SHAMIM A. SIDDIQI takes stock of the situation prevailing in the world today vis-a-vis the Muslims especially Islamic Movements, and tells how the leaders of Islamic Movements can let Islam play its vital role in delivering justice, peace and security to the human abode.
Enmity against Islam was not as enormous as it is evident today; no polarisation of anti-Islam forces was then as intense as it is visible now; secular forces and governments were not assembled on one and only one agenda: “Islam should not be allowed anywhere to emerge as a political entity” and the superpower of the time has become its open champion. Since then time has changed too: the entire Muslim world is unfortunately being controlled by the Euro-American-Zionist hegemony which is being surcharged additionally by Indian diplomatic efforts to become mini-superpower of Indian Ocean both directly or indirectly: Muslims have no say in managing the affairs of this world; they cannot dictate their terms of existence anymore and anywhere and have lost the leadership of mankind in its totality. The world now looks differently.
But the worse scenario is our own state of affairs:
1. Islamic Movements couldn’t do their homework even after working for 70 to 80 years and prepare themselves for the Islamic state;
2. They could not build the requisite urge in the Muslim masses for Islam as their only way of life with the eagerness to get it enforced on self, family and the society they live in – their life still rotates only around some fundamentals of Ebadah and some rituals;
3. They could create some city-pockets here and there – villages and non-urban areas are widely controlled by the vested interests who take it as a death knell if Islam becomes the law of the land;
4. Slow character building process or producing men of trustworthy character in thousands and thousands in their midst, though it is there in the agenda of all the movements. It is is very meagre [not even one per cent]. As such, they are very ineffective: Who will then inspire the masses, get control of the ugly situations being created often and on by the vested interests and our adversaries, pilot the spirit of resurrection in masses and lead the country to a successful Islamic revolution. The Movements are far behind both in number and mass controlling quality and capacity. Thus, the character that could attract the people’s imagination is lacking in many respects; but who cares?
5. They are even “confused” as what and how to present as Islam to their countrymen. The terminologies used by Maulana Maudoodi like “Iqamatuddeen” are still rampant while the people and the media are now allergic even to hear them.
6. The verse 41 of Surah Al-Hajj has been the fundamental base of working Islamic Movements from the very inception but in gradual process it has been practically ”neglected” both in the predominant Muslim countries and the pluralistic countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Egypt, etc. The programme of mass contact given by Allah for Muslims to practise at personal, family and public levels is not visible even microscopically anywhere in the Muslim world. In consequence, all Muslim societies are heavily infested with munkar (evil) which is eating away the vital values of Islam and making the Muslim lands barren. Where will you then establish the Islamic state as envisaged by Maulana Maudoodi? In the words of Maulana, we couldn’t remove the “tanaqqus” [inconsistencies] from our personal, family, social and political life at all.
7. Our most cherished Islamic Movements thus could not prepare the Muslim societies for the emergence of Islam anywhere in this world. We have to blame ourselves for this historical “mishap” and hence all remain bogged down only in solving the community problems, the legacies of colonial powers and their indigenous agents who are still ruling the Muslim lands by “proxy”. This is a very sorry state of affairs from Casablanca to Jakarta to Central Asia.
8. The positron of the so-called “Arab Spring” is melting down to compromises with Jahiliyah everywhere. Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are sailing in the same boat. The masses rose against tyrants but for Islam it proved only slogan-mongering. The vested interests of the West are playing their nasty game everywhere to snatch away the glories of mass revolutions from their hands by raising the fear of rising Islamists in power.
9. This is the one side of the story as to why we could not fulfil the dream of Maulana Maudoodi in the context of modern world.
The other side of the picture is more pathetic and needs utmost care and consideration by our respected Tahreeki leaders around the world.
OTHER SIDE OF PICTURE
1. The Muslim Ummah, practising Islam through ages in a limited sense, has belittled Islam and rendered it into a ”religion” in the manner Judaism and Christianity have become. The west is interested to see that Muslims should and must live like that. So, if Muslims go beyond the centuries old ”Traditions of Ebadah”, the west immediately condemns it as “Political Islam” and the ”lost” or deviated Muslim leaders echo their ”slogans” in our mosques and social gatherings. They are the so-called liberal Muslims who are the favourites of the west and play the “treacherous” game of Inter-faith dialogues in the body-politic of Muslim Ummah. The Islamic Movement couldn’t get any cure for these inroads.
2. The Muslim Ummah has failed, and along with it the Islamic Movements too, to produce a model of an Islamic State in the context of the modern world anywhere in the Muslim lands. The Muslim world failed to do so when Communism failed in the erstwhile USSR in the 1990s, gave up the concept of the “dictatorship of the proliferate” and was in search of an alternate system of life. Muslims have nothing to offer except tall talks. The elder Bush availed himself of this opportunity and sent his Secretary of State to emerging Muslim States of Central Asia to tell them that their model is Turkey and not Pakistan. Muslims missed the bus then.
Now Capitalism is on the verge of its death. Muslims must produce a model Islamic state as an alternate system of life for many capitalistic democratic societies of this world. It is an open challenge to our Islamic Movements around the world to produce a model lest we should miss the bus once again. In my humble consideration, this chance will be available to Muslims in the fourth and the fifth decades of the current century. Capitalism is being kept now in an oxygen tent for its artificial survival. How long? Its death is inevitable.
3. The Muslim Ummah is divided in so many innumerable sects, groups, schools of thoughts, Sufi cults, Dargahs, jurisprudential interpretations etc. It is quite difficult to recognise it as a single entity of One Faith, One God, One Deen and One Messenger of Allah. This division is prevailing both vertically and horizontally. The great tragedy is that each group or faction thinks: it is right and others are in the wrong. They are shopping on Islam, have selected some of its segments and are entrenched with it, taking it as Islam and fighting for it with others. This tragedy has bifurcated the Ummah manifold and along with it the Concept of Islam as a Deen is lost in this doldrums, and the Qur’ān is left behind only as a book to recite without understanding its message. The Unity of Ummah is thus lost. Can our Islamic Movements bring all of them to the criterion of the Qur’ān to judge who is in the right – a hard nut to crack?
4. The role of our Ulama and Muslim scholars is promoting this dissension to protect, preserve and promote their leadership or hierarchy. A student who comes from his respective school, madrasa and cult remains its promoter for the rest of his life, thus extending the bifurcation to new heights. The Unity of Ummah thus stands lost. Can the Islamic Movements work ceaselessly to create the requisite atmosphere of unity of thought and prevail upon them to work for the Ummah as a whole for its survival? Can they call upon them to join together on one platform to struggle for “One God, One Deen, One Messenger and One Qibla – the symbols of Unity of Muslim Ummah? The self-designed ego of our Ulama is to be removed by love, care and persuasion: How will they face their Lord with a divisive role which is breaking our unity?
5. Even with our sectarianism as a fait accompli and the divisive role of Ulama, the Ummah had been able to establish some fundamental institutions like the Institution of Zakah and Ushr, Institution of Social Welfare, Institutions for orphans, the oppressed and the have-nots, Institutions for Wayfarers, Institutions for the unemployed and the underemployed, Institutions for Mosques etc. The Ummah would have been in a much better position than what it is today. These Institutions would have formed the symbols and signs of Muslim unity and helped in working towards establishing the Islamic State. It would have been quite easy and attainable. We have no basics of unity. Muslim Ulama, leaders and scholars are mostly found touring the countries for raising funds for mosques, schools and madrasas whereas their job was and is to prepare and build the Ummah to deliver justice to mankind. When our own house is not in order, it remains only as a distant dream and a wish. Can the Muslim states and their leadership attempt to achieve these prime objectives and pave the way for an Islamic State in each Muslim country within a couple of decades.
6. Our Movements, unfortunately, couldn’t do anything positive to get the Ummah organised and resurrect its fate in a proper manner. In consequence, we stand at the same place from where we started in August 1941 and the dream of establishing an Islamic State remains still obscured. Will our Islamic Movements around the world think over this state of affairs, do the job of character building of Muslims on the pattern the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) did, and make Islam the echo of suffering humanity from each village, town and city. It needs trustworthy leadership at each front in thousands and thousands. At least 2 to 3 per cent of the population of the country should come forward to change the world.
THE MESSAGE OF HOPE
At this juncture, I would like to submit most humbly to our great and respectable Tahreeki leadership to make some positive change in presenting Islam now in the 21st century:
The concept of Iqamatuddeen is to be presented in stages as the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) did:
First, the fundamental concept of Islam – Tawheed, be obedient to your Creator and Sustainer – He created you first with three strong urges and one free will; He then created this universe and harnessed it for you; He made this earth habitable for you then sent you to this earth as His vicegerent. As such, you are the Trustee and not master of what you posses and see around you. And hence, you are accountable to Him after death for the manner you have used your free will to use His favours and bounties on this earth to satisfy your urges. For your guidance, He committed Himself to send His appointed Messengers to earth to tell you as to how to act, live and behave on earth. You will be rewarded with eternal peace and happiness in the Paradise if you live as per His Guidance, and be punished with eternal torments if you live on earth as per your own free will. Hence, feel always Accountable to Him while on earth. It will make you all the most responsible citizens on earth.
Thus, the first step of a Da’ee is to call the humanity, the rest of mankind, to the fold of his or her Creator and Sustainer. This is Dawah Ilallah. This should be the only Message of all the Islamic Movements as the Qur’ān put it very distinctly in Verse 21 of Surah Al-Baqarah as the prime most job of a Da’ee.
Those who accept this call and the authority of their Creator and Sustainer will come to the fold of Islam by reciting Kalama-i-Shahadah. Their character is to be transformed into 24 carat gold on the basis of Faith that they accepted: obedience to God, taking everything as trust, feeling accountable to Him always consciously and following always the most perfect model of the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him).
Thus, building in him or her honest, dependable and trustworthy character that makes him or her a responsible human being – a boon for human society – free of greed, lust and reckless behaviour. This process could and can pave the way towards building the Islamic State as a logical corollary of Iman of the people of the land.
Islam will automatically come in picture in his or her life when he/she will start following Allah and His Messenger for all that He commands. If the Muslim Da’ees and our Islamic Movements start working on these lines, keeping Islam not in the forefront and making the people first “Allah conscious”, the goal towards establishing an Islamic State will become a reality soon, Insha Allah. This was the Dawah strategy of the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and he strictly followed it during his Makkan life.
Without strengthening the Faith and building his/her character on its basis, a Muslim is good for nothing as we see today such Muslims throughout the Muslim world. It is the “Fasa’d of Aqeedah” that has divided the Muslims in hundreds of sects, factions and groups.
I have discussed this fundamental point of Dawah Ilallah in detail in the book, Calling Humanity in Chapter 2 under the “Strategy of Dawah Ilallah”. The current and the future Da’ees must go through it as the textbook of Dawah Ilallah in the context of modern world.
It is my humble conviction that all the Islamic Movements must sit down and take stock of the situation: What is going on in the name of Dawah Ilallah ; How can we produce a uniformity of thought and action in the field of Dawah Ilallah globally; How to keep Islam in the background, especially when its name is being exploited or abused due to provocative actions of our adversaries and our open “reactions” in consequence and when it contradicts the Strategy of Dawah by the Holy Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). This on-going process must be stopped and let Islam play its vital role in delivering justice, peace and security to the human abode if we bring it in stages to the suffering humanity.