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Muslims and Oil
"No blood for oil."It's an oft-used idiom associated with the movement against American involvement in the Middle East, an involvement which-either directly or indirectly-affects the lives of Muslims worldwide. Implicit in the phrase is that the issue of oil is inextricably linked to that of life itself; in other words, that the relentless pursuit of oil by a small few threatens the lives of many, many others, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Yet how many of us actually understand the connections between the quest for oil and its impact on human life? Besides a vague notion that the U.S. is "over there" in order to get oil for people "over here," many of us (including those who employ this phrase to oppose U.S. involvement in the war) might not have a clear grasp on the links connecting the issue of oil with other critical issues-such as terrorism, attacks on Muslim civil liberties in the U.S. (via Homeland Security and the Patriot Acts) , the Israel/Palestine conflict, the environment, globalization, and most importantly, the very continuation of human and natural life. In recent years, various scholars and scientists have explored the issue of "peak oil" in order to comprehend how the quest for oil might have already "peaked," meaning that the production of our world's most precious natural resource could already be engaged in rapid decline. If this hypothesis proves correct, such a depletion of oil will cause drastic and dire effects on all life as we know it. For example, journalist Robert Freeman (on the website commondreams.org) writes: "The onset of the rapid depletion of oil would trigger convulsions on a global scale, including likely global pandemics and die-offs of significant portions of the world's human population. The 'have' countries (i.e. those in the 'first' world) will face the necessity of kicking the 'have-nots' (namely those in the 'third' world) out of the global lifeboat in order to assure their own survival. Even before such conditions are reached, inelastic supply interacting with inelastic demand will drive the price of oil and oil-derived commodities through the stratosphere, effecting by market forces alone massive shifts in the current distribution of global wealth." Freeman is not alone in his views. In 1995, a study by Petroconsultants Pty. Ltd-a major oil industry consulting firm, released a study conducted by a team of top geologists which concurred that without a ready replacement for cheap fossil fuels as modern civilization's main source of energy: "We are in serious trouble." As Muslims, we must take a proactive role in understanding the ways our actions affect the planet. As oil continues to be a major source of conflict worldwide, we should do our best not just to comprehend the issue, but to support those who are seeking ways to secure a future for us all. - By Sylvia Chan Previous story: Islam And The Death Penalty Next story: Ramadan AMILA Summary
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