Date: 29 June 1933
Location: London
Speaker: Aga Khan III
Source: Speeches of Aga Khan III – K K Aziz
Full Text
The rise and decline of Muslim power – the need for expanding commerce with the Muslim world – improvements in communi cations – the strategic position of Muslim India – practical suggestions for improving Anglo-Muslim relations.
The Aga Khan pointed out that in the golden age of Islamic civilization, reaching down to the sixteenth century, the Moslem countries were in the van of the world’s economic life; but with the discovery of America and of the Cape route to the East, seaborne trade to the Far East and India took the place of trade through the Moslem countries. What could be conveniently called the big Moslem square from Samarkand to Sind and from Egypt to Constantinople diminished in economic importance for the world in general and for Europe in particular. In the end it was almost ignored by the general trend of British and other European commercial enterprise. In the post-War world the old and familiar sources of trade and commerce were proving insuf fi.cient. New sources must be found; new economic worlds must be conquered. Fortunately now the opening up of the economi cally backward Moslem countries was most needed, science had placed at our disposal means and methods by which the end could be achieved. Motor traffic – for which vast quantities of petrol could be found in the very heart of Islamic lands – had made it possible with the development of roads once more to bring commercial prosperity to the farthest interior of these countries. Every part of them would be easy of access by means of the aeroplane, which was taking the place of the camel as “the ship of the desert.” The immense importance of this transformation to all concentrated and quick forms of trade was obvious.
The world depression, which had shown the insufficiency of markets for West and East alike, would lead every manufacturing country to turn its eyes to this revived field of commercial enterprise.
The Aga Khan went on to show that the political and territorial adjustments following the War have placed Great Britain and her Empire in a peculiarly advantageous position to benefit to the full from these developments. The Moslems of India were happily placed in being the link alike in friendship and in trade between the people of Great Britain on one side and those of Islamic lands on the other, and also between the vast Hindu population of India and the Moslem countries to their west. He desired to place some practical suggestions before his British fellow-subjects for expediting the process of the economic regeneration of Moslem countries and the improvement of British export trade.
Might it not be possible for at least some of the younger English people to learn Persian or Arabic or Urdu? In addition to the stimulus knowledge of these languages would give to the mental and spiritual understanding between East and West, the prac tical and commercial advantage would be great. Anyone with a knowledge of one of these languages could easily familiarize himself with the other two, since they were closely related linguis tically. Another need was a supply of commercial travellers suited to the conditions now obtaining. Speaking as one who knew the sentiments of Moslems generally, he could say that they showed not only willingness but anxiety for political, cultural, and, above all, financial, economic, and commercial co-operation with the people of this land.
Source: The Times, London, 30 June 1933.
The report of the newspaper gave the background to the speech: “The contribution Islam may make to the solution of world problems was the subject of addresses at a meeting held at the House of Commons yesterday afternoon. It was arranged by the National League, and was attended by many members of both Houses. Lord Derby was in the chair, and paid a warm tribute to the Aga Khan for his efforts to strengthen the economic links between India and this country.”
Mr (later Sir) A.H. Ghuznavi, in supporting the Aga Khan’s views said that it could not be doubted that ” … the characteristic doctrine of Islam which prohibited the practice of usury by pious Moslems had acted as a brake on the economic progress of Moslem countries. Finance, with its necessary feature of an economic rate of interest, was the life-blood of all economic activities, and the flow of this vital stream had been blocked as far as Moslems themselves were concerned by their religion. But he might be permitted to observe that an approximation on the part of certain Western countries to the Islamic view of interest would greatly facilitate the settlement of the vexed question of War debts.”
Dr (later Sir) Shafa’at Ahmed Khan and Chaudhri (later Sir) Muhammad Zafrullah Khan also spoke at the meeting.