Page 72 - What Kind of Yemen ?

What Kind of Yemen?

subsequent sections the report states that corruption is widespread in

the military as well; there are many soldiers involved in fuel smug-
gling and human trafficking and that there is no civilian authority in
the country to prevent this. (5)
There may be deficiencies or errors in this report, but it is nonethe-
less impossible to deny that there is massive corruption and misappro-
priation going on in Yemen.
New legal arrangements could be introduced in Yemen in order to

prevent corruption, and new regulatory bodies could be established, as
in many other countries but mostly, the reasons for this situation in
Yemen need to be closely examined. Such examination will show that
instilling a fear of God in the hearts of every official will produce more
precise results than installing a regulator in every institution.
There is a huge difference in behavior between someone who
knows that he will go to God and be rewarded (or punished) for his
actions and someone who imagines he will not have to account for any-
thing. Someone with no fear of God can commit all kinds of wicked-

ness and turn a blind eye to all manner of immorality out of self-inter-
est. For example, someone capable of coveting even the property of an
orphan out of worldly self-interest or some other mundane reason will
do so because he has no fear or awe of God. If he believed in God and
the Day of Reckoning with certain knowledge he would never do
something for which he cannot account in the Hereafter. While those
with no fear of God will be capable of stealing from the poor without

batting an eye, those who fear God would share all they have with
their brothers, even though they themselves are in need.
" "You who have faith! Give away some of the good things you
have earned and some of what We have produced for you from
the earth. Do not have recourse to bad things when you give,
things you would only take with your eyes tight shut! Know that
God is Rich Beyond Need, Praiseworthy." (Surat al-Baqara, 267)

This fine moral conception is the result of a healthy fear of
God. Therefore, when all members of society fear God, all phe-

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