The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

Mohamed Miah | The Narratives

Capitalism is a system that survives on emptiness. It thrives when people are insecure, when they look in the mirror and believe they are not enough — not young enough, not beautiful enough, not successful enough. The engine of the modern West is built on dissatisfaction: endless upgrades, constant rebranding, and the quiet promise that happiness is always one purchase away.

But Islam disrupts this cycle at the root.

The Body as Commodity

Walk through any city and the story is clear. L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Unilever — beauty empires built on convincing women that they are incomplete without their creams, dyes, and powders. Allergan, Revance, AbbVie — pharmaceutical giants profiting from Botox and dermal fillers, with revenues in the billions.

The global cosmetic surgery market was worth $67 billion in 2023, projected to hit $82 billion by 2030. In the UK alone, the average woman will spend £70,000 on her appearance over her lifetime. And yet, in 2023, 1 in 6 adults in England reported symptoms of depression, with women aged 16–29 being the most affected.

And now men are joining the cycle: the gym industry sells steroids and protein powders like candy, the hair transplant industry is worth billions, and designer brands like Nike and Gucci fuel male vanity as much as female.

What is the result? More depression, not less. More anxiety, not confidence. The paint never fixes the cracks.

Islam calls us back to fitrah — our natural state. It reminds us that beauty is dignity, not surgery. Confidence is faith, not filler.

Summer Love and the Death of Commitment

The West once had strong traditions of family and marriage. But consumerism needed new markets — and so love itself was rebranded.

Enter Hollywood with its rom-coms about “summer love.” Enter magazines like Cosmopolitan telling women that hookups are empowerment. Enter apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge — billion-dollar businesses built on short-term highs, endless swiping, and disposable relationships.

The result? Commitment is dying. In the UK, marriage rates have fallen to their lowest on record since 1862. In the US, fewer than 50% of adults are married today, compared to 72% in 1960. At the same time, cohabitation is soaring. Couples live together for forty years, raise families, grow old side by side — yet refuse to marry. Why? What are they running from? What are they afraid of?

Islam answers with clarity. Marriage (nikah) is half of faith. It transforms fleeting desire into sacred responsibility. It creates family, stability, and blessing. In Islam, there is no “summer love” — there is love that lasts through winters too.

How Capitalism Broke Tradition

This did not happen by accident. It was engineered.

After World War II, Western societies faced economic rebuilding. Governments and corporations needed to drive consumer demand. The solution? Rebrand freedom as consumption.

1950s: Advertising told women their worth was in their beauty and homemaking. Brands like Procter & Gamble and General Motors tied happiness to soap, fridges, and cars.

1960s Sexual Revolution: Framed as liberation, it also opened new markets — from contraception to fashion, from nightlife to pornography. The breakdown of modesty meant the rise of billion-dollar industries in cosmetics and entertainment.

1970s–1980s: Hollywood doubled down. Films and TV normalised divorce, casual flings, and careers over families. The family dinner table gave way to McDonald’s convenience, the Friday night date to nightclub culture.

1990s onwards: The internet turned desire into data. Adult sites became a trillion-dollar business. Dating apps gamified intimacy. Social media sold envy and filters. Every tradition that once grounded people — faith, family, community — was dismantled and replaced with a marketplace.

What was lost was stability. What was gained was profit.

Why Capitalism Hates Contentment

Capitalism cannot survive if people are content. A woman who accepts her natural beauty does not buy Botox. A man who trusts Allah’s provision does not enslave himself to debt for status symbols. A couple secure in marriage does not need to chase endless “experiences” to fill the void.

This is why Islam is a thorn in capitalism’s side. Islam teaches qana’ah — contentment with what you have. It teaches modesty, which removes the need to parade yourself as a commodity. It teaches zakat, redirecting wealth to those who need it instead of hoarding for vanity. It teaches tawakkul, trust in Allah, which breaks the chains of fear and anxiety that capitalism depends on.

Capitalism sells happiness and never delivers. Islam gives peace freely, in one sajdah, in one act of charity, in one whispered remembrance of God.

The Silent Rebellion

Look at the us today: depression soaring, families fractured, bodies modified into exhaustion, and people living together for lifetimes without the courage to say “I do.” It is a society addicted to quick highs and terrified of permanence.

And then look at Islam, with its simplicity. Prayer five times a day. A family built on nikah. Charity that cleanses wealth. Modesty that protects dignity. Contentment that makes the poorest richer than billionaires chasing the next upgrade.

Capitalism fears Islam not because of politics or borders, but because Islam threatens its survival. A believer grounded in faith is the hardest consumer to manipulate. A man or woman who has found peace with Allah is free — and that kind of freedom cannot be bought, sold, or branded.