The Real Poison Is Not Pesticides But the Capitalist Mindset Which Lacks of Fear of Allah

News:

The family from Germany, who died while visiting Istanbul, not only wrenched the hearts in Turkey, but also revealed the level of deterioration in the country. The same week, there happened numerous other poisoning cases across various cities of Turkey. Thus, the issues of food poisoning, pest control, use of pesticides in agriculture and food sector came to the fore once again.

Comment:

Investigations on the death of the father, mother and two little children are still ongoing. Examinations have eliminated the suspicion of food poisoning. Yet what remains is the salient presence of irresponsibility, lack of scruple, and disregard for human life: It turned out that the hotel, where the family was staying, had placed the family in the room only one or two hours after a fumigation in the hotel. It was also revealed that the family was unable to reach the ambulance waiting outside the door, due to the receptionist leaving his post after locking the door. Also neither the pest control company nor the worker carrying out the fumigation had a license. There are also reports that both of the hospitals, to which the family went, sent the family back to the hotel after conducting only superficial examination and treatment.

Forensic investigations still continue. During that period of time, where a family of four was losing their life, more than 200 persons within 10 days, where hospitalised due to food poisoning, laying bare how widespread and dominant negligence, heedlessness and irresponsibility in the matter of food safety has become.

In Turkey, spoiled foods and pesticide residues pose a serious threat to public health. According to the Ministry of Health, pesticides, which have direct effects on human health, are detected in one out of every three products examined in chain markets. Similarly, the consumption of foods with unclear origins and without labels, plants randomly collected from nature, foods prepared and stored under unhygienic and unhealthy conditions during mass dining events, the use of banned or expired products, untrained staff, and similar factors are among the causes of increasing food poisoning cases.

Issues such as the insufficient number of inspection personnel at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, inadequate laboratory capacity, food safety inspections being carried out mainly following complaints, the lack of cold chain monitoring in most mass-consumption points, non-standard storage areas, staff not being trained in food hygiene, and even organic foods being certified by private companies for a fee instead of by the state—all of these reflect irresponsibility at both the level of state institutions and the public. Indeed, because pesticide controls are not taken seriously, Turkey has become the country with the highest number of rejected products in EU imports over the past five years. However, these foods rejected at EU customs (such as pistachios, apricots, tomatoes, etc.) are not destroyed; instead, they are sold cheaply to the public in local markets.

In short; the capitalist values and goals, which dominate the mindset of the state, have mostly poisoned the mindset of the people. Whereas no one, nowhere on earth, dares to dissociate the healthy nutrition of the mind from the healthy nutrition of the body.

Corruption/mischief in any of both is a calamity that leads to the annihilation of the human and the society.

In fact; Allah (swt) warned “all of mankind”:

[يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُواْ مِمَّا فِي الأَرْضِ حَلاَلاً طَيِّباً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ]

“O humanity! Eat from what is lawful and good on the earth and do not follow Satan’s footsteps. He is truly your sworn enemy.” [Al-Baqarah:168].

It is also reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) happened to pass by a heap of corn at the market. He thrust his hand in that (heap) and his fingers felt wetness, upon which he warned very seriously:

‏«أَفَلَا جَعَلْتَهُ فَوْقَ الطَّعَامِ حَتَّى يَرَاهُ النَّاسُ؟ مَنْ غَشَّنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا»

“Why did you not place this (the drenched part of the heap) over the corn so that people might see it? He who deceives is not of us.” (Muslim, Îmân 164)

Rasulullah (saw) demonstrated that removing attempts to deceiving the people and removing threats to the health of all of the citizens is a common, i.e. public right. Throughout history, the Islamic State has taken various measures to procure people’s sustenance in a healthy and reliable manner. It is also a well-established fact, supported by records, that during the Ottoman period producers adulterated food in order to gain a competitive advantage at the expense of public health. Among the adulterated products, flour, milk and dairy products, spices, canned foods, and tea were foremost. In fact, Article 194 of the Ottoman Penal Code prescribed penalties for those who engaged in adulteration and altered the essential composition of foodstuffs, beverages, and medicines in ways harmful to health, and a Public Hygiene Commission (Hıfzıssıhha-i Umumiye Komisyonu) was established to combat food fraud that threatened public health.

According to Islamic provisions, the supervision and monitoring of the healthy nutrition of the people is an obligatory issue for the state just like the right to education, health and medical care, and other common rights. It is also the duty of the state to raise god-fearing minds that are capable to fulfil their individual and social responsibilities as well as holding the state accountable for its shortcomings. This is because of what Rasulullah (saw) has stated:

«الإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَهُوَ وَمَسْؤُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ» “Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight, and who protects them.” [Bukhari]

It is obvious that the true poison is not a pesticide or something else, but rather the capitalist mindset that lacks of fear of Allah. The lack of fear of Allah and thus the lack of the ruling with Allah’s laws makes life and the living of a quality and safe life impossible for humankind.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Zehra Malik