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Current Crisis for Muslims The entire Islamic world, without exception, is in a state of turmoil and upheaval. Why, one may ask, Muslims are in this distressfully disorganized state? What is the answer? Where did we go wrong? What do the experts say, especially the religious leaders? It is human nature to search for scapegoats, because this allows us to avoid facing the real problems and also to postpone solutions. We cannot simply dismiss the whole issue by saying that this miserable condition of the Muslims is simply because there are no true muslims in the world. Nor can we put the blame on the the Western media by claiming that there is a grand conspiracy against Islam. Or make a general statement that since muslims are not practicing Islam, these catastrophic conditions are nothing but the lightning rod of God (qahar ilahi). Granting that there may be a grain of truth in all these statements or explanations, it is indeed naive to look for a single cause for perplexing and intractable problems that confront the muslims. When we look at the history of the other nations and carefully review the writings of the experts who have analyzed the causes for the decline and fall of the great nations or civilizations, we learn that the causes of decay were much more internal than external. The renowned British historian Toynbee, in his 12 volumes "A Study of History" stated that 19 out of 22 civilizations that existed during recorded history declined or decayed from within. In some cases an attack from outside saved them from degeneration. Paul Kennedy, in his famous book, "The Rise and Fall of The Great Powers" provided a wealth of information and gave specific reasons for the decline of great powers. Discussing about the Ottoman Empire, Kennedy stated a number of reasons for its downfall: (a) despotic rule, (b) severe orthodox attitude negating any initiatives or dissents, (c) consistently preferring conservatism to change and stifling any innovation. All this led to isolation and obscurantism and finally resulted in the disaster of the Ottoman Empire. Similar reasons were given by him for the gradual decay of the Mughal Empire in India. The modern world, which Kennedy describes as transoceanic global system or of state, is constantly going through ever-shifting pattern of global economic and production balances and technological and organizational breakthroughs. Consequently, the nations that resist change and stifle innovation and dissent finally face disaster. It is also his contention that causes of decay are more often internal than external. How then do we explain this malignant growth that is affecting the whole spectrum of the muslim community all over the world? I wish I knew all the answers. It is not easy to probe to the core of the matter, but certain major causative factors can be pointed out. Without doubt the major reason is, as pointed out by the Ulema, that muslims have strayed from the right path or straight path of Islam. But haven't we heard that statement very often? A general statement like this is very easy to make, and in one sense it may be an attempt to dodge the issue. As the old saying goes... 'the devil is in the detail.' So what do we mean when we say muslims are not following Islam? There are now one billion muslims in the world, though not all, but millions of muslims are sincerely trying to practice Islam: what we call the five pillars of Islam. But these five obligatory practices are not just rituals which we should go on repeating. All these essential practices: sawm, salah, haj, zakah, according to the Quran must be directed to achieve taqwa. While discussing these indicators of taqwa, I am reminded of a hadith where the Prophet is reported to have said: 'there will come a time when muslims will be humiliated and tormented by enemies.' The companions asked in amazement, 'O Prophet, will we be in minority then?' 'No, you will be in great numbers, but you will love this world and fear death.' the Prophet replied. The second major cause is our grave error in either thoroughly neglecting or grossly under-emphasizing the concern and welfare of other individuals in the community. Unfortunately religious leaders in their zeal have emphasized man's obligation and gratitude to God (haquq allah) to such an extreme extent that concern for justice and violation of the basic human rights (haquq al ibad) have been ignored. During the first seven years of the Makkan period, the Quran made fervent denunciation of social injustice, fraud, exploitation of the poor, and a mad craze for wealth. It was this accusation, that the Quran constantly laid against the Quraish, that made them furious. Western scholars of Islam, even those who are critics of Islam, agree that the Quranic teaches a just and ethically based social order that eliminates the exploitation of the poor and the weak, and where the equality of human race is firmly established. Unfortunately, it is this essential part of the Quranic teaching that has been forgotten or grossly under-emphasized by religious leaders. This may partly explain why the Ulema have seldom, if ever, been involved in starting, organizing or even participating in any kind of welfare work, where the poor, the needy and homeless are provided food, shelter and medical care. Unfortunately, there are no Albert Schweltzer and Mother Teresa in the muslim world. The sad part is that we muslims do not regard this as an essential part of the Quranic teaching, as we regard salah, sawm, haj and zakah. Although the Quran clearly states that without concern for the welfare of the poor and the needy, even prayers become hypocritical: " It is he who turns away the orphans and does not urge others to feed the poor. Woe to those who pray but are heedless in their prayer; who make a show of piety but refuse (to supply) even neighborly needs (to the poor)." (Quran 107. 2-7) The third major cause of the current state of the Islamic community is our inability to revive the the original purity of Islam. Nearly 1300 years ago when the tidal wave of of Islam rolled eastward and westward, and many different nations and countries of the world embraced Islam, the socio-political impact of those countries on muslim societies were deeply felt. It is well known that muslims do not share the same customs and lifestyles throughout the world. For example, the muslim societies in Egypt, Middle Eastern countries, Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, Russia, China are not the same. The cultural and social customs of those countries (many of them pre-Islamic or un-Islamic) were gradually interwoven into the fabric of muslim societies. Now they are maintained and even justified in the name of Islam. The muslims have produced no scientific work worth mentioning in the past 500 years. Orthodox Ulema, under the dead weight of time and tradition, adopted a protectionist attitude. They vehemently preached that in order to maintain the sanctity of our faith, we must avoid any relation or contact with Western science or education. Ulema, who used to be the most enlightened thinkers of their time, perceived modern science and education as a threat to religion. This fear heightened to such a high degree that Ulema developed a morbid fear, a phobic attitude toward scientific research and technological advances of the western world. Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall lamented: "The pursuit of natural sciences (by muslims) had already been abandoned. All knowledge coming from without was reckoned impious. A growth of pride accompanied the cult of ignorance." Despite the frequent appeals to human reason in the Quran, and repeated emphasis of the Prophet that education and knowledge are important for muslim men and women, an influential group of Ulema believed that knowledge must be taken in a restricted theological sense. "But the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet," says Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall, "never made a distinction between religious and secular knowledge. For the true muslim the whole life is religious, and all knowledge is religious. Islam, the religion of free thought, the religion which once seemed to have banished priestly superstition, and enslavement of men's minds to other men, had become 'priest-ridden.' The final important factor in the malaise which is affecting the Islamic world, is the strong reluctance on the part of the Ulema to initiate critical inquiry into the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam in order to deal with the contemporary problems faced by the muslim communities. Many noted muslim scholars, like Shah Wali Allah (d 1762), Jamaluddin Afghani (d 1897), Muhammad Abduh (d 1905), Syed Ameer Ali (d 1928), Muhammad Iqbal (d 1938), and Ali Shariati (d 1974)... all have expressed great concern about the immobility of Islam and emphasized the need to modify and develop muslim law, so that it can be brought into living relations with modern thoughts and needs. A long time ago Shah Wali Allah (who according to John Esposito was the father of modern Indian Islamic thought), vehemently condemned blind imitation (taqlid), and emphasized the reopening of the gates of personal inquiry and judgment (ijtehad). Let me conclude by stating that just as in the past Islam has successfully confronted fresh challenges, it will Inshallah, successfully continue to meet the challenges of the modern world without ever compromising the essential teachings of the Quran.
Abdul Basit PhD is a psychologist and research associate at the University of Chicago, Illinois. published in the newspaper 'Dawn' in June 1995
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