INTRODUCTION
Moral degeneration leads to social collapse affecting especially the youth. |
In the world we live in a problem exists
that is threatening social peace and harmony in every nation big or small:
moral degeneration. In other words, people have forsaken moral qualities
like being good, righteous, honest, forgiving, just, compassionate and
honourable, in exchange for immorality and have chosen amorality as a
life philosophy. How this problem (at the bottom of which lies egotism,
greed, ruthlessness and carelessness) will be solved represents one of
the biggest issues of the twenty-first century.
Actually, many people are aware of the existence of this problem
without having a solution for it. Family values are championed in
most countries as an important source of morality and there are efforts
being made to protect the young, who are the most affected section
of society, from decadence.
Education projects, seminars and campaigns, run by either the state
or various non-governmental organizations aim to curb the effect of
moral degeneration. However, these efforts have mostly failed to have
a lasting effect. Moral degeneration is gaining momentum by the day
because solutions are being sought in the wrong places and therefore
these efforts end up in a vicious circle.
The most important reason for this vicious circle is that those groups
or individuals seeking to combat decadence fail to appreciate the
degree to which it is being purposely encouraged and directed. The
common view, which is true to some extent, that moral degeneration
is an inevitable occurrence caused by the bad living conditions prevailing
in society, does not provide a clear picture in relation to the causes
and solutions to the problem because it fails to take into account
a fundamental reality. It views social collapse as an independent
phenomenon governed by its own internal processes, whereas the moral
degeneration experienced in many countries of the world is deliberately
directed and supported by a powerful body of people held together
by a complex network of intricate relations and nefarious connections.
These people use every means of propaganda, which is particularly
effective in societies where spiritual values are weak and where lifestyles
are not underpinned by religious morality. It even manages to infiltrate
state bureaucracies (some Latin American countries present a shocking
example of this as will be seen in the chapters to follow).
This powerful network consists
of hundreds even thousands of people of all nations, languages and
professions connected to one another by greed. Apart from relationships
based on illegal or immoral gains, the common characteristics of the
members of this group are their animosity towards religious values,
their perverse philosophy and their corrupt way of life. It is possible
to liken this large community to a clan which has been dispersed to
the four corners of the earth. The dictionary definition of the word
clan is either a group of people of common ancestry or, without having
necessarily biological bonds, a group of people adhering to one totem
accepted as the symbol of the group. The famous anthropologist and
sociologist L.H. Morgan says in his book Ancient Society that we find
an example of clan life in the existing bond between chiefs and members
within the clan and in matters of wars, feuds and the sharing and
communal working of the land.1 Research reveals that
each clan has its own specific rules and taboos. The French historian
Georges Dumézil says in one of his articles on totems and clans that
each clan has its own secret taboos, unknown to the other clans and
that what may be sacred in one may be unimportant and of no consequence
in another.2 The word clan defines this community
which stands at the forefront of moral degeneration, very well.
The most important feature of a clan is the solidarity between its
members. Even if the clan members live in different places, the bonds
linking them are rock solid. They have a spirit of unity and solidarity
and they protect and defend one another under all circumstances, but
it needs to be stated that this solidarity is based on self-interest.
The importance of the clan's protection is described in various sources
as follows:
… The principle maxim is the clan/tribe not the
individual as well as in matters of land, food, commerce, taboos,
law, water resources, hunting grounds etc… At the head of the clan
is "Big Man." He is the clan's most experienced individual, the best
hunter, the best warrior… He is obeyed and respected but clan decisions
are taken communally between the clan members… Against an external
enemy, clans unite quickly and resist as one body…3
Debasement in the sight of God and a severe punishment will strike those
who did wrong for the plots that they concocted.
(Qur'an, 6: 124) |
The purpose behind choosing the term "dark clan" is to convey the
sense of a web-like structure with offshoots in every country, orchestrating
the moral degeneration of today's world. Even though it presents itself
as highly modern, its structural design is reminiscent of the historical
totemic clans. This dark clan is to be found behind all kinds of despicable
deeds, corruption and perversion. It controls drug-trafficking operations,
prostitution rings and promotes immorality. The members of this clan
manage to portray themselves in a positive light through their collaborators
in the media. They enjoy the de facto protection of their collaborators
in the security forces and succeed in using the law to their own advantage
through their collaborators in departments of justice. They also display
a powerful unity against those perceived as enemies. Their greatest
enemies are the believers who want to destroy their corrupt business
networks, who struggle to make morality, harmony and justice dominant
in the world and who strive tirelessly on the ideological battlefield
to bring seriousness of the situation to people's attention.
In order to better understand this it is useful to remind ourselves
of the situation of some Latin American countries. The corruption
and social collapse experienced there is a consequence of the clan's
activities. Another notable feature of those countries is the clan's
constant determination to undermine the church in its support for
devoted Christians, innocent people and those who stand up to its
tyranny. This is an important indicator of the dark clan's attitude
towards people who live according to religious morality.
Another important fact to bear in mind when reading this book is that
the dark clan is not a structure emerging from recent history. There
always were and always will be, until the Day of Judgment, clan-like
organizations and units orchestrating evil, diverting people to denial
and degeneration, creating chaos and anarchy and destroying harmony
and security. The battle between good and evil has been fought throughout
history. Opposite every believer communicating God's religion and virtue,
there always stood a similar group, labouring to undermine the believers
and to prevent the spread of morality. This is a reality God revealed
to us in the Qur'an. It is possible that the Qur'anic expression,"ruling
elite of society" (7:88) indicates the people who are the brains
behind these clans (God knows best). In the chapter of the Qur'an entitled
Al-An'am, God says:
And likewise in every city We set up its greatest
wrongdoers to plot in it. They plot against themselves alone, but they
are not aware of it. (Qur'an, 6: 123)
God reveals the unifying force bringing them together:
… The satans inspire their friends to dispute
with you… (Qur'an, 6: 121)
It is Satan who brings the dark clan together, organises them against
the believers and determines their strategy. However, Satan and his
adherents are definitely doomed in the end. God says in the Qur'an:
Say to those who disbelieve: 'You will be overwhelmed
and crowded into Hell. What an evil resting-place!' (Qur'an, 3: 12)

Say: 'As for those
who are astray, let the All-Merciful prolong their term
until they see what they were promised, whether it be
the punishment or the Hour. Then they will know who is
in the worse position and has the weaker troops.'
(Qur'an, 19: 75) |
When you see them,
their outward form appeals to you, and if they speak you
listen to what they say. But they are like propped-up
planks of wood. They imagine every cry to be against them...
(Qur'an, 63: 4) |
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