One of the most important reasons for the economic problems in today's Islamic world is the high rate of external dependence in the field of economy.

    All of the countries in the Islamic geography are categorised as backward or developing countries. The reason why all Islamic countries are in this category is, of course, not due to the natural structure of the Islamic geography, but due to the wrong policies of the governments. However, it should not be forgotten that these wrong policies are mostly developed under the control of the global structuring in our age. The fact that these wrong policies are not specific to a certain region but are widespread throughout the Islamic geography shows this. In this respect, in order to have an opinion on the economic backwardness of the Islamic world, it is necessary to know the basic philosophy of the US and Western-centred globalisation, which we can call the modern face of colonialism, and the economic policies towards Islamic countries carried out based on this philosophy. We would like to focus on this subject in this month's article

         Despite the fact that the powers that maintain their political and economic sovereignty over the Islamic geography want the fragmentation in the Islamic world to continue as it is and even use ethnic differences to cause new divisions, they are doing their best to go for a global structuring among themselves. However, the current globalisations are actually a continuation of the colonialist understanding of the past. During the period of direct colonialism, colonial countries irresponsibly took all the national wealth of the lands they colonised and transported it to their own lands. When the period of indirect colonialism began, a certain fee was paid for these national wealth. In the meantime, the so-called independent countries were headed by governments that could easily come to an agreement with the colonialist countries. These governments began to extract the national wealth of their countries by employing their own people and sell them as raw materials to the countries that had made a certain economic progress during the colonial period at symbolic prices. In this way, many natural products such as oil, agricultural products, minerals and forest products were sold to rich countries. In this way, the rich countries only handed over the labour and transportation of the extraction of these products to the administrations of the independent countries. If they had done this work themselves, they would have had to pay the same wage, or maybe a little more, to the workers they employed. However, independent and national (!) governments have been able to make their own people work for cheaper wages and to provide the raw materials needed by rich countries even cheaper than they had imagined. That is why today, while the per capita national income in developed countries does not fall below 10 thousand dollars, in most African countries it is between 300 and 600 dollars, and in some middle-ranking Asian countries it barely reaches two thousand dollars.

   One of the most important reasons for the economic problems in the Islamic world today is the high level of dependence on foreign countries in the field of economy. In fact, in our age, all countries are dependent on foreign countries to a certain extent in the economic field. Because it is not possible for any country to meet all of its needs with its own resources. However, the external dependency of Islamic countries is quite high. One of the main reasons for these dependencies is that domestic resources are not utilised properly or are wastefully squandered and foreign aid is overly relied upon.

     In today's world, economic aid to backward or developing countries is part of the economic restraint policy of modern colonialism. In fact, the labelling of the loans given by the imperialist countries to weak countries as "aid" is only a deception. Because these debts are nothing but chains that force weak countries to follow the line desired by imperialism. Moreover, there is no situation that requires these debts to be called aid. Because imperialism even takes the interest of these debts and in this way, it is able to interest more money than it needs. Moreover, these debts are a factor preventing the development of weak countries. Because these debts are mostly conditional.

            Underdeveloped countries are often unable to repay their debts on time. This time they have to extend the maturity of the debts. In order to realise this, they have to make new concessions in line with the wishes of the imperialist countries. Therefore, because of these debts, their political order is completely at the disposal of imperialism. This is not all; their economic development depends on the visa of imperialism. Imperialism can prevent weak countries from establishing heavy industry and war industry with the threat of demanding its receivables. It can even have its own experts prepare the education programmes of weak countries. Because the debts of weak countries are always like a sledgehammer on their heads.

      Let us also point out here that weak countries do not only postpone their debts. Most of the time, since they cannot pay the accumulated interest, they try to obtain new debts in order to pay these interests. In other words, this trap called 'foreign aid' always works in favour of imperialism and against weak countries.

    The future of countries is also mortgaged with foreign debts. Because the repayment of these debts can only be possible through a long-term and serious economic move, which is not something that can be realised by the governments of countries that have not fully achieved their political and economic independence. Therefore, thanks to these debts, it is also possible to prevent rapid political changes in countries that have been taken into the circle of interests of imperialism.

     It is impossible to talk about the foreign debt that binds the Islamic countries without mentioning the IMF. The IMF is one of the international organisations used by modern imperialism to systematically carry out its impoverishment policy towards Islamic countries. There are other international organisations used by contemporary imperialism in this policy. However, the IMF is the foremost among them. This organisation prepares a preliminary report before extending credit to countries classified as underdeveloped or developing countries. Then, when it gives the loan, it gives a report on how this loan will be utilised. The main objective of both reports is to increase the dependence of the borrowing countries and their peoples on modern imperialism. The reports of the IMF are generally of the nature of increasing the economic difficulties in the society and raising the poverty rate. The loans granted by this organisation, on the other hand, are neither lethal nor lifting.

     IMF reports sometimes lead to riots and mass movements. For example, when the Egyptian government removed subsidies from some consumer goods at the request of the IMF in 1977, people took to the streets on 18-19 January. However, it did not last long and was suppressed by the government by force. Again in January 1984 in Tunisia, in April 1985 in Sudan, and in April 1989 in Jordan, the cause of the events was the implementation of the 'prescriptions' given by the IMF. Although these events caused some shocks that did not last long, the IMF's 'prescriptions' were still put into practice. And what did the implementation of these 'prescriptions' bring? Poverty, backwardness and economic problems have increased in the countries mentioned above. The loans received did not heal any wounds.

       IMF reports emphasise different issues. Sometimes in one country, in order to reduce inflation, it is requested to cut back in other areas and to bear the difficulties that this will bring, while in another country it is directly requested to devalue the currency. For example, it was the IMF's demand that the Jordanian currency be devalued by 50 per cent that led to the uprising in Jordan in April 1989.

        One of the countries hit by the IMF recently was Algeria. According to the latest research on the economy of this country, the practices based on IMF reports have led to the impoverishment of 9 million people in the country and the dismissal of 350 thousand people. Of course, this is not something that happened in a short time. It is a result of the practices that have been going on since 1992. In other words, IMF reports, just like the AIDS germ, gradually wear out and weaken. But the economic AIDS caused by the IMF is not a fatal AIDS. Because the colonial powers need backward countries. These countries are a good market for them and a place to supply cheap labour.

     In conclusion, most of the economic problems experienced in the Islamic world today are based on faulty policies that operate in parallel with economic dependence. However, our peoples are not condemned to these policies. The way out of the grip of these policies is to create the infrastructure of an alternative globalisation in the Islamic world.