Suppose you came across a headline reading, "Gulf Family Assaulted in Istanbul." There is a 70 percent chance that you would read the entire story, along with all the comments beneath it, even if there were a hundred of them. Let us say that this type of story captures the attention of 70 percent of internet users and viewers of short videos on social media. You are likely to find the same proportion among people gathered in social and family circles.
The stories that attract the greatest interest from readers and listeners are those that end by tarnishing the reputation of individuals or entire communities. They usually begin with a minor incident—a dispute in a restaurant that ends with a customer being asked to leave, or perhaps a fight involving a handful of people. The story is then retold with a generous dose of sensational embellishment until it is presented as evidence of the general attitude of the people of one country toward the people of another. It typically concludes with calls to boycott the first country and hate its people.
This is not a hypothetical example. It has happened many times. In every case, the victim was a single person or a small number of individuals, yet the incident was portrayed as representing the stance of an entire nation against another.
I regret to say that popular media is saturated with such stories. They create the illusion that the world is a jungle inhabited by executioners, thieves, swindlers, the corrupt, and sexual predators. Yet we know that the true stories among all those being circulated amount to only a tiny fraction. Taken together, they are no more than a drop in the river of everyday life, which is filled with acts of kindness and positive human experiences.
"Very well—but isn't evil the dominant force in today's world?"
Unfortunately, this is the impression we have inherited, to the point that it has become almost unquestionable. It is reinforced by sayings interpreted in ways that support this belief, such as the reported maxim: "When the times are good, think well of people; when the times are corrupt, think ill of them." The implication, of course, is that our times are corrupt.
The same applies to verses attributed to Imam al-Shafi'i:
Let your opinion of others be only ill,
For suspicion is among the sharpest forms of wisdom.
Nothing has cast a person into hardship
Like trusting others and speaking kindly.
Such sayings are presented in a manner that leaves audiences with the impression that God Almighty created the world in this inherently wicked form, or that Satan has gained mastery over humanity.
What is wrong with this mindset—and the message it promotes?
The concept of social capital is probably one of the more recent additions to economic thought, particularly in the field of local development. Although the term dates back to the early twentieth century, serious scholarly interest in it emerged only toward the end of that century.
Sociologists argue that economic transformations can produce profound disruptions in the values people ordinarily rely on to regulate their relationships and resolve their differences. The foremost function of these values is to preserve mutual trust among members of society.
Trust, quite simply, is the deeply held conviction that dealing with others will produce mutual benefit, and that they will act in good faith rather than seek to rob, betray, or undermine us. That is why people enter into contracts with strangers, pay for goods before receiving them, or deliver goods before receiving payment.
It is precisely this degree of mutual trust that makes official, commercial, and personal transactions easier—the very transactions people depend upon to improve their livelihoods. That, in essence, is the heart of social capital.
The stories mentioned earlier are dangerous because they erode this social capital. Repeating and recirculating them does great harm. They plant fear and suspicion in people's minds, weaken mutual trust, and make everyday dealings more difficult or fraught with doubt. I have little doubt that they fall within what the Holy Quran condemns as the spreading of indecency.
I write this to urge thoughtful people, in our countries and elsewhere, not to become absorbed in reading such stories—which are little more than tales for fools and simpletons—let alone passing them on. In truth, they undermine the social fabric and cut off people's means of livelihood.
