By Younus
Abdullah Muhammad (may Allah hasten his release-AMEEN)
PS:
THIS EX-BROTHER OF OURS WAS RELEASED 7YRS IN ADVANCE DUE TO HIM COMPROMISING WITH THE KUFFAR, I.E. BECOMING A MURTAD WITH HIS COMPLETE ALLIANCE WITH THEM IN ASSISTING TO PLOT, PLAN AND PUT BEHIND BARS OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS UPON HAQQ !!!
THIS IS HIS NEW/CHANGED TO OLD SELF NOW VIEWS:
An extremist’s path to academia -- and fighting terrorism
FOR MORE INSHA'ALLAH ONE CAN SEARCH, READ AND WATCH NEWS ON GOOGLE.
HOWEVER LET US BENEFIT FROM THE ARTICLE AS THIS WAS WRITTEN WHILST HE WAS A MUSLIM !
THIS EX-BROTHER OF OURS WAS RELEASED 7YRS IN ADVANCE DUE TO HIM COMPROMISING WITH THE KUFFAR, I.E. BECOMING A MURTAD WITH HIS COMPLETE ALLIANCE WITH THEM IN ASSISTING TO PLOT, PLAN AND PUT BEHIND BARS OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS UPON HAQQ !!!
THIS IS HIS NEW/CHANGED TO OLD SELF NOW VIEWS:
An extremist’s path to academia -- and fighting terrorism
FOR MORE INSHA'ALLAH ONE CAN SEARCH, READ AND WATCH NEWS ON GOOGLE.
HOWEVER LET US BENEFIT FROM THE ARTICLE AS THIS WAS WRITTEN WHILST HE WAS A MUSLIM !
Bismillah
Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem
Assalamulaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu:The following article is a reflection on the approaching two-year anniversary of the Arab Spring. While the massive alterations that have occurred across the Muslim world certainly highlight the ummah's shortcomings, I remain optimistic and believe that we are witnessing an initial transition from mulk-jabriyya (reign of tyranny) to the return of khilafah ala manhaj al-nabawiyya (caliphate upon the methodology of prophethood). The following essay highlights the importance of ignoring the alleged secular-islamic divide and instead utilizing the removal of barriers in the path of dawa to call to the aqeedah and manhaj of ahlus-sunnah. I hope that you may share it across the internet and with others.
As for my state, then I remain mesmerized by the challenges of the Islamic voyage even behind prison walls - al-hamdulillah! I continue clutching the rope of Allah and am enjoying the company, not of the dead around me but of the ones that live eternal through the knowledge they left behind. As the salaf said, "There is a great difference between those who are dead but whose remembrance brings life to the heart and those who are alive but whose company causes the heart to harden."
I ask Allah for His forgiveness and that He rectifies my past misdeeds. As Allah (swt) said Luqman explained, "O my son! Establish the prayer, enjoin good and forbid evil and bear patiently whatever may befall you. (31:17)" I thank those of you that have enjoined upon me patience and that have assisted my family as we endure this trial. I pray that Allah may reward you all in accordance with the hadith, "Whoever removes the suffering of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his suffering on the Day of Judgment." May Allah unite the ummah upon the truth and place us on His siratal mustaqeem.
Your brother in deen,
Younus Abdullah Muhammad
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It has now been two years since Tunisian street
vendor Mohammad Bouazizi audaciously set himself on fire on December
17, 2010 and sparked the ongoing Arab uprisings. There is no doubt
the act was a product of much more than Tunisian governmental
oppression. True elaboration about cause requires a multidimensional
analysis considering local, regional and global socio-religious,
political and economic variables. But as we near the two-year
anniversary of the Arab Spring perhaps the most apparent awareness we
need to explore is the prevalence of a clash of civilizations,
typically proposed as occurring between Western secular and
Middle-Eastern Islamic worlds, now manifest internal to the lands
that were once Darussalam.
After over a decade of war, a global recession, an Arab Spring and other variables of instability a tendency to interpret events through a cognitive cultural bias that favors such a bifurcated worldview is playing out in the Muslim world itself. For many reasons that is not unexpected but that perspective clouds the prospects of peace. Many practicing Muslims resent the West and reduce internal anger and frustration to external manipulation. For secularists, this view attributes stagnation and decline to a barbarian civilization and fears a rising Islamic influence. These simplistic perspectives help propel perpetual conflict. Two years into an Arab Spring we are now witnessing the manifestation of this divide as secularists and Islamists vie for influence in an altering Middle-Eastern order.
But such conflict need not cause pessimism. An enhanced ability to conversate about Islam, its role in society, its value as an all-encompassing ideology applied in the modern world and especially its role in the political spectrum presents and opportunity to advance an evolving Islamic revival. However true revival is not possible under the clash of civilizations paradigm which only destroys and cannot develop. The Islamic tradition renders all explanations that blame the West for decline inoperable; the Quran says, "Allah will never change the blessing He has bestowed on a a people until they change what is in their ownselves. (8:53)" Concentrating on an internal cause of decline leads to the realization that the eternal principles of the Islamic tradition pose pathways to much-needed enhancement in the principles and practices of governance and in all institutions of society generally. Allah says, "Only in the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find rest. (13:47)" For all the material fruits of the secular age, it is important to recognize widespread misery and corruption. Governance in Islam is a means to an objective dedicated to facilitating the worship of Allah so that hearts find rest. Therefore, as we approach the two-year anniversary of the Arab Spring, it is important to consider that the mounting animosity and conflict can only be remedied by true and proper adherence to a faith so many claim but so few truly comprehend.
The division between secularism and Islam is evident across the Muslim world. That reality is highlighted by the unfolding conflict in Egypt over the formation of a new constitution, expected to enhance Islamic influence on governance. Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Morsi's decree to temporarily bar a secular judiciary from challenging his presidential order has united an anti-Islamist opposition of Mubarak loyalists and liberals and exacerbated the faultines that mark most Muslim-majority countries. However, where western powers once backed Arab authoritarianism for fear that Islamic democracy meant, "One man, one vote, one time," protesters seem to unwittingly support the same sentiment and reject the majority-rule basis of democracy. It is awkward that the liberals that sparked the protests in Tahrir Square are essentially expressing a preference for a Mubarak-appointed corrupt and obstructionist judiciary and are ignoring a constitution that is in so many ways superior to the previous order. It recognizes full rights of woman, sets term limits, provides a flexible definition of shariah in a Muslim majority country, and paves the way for general democratic and economic reform. Morsi has carefully navigated his position up unto this point and a constitutional referendum is still set for December 14, but ongoing turmoil will fuel criticism which Morsi explained away in a recent Time Magazine interview by saying, "We're suffering, but always a new birth is not easy, especially if its the birth of a nation." Still, the observer cannot miss a widespread irrationality that provokes a stew of misinformation, conspiracy theory and rage and points to the very real potential for self-inflicted destruction of the gains afforded by the Arab Spring.
That danger is evident everywhere. In the North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, all former homes of European colonialism, similar ideological friction has been exposed. in Morocco, where protests were small and largely led by secularists, the popular King Muhammad VI granted constitutional and parliamentary reform that ushered in an Islamist majority and provoked fear of eventual takeover. In Tunisia, democratic elections produced a victory for the moderate Islamist Ennadha party who has thus far worked alongside its secularist competitors at political reform. Muslim intellectual Tariq Ramadan says that Tunisia, "appears to be best situated to bring about a genuine change of regime, to overcome the false debates over the nature of the state and to avoid the secular-Islamist polarization." However, a rising salafist influence there cannot be missed and the organization of less-moderate eIslamist movements to demonstrate for things like the veiling of woman at university to protests over the anti-Muhammad video in September have provoked widespread conversation in Tunisia with many calling for the banning of Islamist movements altogether and many criticizing Ennadha as a secular party in disguise. In Libya, the divide between secularists and Islamists was highlighted in the aftermath of the violent attacks against the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, but in reality Libya is the only country of the Arab Spring where elections produced a secular parliamentary majority. That outcome has a lot to do with Western influence; we now know that Libya's National Transitional Council promised France 35 percent of Libyan oil exports before NATO intervention and Economist Magazine recently predicted Libyan economic growth at 12.2 percent in 2013, by far the highest in the Middle East. That will lead to foreign investment and guarantee external influence on political outcomes, but the violence of radical's at the U.S. consulate hints at a possible correlation between jihadism and levels of western influence in the post-Arab Spring order. Islamists have also utilized a newfound freedom of expression to insert their alternative voice. It is noteworthy that recently deceased Al-Qaedist Abu Yahya al Libi's brother ran unsuccessfully for parliament and that the group blamed for killing the U.S. ambassador had its headquarters burnt to the ground by secularists.
In the Levant the divide is evident as well. In Palestine, the Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, the West Bank by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. That divide was an outcome of near civil war in 2007 and with new elections on the horizon, the Palestinian struggle for statehood has taken two twists: Hamas seeks to benefit from Muslim Brotherhood support and recently gained in stature after enduring Israeli militarism while Mahmoud Abbas gained "nonmember observer status" at the U.N. General Assembly with a favorable vote of 138-9. Both "victories" are largely symbolic, as U.S. ambassador to the united Nations Susan Rice explained, "no resolution can create a state where none exists," and with no viable or contingent Palestinian state foreseeable (Israel immediately announced new settlement construction in the West Bank) it is likely that the futility of both party's efforts will only drive further internal divide. In Syria, the Sunni-majority is united against Assad but divided along Islamic and secularist lines as well. A reported rise in jihadism and a U.S. refusal to intervene continues to accelerate an Islamist identity amidst the resistance. With the elections over and reports of Assad's planned use of chemical weapons, it appears the global community is ready to intervene but the role of Islam in any future Syrian government is sure to propel future conflict and for jihadists, Syria represents and opportunity to reclaim the appeal of calls to jihad as a primary means of social alteration. In Lebanon, the crisis in Syria is exacerbating sectarian and secular-Sunni tensions and in Jordan protests against King Abdullah II in Amman over IMF-induced fuel subsidy cuts and political injustices have been led by the Islamic Action Front, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot. The U.S., Israel and the Gulf monarchies remain in support of the Jordanian regime but stalled reforms and deteriorating economic conditions only fuel the flames of frustration and may produce eventual outcomes similar to those in the lands of the Arab Spring.
The oil-rich Gulf monarchies were able to increase spending and placate demands during the Arab protests but a newfound passion for opposition is evident across the region as well. Women demanding reform in Saudi Arabia have utilized YouTube clips to criticize archaic laws for example and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Arab world has the House of Saud fearing revolution while the Islamic scholars they employ recognize that new salafist ideology to the North poses a challenge to the apolitical monopoly they hold on creed. A political awakening amongst dissidents in Bahrain, Kuwait, the U.A.E., Qatar, Yemen and others is inducing critical thought and there is the prospect of a return to an Islamic Sahwa (awakening) of sorts which resulted in the 1990's from Arab opposition to the first Gulf War and could result as a consequence of Arab opposition to dictatorial rule today. While the threat of secularism is limited by the proximity to Mecca and Medina and the widespread wealth and ideological influence over Islamic voices everywhere, developments in the Gulf will likely contribute to shaping both opposition to secularism and support for strict-conservatism over Muslim Brotherhood-like moderation across the Muslim world.
Outside the Arab world, the divide is evident as well. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are set to declare victory in the graveyard of empires in 2014 and that effect on Pakistan may create reestablished safe havens for jihadi groups that drive Islamic identity and put a lot of tension on secularist regimes everywhere. Recent reports from the law schools at Stanford and NYU document that Pakistan drone attacks cause abundant collateral damage and propel anti-western sentiment that pushes support for Islam in the political sphere.
Similarly, in Africa, where drone attacks are expected to increase, the efforts of Islamic groups from Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia in the east and Nigeria in the west are visible across the continent and Islamic influence is highlighted by the control of Northern Mali by the Al-Qaed linked, Ansar al-Dine. Interestingly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently called on Algeria's secular leaders to contribute to an Africa-led military intervention the West is organizing to retake the militant stronghold. She cited Algeria's, "unique capabilities that no one else in the region has," a clear reference to the expertise of Algerian secularists from having thrown our democracy when Algerian Islamists were elected in 1991 and subsequently embroiling the country in a bloody civil war that took over 100,000 lives. Of course, that previous result has a lot to do with the West's reluctant acceptance of Islamic democracy, but it is certainly not impossible to imagine a similar scenario of civil strife between secularists and Islamists in any of the lands of the Arab Spring as history unfolds.
For Muslims living in the West, the secular-Islamic divide is evident as well. Residing inside developed democracies gives credence to the value of evolved democratic political processes but Islamic identity is also ascendant in the Western world. And the tectonic shifts occurring in the Arab world will certainly influence the ideology of Western Muslims, but it is also likely that Western Muslims, especially the Arab Diaspora will generate a counterinfluence as well. So far, it seems that influence will largely coincide with the secularist camp but one must not ignore growing conservative Muslim prestige, especially in Europe. It is likely that many of the arguments playing out in the Islamic world will stimulate debate amongst Muslims in the West, and that the outcome of those debates will contribute to an enhanced role for Islam everywhere. It truly seems as though we are entering an era the prophet Muhammad (saws) mentioned when he said, "The matter (Islam) will keep spreading as far as the night and day reach until Allah will not leave a house made of mud or hair, but will make this religion enter it, while bringing honor to one who accepts it and humiliation to the rejecter. Honor with which Allah elevates Islam and disgrace with which Allah humiliates disbelief."
No doubt the divide between secularists and Islamists is, at least partially, a consequence of Western efforts to influence the region going back well over 100 years, but it makes absolutely no sense to reduce the behavior and identity of tens of millions of people to nonsensical conspiracy theory or to blame Muslim Brotherhood inspired political parties for excessive moderation and refusal to implement total shariah law. While convenient for placing one's self outside the Muslim ummah, in self-righteous indignation, these perspectives document a hopeless nature and inability to understand the importance of autonomy and self-determination, an important but mostly lacking component of the Quranic call. They also document a failure to understand the role ideas play in shaping constantly evolving societies. Rather than simply discussing faulty ideologies from outside Islamic societies, it is all the more important that those understanding the need for tassfiya (purification of the Islamic sources) and tarbiya (development of institutions and reliance, etc.) now exercise that methodology and calmly, rationally and patiently utilize the present confusion and opening to highlight the importance of grounding Islamic society on the Sunnah and Quran.
That means it is imperative that Muslims already grounded in the Quran and Sunnah not primarily concern themselves with the clash of civilization, secular-Islamic divide. Instead, they must call away from the belief that change in Islam is induced by the state. The Islamic tradition actually holds each citizen as an ambassador for the religion and the state as a reflection of the ummah's collective consciousness. The Prophet (saws) said, "As you are so are the rulers above you," so proper conceptions hold government as a product of the people and a reflection of the principles and practices that the people apply.
It is true that every 100 years the Islamic tradition holds that Allah sends a reviver (mujadid), but it is also true that Muslims in the past have not simply sate around waiting for the Mahdi as many do today. Al-Hasan reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) also said, "If death comes to anyone when he is seeking knowledge with the purpose of reviving Islam, there will be only one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise. (Darimi)" Revival is a task for all.
Most scholars hold Umar bin Abdul Aziz (717-720c.e.) as the first reviver, for his was a political revival based on returning the reference point of all affairs to the Quran and Sunnah, codifying the corpus of hadith by preserving it in writing and thereby promoting society's epistemological reference to the text and traditions, but his alterations were grounded in a basic respect for justice and and rationality as well. For example, he abolished the collection of jizya (poll tax) for converts which led to unprecedented conversions during his reign and when an advisor expressed concern about the subsequent loss of state revenue, the caliph simply explained that the Prophet (saws) was sent as a mercy for mankind and not as a tax collector.
Those enhancements induced a broader call for Islamic renaissance and were a product of his following the true methodology of the Khulafah Rashideen (rightly guided caliphs). Subsequent reforms would survive the Ummayyad dynasty and inspire social, political and economic alteration under the ensuing Abbasid era. The preservation of the Islamic foundation occurring under Umar bin Abdul Aziz led to the next era of revival under the great imams (al-muhadithoon) and inspire the codification of usool-al-fiqh, especially in Imam Shafi's Risala. It is said that by the time Imam Shafi (150-204 A.H.), a Quraishi descendant, was brought in front of Abbasi caliph Haroon ar-Rasheed under charge of treason, they not only held conversation about Quran and Sunnah (for Shafi "Kitab wal Hikma" (62:2-4)) but discussed Greek logic and other sciences. For the scrutinous one navigating that early history, a struggle to preserve the root tradition while still appreciating the cumulative value of human civilization becomes evident and that is what is lacking in today's narrow-minded secular, Islamic debate, an ability to separate the religious from the economic, technological or political and in areas where such separation is not only applicable according to Islamic law but fundamental in preserving the wellbeing of those that adhere to the deen of Islam.
This brand of extremist literalism hearkens back to the root cause of civil disorder in Islamic history, to when the Khawarij judged Ali's decision to arbitrate with the Muawwiyyan camp as referring to men and not the Quran. Ali's response was that, "We have not given men the authority, we have made the Quran the authority. But this Quran is a writing set down between 2 covers. It does not speak. It needs men to interpret it" (see Tabari's Tarikh). The society established by the Prophet (saws) always took an understanding of legislation that held consideration for the cumulative history before it. Islam is a continuation of the Prophetic message, as old as history itself. And much of what was established in it drew from an already existent society. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) did not reject the value of other civilizations. He took military strategy from the Persians by way of Salman al-Farsi at the Battle of Khandaq. Consequently Umar bin Al-Khattab (raa) adopted bayt-al-maal, a state treasury of sorts, which was a Roman concoction. There are actually innumerable examples of civilizational collaboration. But Islam's historical influence on the West is evident as well.
While Western civilization is thought to be an offshoot of Greek society, a more realistic assessment considers that Arab preservation , translation and advanced articulation of the Greek works made such influence possible. Recognizing this makes one all the more cognizant of the reality that the European Renaissance stemmed not from European interaction with the philosophy of Ancient Greece but its interaction with the societies of Islam. Commerce in the Mediterranean and contact with Islamic Spain are the true sources for much of what we call Western civilization and enlightenment. Still, it is unfortunate that many "Islamists" today point to these past glories while refusing to acknowledge any benefits from the secular age. Such ignorance helps propel the clash of civilizations theory we see perpetuating and helps prevent advancement in the Muslim world.
Today there are many proponents of British imperialist Rudyard Kipling's classic claim that, "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet." That voice is echoed by many Muslim ideologues. Popular and moderate Islamic scholar Yousef al-Qaradawi for example told his audience at a Friday sermon in Qatar in October 2010 that he affirmed Kipling's views after reflecting on the history of Western influence in the Middle East. That position is in line with Osama bin laden's assertion to Al-Jazeerah's Tayseer Alouni in an interview after 9-11 that the "texts of Islam confirm a perpetual clash of civilizations." But this perspective is true only in a limited sense and stems from an inability to separate religious doctrine (ibada) and its primary concern with the life after death from the affairs of the world (adat). This distinction was made in the last phase of the development of usool-al-fiqh and ijtihaad before the ummah's intellectual decline and by scholars like Imam Shatibi and Ibn Taymia. But the divide between religious/political realms is evident even in the earliest works on Islamic law formation. Imam Malik for example explained ijtihad, "The rule is that you examine the given case in the light of the shariah. If it is correct according to the shariah then consider its consequences in the context of the conditions of its time and its people. If by its mention your mind does not recall any evil, then submit it to reason. If you feel that it will be accepted by reasonable people, then you may give your opinion in general terms if the case relates to a matter that is generally acceptable. If it cannot be generalized then give specific opinion. If the case in question does not accept this process, then it is better to keep silent. That would be more in conformity with the welfare of the people, legal as well as rational."
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) and his companions (raa) were never blinded by such bifurcation with regard to the affairs of the world. A hadith in Saheeh Muslim, for example, reports that a Quraishi importer said in the company of Amr ibn Al-Aas (raa) that, " I heard the Messenger of Allah say the hour will not arrive until the Romans will be the most amongst the people." Amr said to him, "Watch what you say!" So he said, "I am saying what I heard the messenger of Allah say." So Amr replied, "If you say that, then there are indeed four qualities in them: they are the most judicious during a tribulation, the quickest to recover after a calamity, the quickest to attack after a retreat, the best of them to the poor, orphan and the weak and the forth is nice and beautiful: among people, they are the best in preventing the oppression of rulers." That compliment and the ability to distinguish is also evident in a narration that reports Umar ibn Al-Khattab (raa) was once angered when he saw the Prophet sleeping on a straw mat while thinking of the Roman Caesar reclining in his palace.
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) consoled him by asking, "Oh Umar are you still in doubt about Allah's promise?" drawing his primary focus on the world to come but also distinguishing between the affairs of religion and state. Today many Islamists claim that secularism is refuted by the Islamic doctrine's's comprehensive inclusion of political and economic affairs and the command to rule by revelation, but they largely ignore many important principles and developments that have been actualized only in the secular age are supported by the texts as well and therefore could be applauded. For many, establishing the Islamic state represents an end in and of itself that must reject all of Western influence. In reality it is only a beginning, as is evident from the Prophet's (saws) own gradualism in the first Islamic State in Medina. It is this misunderstanding that drives the tendency to explain internal decline on conspiracies hatched from afar and that prevents Muslims from embarking on a true path toward political revival.
An inability to consider the cumulative nature of human civilization and to rather divide the Orient and Occident has helped to make the originally unpopular theory of a clash of civilizations a self-fullfilling prophecy of sorts. And it is not merely the perspective held by Islamists, critical theorists and intellectuals such as Edward Said (Orientalism) have gone to great lengths in identifying the means and mechanisms the West has used to objectify and stereotype the Muslim world, thus confirming the perceived divide between the West and the lands of Islam. But the outcome of the the present struggle in the Muslim world will depend on an ability to inculcate the beneficial aspects of socio-political, economic advancement promulgated primarily by the West over the past few centuries, while at the same time retaining autonomous identity and stressing a reliance on the constant principles of the Islamic tradition. If that realization is made, the Islamic world could one day find itself producing the type of critique of Western society that could inspire the next great cvilizational leap, a return to organization that considers obedience to divine legislation a path to progressive change and not a justification for domination or an opiate of the masses.
Muslims must recognize that connections like these will not come from the state however. The Islamists crafting Egypt's new constitution recently saw fit to include and article that holds the state responsible for "ensuring public morality." It should be easy to understand why citizens of the Arab world would fear the potential manipulation of this clause for abuse of authority. This is an indication that a state's legislation must consider the condition of a society. And a closer analysis of the history of Islam would reveal that preservation of the sunnah and referral to the tradition has never actually been a top-down endeavor. All six of the Saheeh books of hadith were undertaken by the initiative of their authors. None of them were commissioned by any authority, whether of government or statist ulama. The general acceptance by the community of believers preceded the canonization of such works with respect to formulating practical law. The general sentiment propagated in the Muslim world today however is that all change in Islam comes from an elite on top of the citizens. There is nothing wrong with calls to end such religious manipulation and justification for authoritarianism.
This is an important identification because today statist-traditionalists like those propagating so-called salafiyya in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also assure the state itself is responsible for reform and preserving Islamic conduct. That misconstruction, while actually seeking to preserve elite domination, power and prestige, is the source of backwardation. Practicing Muslim citizens everywhere must obey the state only when it conforms to the religion and they must first exist in a condition that necessitates Islamic governance; they must cultivate the need for a modern codification of Islamic law that separates from the adulteration of texts as mechanisms of justifying illegitimate power and control. Only that awareness can generate an understanding of shariah's timeless applicability in principle and its flexibility in application so as to serve as a progressive source of divine order. We Muslims should be working to propagate this true creed while realizing that getting caught up in divisive, self-righteuous debate is unnecessary.
This is similar to an awareness the late Syed Qutb (ra) expressed in a series of tracts entitled, "Why did they execute me?" In them he discussed western conspiracy and the efforts of the Muslim Brotherhood then to, "demand shariah law," while "occupying themselves much of the time with localized and limited political movements." As an alternative he stressed, "the societies themselves as a whole have become far removed from understanding the Islamic aqeedah and from concern and respect for it and from Islamic manners, therefore the Islamic movements must begin with this fundamental matter and that is to revive the meaning of the Islamic aqeedah in the hearts and minds, and to educate and cultivate those who accept this call and the correct understanding with correct Islamic education and cultivation (tarbiyya) and not to waste time in current political events, and not attempting to bring about the obligatory Islamic system by seizing power before the Islamic basis is found in the societies." Still, he did not call for some return to a pristine and unadulterated anti-Western civilizational clash as many confused critics would have it. Instead, he stated emphatically in Milestones that, "It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable."
The reality today remain similar, albeit with significant gains. Still, Muslim Brotherhood-backed groups are ascendant and cater to localized political issues in the name of pragmatism while the West conspires to promote a "democracy" that might preserve its neoliberal economic interests, the transnational might of its oppressive corporations and the machinations of its neocolonialist order. The concentration and obligation of all Muslims in the coming stage must be to help revive the Islamic tradition and referral to the Quran and Sunnah in personal affairs while calling upon others to do the same and formulating an appreciation and respect for many of the practices and principles that have underwritten human development for several centuries. Absent these identifications all "Islamist" development will turn into racial, nationalist or authoritarian fraud.
What we are witnessing is the fault lines and limitations of efforts at revival due to a lacking understanding of what exactly it means to refer to the Quran, Sunnah and methodology of the Salaf. However, where these limitations are utilized to preserve an even more sinister adulteration of the shariah by so-called salafis allied with the chief hypocrites that run the House of Saudi Arabia, the sincere one will recognize that a tectonic shift has occurred and will remain optimistic. Today there is a potential for a quantitative paradigm/ phase shift i nthe Islamic Awakening. The potential is attached to the root of Islam and is the source of every 100 year regeneration. It is evident in the Prophet's migration as a minority in Mecca to majority in Medina and also in the rapid expansion of Islam from Spain to China during subsequent generations. The Islamic ideology induces exponential growth because the momentum utilized to suppress it actually provides the counter momentum for its eventual progress. Muslims today stand on the precipice of such a pendulum shift. Therefore there should be little concern with the secular-Islamist divide.
One of the surprising events of the past two years was the election of the newly elected salafist Al-Nour party in Egypt to 25 percent of the parliamentary seats in elections. The secular judiciary disbanded the parliament but such success highlights the underbelly of support for traditionalist Islam in Muslim societies and their platform is quite distinct from the Saudi-funded salafism that many conspiracy theorists claimed funded them. Muhammad Nour, spokesperson for the party, explained their success in an interview saying, "The liberal media is focused on us. They did our media campaigning for free... when they try their best to smear us, and then the people see what we do on the ground, the people understand that there is something wrong with the media not with us." However, the ideological, political and even material divides in the evolving Muslim world are an exact representation of the confusion and disorder of the collective Muslim ummah. As the Prophet described, "The believers in their mutual love are like one body where when the eye is in pain, the entire body is in pain and when the head aches the whole body suffers." However, we must also remember the Prophet's concern for the whole of humanity. In another hadith he (saws) said, "The hearts of all men are between two of the Compassionate's fingers, as if they were one heart which He turns about as he wills." Then Allah's Messenger said, "O Allah who turns the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience (Muslim)."
To promote such conceptions, brothers and sisters should start creating networks that can enhance better understanding of current developments through a balanced Islamic lens and that might translate, discuss, and promote advanced ideologies, policies and perspectives in order to expand the foundation. Communicating in lieu of the recent removal of additional barriers while overriding simplistic calls to a clash of civilization would contribute to promoting truly transformational change in accordance with what Allah and His Messenger established. For what Imam Malik said rings resonantly clear today that, "The last of the ummah will not be rectified except by that which rectified the first of it." However, what rectified the first of the ummah was not an affinity for theological disputation as much as a broader call for belief in Allah and its consequential social reform. That reform was instituted by the cultivation of self first, followed by an influence of the reformed self on others and then the development of the ummah's collective consciousness so that the Islamic state will become a function of necessity and not the objective of idealistic desire.
Indeed for those conscious of inculcating the aforementioned principles, there is room for optimism. Somewhere between conspiracy theory and self-righteous conservativism lie the proper understanding of the interplay between Islam and the state, Muslims and the West and a balance between today's polarizing views. As Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi (ra) explained that this understanding will grant those upon the proper methodology, "an ability to see the obscurity that others suffer, while they cannot see the splendor that you enjoy." he (ra) explains that truly grasping the message of the sahaba makes you, "excuse the ignorant as much as you can, while enjoining and advising them to do good with all your power. Then you look at them with two eyes: With one eye you recognize Allah's commands and prohibitions. Based on this you advise and warn them, befriend or disown them, giving them their rights and requiring yours. While with the other eye, you recognize Allah's decree and measure. Based on this you sympathize with them, ask forgiveness for them and seek excuses for them in matters that do not involve violation of Allah's commands and his Sharia (rulings). Thus, you engulf them with kindness, compassion and forgiveness, heeding to Allah's command to 'Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant' (7:199)."
After over a decade of war, a global recession, an Arab Spring and other variables of instability a tendency to interpret events through a cognitive cultural bias that favors such a bifurcated worldview is playing out in the Muslim world itself. For many reasons that is not unexpected but that perspective clouds the prospects of peace. Many practicing Muslims resent the West and reduce internal anger and frustration to external manipulation. For secularists, this view attributes stagnation and decline to a barbarian civilization and fears a rising Islamic influence. These simplistic perspectives help propel perpetual conflict. Two years into an Arab Spring we are now witnessing the manifestation of this divide as secularists and Islamists vie for influence in an altering Middle-Eastern order.
But such conflict need not cause pessimism. An enhanced ability to conversate about Islam, its role in society, its value as an all-encompassing ideology applied in the modern world and especially its role in the political spectrum presents and opportunity to advance an evolving Islamic revival. However true revival is not possible under the clash of civilizations paradigm which only destroys and cannot develop. The Islamic tradition renders all explanations that blame the West for decline inoperable; the Quran says, "Allah will never change the blessing He has bestowed on a a people until they change what is in their ownselves. (8:53)" Concentrating on an internal cause of decline leads to the realization that the eternal principles of the Islamic tradition pose pathways to much-needed enhancement in the principles and practices of governance and in all institutions of society generally. Allah says, "Only in the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find rest. (13:47)" For all the material fruits of the secular age, it is important to recognize widespread misery and corruption. Governance in Islam is a means to an objective dedicated to facilitating the worship of Allah so that hearts find rest. Therefore, as we approach the two-year anniversary of the Arab Spring, it is important to consider that the mounting animosity and conflict can only be remedied by true and proper adherence to a faith so many claim but so few truly comprehend.
The division between secularism and Islam is evident across the Muslim world. That reality is highlighted by the unfolding conflict in Egypt over the formation of a new constitution, expected to enhance Islamic influence on governance. Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Morsi's decree to temporarily bar a secular judiciary from challenging his presidential order has united an anti-Islamist opposition of Mubarak loyalists and liberals and exacerbated the faultines that mark most Muslim-majority countries. However, where western powers once backed Arab authoritarianism for fear that Islamic democracy meant, "One man, one vote, one time," protesters seem to unwittingly support the same sentiment and reject the majority-rule basis of democracy. It is awkward that the liberals that sparked the protests in Tahrir Square are essentially expressing a preference for a Mubarak-appointed corrupt and obstructionist judiciary and are ignoring a constitution that is in so many ways superior to the previous order. It recognizes full rights of woman, sets term limits, provides a flexible definition of shariah in a Muslim majority country, and paves the way for general democratic and economic reform. Morsi has carefully navigated his position up unto this point and a constitutional referendum is still set for December 14, but ongoing turmoil will fuel criticism which Morsi explained away in a recent Time Magazine interview by saying, "We're suffering, but always a new birth is not easy, especially if its the birth of a nation." Still, the observer cannot miss a widespread irrationality that provokes a stew of misinformation, conspiracy theory and rage and points to the very real potential for self-inflicted destruction of the gains afforded by the Arab Spring.
That danger is evident everywhere. In the North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, all former homes of European colonialism, similar ideological friction has been exposed. in Morocco, where protests were small and largely led by secularists, the popular King Muhammad VI granted constitutional and parliamentary reform that ushered in an Islamist majority and provoked fear of eventual takeover. In Tunisia, democratic elections produced a victory for the moderate Islamist Ennadha party who has thus far worked alongside its secularist competitors at political reform. Muslim intellectual Tariq Ramadan says that Tunisia, "appears to be best situated to bring about a genuine change of regime, to overcome the false debates over the nature of the state and to avoid the secular-Islamist polarization." However, a rising salafist influence there cannot be missed and the organization of less-moderate eIslamist movements to demonstrate for things like the veiling of woman at university to protests over the anti-Muhammad video in September have provoked widespread conversation in Tunisia with many calling for the banning of Islamist movements altogether and many criticizing Ennadha as a secular party in disguise. In Libya, the divide between secularists and Islamists was highlighted in the aftermath of the violent attacks against the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, but in reality Libya is the only country of the Arab Spring where elections produced a secular parliamentary majority. That outcome has a lot to do with Western influence; we now know that Libya's National Transitional Council promised France 35 percent of Libyan oil exports before NATO intervention and Economist Magazine recently predicted Libyan economic growth at 12.2 percent in 2013, by far the highest in the Middle East. That will lead to foreign investment and guarantee external influence on political outcomes, but the violence of radical's at the U.S. consulate hints at a possible correlation between jihadism and levels of western influence in the post-Arab Spring order. Islamists have also utilized a newfound freedom of expression to insert their alternative voice. It is noteworthy that recently deceased Al-Qaedist Abu Yahya al Libi's brother ran unsuccessfully for parliament and that the group blamed for killing the U.S. ambassador had its headquarters burnt to the ground by secularists.
In the Levant the divide is evident as well. In Palestine, the Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, the West Bank by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. That divide was an outcome of near civil war in 2007 and with new elections on the horizon, the Palestinian struggle for statehood has taken two twists: Hamas seeks to benefit from Muslim Brotherhood support and recently gained in stature after enduring Israeli militarism while Mahmoud Abbas gained "nonmember observer status" at the U.N. General Assembly with a favorable vote of 138-9. Both "victories" are largely symbolic, as U.S. ambassador to the united Nations Susan Rice explained, "no resolution can create a state where none exists," and with no viable or contingent Palestinian state foreseeable (Israel immediately announced new settlement construction in the West Bank) it is likely that the futility of both party's efforts will only drive further internal divide. In Syria, the Sunni-majority is united against Assad but divided along Islamic and secularist lines as well. A reported rise in jihadism and a U.S. refusal to intervene continues to accelerate an Islamist identity amidst the resistance. With the elections over and reports of Assad's planned use of chemical weapons, it appears the global community is ready to intervene but the role of Islam in any future Syrian government is sure to propel future conflict and for jihadists, Syria represents and opportunity to reclaim the appeal of calls to jihad as a primary means of social alteration. In Lebanon, the crisis in Syria is exacerbating sectarian and secular-Sunni tensions and in Jordan protests against King Abdullah II in Amman over IMF-induced fuel subsidy cuts and political injustices have been led by the Islamic Action Front, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot. The U.S., Israel and the Gulf monarchies remain in support of the Jordanian regime but stalled reforms and deteriorating economic conditions only fuel the flames of frustration and may produce eventual outcomes similar to those in the lands of the Arab Spring.
The oil-rich Gulf monarchies were able to increase spending and placate demands during the Arab protests but a newfound passion for opposition is evident across the region as well. Women demanding reform in Saudi Arabia have utilized YouTube clips to criticize archaic laws for example and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Arab world has the House of Saud fearing revolution while the Islamic scholars they employ recognize that new salafist ideology to the North poses a challenge to the apolitical monopoly they hold on creed. A political awakening amongst dissidents in Bahrain, Kuwait, the U.A.E., Qatar, Yemen and others is inducing critical thought and there is the prospect of a return to an Islamic Sahwa (awakening) of sorts which resulted in the 1990's from Arab opposition to the first Gulf War and could result as a consequence of Arab opposition to dictatorial rule today. While the threat of secularism is limited by the proximity to Mecca and Medina and the widespread wealth and ideological influence over Islamic voices everywhere, developments in the Gulf will likely contribute to shaping both opposition to secularism and support for strict-conservatism over Muslim Brotherhood-like moderation across the Muslim world.
Outside the Arab world, the divide is evident as well. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are set to declare victory in the graveyard of empires in 2014 and that effect on Pakistan may create reestablished safe havens for jihadi groups that drive Islamic identity and put a lot of tension on secularist regimes everywhere. Recent reports from the law schools at Stanford and NYU document that Pakistan drone attacks cause abundant collateral damage and propel anti-western sentiment that pushes support for Islam in the political sphere.
Similarly, in Africa, where drone attacks are expected to increase, the efforts of Islamic groups from Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia in the east and Nigeria in the west are visible across the continent and Islamic influence is highlighted by the control of Northern Mali by the Al-Qaed linked, Ansar al-Dine. Interestingly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently called on Algeria's secular leaders to contribute to an Africa-led military intervention the West is organizing to retake the militant stronghold. She cited Algeria's, "unique capabilities that no one else in the region has," a clear reference to the expertise of Algerian secularists from having thrown our democracy when Algerian Islamists were elected in 1991 and subsequently embroiling the country in a bloody civil war that took over 100,000 lives. Of course, that previous result has a lot to do with the West's reluctant acceptance of Islamic democracy, but it is certainly not impossible to imagine a similar scenario of civil strife between secularists and Islamists in any of the lands of the Arab Spring as history unfolds.
For Muslims living in the West, the secular-Islamic divide is evident as well. Residing inside developed democracies gives credence to the value of evolved democratic political processes but Islamic identity is also ascendant in the Western world. And the tectonic shifts occurring in the Arab world will certainly influence the ideology of Western Muslims, but it is also likely that Western Muslims, especially the Arab Diaspora will generate a counterinfluence as well. So far, it seems that influence will largely coincide with the secularist camp but one must not ignore growing conservative Muslim prestige, especially in Europe. It is likely that many of the arguments playing out in the Islamic world will stimulate debate amongst Muslims in the West, and that the outcome of those debates will contribute to an enhanced role for Islam everywhere. It truly seems as though we are entering an era the prophet Muhammad (saws) mentioned when he said, "The matter (Islam) will keep spreading as far as the night and day reach until Allah will not leave a house made of mud or hair, but will make this religion enter it, while bringing honor to one who accepts it and humiliation to the rejecter. Honor with which Allah elevates Islam and disgrace with which Allah humiliates disbelief."
No doubt the divide between secularists and Islamists is, at least partially, a consequence of Western efforts to influence the region going back well over 100 years, but it makes absolutely no sense to reduce the behavior and identity of tens of millions of people to nonsensical conspiracy theory or to blame Muslim Brotherhood inspired political parties for excessive moderation and refusal to implement total shariah law. While convenient for placing one's self outside the Muslim ummah, in self-righteous indignation, these perspectives document a hopeless nature and inability to understand the importance of autonomy and self-determination, an important but mostly lacking component of the Quranic call. They also document a failure to understand the role ideas play in shaping constantly evolving societies. Rather than simply discussing faulty ideologies from outside Islamic societies, it is all the more important that those understanding the need for tassfiya (purification of the Islamic sources) and tarbiya (development of institutions and reliance, etc.) now exercise that methodology and calmly, rationally and patiently utilize the present confusion and opening to highlight the importance of grounding Islamic society on the Sunnah and Quran.
That means it is imperative that Muslims already grounded in the Quran and Sunnah not primarily concern themselves with the clash of civilization, secular-Islamic divide. Instead, they must call away from the belief that change in Islam is induced by the state. The Islamic tradition actually holds each citizen as an ambassador for the religion and the state as a reflection of the ummah's collective consciousness. The Prophet (saws) said, "As you are so are the rulers above you," so proper conceptions hold government as a product of the people and a reflection of the principles and practices that the people apply.
It is true that every 100 years the Islamic tradition holds that Allah sends a reviver (mujadid), but it is also true that Muslims in the past have not simply sate around waiting for the Mahdi as many do today. Al-Hasan reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) also said, "If death comes to anyone when he is seeking knowledge with the purpose of reviving Islam, there will be only one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise. (Darimi)" Revival is a task for all.
Most scholars hold Umar bin Abdul Aziz (717-720c.e.) as the first reviver, for his was a political revival based on returning the reference point of all affairs to the Quran and Sunnah, codifying the corpus of hadith by preserving it in writing and thereby promoting society's epistemological reference to the text and traditions, but his alterations were grounded in a basic respect for justice and and rationality as well. For example, he abolished the collection of jizya (poll tax) for converts which led to unprecedented conversions during his reign and when an advisor expressed concern about the subsequent loss of state revenue, the caliph simply explained that the Prophet (saws) was sent as a mercy for mankind and not as a tax collector.
Those enhancements induced a broader call for Islamic renaissance and were a product of his following the true methodology of the Khulafah Rashideen (rightly guided caliphs). Subsequent reforms would survive the Ummayyad dynasty and inspire social, political and economic alteration under the ensuing Abbasid era. The preservation of the Islamic foundation occurring under Umar bin Abdul Aziz led to the next era of revival under the great imams (al-muhadithoon) and inspire the codification of usool-al-fiqh, especially in Imam Shafi's Risala. It is said that by the time Imam Shafi (150-204 A.H.), a Quraishi descendant, was brought in front of Abbasi caliph Haroon ar-Rasheed under charge of treason, they not only held conversation about Quran and Sunnah (for Shafi "Kitab wal Hikma" (62:2-4)) but discussed Greek logic and other sciences. For the scrutinous one navigating that early history, a struggle to preserve the root tradition while still appreciating the cumulative value of human civilization becomes evident and that is what is lacking in today's narrow-minded secular, Islamic debate, an ability to separate the religious from the economic, technological or political and in areas where such separation is not only applicable according to Islamic law but fundamental in preserving the wellbeing of those that adhere to the deen of Islam.
This brand of extremist literalism hearkens back to the root cause of civil disorder in Islamic history, to when the Khawarij judged Ali's decision to arbitrate with the Muawwiyyan camp as referring to men and not the Quran. Ali's response was that, "We have not given men the authority, we have made the Quran the authority. But this Quran is a writing set down between 2 covers. It does not speak. It needs men to interpret it" (see Tabari's Tarikh). The society established by the Prophet (saws) always took an understanding of legislation that held consideration for the cumulative history before it. Islam is a continuation of the Prophetic message, as old as history itself. And much of what was established in it drew from an already existent society. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) did not reject the value of other civilizations. He took military strategy from the Persians by way of Salman al-Farsi at the Battle of Khandaq. Consequently Umar bin Al-Khattab (raa) adopted bayt-al-maal, a state treasury of sorts, which was a Roman concoction. There are actually innumerable examples of civilizational collaboration. But Islam's historical influence on the West is evident as well.
While Western civilization is thought to be an offshoot of Greek society, a more realistic assessment considers that Arab preservation , translation and advanced articulation of the Greek works made such influence possible. Recognizing this makes one all the more cognizant of the reality that the European Renaissance stemmed not from European interaction with the philosophy of Ancient Greece but its interaction with the societies of Islam. Commerce in the Mediterranean and contact with Islamic Spain are the true sources for much of what we call Western civilization and enlightenment. Still, it is unfortunate that many "Islamists" today point to these past glories while refusing to acknowledge any benefits from the secular age. Such ignorance helps propel the clash of civilizations theory we see perpetuating and helps prevent advancement in the Muslim world.
Today there are many proponents of British imperialist Rudyard Kipling's classic claim that, "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet." That voice is echoed by many Muslim ideologues. Popular and moderate Islamic scholar Yousef al-Qaradawi for example told his audience at a Friday sermon in Qatar in October 2010 that he affirmed Kipling's views after reflecting on the history of Western influence in the Middle East. That position is in line with Osama bin laden's assertion to Al-Jazeerah's Tayseer Alouni in an interview after 9-11 that the "texts of Islam confirm a perpetual clash of civilizations." But this perspective is true only in a limited sense and stems from an inability to separate religious doctrine (ibada) and its primary concern with the life after death from the affairs of the world (adat). This distinction was made in the last phase of the development of usool-al-fiqh and ijtihaad before the ummah's intellectual decline and by scholars like Imam Shatibi and Ibn Taymia. But the divide between religious/political realms is evident even in the earliest works on Islamic law formation. Imam Malik for example explained ijtihad, "The rule is that you examine the given case in the light of the shariah. If it is correct according to the shariah then consider its consequences in the context of the conditions of its time and its people. If by its mention your mind does not recall any evil, then submit it to reason. If you feel that it will be accepted by reasonable people, then you may give your opinion in general terms if the case relates to a matter that is generally acceptable. If it cannot be generalized then give specific opinion. If the case in question does not accept this process, then it is better to keep silent. That would be more in conformity with the welfare of the people, legal as well as rational."
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) and his companions (raa) were never blinded by such bifurcation with regard to the affairs of the world. A hadith in Saheeh Muslim, for example, reports that a Quraishi importer said in the company of Amr ibn Al-Aas (raa) that, " I heard the Messenger of Allah say the hour will not arrive until the Romans will be the most amongst the people." Amr said to him, "Watch what you say!" So he said, "I am saying what I heard the messenger of Allah say." So Amr replied, "If you say that, then there are indeed four qualities in them: they are the most judicious during a tribulation, the quickest to recover after a calamity, the quickest to attack after a retreat, the best of them to the poor, orphan and the weak and the forth is nice and beautiful: among people, they are the best in preventing the oppression of rulers." That compliment and the ability to distinguish is also evident in a narration that reports Umar ibn Al-Khattab (raa) was once angered when he saw the Prophet sleeping on a straw mat while thinking of the Roman Caesar reclining in his palace.
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) consoled him by asking, "Oh Umar are you still in doubt about Allah's promise?" drawing his primary focus on the world to come but also distinguishing between the affairs of religion and state. Today many Islamists claim that secularism is refuted by the Islamic doctrine's's comprehensive inclusion of political and economic affairs and the command to rule by revelation, but they largely ignore many important principles and developments that have been actualized only in the secular age are supported by the texts as well and therefore could be applauded. For many, establishing the Islamic state represents an end in and of itself that must reject all of Western influence. In reality it is only a beginning, as is evident from the Prophet's (saws) own gradualism in the first Islamic State in Medina. It is this misunderstanding that drives the tendency to explain internal decline on conspiracies hatched from afar and that prevents Muslims from embarking on a true path toward political revival.
An inability to consider the cumulative nature of human civilization and to rather divide the Orient and Occident has helped to make the originally unpopular theory of a clash of civilizations a self-fullfilling prophecy of sorts. And it is not merely the perspective held by Islamists, critical theorists and intellectuals such as Edward Said (Orientalism) have gone to great lengths in identifying the means and mechanisms the West has used to objectify and stereotype the Muslim world, thus confirming the perceived divide between the West and the lands of Islam. But the outcome of the the present struggle in the Muslim world will depend on an ability to inculcate the beneficial aspects of socio-political, economic advancement promulgated primarily by the West over the past few centuries, while at the same time retaining autonomous identity and stressing a reliance on the constant principles of the Islamic tradition. If that realization is made, the Islamic world could one day find itself producing the type of critique of Western society that could inspire the next great cvilizational leap, a return to organization that considers obedience to divine legislation a path to progressive change and not a justification for domination or an opiate of the masses.
Muslims must recognize that connections like these will not come from the state however. The Islamists crafting Egypt's new constitution recently saw fit to include and article that holds the state responsible for "ensuring public morality." It should be easy to understand why citizens of the Arab world would fear the potential manipulation of this clause for abuse of authority. This is an indication that a state's legislation must consider the condition of a society. And a closer analysis of the history of Islam would reveal that preservation of the sunnah and referral to the tradition has never actually been a top-down endeavor. All six of the Saheeh books of hadith were undertaken by the initiative of their authors. None of them were commissioned by any authority, whether of government or statist ulama. The general acceptance by the community of believers preceded the canonization of such works with respect to formulating practical law. The general sentiment propagated in the Muslim world today however is that all change in Islam comes from an elite on top of the citizens. There is nothing wrong with calls to end such religious manipulation and justification for authoritarianism.
This is an important identification because today statist-traditionalists like those propagating so-called salafiyya in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also assure the state itself is responsible for reform and preserving Islamic conduct. That misconstruction, while actually seeking to preserve elite domination, power and prestige, is the source of backwardation. Practicing Muslim citizens everywhere must obey the state only when it conforms to the religion and they must first exist in a condition that necessitates Islamic governance; they must cultivate the need for a modern codification of Islamic law that separates from the adulteration of texts as mechanisms of justifying illegitimate power and control. Only that awareness can generate an understanding of shariah's timeless applicability in principle and its flexibility in application so as to serve as a progressive source of divine order. We Muslims should be working to propagate this true creed while realizing that getting caught up in divisive, self-righteuous debate is unnecessary.
This is similar to an awareness the late Syed Qutb (ra) expressed in a series of tracts entitled, "Why did they execute me?" In them he discussed western conspiracy and the efforts of the Muslim Brotherhood then to, "demand shariah law," while "occupying themselves much of the time with localized and limited political movements." As an alternative he stressed, "the societies themselves as a whole have become far removed from understanding the Islamic aqeedah and from concern and respect for it and from Islamic manners, therefore the Islamic movements must begin with this fundamental matter and that is to revive the meaning of the Islamic aqeedah in the hearts and minds, and to educate and cultivate those who accept this call and the correct understanding with correct Islamic education and cultivation (tarbiyya) and not to waste time in current political events, and not attempting to bring about the obligatory Islamic system by seizing power before the Islamic basis is found in the societies." Still, he did not call for some return to a pristine and unadulterated anti-Western civilizational clash as many confused critics would have it. Instead, he stated emphatically in Milestones that, "It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which is positive and constructive, and which is practicable."
The reality today remain similar, albeit with significant gains. Still, Muslim Brotherhood-backed groups are ascendant and cater to localized political issues in the name of pragmatism while the West conspires to promote a "democracy" that might preserve its neoliberal economic interests, the transnational might of its oppressive corporations and the machinations of its neocolonialist order. The concentration and obligation of all Muslims in the coming stage must be to help revive the Islamic tradition and referral to the Quran and Sunnah in personal affairs while calling upon others to do the same and formulating an appreciation and respect for many of the practices and principles that have underwritten human development for several centuries. Absent these identifications all "Islamist" development will turn into racial, nationalist or authoritarian fraud.
What we are witnessing is the fault lines and limitations of efforts at revival due to a lacking understanding of what exactly it means to refer to the Quran, Sunnah and methodology of the Salaf. However, where these limitations are utilized to preserve an even more sinister adulteration of the shariah by so-called salafis allied with the chief hypocrites that run the House of Saudi Arabia, the sincere one will recognize that a tectonic shift has occurred and will remain optimistic. Today there is a potential for a quantitative paradigm/ phase shift i nthe Islamic Awakening. The potential is attached to the root of Islam and is the source of every 100 year regeneration. It is evident in the Prophet's migration as a minority in Mecca to majority in Medina and also in the rapid expansion of Islam from Spain to China during subsequent generations. The Islamic ideology induces exponential growth because the momentum utilized to suppress it actually provides the counter momentum for its eventual progress. Muslims today stand on the precipice of such a pendulum shift. Therefore there should be little concern with the secular-Islamist divide.
One of the surprising events of the past two years was the election of the newly elected salafist Al-Nour party in Egypt to 25 percent of the parliamentary seats in elections. The secular judiciary disbanded the parliament but such success highlights the underbelly of support for traditionalist Islam in Muslim societies and their platform is quite distinct from the Saudi-funded salafism that many conspiracy theorists claimed funded them. Muhammad Nour, spokesperson for the party, explained their success in an interview saying, "The liberal media is focused on us. They did our media campaigning for free... when they try their best to smear us, and then the people see what we do on the ground, the people understand that there is something wrong with the media not with us." However, the ideological, political and even material divides in the evolving Muslim world are an exact representation of the confusion and disorder of the collective Muslim ummah. As the Prophet described, "The believers in their mutual love are like one body where when the eye is in pain, the entire body is in pain and when the head aches the whole body suffers." However, we must also remember the Prophet's concern for the whole of humanity. In another hadith he (saws) said, "The hearts of all men are between two of the Compassionate's fingers, as if they were one heart which He turns about as he wills." Then Allah's Messenger said, "O Allah who turns the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience (Muslim)."
To promote such conceptions, brothers and sisters should start creating networks that can enhance better understanding of current developments through a balanced Islamic lens and that might translate, discuss, and promote advanced ideologies, policies and perspectives in order to expand the foundation. Communicating in lieu of the recent removal of additional barriers while overriding simplistic calls to a clash of civilization would contribute to promoting truly transformational change in accordance with what Allah and His Messenger established. For what Imam Malik said rings resonantly clear today that, "The last of the ummah will not be rectified except by that which rectified the first of it." However, what rectified the first of the ummah was not an affinity for theological disputation as much as a broader call for belief in Allah and its consequential social reform. That reform was instituted by the cultivation of self first, followed by an influence of the reformed self on others and then the development of the ummah's collective consciousness so that the Islamic state will become a function of necessity and not the objective of idealistic desire.
Indeed for those conscious of inculcating the aforementioned principles, there is room for optimism. Somewhere between conspiracy theory and self-righteous conservativism lie the proper understanding of the interplay between Islam and the state, Muslims and the West and a balance between today's polarizing views. As Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi (ra) explained that this understanding will grant those upon the proper methodology, "an ability to see the obscurity that others suffer, while they cannot see the splendor that you enjoy." he (ra) explains that truly grasping the message of the sahaba makes you, "excuse the ignorant as much as you can, while enjoining and advising them to do good with all your power. Then you look at them with two eyes: With one eye you recognize Allah's commands and prohibitions. Based on this you advise and warn them, befriend or disown them, giving them their rights and requiring yours. While with the other eye, you recognize Allah's decree and measure. Based on this you sympathize with them, ask forgiveness for them and seek excuses for them in matters that do not involve violation of Allah's commands and his Sharia (rulings). Thus, you engulf them with kindness, compassion and forgiveness, heeding to Allah's command to 'Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant' (7:199)."
In the coming period we need to balance these two
perspectives for that is the way of justice and truth and actual way
of overcoming polarizing and self-defeating views. Let us look for
the good in each other and truly desire for others what we want for
ourselves, a life of peace, prosperity and security conducive to the
Quran and Sunnah and common to the ambitions of all. Let us not
find fault in what others are not doing so much as we ask what
exactly it is that we are doing, on a day to day basis for the
religion of Islam. Let us see through the two eyes prescribed by Ibn
Qayyim, for those eyes craft the lens of the sahaba, the martyrs and
the mutaqeen.
Surely that is the siratal mustaqeem, wake up ya muslimeen!
Surely that is the siratal mustaqeem, wake up ya muslimeen!
PS:
THIS EX-BROTHER OF OURS WAS RELEASED 7YRS IN ADVANCE DUE TO HIM COMPROMISING WITH THE KUFFAR, I.E. BECOMING A MURTAD WITH HIS COMPLETE ALLIANCE WITH THEM IN ASSISTING TO PLOT, PLAN AND PUT BEHIND BARS OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS UPON HAQQ !!!
THIS IS HIS NEW/CHANGED TO OLD SELF NOW VIEWS:
An extremist’s path to academia -- and fighting terrorism
FOR MORE INSHA'ALLAH ONE CAN SEARCH, READ AND WATCH NEWS ON GOOGLE.
THIS EX-BROTHER OF OURS WAS RELEASED 7YRS IN ADVANCE DUE TO HIM COMPROMISING WITH THE KUFFAR, I.E. BECOMING A MURTAD WITH HIS COMPLETE ALLIANCE WITH THEM IN ASSISTING TO PLOT, PLAN AND PUT BEHIND BARS OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS UPON HAQQ !!!
THIS IS HIS NEW/CHANGED TO OLD SELF NOW VIEWS:
An extremist’s path to academia -- and fighting terrorism
FOR MORE INSHA'ALLAH ONE CAN SEARCH, READ AND WATCH NEWS ON GOOGLE.
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