Wasting resources

It is possible to blame this on the human factor, but Max Weber says that the difference between modern society and all other past societies is bureaucracy, which rationalizes the entirety of social life. The main reason for this terrifying amount of extravagance in the Islamic world is bureaucracy itself. Just as it can be observed in some public institutions Turkey, in the Arab world, too, 10 people are appointed to do the job of two. Of course, they all expect one another to handle the job and, as a result, 10 people fail to do the job of two people. Let me make this remark: Employing as many public servants as possible is not as bad a practice as is commonly thought. It is even necessary for some societies. Liberal ideologists say that this is not a bad way to run a state. However, bureaucracy’s current role in Turkey is indefensible. A good and efficient organization should be able to reorganize an excess of personnel for more effective use.

Going from one place to another is a serious task in Saudi Arabia during the hajj. Strangely enough, the most important thing to do is almost always done the last. The distance between the cities of Mecca and Medina increases 10 times in terms of the time it takes. Normally you can cover 10 kilometers an hour, but nobody seems in a hurry. Nobody rushes. The weird thing is that you can utter any word you like or show your anger and they don’t get angry at all. It’s as if they have all had their nerves removed. “La tasta’jil akhi, sabr!” (Don’t make haste brother, be patient). Dear Lord, what kind of patience is that?! This patience would kill the most patient person.

An engineer friend of mine who worked in Saudi Arabia for years has come up with an explanation for this. According to him, people don’t get angry easily, let alone fight. Exchanging swearwords or blows or slaps is nearly nonexistent here. The reason is the current system of law in effect. The system of retaliation is quite a deterrent. If you slap someone on the cheek, a court ruling will allow him to slap you in return, plus you will end up paying a fine of 350 riyals. If you punch someone, he will be allowed to punch you back and you will pay a fine of 1,000 riyals. This penal system has, so to speak, “tamed” the population. The worst thing an angry person does is hold up his fist and keep it there. That fist in the air very rarely becomes a punch. According to the hajj impressions of Yvonne Ridley, the famous female British journalist who converted to Islam after being captured and then released by the Taliban in Afghanistan on condition that she read the Quran, the magnificent achievement of the Muslims is that they form perfect rows for worship instantly when the call to prayer is delivered, when just moments before they had been a chaotic mass. Having experienced this fabulous scene around the Kaaba, Ridley says, “No army in the world can get organized and make perfect rows in just a few minutes. The Hajj -- one of the pillars of Islam -- is an organizational success of millions of Muslims. Humanity’s mosaic is here. During the Hajj -- particularly when I was circumambulating the Kaaba with hundreds of thousands of my sisters and brothers in faith -- I understood that I belong here and to these people.”  You may say, “The things you say and what Ridley says don’t fit in together.” But, in truth, they do. What is happening in reality is that the existence of the cosmos makes itself heard in a language that chaos can understand.