Cooperatives - One of the Ways to Combat Authoritarianism within the Corporatist Climate

I am just listing a series of posts to begin to allow viewers of this site to make a necessary, fundamental distinction between the economic model of Islam versus the model of financialized capitalism that dominates our world today. We concentrate on aggregate growth (like GDP), the amount of wealth in a society, and when an economy is growing we say it is successful but what we should look at is who the growth is going to, meaning how that wealth is distributed and whether or not it is a fair distribution.

A fundamental and basic distinction can be made by analyzing Takafful Insurance and Commercial Insurance. On Islam Q and A Shaikh Munajjid explains, 

The one who looks objectively at the insurance industry nowadays will realize that this is a moderate and fair-minded approach, and will understand the extent to which it is in accordance with the aims of Islamic sharee’ah of achieving the people’s interests and meeting their needs without being unjust or causing them any harm. Studies of the insurance industry bear witness to that. In a commercial insurance organization, huge amounts of wealth are accumulated by the insurance companies in return for some compensation which may be regarded as very little in comparison to the profits that they make. The result is that only a few rich people benefit the most from the advantages of insurance and its services, whilst the vast majority of poor people are deprived of it because they are unable to afford insurance payments. These companies make people feel that there is no way to spread risk except in this manner. This is something which has been proven false by the experience of cooperative insurance schemes which have been set up in some advanced countries, where it has been more successful in achieving the aims of insurance than the commercial insurance companies. 

The same is true of the general spirit of Islamic Economics. For example "salafiyya" should be built on the spirit of the cooperative as it was this practice that helped cement ties between them upon the arrival of the muhajiroun to Medina.  It was Narrated by Ibn Shihab Az-Zuhri: Anas bin Malik said. 

"When the emigrants came Medina they had nothing whereas the Ansar had land and property. The Ansar gave them their land on condition that the emigrants would give them half the yearly yield and work on the land and provide the necessaries for cultivation." His (i.e. Anas's mother who was also the mother of 'Abdullah bin Abu Talha gave some date-palms to Allah' Apostle who gave them to his freed slave-girl (Um Aiman) who was also the mother of Usama bin Zaid. When the Prophet finished from the fighting against the people of Khaibar and returned to Medina the emigrants returned to the Ansar the fruit gifts which the Ansar had given them. The Prophet also returned to Anas's mother the date-pallms. Allah's Apostle gave Um Aiman other trees from his garden in lieu of the old gift. Volume 3. Book 47. Number 799

A very interesting reality is that people working all over the world for justice and alternatives to the kufr model today are arrviing at similiar conclusions. It is unfortunate that we do nto have such a cooperative spirit in the Muslim world now. Instead, we reproduce Western models of authoritarianism with the "Shariah Compliant Industry". I have posted some links below to show the potential for cooperatives and to give background. It would be interesting if in a country like Tunisia we saw an immediate platform put forward with principles of governance that the people could adopt. Instead, without replacement policies we give the colonialists several years to come up with another system that exercises power over us.  

The first video was made by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis about a factory in Argentinia. It is acalled The Take. Part 1 is available here. Youshoud watch them all. it is a good movie.

Then here is a series of videos on the Mondrogen Cooperative model in the Basque region of Spain. Additionally, it should be known that they arre in communication with American Labor Unions to try to reproduce the model there. I am posting only part 1 of the videos.

Here is its history:

and a conversation about it:

There are others like the Emilia Romagna system in Italy as well and some research will find additional information for those interested. What should be most clear is that the cooperative model has many benefits that emphasize the spirit of Islam.  For one that wants to look at where a modern conversation of distribution of capital in a shariah society originates then look at Ibn Ashur's Maqaasid al Shariah where he obliterates Marxism but calls to concentrate on a private, exchange economy that focuses on distribution of capital. We have the answers in Islam, but should be working for practical application of them. InshaAllah, we will be able to develop such a location or physical representation of such a model soon bi-idhniAlllah.  All Islamist parties should initiate cooperatives in the regions they heavily influence. One power within Marxism was its ability to create class consciousness and mobilize labor.  While the solution of Communism is not practical as an alternative, the critique it offers of capitalism is adequate. Muslims throughout the world can start cooperative markets, cooperative Farmer's markets, even cooperative stores simply exchanging commodities. If you would like free consultancy in setting up a cooperative in your community, wherever you may be - please feel free to contact me at islampolicy@gmail.com.