Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Epigraph: “And when the she-camels, ten month pregnant, are abandoned, and when the beasts are gathered together (in Zoos), and when the seas are made to flow forth one into the other, and when people are brought together, as if they are a close family! … And when publications are spread abroad.” (Al Quran 81:5-11)

Map of international phone-call traffic in 2005, from Telegeography. The map shows the disproportionate centrality of the USA in international telephone traffic.

When people are brought together, as if they are a close family! (Al Quran 81:8)

One of the largest gathering of mankind is the annual Hajj, which this year gathered 3.5 to 4 million Muslims from different countries.  But, when we look at the cumulative human interaction on our planet these numbers only seem to be scratching the surface.  The Quranic prophecy of closeness of humanity and constant mutual interaction, in the Latter Days, as if they are a close family, is becoming increasingly true.  The word used for this expression in the Holy Quran is the same as for a marriage, implying a very close and constant interaction.  We first saw modern means of transportation like trains and aeroplanes and now there has been an exponential growth of websites, discussion forums and email communications, all these are bringing humanity together.

The global internet traffic increased from approximately 1 Petabytes (1000 Terabytes) in 2002 to 50,000 Petabytes in 2011 and continues to grow with a geometric scale.[5]

Not to speak of 15 centuries ago, when the Holy Quran was revealed, who would have thought even a century ago, when a majority of the British, would have met the present day definition of racist that in the first part of the 21st century the American and the British universities would be competing for Indian and Chinese students?  Colonialism was at its peak just before the WWII and it was said that sun never sets on the British Empire.  It was in this context that the celebrated WWII Prime Minister of UK, Sir Winston Churchill remarked, in a moment of arrogance, about Mahatama Gandhi, who was a popular Indian political leader, “Gandhi should be bound hand and foot at the gates of Delhi and trampled on by an enormous elephant ridden by the Viceroy.”[1]  It is also said that Churchill further added, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”[2]

I was inspired to write this short article by reading of Chinese students in USA and Indian students in UK.  CNN had the following to report on November 26th:

The U.S.-based institute’s most recent figures reveal that mainland Chinese students increased 23% to more than 723,000 in the 2010-11 academic year.

While Chinese students traditionally went abroad when they failed to secure a place at a top-tier local university, the best students are now forgoing elite Chinese universities to study in the United States, according to Lin, now academic director of Ivy Labs Education, an admissions consultancy in Beijing.[3]

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, plays cricket with school children in Delhi

The same day the Telegraph reported that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was wooing Indian students for London universities.  The Mayor said:

International students inject £2.5 billion per year into the London economy, he said, but the capital’s reputation had been damaged by tougher visa rules for students and the decision to strip London Metropolitan University of its licence to recruit non-EU students.[4]

A Press Release of the FAA Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Years 2011-2031 predicts that U.S. airlines will reach the one billion passengers-per-year mark by 2021, two years earlier than last year’s prediction of 2023.

Going back to the internet communications, most of the world’s email traffic comes from the corporate world. In 2012, the number of businesses emails sent and received per day total 89 billion. This figure is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 13% over the next four years, reaching over 143 billion by year-end 2016.

The same chapter of the Holy Quran that prophesied coming together of humanity also predicted that old means of transportation will become extinct, by saying, “And when the she-camels, ten-month pregnant, are abandoned.”  (Al Quran 81:5)  The verse in a concise way suggested that a time is coming, when a fully pregnant camel, ready to deliver, equivalent of two camels is considered worthless and abandoned in favor of modern transportation.  There could not have been a better expression of the coming age of technology in the context of 7th century Arabia, which was the first addressee of the Holy Quran.

The land of the camels, Saudi Arabia, is laying out tracks for bullet trains now.

References:

1. Bill Schwarz.  The White Man’s World.  Oxford University Press Inc.  New York, 2011. Page 523.

2. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100909021217AABrwUh

3. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/25/world/asia/china-ivy-league-admission/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

4. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9702609/Boris-Johnson-calls-on-easing-of-foreign-student-visa-restrictions.html

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_traffic