I need the fiqh of realpolitik real quick. It seems to me that when some Muslims champion ‘realpolitik,’ in practice, it often just means justifying taking on riba-based loans to modernize their army and nation-state. I’m not sure if this is a winning strategy, but my suspicion is that there is no barakah to be found in it. It only leads to short-term gains that can be flaunted in superficial statistical graphs, but results in long-term debt slavery and humiliation.

Allahu ‘Alam.