| Saturday, December 31, 2005 |
| VIEW: Muslims need to reach beyond the Ummah Farish A Noor Let us recognise that the War on Terror discourse signals the advent of the New
Empire: A vast apparatus of geo-political domination, conquest and exploitation driven by Capitalist Imperialism as never before. The victim of this global onslaught on fundamental liberties is humanity as a whole and not just Muslims. We are not the only victims We live in an age where Muslims increasingly see themselves as the victims of an undeclared war on themselves, their religion, their culture and their way of life. Increasingly the Muslim world sees itself marginalised, isolated and discriminated against on a global level. The events that followed in the wake of September 11, 2001, have convinced many Muslims that theirs is a persecuted religion and that there is indeed a Clash of Civilisations in the making. Muslims now find themselves routinely harassed, monitored, policed. The reaction of the Muslim community has been diverse: some have opted to ghettoise themselves, closing into parochial and isolated communities with the hope of turning their backs to the world. Others have opted for the opposite extreme, calling on other Muslims to join them in an often indiscriminate 'jihad' against the rest of the world the West in particular. Faced with the prospect of defeat, Muslims are asking: "What is the victory of Islam?" Here I state my own position on the matter, beginning with a few cautionary qualifications to serve as premises: Let us be clear on this matter: The victory of Islam should NEVER be equated with the victory of Muslims. And the victory of Muslims does not necessarily mean a corresponding victory for Islam... All too often we hear of Muslim groups that call on their brethren to take part in some or other ill-conceived jihad against the West. Often this jihad is also directed towards other Muslims whom the pharisees denounce as traitors, apostates and hypocrites, following the logic of takfir. Those who sound this clarion call for aimless violence and bloodshed are often labouring under the mistaken impression that Islam will be served only when the banners of the Ummah are flying high over the capitals of Europe and North America. In their naive and shallow understanding of Islam they see a war of all against all as the only solution and regard wanton bloodshed and slaughter as legitimate tools for struggle, regardless of the victims. Let me pose this question to them: was the victory of Saddam Hussein over Kuwait a victory of Islam? Was Saddam's gassing of the Kurds a victory of Islam? Was the slaughter of Shia Muslims at the hands of Mullah Omar's CIA-funded Taliban a victory of Islam? Not surprisingly, the bloodthirsty hotheads among us have remained silent in such cases when Muslims were blatantly guilty of murdering other Muslims. Why have they been equally silent in cases of Muslim cruelty and violence meted out upon innocent people of other faiths? The victory of Islam, it should be noted, is not necessarily the victory of Muslims. A victory for Islam is secured only if and when the universal values of Islam are realised in the wider context, and Islam's struggle for justice, human dignity, equality of gender and races, transparency and accountability, are achieved in a context that extends beyond the limited frontiers of the Muslim community. But for this victory to be achieved, Muslims themselves need to look beyond the confines of their own community and to realise the truth uttered by the late Indonesian Islamist intellectual Nurcholish Madjid who stated that "being a Muslim is not like being a member of a club or tribe, it is a state of being, an existential truth." We are not a tribe at war against other tribes. There is no membership card to being a Muslim. Realising this means that Muslims need to acknowledge that their identities are fundamentally socially-constructed and that they are social beings. Society here means civil society as a whole, and not simply Muslim society. The tendency of Muslims to hide in their self-made ghettos, turning their backs to a world they deem is hostile, is not only analytically false, but also morally unsound and ultimately self-defeating. Today the Muslim world feels itself held captive to a host of variable factors beyond our control. The most devastating of these is the War on Terror discourse that has invaded our lives, reconstructed our identities, redefined our being and place in this world and robbed us of our dignity, rights and sense of place. On their own, Muslims will not be able to counter the negative stereotypes of the War on Terror discourse simply because it has been hegemonised to the extent that it now saturates global political and mediatic discourse. How then can we struggle against it? To struggle for justice in an increasingly polarised, militarised and authoritarian world means having to reach beyond our own sectarian concerns and embracing the lot of humanity as a whole. The communitarian close-mindedness of so many Muslims means that we have of late neglected our duty to communicate and to communicate effectively. Muslim arrogance, coupled with ignorance of geopolitical realities, means that we have painted ourselves in a corner and thereby doomed ourselves. Just look at how Muslims rise in protest whenever there is a perceived injustice meted out on another Muslim community. We bemoan the fate of Muslims in Kashmir, Chechnya, Patani, Aceh, and so on. Yet how many Muslims have shown the same concern for the other communities that have fallen victims to the logic of Empire, from Cuba to Venezuela, from the Philippines to the underdeveloped countries of Africa? Is Muslim sympathy so poor, so finite, that it stops at the borders of the Muslim community? Our failure to stand up for other communities suffering under the same oppression as we are is the main reason why we are seen as a community apart, alien and aloof from the world. We have, as a result of our short-sighted and short-termist outlook, scuttled our own efforts to translate Islam into a living faith that is dynamic, universal and blind to race and colour. Racism, gender and class prejudice still poison our minds and colour our discourse, betraying our own inadequacies and how far we are from realising the goals of our universal creed. Yet today these repugnant and un-Islamic values, which we have tolerated and denied for too long, are threatening to undermine us for good. The communitarian, sectarian mindset that has taken root in the Muslim community worldwide has erected barriers and obstacles where there should have instead been inter-communal co-operation, discourse and solidarity. Let us recognise that the War on Terror discourse signals the advent of the New Empire: A vast apparatus of geo-political domination, conquest and exploitation driven by Capitalist Imperialism as never before. The victim of this global onslaught on fundamental liberties is humanity as a whole and not just Muslims. We are not the only victims. Struggling for the victory of Islam would entail an outright, unapologetic challenge to this global hegemon. This struggle cannot and will not be secured unless and until Muslims learn to work with other communities. Here lies the truth that many of us have failed to realise or have not been able to admit: the victory of Islam's universal values ultimately depends on humanity as a whole, and not Muslims alone. We are, all of us, the bearers and custodians of this terrible yet noble responsibility. Dr Farish A Noor is a Malaysian political scientist and human rights activist, based at the Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin |
Yahoo! Shopping
Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise.
If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
