The Problems Facing Muslim Nations

I was lured into reading an article by its name, “The Problems Facing Muslim Nations”, published at the Arab News, a leading English Daily in Saudi Arabia. I thought perhaps a person with insight of the Muslim Countries’ affairs would shed light on identifying key factors adversely affecting growth, prosperity, pluralism and good governance within the Muslim land. However, I was disappointed. In fact, disappointment perhaps is an understatement. The author not only failed to grasp the challenges facing the Muslim nations, his analysis of the issues are frankly demeaning, dispiriting and devoid of realism.
In brief, the piece identified five issues – education framework not fit for purpose; our obsessions with the past; like for abstract at the expense of concrete; obsession with angels, demons, God and satan and finally, lame and illogical dislike for arts.
When one read the article and the five factors identified, it becomes apparent that the writer feels that the Islamic faith as it is practiced by the most is responsible for much of the backwardness, irrationality, illogicality and superficiality. He feels that much of our nations’ adherence to the faith is blind, literal and therefore not rational and logical. Of course, he was at pain to stress that Islamic faith need not to be blamed, and no harm can arise from study of faith but it just needs not to be at the expense of others.
For a start, the author fails to understand the Muslim nations even on the basics. While Saudi Arabia, presumably the country of the Author and may be Iran, are the only two exceptions where faith may have some kind of dominance in the governance of the state. Countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt and Turkey, nations with most Muslim population, enjoy a political culture and class in which faith has very little direct and visible effect. People with real authority and power who has been dominating policy making and state operation are predominantly western educated, secular minded and often with little visible devotion to faith. Why then have they not adopted the curriculum, created the context for recognition of the present as oppose to dwelling in the past? As for the love of arts, we know that many of these governments had almost irrational degree of love for art – music, film, fine art etc. There is also no evidence to suggest that these governments were threatened by the “religiou fanatics” to the extent that they had to compromise in their policy making. Other than in Afghanistan, none of the other nations had much rational fear of being ransomed by religious fanatics.
The argument thus that faith and a blind obsession with it is at the heart of our demise is nothing but an irrational, illogical assertion without factual and evidential basis. Further, it serves to the prevailing global policy to scapegoat faith, and in particular Islam. It also overlooks the reality on the ground.
Now that it is clear I disagree with the piece, what then are the issues with Muslim nations? Well this is too big a question to be answered in one article by a small individual like me. However, I shall seek to briefly identify several factors that I think are important.
Firstly, education curriculum, practice and framework in our countries are a problem and no, not because of their obsession with religion, far from it. The problem at the heart of our educational systems are two fold – firstly the lack of a conceptual basis which does not provide a vision behind our educational strategies and secondly, and perhaps as a consequent of the first, that our education’s emphasis is not on analytical, critical and intellectual development of the students. Curriculum in most Muslim countries seems to emphasise on recollection, memorisation and not on critical evaluation, analysis and problem solving. This is true of the science, arts and religious curriculum. Shockingly, this is true at all level of education – primary to the university level.
The second challenge in the Muslim countries is a lack of culture to debate competing ideas. Muslim countries are notoriously polarised along political and ideological lines - whichever ideology we hold dear, we reject the notion that others are also entitled to hold their own ideology. As a result, the secular minded rejects any notion that faith and those with an ideology inspired by faith has a stake in the affairs of the state and vice versa.
Third and final issue that I would highlight is the lack of patronage of religion by the state. I know some will find it surprising and many may well see that it is the opposite. But that is not so. Yes, there are states that provide huge funds and influence to religious institutions and scholars. But my point is that state should take a pro-active role in creating an environment in which scholars, students and public take an active interest in exploring faith in its totality, engage in debates and open discussions where difference is respected, celebrated and not condemned. That will only happen if states provide patronage to research based on religion which seek to explore finding answers to modern questions that Muslims and non-Muslims alike are facing. This will create a level playing field in which dogmatic, literalist and traditionalist scholars will not dominate exclusively the sphere of religious decision making.
But at the heart of all the above must be a realisation that faith, as a separate, independent and parallel entity to daily life cannot exists and must not exist. From an Islamic perspective, faith is intertwined with a person’s belief, action and though process. Attempt to separate state from religion, Islam from life, is an artificial separation which will only create confusion, chaos and often disunity. The question that ought to be at the top of our mind-set is how we can be true to our faith while embrace the spirit of innovation, creativity, objectivity and pluralism. After all, Islam has championed these values for centuries while the present western civilisation was in darkness.

In the footstep of our Prophet

Da’watul Islam UK and Eire arranged their annual family gathering at the Markfield Conference Centre with a timely theme – Muhammad (PBUH) the Rahmatullil Alamin (The mercy to the mankind).
Being there in the company of so many families who gave up their long weekend to come the event has been an experience to remember for life. I found my presence to help me up lift my spirit, renew my commitment and revitalise my strengths.
At a time when Islam and Muslims are under fire from almost all quarters in most part of the world, Muslims has nothing but to hold firm in their faith and hope for the mercy of their lord. But it is not easy to hold firm with belief in Allah. Reminding ourselves of the struggle of our leader, guide and prophet, Muhammad (PBUH) and to study and practice his teaching is indeed a major force in strengthening our resolve and empowering our faith. I thus thank the organisers for hosting such a wonderful event and pray to Allah that he rewards the organisers and the participants enormously.
We need the re-empowerment of our faith, renewing our commitment of course first and foremost to stay firm on our ground and to protect ourselves, the individuals. But more importantly, the study and practice of our prophet’s lives and teachings must encourage and embolden us to be active in our communities. We need to blend into society to become part of it and to change it in ways which will eradicate all notion of injustice and bring prosperity and happiness. This is important given the time and circumstance in which we live in. Not just misguided few individuals, even our government throwing unreasonable and unnecessary challenges which could potentially have devastating consequences. It seems apparent that much of these challenges are deliberate and designed to undermine the unique presence of the Muslim communities.
But the challenges we face are nothing new. They may change in kind but fundamentally they remain same: results of ignorance and to some extent prejudice about and towards Islam and the Muslims. This ignorance and the prejudice are issues we need to deal with without fear. We need to hold our ground firmly and be determined to see them through. First step in facing these challenges is to know our society in which we live and to learn about its good and not so good characteristics. Our social problems affect us and we must as a matter of religious duty address these issues. Such is the essence of Islam. Allah says in the Quran that our prophet was like of people from within the community who used to feel aggrieved at by the grievances of his community and joyous at the happiness of his people. Can we say the same about ourselves?
Of course it means little to say we ought to become fully part of the society and to feel for the issues of the society. What I mean in practical term is that we need to engage ourselves on the affairs of our society on a daily basis to clearly demonstrate our commitment to the society. Our acts must be of the kind that it beyond doubt demonstrates our feeling and genuine sincerity to our people. We need to engage to better the economic, education and social condition of our people regardless of their race, gender or faiths. Our engagement must be inspired by our faith and our expectation must be to gain the satisfaction of our master, Allah, the almighty.
For our friends who may not share our faith but feel for us and desire us to be proud member of this society, they must live up to the challenge of the current time. Their friendship must be not merely to provide leap service to our community but to go beyond words and practically work to safeguard our interests. Claiming to be our friend is of little use to us of such friendship does not materialise into shaping policies which genuinely reflects the desire of our community. We are not seeking to be special. We are aspiring to be equal: to be citizens with unique faith, culture and creed who are collectively committed to make our society better, stronger and more cohesive.Remembering our prophet, studying his message and seeking to follow his footstep should inspire us to be proactive in our societies and to go beyond usual lines and work hard tirelessly to make our society significantly better.

The Decree: Part 2

The ‘Kindered’, the Miskin and the Wayfarer

AS I write today we witness the massacre of our brothers and sisters in Palestine by an aggressive and arrogant enemy, Israel who are supported by the global super powers. The chaotic and heart breaking brutality have moved many of us to the extent that we have been very generous to donate thousands of pounds to help the people of Gaza. It is around this theme that I wish to write the second part of my writing. The first part was published in the last issue titled: Worship Allah alone and be Kind to the parents.
Islam, I argued in the last article, is a code of life. It is not a mere religion affecting certain aspect of our life, but in fact, Islam is a way of life which encompasses and ought to control all aspects of human affairs, if one is to claim to be Muslim. Such acceptance of Islam which genuinely drives us in all our affairs shall bring peace and happiness. It is for this reason that Islam is termed to mean submission and peace i.e. though total and unconditional submission to the will of Allah, one may gain peace and tranquillity in life here and hereafter. But this concept of total submission is vague and meaningless unless explained in more details giving clear guidelines about practical aspects of our lives. The first and most important aspect of human life is the relationship between parents and children. IN the last issue, I have outlined Islam’s view about this noble relationship clearly spelling out the dos and don’ts. In this article I move on to the next set of principles that Allah outlines in the Qur’an. He says:
“And give to the kindred his due and to the Miskin (poor) and to the wayfarer. But spend not wastefully (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily, spendthrifts are brothers of the Shayatin (devils), and the Shaitan (Devil - Satan) is ever ungrateful to his Lord”
(The Quran 17:26, 27)
Human relationship is extremely important in building a peaceful society where mutual respect, tolerance and justice form the core. After the parents, the most important people are the relatives, neighbours and those we come across in our daily lives, the wayfarers, who we meet at work, during travelling etc. Each of these categories of people has a right on us. As Muslims, we are fortunate because Allah, the most powerful, have told us what are the rights that they have on us. He outlines the laws of inheritance for example in another part of the Qur’an where Allah outlines how our estate should be distributed once we leave this earth. If we follow what Allah outlines for us, this will make us happy, help us avoid being involve in conflicts, avoid hard feelings etc. When we fail in doing so, we may suffer from loss of bonds, anxiety, insecurity and many other issues. Those of you who are aware of your relatives, friends and other having property etc in your country of origin you must have come across the stories where the relatives there occupies the entire property depriving the actual owner his rightful ownership and control. This kind of incidents are not far and few but in fact very common which often result in severing ties with otherwise close relatives and of course the stress and mental torture. Why this happens? Answer is simple: we fail to follow the guidance offered to us out of kindness by our Lord, Allah the Almighty. This is with regards to our kinsmen, those with whom we have blood relations. But Allah here outlines another category of people who have right on us: the Miskin or people in need.
We are familiar with the concept of Zakah which we normally give to the poor at the end of Ramadan. But besides, we have a responsibility to offer our support and help to the needy at all times. Of course our support must be proportionate to our ability. We must be generous but generosity does not mean that we ought to accept poverty and hardship for ourselves by giving to poor. Generosity is about being kind and big hearted resulting in donations and kind words when we have the ability to do so. When we have the mean to be generous but we chose not to be, Allah warns us. He says:
“And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe poverty”.
(The Qur’an 17:29)
Clearly from the verse above we can see that Allah encourages us to be generous when we can and not be miser, nor he wants us to be so generous that we invite severe poverty for ourselves. When Allah says ‘do not do’ something, it becomes and obligation for us to avoid doing that thing: for if we fail in our obligation decreed by our Lord, we are indeed among the most unfortunate ones.
Living in the UK, we do not often come across people who are so poor that they need our generous financial support. But we come to know millions of people from around the world of people via various charities and media who are in dire need of support where a pound of our contribution can feed a family for one whole day. We have the ability to spare some money and we can reach to them through numerous organisations. It would be utterly unacceptable for us not to contribute towards their plight. Given the killing spree prevailing in Gaza at the moment by the Zionist war mongers, we ought to extend our generosity and donate abundantly.
I soon shall conclude, but let me make two other points which I have indirectly touched upon. Allah points to two kinds of people who he dislikes: the spendthrifts who he said to be the brothers of Devil and the misers. Dealing with spendthrifts, those who waste money or abuses it, it may be helpful to remember that in the UK billions of pounds worth of food is being wasted every year. Think about this, a billion pound can change a poor country, yes one whole country. So with the money we waste on food which we do not eat, we can change the lives of the millions of destitute people, orphans and others. We all should therefore be extra vigilant and be not a wasteful person. For if we become among the evils, we are doomed to go astray.
For the misers, who are stingy and not spend at time of need despite having the ability, Allah indeed dislikes them, and those Allah dislikes are doomed to be failure too. So the message today is that we must guard the rights of others on us and be kind to the needy. We need to widen our heart to the greatest length possible. If we do so, Allah says:
Truly, your Lord enlarges the provision for whom He wills and straitens (for whom He wills). Verily, He is Ever All-Knower, All-Seer of His slaves. (The Quran 17:30)
May Allah enlarge all provisions for us, Ameen! (To be continued)

The Decree

Part One: Worship Allah Alone

5:3 ‘… This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion… .’
Islam is a complete and perfect code of life on which the favour of Allah is bestowed upon (5:3). The perfection of our faith as the way of our life naturally means that it offers us guidance for our life encompassing all aspects of human existence. The Qur’an being the revealed book, the guide for the pious ( 2:2), live up to its claim. Here, in a series of writing, I will attempt to look at some of the decrees of Allah the most powerful. Allah the lord of the universe states:
17:23 Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour.
17:24 And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."

Allah the most magnificent clearly defines our relation with him, spells out his expectation of us as one would expect. We as the creation of our lord shall worship him alone and none else. Although this assertion is clear and we all, I am sure, feel that none of us disagree or disregard this decree of our Master, nevertheless, we must pause to ponder upon this point with much attention. A review of scholarly contributions in expelling the meanings and messages of the Quran, a clear picture emerges of this statement: ‘worship Allah and none others’ includes acting in manners so that our actions, whatever it may be, do not contradicts with any of the qualities of our lord, Allah the almighty. As an example, one of the characteristic of our lord is that He is the provider of our living. It is often possible for us to forget that and feel we earn our living. What we do is merely attempt to shoulder the responsibility needed to be discharged before Allah can grant us our living and nothing more. So if one behaves or feels in ways which places another person or thing is of the importance to determine his living by means of providing income, his action shall be seen in contradiction with the decree of our lord: ‘Worship Allah alone and none other than Him’. This is just one example. Similarly, in our attitude with others, with events and issues of our life, we need to be responsible, committed and hardworking. But ultimately we must feel and believe that it is Allah who determines the outcome of events and issues of our life.

To be a Muslim

Part Five: Defining Islam

[Click on Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four to read teh previous post on this series.]

In the lines written as part of this series of posts, the underlined objective has been to understand what it means to be a Muslim. To be more precise, what are the elements of one beliefs, what practicalities are involved in becoming a Muslim and how does that affect our personal, familial and social existence, the relationship with others. But of course Muslim are those who believe in Islam. In other words, the followers of Islamic faith are the Muslims. So it right that we at this stage attempt to define Islam:
Literally speaking, Islam is to mean peace, submission. Islamically, it is a set of believes, values and practices which one undertake as an expression of their submission to their lord, Allah and through this they gain peace, tranquillity and success. So to define Islam we must understand three different elements of Islam:

• The believes,
• The Values, and
• The practices

Of course a closer look at these three will reveal that what Islam really means is that it is a complete code of life which dictates the living of those who believe in it. In other words, Islam is a way of life that Muslims follow, or in the context of many Muslims today, suppose to follow. So to speak about Islam, its believes, values and practices, is to speak of all aspect of human life, issues that affects humanity on a daily basis. Such discussions will be long and will require huge amount knowledge, resources and thinking. In fact, it would be fair to say that such discussions in any one collection is almost impossible. For this reasons here I shall restrict defining Islam in terms of looking at its some of the most fundamental believes resulting in some of the core values and the subsequent implications in life, the most common practices.

[To be continued]

To be a Muslim

Part four: Understanding our Faith (continued)

[Click to read Part One, Part Two and Part Three of this series]

Clearly I have asserted that the post colonial era provided with opportunities for Muslims to regain their lost confidence and educate themselves about their heritage, culture and history. This has given rise to a new generation committed in their faith and confident in their belief. They no longer accept the unnatural divide between the national, socio-political life and that of their religious one. Islam is not a religion practiced merely at the private premises of individuals hidden from the masses, rather, Islam is a faith that encompasses whole of human life, the socio-economic political, all aspects one may think of affecting humanity, the human civilisation. A new generation well versed in the arts of modern society, fully aware of their faith no longer concedes to the half-hearted and dubious arguments that seeks to leave Islam out of human society and attempts to reclaim their faith to dominate their affairs, all aspects of their life. The privileged classes in the Muslim world and indeed their allies in the ‘free world’ finds this development unacceptable as it threatens to deprive them of their grips in the societies in which Muslims are a significant force. But to understand the this struggle and to digest the facts and reasons involved, one first needs to understand the fundamental tenets of Islam and its implications in the real world. In other words, what are the core beliefs of a Muslim and what is the impact of such faith?

To be a Muslim

Part three: Understanding our Faith

[This post follows two prior posts which can be read by clicking on Part One Part Two]

Let us, as I am speaking from the perspective of a Muslim, not be apologetic but confident in fighting the bigotry, ignorance and xenophobia so strongly embedded in the social fabric of our world. It is not faith, not Islam and most certainly not the Muslim identity responsible for the evils of our present world. We do not accept nor shall we ever accept the Islamophobic assertion made so commonly in the ‘civilised’ and ‘free world’. But for us to be confident and fight vehemently against the outrageous positions adopted by the global masters and to expose their vulnerabilities, we need to understand our faith, our identity.
At the core of our understanding of Islam lies the rejection of classification of Muslims in categories stated above. There can never be extremist, intolerant, terrorist Muslims. Muslims are of just one kind who are the ‘witness upon mankind’ made to be the nation of ‘moderation’. We are by default a nation of the middle path who rejects extremism, victimisation, intolerance etc. our faith have no room for bigots and xenophobes who are determined to diminish the human values. Our faith teaches us to be part of a global nation, caring, compassionate, participating, responsible and all other attributes that can be assigned to the ideal citizens of a nation, a global community. Our responsibility, commitment and goodwill is not just towards the fellow Muslims but to our neighbours, fellow citizens, friends, colleagues, wayfarers, all people around us regardless of their faiths, gender, race etc. Islam’s message transcends beyond humanly classifications of society and people and includes the whole of humanity, the entire mankind. Faith in our lord, believing in the message that our prophet has brought is for the entire mankind and is aimed at creating harmonious society where prosperity, peace and mutual respect will flourish.
Of course, following my assertion, the claims made of our faith will give rise to obvious questions as to why then are Muslims globally so unruly in places, irresponsible, ignorant, illiterate, intolerant etc? the answer is again very simple which requires us neither to be extremists, isolationists nor apologetic. Although the fundamentals of Islam is still preserved, the Quran and sunnah is intact to this date, the teachings of Islam has been eroding from Muslim life for centuries. The era of colonisation and the suppression that saw the decapitation of Muslims globally forced Muslim institutions, social orders and political authorities disappear over time. Consequently there remained Muslims, maimed, persecuted, deprived and demonised who neither had the opportunity nor the mean to learn about their faith. Most centres of Islamic learning we see in our local community have sprung up in the last century. Deprived of the central political and judicial authority, Islamic faith have grown to be the football which is kicked around as necessary by the various interest groups, the sections of human society. Then in the era of geographical nation state there has been a renewal of Islamic identity, a revival of Islamic spirit. These Islamic spirit is giving rise to increasingly committed and confident Muslims demanding their faith to take up central place in their life. Unfortunately this development has been seen as a threat by the prevailing global powers, including the rulers in predominantly Muslim states. The fear of loosing political power and the identification of Islamic block as threat lead to actions and reactions which causes exploitation of people’s emotion and ignorance to further political interest of various groups which leave us to the present state.
(To be continued)

To Be a Muslim

Part Two: The Facts contextualised

The issues that muddled the debates in so far as Islam and muslims are concerned is around the matters related to terrorism, violence and intolerance. For me each one of these areas are of specific strength to Muslims as a nation and Islam as the faith. Islam, of all the religions, condemns violence, intolerance and terrorism in the strongest terms. Never in Islamic history will one find little glimpse of atrocities committed by people inspired by islam. For islam is a religion of peace which accepts reality, offers remedy to problems and ensures safety and security of people, whether muslims or otherwise. Yet it seems almost extra ordinary that muslims find it difficult or necessary to be apologetic to respond to the queries posed to them on the issue of terrorism, violence and intolerance.
At the heart of the terrorism, intolerance and violence that we know today is not the faith of Islam, or indeed none of the major faiths but the policies and practices of the various nations claming to be part of the civilised nations. It is not islam that offers justification to the inhumane acts of killing across the world, it is the unjust, illogical and immoral decisions, acts and policies of Washington and their allies and subordinates. People made subject of unjust, inhumane acts, tortured using the dictatorial regimes, deprived of their most basic rights, denied humanity who fight seeking freedom and justice. Take a few of the many examples we can find in our current world.
Chechnya is a unique entity forcedly made part of the Russian Republic where civilians in thousands been massacred and made to leave their homes while the western world remained almost silent. To make it much worse, Russia failed to live up to their own commitment made on treaties signed with the Chechen leaders. So when the global community watched standby, surely the people who were dying would not let it happen without some form of resistance. In the process they commit crimes, kills civilians and others acts which goes beyond any humanly acceptable reason. Of course these acts should be condemned but it is not their faith that forced them or made them to commit such heinous crime but the barbarity that have been made to befall upon them my stronger opponents. Why should these people be classified as terrorists? Or even worse, blamed to be inspired their faith to commit crime? Same can be applied to resistance movement in others parts of the world such as Kashmir, Philippines and Palestine, to name a few.

To be a Muslim

Part One: Era of Indignation

The horrific attacks on the twin towers committed by murderous terrorists changed the dynamics of our world in many ways. However, the major burnt in the aftermath of these horrendous acts of barbarism is being felt most strongly by Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslims worldwide. All of a sudden everywhere whether media or government Muslim and Islam has become perhaps the most commonly used phrases which triggers certain fear. The negativity attached to the identity of being Muslim is most remarkably demonstrated by the recent rumours concerning the religious identity of Barrack Obama. This latest saga exposes the hatred that even leading politicians nurtures in the us and most certainly in most part of the ‘civilised’ world.
In our post 9/11 world, almost every major discussion includes in one form of another the issue of Islam and Muslims. Thanks to these discussions now we are also being ‘honoured’ with various categories: muslims divided into subsections namely orthodox, conservatives, ultra conservatives, wahabis, extremists, Islamists, Jihadis, moderates, liberals etc. policy makers, thinkers and others use these newly invented, re-invented words as they deem fit to suit their positions. Most strikingly, most of these categorisations and specifications have either being developed by non-Muslims or muslims who are shamed to live according to Islam. It almost feels like that in most cases non-muslims offering great favours to muslims by explaining what islam ought to be to them. To me these acts are perhaps the most insulting, demeaning and outrageous. I will even go as far as saying these attempts defy commonsense, run contrary to the generally accepted standards of civility, equality and democracy that for so long we have been holding firmly close to our hearts. Yet it seems that with regards to muslims and islam these standards are not applied.
The environment of fear, guilt and uncertainty created around the world for muslims has lead to confusion, panic and in some cases desperation. All sorts of proposition have been made and circulated. All kinds of reactions been aired and penned. What to me seems missing however is a confident, Muslim-like response which seeks to challenge the dark forces which erred the senses of many decent human beings all across the world. In most cases, responses from muslims have been either too arrogant, naïve, reactionary or at best apologetic. The response from the quarter, however small, that belonging to the western societies but not muslims often sounded confusing. In part two, I set to look at some possible responses to counter this era of indignation for the muslims.

Confronting Terror

An interesting article on Christian Science monitor catches the mood of thinking minded sensible people on the issue of terrorism. The author quotes the surprise findings of surveys revealing public attitude towards terrorism. A few points rose in the brief article reflecting on the survey results from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia and United States deserve more attention and space.

It has been asserted, validly in my view, that Muslims are no more supportive of terrorism than any other communities of religious and other groups. Terrorism steams out of misguided ideology energised by anger, mistrust and ignorance. Those that seek to kill innocent people indiscriminately do so out of their evil desires. Such actions as unfolded in various terrorist attacks in NY, London and other places are utterly condemned by all people from all socio-religious groups and rightly so. Unfortunately however, some powerful quarters of western political establishments have continued to wrongly accuse Muslims directly and indirectly of not going far enough in condemning such attacks. Many of them go as far as blaming Muslims for harbouring and supporting terrorism. These powerful elements of our political establishments, ideologues of a kind, and their allies in Muslim lands created their own brand of ‘war on terror’ which is equally divisive. At the core of the current strategies adapted by Washington, and to some extent London, lies an unholy desire to pick a fight with wider Muslims societies all around the world to impose ‘western values’ on Muslims world over. This strategy is either fuelled by an arrogant worldview of certain leaders and thinkers who view their ways of life to be so superior that it deserves to be imposed upon others, or that their understanding of Muslims and Islam is so shallow and misinformed that they totally fail to understand the very nature of Islam and Muslims thus adapt policies that instead of befriending Muslims, it offends them. As a result, in what should have been a relatively simple criminal matter in which everyone would sign up to, their policies antagonises Muslims and convinces many of a hidden agenda to subjugate global Muslim communities thus increase sympathisers to Al-Qaeda likes.

The war on terror in the main has been used both in the west and in the East as a powerful weapon to silence Muslim groups which has been fighting for equality, social justice, freedom, democracy and reform. These groups, though in some ways may be different from prevalent western political establishments, are groups that deserve our support rather than being condemned. The puppets, dictators and corrupt rouge elements occupying power in most Muslim lands are enemies of civility, justice and freedom and deserve to be opposed. West, in its support for these governments, lost its moral credibility and only ignited the feelings among many Muslims that they are the subject of a world wide witch hunt.

Islam is a global religion with a very active and clear socio-political and economic vision. As such, many Muslims feel that it is their obligation demanded by their faith to work towards bringing about a society in which their values are appreciated and established in the political apparatus of the state. This, however disliked by many, is a legitimate desire that any groups of whatever ideology can and should hold for so long as they do not seek to impose upon others by force. Westerners feel their ways of life is the superior and they have the right to think in that way, similarly, Christians, Jewish and all other believers of various faiths feel the same regarding their faiths and it is their right which we should respect. Why should than the Muslims be different? The current trend in the global struggle against extremism seems to deny this right to Muslims and seek to silence all political movements, peaceful popular organised, which find its inspiration in Islam.

Of course, the shallow and rather one sided media coverage, the ability of the Neo-Conservatives and their allies world over to twist and spin truth and mobilise public opinion using powerful propaganda tool means today Islam and systems inspired by Islam has been demonised to the extent that the moment a westerner hears of Islamic State, Islamic System, they instantly feel frightened and imagine of some back dated draconian ways of life which has nothing to offer to modern progressive societies whereas in reality nothing can be far from truth. The issue of equality, freedom of speech, freedom of belief, justice and fairness are the fundamental principles that underpin any Islamic system. For centuries, when Islam was firmly rooted in the political, social and economic life of Muslims, they went on to make extremely valuable contribution in enlightening our world through scientific discoveries, mathematical excellence and development of various humanities disciplines. History, astronomy, medicine and mathematics are only but a few of the areas in which Muslims contributed enormously. Today the Muslim world is in disarray, political-socio-economic condition of Muslims is dire. There are good reasons to suggest that at the heart of this direness of Muslims is the legacy of colonial rule and a planned and carefully orchestrated strategy of decapitating Muslims in the colonial error which continues to date in many shapes and forms. And it is not only Muslims who suffers from this utterly despicable condition of the Muslim communities; the non-Muslims alike suffer from it. When Islam dominated the lives of Muslims, non-Muslims were flourishing in the Muslim world with dignity, honour, safety and security. Classic example was the decadent Ottoman Empire in which many westerners fleeing from persecution at home found refuge; Jewish enjoyed relatively better life and a lot of influence. For Islam guarantees freedom for all religious groups and forbids any kind of biasness towards them by the Muslims.
Cutting things short, it is suffice to say that the current strategy to support puppets, marginalising islamically inspired political and social movements is a wrong strategy which in long term will continue to strain the relationship between Muslims and the wider world. This strategy is also doomed to be failure for it fails to recognise the rights of Muslims to be heard and valued. TO Muslims it is not the guarantee of economic prosperity, technological advancement and political authority that means most, though they are very important. What matters to Muslims most is their faith and the integrity of their faith. Let therefore the Muslim community decide for themselves as to what they want, what kind of ways of life they want. Let us not mix up a mere criminal issue with wider aspiration of Muslims to see their ways of life glorious and flourishing. Terrorism is a criminal matter which must be dealt with as such. In the process we should attack the justification of Al-Qaeda type groups for this kind of attacks and not get into a petty propaganda assault to condemn their stated objective of bringing about Islamic state. For every Muslim wants to see Islam prevail at all level of social strata. It is not the desire to see Islam being established politically which is wrong; it is the mean in which one seeks to establish Islam as the political force we should be concerned about. Only than and than alone will we be able to truly confront terrorism in all its evil shapes and forms.
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This article was first published on The Daily Star, leading English daily in Bangladesh, on 8th July 2007.

West has no monopoly over human rights

In recent years the words ‘Democracy’, ‘Human rights’ and ‘civilised’ has become a very common. Often these words are used by the self proclaimed ‘righteous’ guardians of our world to attack the ‘enemies’ of the ‘civilised nations’ who form the axis of evil. Two leaders who use these words most are two staunchest allies, Tony Blair and George W Bush, The prime minister and president of the United Kingdom and the United States respectively. The country who felt the most heat from the use of these words and often been subject of Anglo-US wrath is none other than the Islamic Republic of America. What strange however is that often the Iranian regime have been criticised for ‘suffocating’ the people of Iran and curtailing their freedom through ‘undemocratic’ regime in Tehran. Interestingly enough never has there been any clear and elaborate explanation for such exertion and no serious attempt has been made to undertake an objective study of the matters. Interesting too that our great media institutions who pride in themselves for their objectivity never questioned the validity of such assertion, never has they given opportunity to the Iranians either to defend themselves.

It is important that we do not lose our sight of the need for objectivity. With this in mind, I shall attempt to present my views which I hope would be the views of many others here in relation to some of the issues that Iran is accused of instigating.

The most powerfully used phrase against the Iranians is often the power of the Ayatollahs and as such the regime is often being labelled as ‘theocratic’. As a result in the views of some, Iran is a nation without democracy in which individuals, the ordinary men and women have no freedom. How true is this assertion? Let us analyse and make our mind.

The Iranian system of governance is slightly unique in that it has an elected parliament, an elected president and a supreme leader who is not directly elected. On a day to day basis, the president runs the country with his cabinet, the group of ministers while parliament keeps the government accountable by scrutinising and legislating. The supreme leader rarely gets involve in the running of the government and only on issues of great national importance he intervenes. In most cases however, the role of the Supreme leader is one of a guardian protecting nation’s socio-cultural religious identity and values. And it is on issues of cultural, social and religious matters or other matters with socio-religious and cultural implication the supreme leader steps in to reflect the mood of the people and to unite fighting factions. Where is the wrong in having a figure that remains extremely popular in the position like that of the supreme leader of the Iran? Many other countries have such arrangements in the form of monarchy etc.

The president, arguably the chief executive, elected directly by the people in secret ballots and there has never been allegation of fraudulent activities involving the ballots. Why is it than the Iranian president than should be seen as anything less than democratic? The parliament has a decisive role and the parliament is elected too. Most of the municipalities have elected leaders or representatives of the people, why should Iran than be labelled as anything other than democratic? If we compare Iranian democracy with that of the US, what can we say? We see in the US a system in which money and Brand determine leaders who will govern the people of the United States; we see the grip of corporate big fishes having most part of the ‘pie’. Even on election, the system is marred by allegation of manipulation. President Bush came to power in the first place when clearly he lost the popular vote and that was excluding the votes that then were declared invalid due to systems designed to favour the republicans. Millions of people even now are deprived of their right to vote either through administrative hiccups, or using draconian laws. How can than the US of all the states claim an upper and morally superior position on issue of democracy?

With regards to Human rights, where is the clear proof that Iran falls short on its commitment to human rights than those who attack them? Take the example of the ‘custodians’ of human rights world wide, the US and the UK. United States is still a country deeply divided along the racial lines where colours of skin play major role as to what kind of treat should a person get. We have seen after the events in New Orleans, in relation to the American Muslims and Arabs and others that USA is far from being a country in which freedom flourishes without violation of human rights. Still there are draconian roles that victimise its own citizens and undermines equality of all people. Of course, I have not yet mentioned the appalling and disgraceful Guantanamo which is a scar in the consciousness of the world. How than the United States has the right to criticise anyone else of violation of Human rights? Even if we compare, can we find an equivalent of Guantanamo in Iran? Are there laws that discriminate among its people? Is there such neglect, prejudice or negative measure in Iran against any part of its population? I doubt very much.

There are other allegations such as people are forced to cover in specific ways. But which country does not have limitations? There are cultural and social requirements unique to each nation, people who cannot accept such cultural realities just have to live with it, and that is life. We cannot have unlimited freedom, we must exercise our freedom responsibly without showing contempt for others, their ways of life. True we cannot imagine a lady wearing mini skirts in the Iran, but why should we expect such freedom where sexually implicit and culturally alien matters Iranian society? And even if we are to criticise Iran, why should we not look at others too who have similar draconian measures? Jack Straw found veil not conducive to British society and unhelpful to integration and community cohesion, France finds Hijab at schools contrary to its secular values, Turkey finds Hijab not compatible with their values and tradition, why have we not criticise them for their anti-freedom attitude? Answer is simple, the west lead by the US and European powers are not interested in justice and equality, they are not bothered about respect for others, they have a specific agenda, an agenda in which they wants to see they, and them alone prevail. In the words of a great scholar, writer and thinker, Muhammad Asad, the western views regarding Islam is one of the following: ‘instead of liberating the human spirit from the shackles of obscurantism, Islam rather tightens them; and, consequently, the sooner the Muslims peoples are freed from their subservience to the Islamic beliefs and social practices and induced to adopt the western way of life, the better for them and for the rest of the world…’ These words may have been written long before our current time, never the less the views and attitudes of the western governments towards Muslims is precisely that. When such are the views held by the western powers, not just Iran, any country that rise up in its own right without recourse to western nepotism, they will be criticised, marginalised and where possible destroyed by forces or otherwise. I hope however, that the views of the people of the west are one of mutual respect, and it is time to challenge the prevailing thoughts of our politicians in the west.

Birth of a new Dawn is inevitable

During the summer of 2006 the people of Lebanon found themselves caught in the midst of fire. The memories of brutal war made a come back destroying live, infrastructure and indeed the whole of Lebanon. Beautiful suburbs and lively streets in Beirut came to a standstill amid the devastation of astronomical scale caused by mighty Israeli shelling from air, sea and land. Though the war raged in full swing for weeks, and despite clear military advantage to Israel, the will of the people of Lebanon, the determined defence of highly committed Hezbollah forces meant Israel came out of the war as the wounded lion that lost its pride. The people of Lebanon and indeed the whole of Arab for first time in modern age felt proud of their strengths, not the governments and leaders but the people found heroes in the men of Hezbollah. These experiences undoubtedly led the leadership of Hezbollah confident who immediately after the war attempted to strengthen their grips in the corridors of power in Beirut.

A year later now that we approach the summer once again, people in Lebanon yet again finds themselves in the midst of war-noises. This time the attacks and the parties of the war no longer are the old enemies, the Israelis against defenceless Lebanese, but rather, the Lebanese Army laying siege against Palestinian refuges apparently taken hostage by a militant group. This development brings about yet again bitter memories of the past when multi racial, multi-faith Lebanon was engulfed in horrific civil war primarily fought along the religious lines. Already Hezbollah made their views known while the government continuing to show their determination to go ahead with ‘finishing’ their business. Recognising the strengths of the militants and potential support from powerful political blocks, military equipments and other necessary resources have already been channelled to the Lebanese army from the US and other Middle Eastern countries. Irony of course is that the Americans only last summer supported the Israeli effort in all forms against this very government even on the face of massive civilian casualties and clear violation of international laws by the Israeli warmongers. Although they argue to help the Lebanese army to increase and improve its capacity, reality is the result of a strengthen Lebanese army and continued siege on the refugees camp will only weaken the Lebanese government and bring about destruction of Lebanese infrastructure and society. There is no interest to be served by the Lebanese as far as the USA is concerned. The only outcome that will satisfy the US and in turn their masters in Tel Aviv is the outcome that will ensure a fragile Lebanon divided along sectarian lines, this latest crisis will go much far into achieving such objectives.

Interesting it is to see how this crisis unfolds. The effort of the Lebanese army is seen as a war against al-Qaeda necessary to defeat the forces of ‘evil’ threatening our global stability. Interesting too to see how other major obstacles to US ambition to control the Middle East are shown to be ‘engaged’ in this conflict. I of course am talking about Iran and Syria. Only this morning Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze Community pronounced the lines so loved by the USA unchallenged by BBC in the Sunday AM programme where he sensed active Syrian and Iranian hands behind the escalation of the current crisis. Irony of course is that these are the lines also expresses the views of Neo-conservative ideologues in the Washington and beyond. It would be significant therefore to see how this latest crisis unfolds in Lebanon. What is clear however that certain forces with deep interest in the region will continue to see an unstable middles east to further their interest. What we of course do not hear is the potential gain by the USA from this conflict. Let’s just look at two such gains.

While the Lebanese siege continues, Israel suffocates the Palestinians, arrests the members of democratically elected government and continues to strengthen its grips on the Palestinian territory. In fact, it is evident that while the media spotlight continues to be away from Gaza, Israel aims to force the Palestinian government of Ismael Hniya to become dysfunctional by arresting his ministers and threatening to kill as many of his activist as possible. All these happen of course while media, especially in the west continues to avoid giving any coverage on the issue. The middles eastern powers too seem to be not bothered by the developments.

It would not be a bad thing to get rid of the ‘evil forces’ if it was to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East forever. The difficulty of course is that the forces identified by the Us-Israeli axis and their allies to be the ‘forces of evil’ continues to enjoy popular support by standing for the rights of the oppressed on the face of mighty enemy while the self proclaimed ‘forces of good’ remains deeply attached to committing evil deeds. Their allies hoping silently to see the end of the popular movements on the other hand continues to lose their grips on power and becoming increasingly unpopular. If this story continues, we shall continue to go round the cycles without ever finding a solution for the deeply troubled region that has so much influence in our lives, in deciding our future.

The peace loving people of the world must demand, and the self proclaimed leaders of the ‘civilised world’ must first stop associating themselves with the evil regime of the Zionists in Israel. Justice must be put before any other consideration regardless of the potential consequences. As an immediate step, Israeli incursion and continued detention of Palestinian people must come to an end and the Unity Government of Ismael Haniya must be given a chance to bring about order, run his country and rebuild the economy. The government of the Palestinian people must be allowed to rule their country free of interference from the outer world. Once the current situation is neutralised, tension reduced and normality return on the streets of Palestine, pressure must be brought about on Israel to give up its settlement of the west Banks and return to internationally recognised borders. Pressure must also be ensured on Israel to force her in accepting the refugees or compensate them if they so wish to be duly which will bring an end to lifelong imprisonment of generations of Palestinians spread all over the world.

There are of course those, in fact the dominant factions of global power, who argues that Israelis must be given assurance of security and left unattacked and undisturbed for any settlement to take place. This argument defies common logic and runs contrary to commonly accepted protocol. The people of Palestine are desperate, under occupation they have lost their loved ones, their homes, their lands and of course their freedom, what hope do they have of living a fulfilling life in an independent Palestine? How can we demand desperate people living in total despair accepting responsibility for situations in which they never played any major rule? The response from the Palestinian side, however harsh may look, is a response that should reasonably be expected from any occupied people, they are merely defending and in most cases seeking to regain the lost honour, dignity and pride, their country and their homes. Surely, for them to stop a clear progress must be made in ensuring their return to their homes, their freedoms must be brought in sight for them to stop fighting for it.
Coming back to the original issue, I was talking of two gains by the Israel-US and their allies from keeping Middle East chaotic. I mentioned one above with regards to Israel Palestine. The other major gain is that given the role of the USA in the middle eastern politics and their biased and totally unjustified stand over many years in supporting Israeli aggression, the continued biased of USA against Muslims and those who aspire to see Islam prevail, even the name of USA should have caused enormous anger in the middles east. The infighting within Middle Eastern society ensures that USA is in demand. As mentioned before, despite the USA role in Israel’s attempt to destroy Lebanon, Lebanese government turn to USA for help in its internal fight, Saudi Arabia remains dependant on USA fearing potential uprising bringing an end to the rule of the House of Saud, Fattah relies on US support to regain its control over Palestinian people and the list can continue. It is not in the interest of the US and indeed the ‘west’, therefore, to see an end to Middle Eastern violence. On this backdrop, therefore, it is not realistic to expect a solution with US at the driving sit. On the other hand, without the US involvement a solution is unthinkable, thus the conclusion is that there is no solution to Middle East problem. The only way out therefore is a new renaissance in the middles east, a renaissance bringing about empowerment of people, true democracy that ensures people’s participation in the governance of their country. For such time to become reality, a new grass root level activity must now be the focus of all peace loving determined people of the Middle East. Only when the puppets are driven out power will we see a truly stable middle east. Of course in the process there will be bloodshed, chaos and conflicts, there will be bitterness and pain. But the pain and bitterness is like the unbearable suffering of a mother prior to birth, once the birth of the new dawn takes place, all pain shall wane away ushering a new era of peace, stability and humanly love and kindness. Of course, there will be the death of the ‘birth giving mother’ as it so happens in real life, but the success if inevitable, however long it may take.