The shocking depletion of Yemen’s oil and gas reserves over the past 7 years should alarm us into recognizing how drastically important it is for the Islamist movements to demand the immediate suspension and renegotiation of all contracts with foreign energy companies operating in our lands.
Not only is the nature of these contracts fundamentally at odds with Islamic jurisprudence, but the results of these contracts are devastating to our societies.
When you pay someone to dig a well for you, he does not get to take half the water it produces. When you pay someone to build your house, he does not get to own half of it. When you pay the doctor to deliver your baby, he does not take half of what the child will earn throughout its life. Why should oil and gas companies take any share of what they extract? Why should they not simply be paid for their services? And, indeed, in Yemen, why should foreign mining companies get to take the country’s mineral ore resources instead of being paid merely for their work?