that Britain is home to at least 136,000 modern slaves. That figure is 10 times higher than a government estimate from 2013, so the problem is increasing year by year.
As Western governments meet on a regular basis to solve problems such as climate change, the global economy, war and conflicts they consistently fail in looking after those in their own countries. To have a group of underprivileged and exploited citizens appears to be a norm and few will question the basis of the dominate ideology in addressing why this is the case. At times, the solutions for slavery and exploitation presented range from more legislation, safe houses or helplines. All of which fail to completely remove the problem, or to even significantly reduce it, as they do not look at the root cause.
We should be clear that the failure to protect the weak and vulnerable is a consistent trait of the Western Capitalist system. Despite advancements in technology and infrastructure, the depravity of man-made systems can never fail to surprise us. When man legislates, he will look to his own benefit and hence exploitation is a natural outcome, as we see with the homeless who can be enslaved or used for crime due to their vulnerability. It is important to ask, in the history of Capitalism, was there ever a time when certain groups were not exploited?
As long as we live in a Secular capitalist society the role of the Creator in managing man’s affairs will be non-existent; so this leaves it to man to decide what is right and wrong. Man is on a constant quest for his own personal satisfaction in life and this is a praiseworthy quest according to this ideology, therefore he has no fixed moral compass. There will be some natural humanitarian feelings but the lack of complete guidance means that these feelings cannot be relied upon all the time.
Islam guides man in this life by reminding us of the next life and our accountability also there are fixed laws as well as humanitarian guidelines. This is not just left to the individuals to follow but is a key feature of the state. The state’s role is to protect all citizens from exploitation as a guardian and caretaker as its duty to Allah (swt).
Modern day slavery is not just of those who make up the rising statistics, but is primarily a result of the slavery we see to man-made laws which will never work for the betterment of all citizens and can only ever lead to exploitation in the name of benefit.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Nazia Rehman