Bribery in Afghan Government Departments is the Legacy of Democratic System

The issue of widespread corruption in Afghan departments has been acknowledged both by the government of Afghanistan and Western colonialists, so much so that after the flight of former head of the Central Bank of Afghanistan to USA, President Hamed Karzai said, "Officials with two nationalities do whatever they wish and then fly to foreign countries such as Washington, London, Paris and other places."

A recent United Nations' report shows significant increase in administrative corruption in Afghanistan. According to this report, the total amount paid in bribery by Afghans in 2012 is 3.9 billion US dollars. This shows a 40 percent increase comparing to 2009. In 2011, Afghanistan stood fourth among the most corrupt countries of the world only after Somalia, North Korea and Myanmar. However in 2012, Afghanistan topped the list leaving these countries behind.

In their daily life, people of Afghanistan are made to pay bribes to have their work done, thus forcing them to pay a portion of their income in bribes to Afghan departments. They even have to pay bribes for the payment of their taxes, electricity bills, community services etc. The corrupt government in Afghanistan has established nominal institutions for fighting corruption and bribery. These very institutions have become involved in corruption and bribery, thereby causing further spread of corruption.

O Muslims of Afghanistan!

Why is it that in just over the course of a few years, Afghanistan has become the most corrupt country?

The root causes of corruption and bribery in Afghanistan are intellectual and political. A glance at the recent trend of corruption in Afghanistan suggests that corruption and bribery began to spread fast in Afghanistan only after the establishment of the current political system.

After the occupation of Afghanistan, Western colonialism imposed a democratic system on its people. It started spreading secular values which have resulted in the spread of corruption in individual and social realms of Afghan society. One of these values that came with secularism and democracy is taking benefit as the basis of actions and criteria in life. According to this value, the best action is the one which brings maximum benefits and the most successful people are those who obtain maximum benefits.

As a result, Afghan government officials at all levels of Afghan institutions (except for a handful of them) have become involved in corruption. Competition over making maximum gains has become criteria for actions, which is a direct result of capitalist ideology and its democratic system.

The second cause of corruption is that after the occupation of Afghanistan by colonialists, the dollar which has no back up was made the back up for the Afghani currency. America prints billions of dollars annually without having any back up for its paper money. This results in availability of excess amounts of dollars in the market causing inflation of the dollar and a decrease in its value. Since Afghan currency is linked to dollar, its value decreases with the decrease in the value of dollar. As a result the petty salary of Afghan government employees does not make up for their expenses. This coupled with the general environment of seeking maximum materialistic gains encourages government officials to take bribes.

On the other hand, the media has been propagating a false scenario of the occupying forces' withdrawal in 2014, depicting a picture of Afghanistan stricken with poverty and misery after their withdrawal. This is also one reason why people make every last effort to earn and accumulate wealth for the worst days to come after the withdrawal of international forces. This has intensified the present torment of countless bribery practices in the war torn country.

Afghanistan is not the only example where democratization has corrupted a country. Iraq is yet another country which has also become one of the most corrupt countries after the imposition of a democratic system on it.

O' Muslims of Afghanistan,

Because the problem of corruption and bribery is rooted in political and intellectual issues, its solution must also be intellectual and political. Allah (swt) has made it compulsory on us to base our thoughts and actions on Islam. Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

(فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا)

"But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission." [an-Nissa: 65]

Islam has definitively prohibited bribery. Islam has cursed those who take or give bribe. In a narration in al-Tirmidhi from Abdollah Ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrates from Rasulullah (saw) that he (saw):

"لعن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الراشي والمرتشي"

"Rasulullah (saw) cursed the person who takes bribes and the one who gives bribes."

In Mustadrak, it has been narrated from Thuban (may Allah be pleased with him) that Rasulullah (saw) said:

" لَعَنَ اللَّهُ الرَّاشِيَ وَالْمُرْتَشِيَ وَالرَّائِشَ الَّذِي يَمْشِي بَيْنَهُمَا"

"Allah has cursed the person who takes bribe, and the person who gives bribe and the one who walks between the two."

It is a wajib on us to reject the filthy ideas of materialism which come from the ideology of capitalism. This will be possible if we struggle intellectually and politically against the Kufr capitalist ideology (democracy), uproot its values, and replace them with values of Islam.

O' Muslims of Afghanistan,

Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah of Afghanistan proposes to you a fundamental and true solution to the problem of corruption and bribery. Corruption and bribery can be eliminated only with the implementation of Islam and establishment of Khilafah "Caliphate". Only Khilafah "Caliphate" will truly implement Islam and prevent bribery as one of the maharim of Allah. Hizb ut Tahrir calls upon you to support its struggle against corrupt western values and for the establishment of Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" to uproot corruption. This will earn us all success in this life and in Akhira (Hereafter).