The Modern World: A Dystopian Nightmare in the Making!

• Recent figures show a steep decline in religion and traditional values in the UK
• Mass surveillance and control of opinion are increasingly real threats both abroad and at home

The first page of George Orwell’s famous novel, ‘1984’, plunges us into a world entirely controlled and monitored the authorities. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU,” a government poster silently proclaims – Big Brother being the manifestation of an unseen dictatorial entity that monitors not only the actions, but also the thoughts, of its subjects. The protagonist, Winston, navigates his way through a future world that Orwell, writing in the 1940s, imagined as being ruled by a ruthlessly autocratic and omniscient government, no doubt influenced heavily by the growing fear of communism that prevailed in his time.

Civilians are under constant mass surveillance through the use of ‘telescreens,’ and live in fear of the secretive ‘thought police,’ who exist to root out individuals contemplating unapproved ideas, such as love, contrarian political ideology, dislike of the government, and rebellion. Those found guilty of these ‘thoughtcrimes’ are hauled away to the notorious Room 101, where they are tortured into submission.

It is easy to draw parallels with Orwell’s vision of mass surveillance and thought control with certain societies in the modern world. China, in particular, has released scores of government contracts for provision of surveillance technology, and may be home to over 50% of the world’s facial recognition cameras. Its government is additionally known to limit internet access in the country in order to manipulate public perception and limit dissidence, a tool they have used to cover up their treatment of the Uyghur Muslims – may Allah aid them – who are being systematically tortured and killed in their own ‘Room 101’ – the euphemistically named Chinese ‘re-education camps,’ and have even allegedly had organ harvesting carried out on them. The severe clampdown of the Chinese government on the Uyghurs, owing to their ethnicity and their religion, and the restriction of their right to observe fundamental Islamic practices, such as fasting, smacks of the absolute Orwellian intolerance so vividly described in ‘1984.’

But is Orwell’s vision of the future the most accurate prediction of the world we live in today? Despite some similarities with ‘1984,’ it could be argued that another dystopian science-fiction novel better predicts life in the 21^st century. ‘Brave New World’, written by Aldous Huxley more than a decade before ‘1984,’ is often compared to Orwell’s novel, but it predicts a future where humans are controlled, not by fear and authoritarianism, but by pleasure.

Contrary to the bleak, joyless life of ‘1984’, Huxley’s protagonist, Bernard, lives in a world characterised by delight and scientific advancement – space travel, test-tube babies, casual sexual encounters and an abundance of entertainment are available for and happily consumed by all its inhabitants.

While love and sexual intimacy are shunned in ‘1984,’ they are openly encouraged without restriction in ‘Brave New World’ – “everyone is for everyone,” people enthusiastically state (as taught by their mandatory conditioning programmes), legitimising promiscuity and forbidding commitment to long-term relationships, let alone marriage. “No privacy, no family, no monogamy,” citizens are taught, as sexual intimacy is intended by the state purely for pleasure, while reproduction is conducted ex-vivo in state-controlled hatcheries, wherefrom children can be socially conditioned at a young age.

There is no doubt that the gradual destruction of marriage and the conventional family we are witnessing today reflects Huxley’s vision of a lawless, hedonistic society. The number of couples getting married is decreasing rapidly in the UK, with many seeing it as an obsolete institution, thanks to relaxed social attitudes around cohabitation and a declining importance of faith for British people – or worse, as an oppressive tool of the patriarchy to promote gender inequality. This narrative, which vilifies men and encourages promiscuity as a form of empowerment, has been pushed extensively by some modern brands of feminism, and also by the general loss of haya from society. Once modesty and shame are removed, it becomes clear that our intrinsic human psychological and spiritual barrier to immorality disappears, and the floodgates, so to speak, are opened. This is acknowledged in the Prophetic statement ﷺ, “If you have no shame, do what you wish.” [Al-Bukhari]

The breakdown of traditional family and gender roles contradicts the responsibilities that Allah has honoured men and women with, having given husbands the duty of care, protection and provision over their spouses, as He says, “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means.” [Surah An-Nisa:34]

Similarly, He has given every individual a level of responsibility and duty towards their families and their societies, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler who governs the people is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the members of his household and is responsible for them. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and children and is responsible for them.” [Al-Bukhari]

Thus, the abandoning of the institution of marriage in favour of the pursuit of pre-marital sexual intimacy is, in fact, abandonment of our divinely given and innate societal duty to each other. In recent times, this has progressed to a further degree, with the endorsement and active teaching of same-sex relationships in society and in schools, and beyond this, with the rise of the transgender movement, incrementally removing the traditional family unit from society, and encouraging the mindless pursuit of desire. Such immorality is, of course, branded as ‘tolerance’ or ‘progression,’ which, we are told by Allah, is part of the Shaytaan’s strategy; “The Shaytaan made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and turned them away from the (right) path, though they were intelligent.” [Surah Al-Ankabut:38]

As well as casual sexual relationships, the citizens of Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ are subject to abundant entertainment in the form of music and cinema, and regularly take a happiness-inducing drug called ‘soma,’ – essentially, they are anaesthetised into a life of carefree pleasure, devoid of misery but also of purpose, faith, family, and independent thought.

The question we must ask ourselves is if this is essentially a life that we are witnessing today. Large proportions of the population spend their evenings watching streaming services such as Netflix, or engrossing themselves in social media. Recent statistics show that almost one third of waking hours are spent watching TV or streaming services, and smartphone addiction is an increasingly problematic phenomenon which, like other addictions, can be associated with anxiety, depression and behavioural issues. While nobody is being fed ‘soma’ by governments or corporations, what people are being fed is a diet of TV, social media, alcohol, hyper-sexualised TV and advertising, and pornography – supplied, unrestricted, for mass consumption by the masses in a never-ending search for their next dopamine high. As Muslims, we can clearly see the Words of Allah manifesting in society; “Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire?” [Surah Al-Furqan:43]

This limitless pursuit of pleasure is undoubtedly enslaving people to fleeting, base pleasures, distracted from the great questions many no longer dare ask themselves – how they were created, to where they will return, and what their purpose is in life. In ‘Brave New World,’ those who choose to adhere to the old traditions of religious faith and family are regarded as ‘savages,’ who are looked down upon and kept on isolated reserves. Indeed, we see a similar disdain for religious faith in today’s culture, with religion being regarded as backward and barbaric, or as an impotent symbol of personal identity, relegated to the home. This idea, born of secularism but championed more recently by the new atheist movement, has resulted in the open mockery of religion. Comedians and popular figures frequently criticise faith as being irrational, referring to God as a ’magical sky wizard,’ while former prime minister, Boris Johnson, famously mocked Muslim women wearing the niqab for resembling ‘letterboxes.’ Moreover, a recent census left us with a historical revelation that England is no longer a majority Christian country, with increasing numbers of people identifying as having no faith. In Huxley’s novel, Bernard, frustrated with his life of meaningless pleasures, seeks out the savage reserves in search of inner satisfaction – and this is an astute observation of Huxley – that what our souls seek in life is not endless pleasure, but something greater – meaning and inner contentment, through family, and more absolutely, through faith in our creator, from Whom we derive our purpose: “And I did not create the jinn or mankind, except to worship Me.” [Surah Adh-Dhaariyaat:56]

It is clear from the Words of Allah that no matter what boundless pleasures society throws at us, true contentment cannot be achieved except through him: “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” [Surah Ar-Ra’d:28]

If one had to choose one of the two novels discussed here as the most accurate allegory of life in the modern world, Huxley’s work would probably win. That is not to say, however, that Orwell got it all wrong. Worryingly more frequent interference into how children are raised, and parents’ right to raise them, has been seen in cases where Muslim parents have taught their children to be proud of their faith or not to bow to the liberal, postmodern ideology around social issues. As some have unfortunately discovered, the ‘thought police’ may not be as far from science-fiction as we thought.