View Point                                                                         Abid Ullah Jan

The Keys to Revival

According to Dr. Israr Ahmad's analysis, beginning of the 20th century was the starting point for the second phase of the decline in the heart of Muslim world. In that perspective, at the beginning of the 21st century we are fast moving towards the lowest ever ebb of Muslim decline, without knowing how to deal with the never ending American zeal to directly or indirectly occupy country after country in the Muslim world.
Before discussing the available options, oned needs to keep in mind that we are definitely witnessing a defeat for Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, but it is not the fall of Islam at all. It is an ephemeral victory of technological superiority over the defeatist mentality of a divided people called Muslims.

Most importantly, it is a clear demise of the much vaunted ideals of Western democracy and liberalism. The street slogans in Baghdad for establishing Islamic state(1) are signs of the human desire to be truly liberated as well as governed by divine laws. It is, in fact, the victory of Islam.

Materialistic atheism reached its logical culmination in the form of socialism and communism. Now leaders of the "civilised world" are overseeing the demise of their much vaunted "liberal democracy." The 21st century wars have not defeated Islam. The neo-colonialism has simply brought out the hollowness of Western civilisation and American ideals.

In such a situation, the Muslim objective should not be to militarily defeat the US and its Allies because military victory alone would be as hallow as the US victory over Iraq. It is the message of Islam that has to triumph.

The Western technological superiority has at best contributed to infusing defeatism in Muslim mind. As a result, a minority of opportunist Muslims began to appropriate Western ideas and values uncritically. The defence against onslaught of secular philosophy has been limited to mere protection in the form of fleeing from mainstream life in order to hold fast to faith, and apologetic compromise. Such constrained and ill planned approaches left us with losing the very spirit of Islam.

Of course, an obvious ruling minority in Western capitals is bent upon undermining Islam, but it would be wrong if we solely hold them responsible for the pathetic state of the Muslim world. Our punishment began the day we committed the crime of ignoring the message of Islam and limiting it to our personal affairs alone. Our behaviour served only to repel us as a nation from the Divine Guidance. We are now facing what we really deserve.

For instance, if we were good Muslims in Iraq, the US would not have attacked us because as good Muslims we would not have let our government to attack Kuwait irrespective of any US approval; we would not have let our government fight Iran for the US interests; we would not have silently accepted the anti-Islam ideology of the Ba'ath regime; as a nation we would not have allowed our government to kill and oppress our fellow countrymen.

Similarly, the US would not have occupied Afghanistan today, provided we were united in Islam and had not invited Russians; provided we had not embedded with the US to defeat the Soviet Union; provided we, as good Muslims, had not resorted to killing each other after withdrawal of the Soviet Union; provided we had not formed a Northern Alliance to demonise our own Muslim brothers; provided we had not joined the chorus of Western media to bastardise the Taliban, and so on and so forth.

We are following the same course in Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere. Is Musharraf regime not taking the same Qur'anic verses from school curriculum for pleasing administration in Washington which the US itself propagated during its war on the Soviet Union? Did his regime not support the US in occupation of a neighbouring country? Are we not allowing him to kill and handover anyone to the US? Are we not silent at his going against the clear verdict of Qur'an about riba? Such behaviour serves only to repel us from the Divine Guidance and slipping further down the drain toward the lowest ebb of our decline.

We still have time to check our fall by holding on to the keys of our revival mentioned as follows.

Key 1
Shift focus back to basics
Key to reformation is not in running away from the basics of Islam but in shifting Muslim focus away from trivial legalities back to the original sources of Islamic faith and Knowledge - the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.
As long as we do not make up our dreadful deficiency of understanding and acting upon the Qur'an, no useful purpose will be served by any amount of religious instruction or debate. If Qur'an is studied and its meanings are pondered over in a genuine quest for truth, all the veils of darkness would be lifted one after the other. Extracting quotes from Qur'an to justify our arguments alone will never help. Using its verses to "seek refuge and favours" of the world mastering demi-gods will further exacerbate our problems (See Al-Qur'an 18: 27) The worst sinners are those who do research into Qur'an while sitting in Western think tanks but do not use it for reflection or practice. Fascinating intellectual exercises is no less than toying with the Qur'an. It causes them to deviate. "So they follow the part thereof that is figurative, seeking discard, and searching for its hidden meaning" (Al-Qur'an 111:7).

Key: 2
Remove the seeds of discard sown the neo-mods of Islam
Besides loss of faith in Islam's comprehensiveness in guiding us in worldly as well as spiritual affairs, the unprecedented military and technological progress of the West has rendered us incapable of making critical appraisal of the misguided views that have found currency among so-called "moderates."

To the contrary, the gaze of revivalist movements has been exclusively fixed on the teaching and precepts of Islam. This is valuable but to specifically counter the fitna of "liberal Islam" they also need to develop the inner state of deep faith in Allah, which provides the inner experience of faith and truly fulfils the propositions of Islamic belief. Besides Qur'an and Sunnah, critical knowledge of contemporary world affairs is also need of the day. Dawah without addressing the confusion created by neo-mods of Islam is all but complete.

Muslims engaged in Dawah are doing a great job of refocusing attention towards renewal of faith. But most of them seem to shy away from interpreting Muslims' fall in the light of contemporary issues and clarifying the confusion created by the neo-mods of Islam. One of the reasons for this attitude is their objective to avoid annoying the power structures, who might consider their mission political, rather than religious. It is however, necessary, because the more the neo-mods confuse the non-Muslims, the more it would be difficult for the rest of Muslims to work with them.

The neo-mods of Islam are thriving because the silence of majority of Muslims and particularly the scholars are taking their ranting for granted. We need to explain how philosophy of neo-mods - which depicts the very idea of Muslims going back to their roots (the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah) as a dangerous combination f extremism and fanaticism - is putting future of the humanity at stake with their rationalistic and pseudo-scientific interpretations of Islam.

Key 3
Quit apologetic approach
We need to shift focus from mere defence to all out revival. So far, the concentration has been on academic fields, or on moral and spiritual purification of common Muslims. None of the movements tried to launch any organised political movement together with an explanation of the Islamic blueprint for socio-political and economic structures of Islam, telling the world that this is what we want to establish in place of the defunct democracy.

We have seen the rise and fall and pros and cons of all kinds of man made systems except the systems of Islam implemented in a truly Islamic state. Except a few exceptions, democracy is not practiced in its true sense of the word anywhere in the world. It has failed to prosper beyond the boundaries of a few former colonial powers. Installing puppets through genocides is no democracy at all. At the moment tyranny is replacing tyranny.

True liberation has yet to be seen. Only when people come to owe allegiance to an Islamic social order, the possibility of transgression and injustice is absolutely ruled out and all the doors of political oppression and economic exploitation are closed. The problem is not with Islam but with Muslims who still need to prove before the world that a collective equitable social order, rather than individual faith alone is the essence of Islam. The establishment of this order is the boding duty of all followers.

Conclusion
Proposing solutions is easy than practicing them in real world situation. The events around us and the kind of treatment meted out to true believers clearly suggest that promotion of a "war within Islam" is nothing but the Fitna (civil strife) which, according to the last of all Prophets, will force a true believer to take his sheep to the top of mountains to save his religion.(2) Holding on to the basic tenets of faith these days really requires the endurance of "grasping live coal."(3) Only those can perform the above mentioned difficult tasks who have armed themselves with the wisdom and knowledge of the Qur'an.

End Notes:
[1] Hafidh, Hassan (2003) "Thousands of Iraqis protest against U.S." Reuters, Friday April 18, 10:53 PM: "Muslims poured out of mosques and into the streets of Baghdad, calling for an Islamic state to be established in the biggest protest since U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein's iron-fisted, 24-year-long rule nine days ago."
Keane, Fergal (2003), "A dangerous groundswell of resentment is building up on the streets of Baghdad," Independent, UK, 19 April 2003: "They are shouting slogans forbidden under the secular rule of Saddam, slogans which, if George Bush could hear them, would surely cause him to revolve with anxiety: 'With our blood and our souls we will defend Islam.'"
[2] Book 30. Trials and Fierce Battles. Hadith 4254.
Narrated By Abu Sa'id al-Khudri : The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) said: A Muslim's best property will soon be sheep which he takes to the top of mountains and the places where the rain falls, fleeing with his religion from civil strife (fitnah).
[3] Book 32. Battles. Hadith 4327.
Narrated By AbuTha'labah al-Khushani : AbuUmayyah ash-Sha'bani said: I asked AbuTha'labah al-Khushani: What is your opinion about the verse "Care for yourselves".
He said: I swear by Allah, I asked the one who was well informed about it; I asked the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) about it.
He said: No, enjoin one another to do what is good and forbid one another to do what is evil.
But when you see niggardliness being obeyed, passion being followed, worldly interests being preferred, everyone being charmed with his opinion, then care for yourself, and leave alone what people in general are doing; for ahead of you are days which will require endurance, in which showing endurance will be like grasping live coals. The one who acts rightly during that period will have the reward of fifty men who act as he does.
Another version has: He said (The hearers asked:) Apostle of Allah, the reward of fifty of them?
He replied: The reward of fifty of you.