Revival of Islam : The current state of affairs

04/11/2005 |A.Sodiq
The topic on hand is sure to generate a lot of interest at a time the Muslim ummah is under attack from all directions. Whether or not there has been a significant revival of Islam in Maldives is highly debatable and requires extensive research with an open mind. We should be careful not be tempted by wishful thinking while undertaking such a task. Wishful thinking defined as looking at issues the way we want rather than looking at the reality as it is. Currently, there are many opinions regarding whether there has been any constructive revival in understand Islam. Here, we should differentiate between ''interest in Islam'' and ''awareness of Islam'' as they have different implications. The growing number of young men, barely 20 years, taking up the roles of imam in the mosques in Male' is not a true measure of level of 'awareness of Islam', rather it is a mere indication of the 'interest in Islam'
There is no doubt that ''interest in Islam'' is on an all time high across the globe following 9/11 and declaration of the 'war on terror' by US and UK. However, gauging the level of 'awareness of Islam' requires a different litmus test, especially in Maldives .It is determined by the level of enthusiasm that is manifest regarding the correct implementation of Islam based on sound evidences. This enthusiasm should come from a deep conviction of the correctness of Islam and the corruptness of the Capitalist system.
Interest in Islam
There could be many reasons why ''interest in Islam'' is growing at a rapid pace. Some of them are listed below:
1.After 9/11,the West launched a vicious campaign to discredit the system of Islam, especially the ruling system and foreign policy of Islam. Many Muslims are bewildered why the West is so desperate to paint a gloomy picture of Islam in application at a time when many Muslims are ignorant about these aspects of the deen.
2.The attack on the political aspect of Islam are also coupled with another EQUALLY deceptive campaign to paint a beautiful image of Islamic rituals and morals. This was done cleverly to distance Muslims from engaging in discussions regarding politics and societal affairs. The West is quite happy to see Muslims engaged in frivolous 'Islam vs. Christianity' debate and actually emerging victorious in these debates. Little do Muslims realise that Islam is not a religion equivalent to Christianity or Buddhism. And therefore exhausting our resources in such debates serves to reduce Islam to a mere religion .The real debate that is needed is a honest ideological debate between Islamic ideology and Capitalist ideology. This is because ,it is an ideology and not a religion like Christianity or Buddhism, that is wrecking havoc in the world. And the solution to these problems lies in Islam in its capacity of a system covering all aspects of life. Refuting the Christian missionaries in an interfaith dialogue does not generate discussions on such issues.
3.There also have been attempts by the West to groom different versions of Islam namely 'Moderate Islam', 'Radical Islam', 'Traditional Islam', 'Modernists'...etc. Rand Corporation has published a detailed report advising the US government on how to erect intellectual barriers between Muslims and their understanding of Islam. Amongst these strands, the 'moderates' and 'modernists' are seen as useful tools for the campaign. The report goes on to state that, the traditionalists, due to their isolationist tendencies and aversion to politics can be used as an effective tool to combat the 'fundamentalists' who are the real threat for West.
Therefore, 'interest in Islam' is a result of an intellectual war spearheaded by the West to achieve their own objective and this 'interest in Islam' is manifest in many ways. For instance , Islam is blamed for every problem in Muslim lands which occur due to the absence of Islam. This can be explained by looking back at what immediately followed the Sept20th event in Maafushi. The Western think tanks led by UN took the opportunity 'modernise shariah' even though Shariah has got nothing to do with what occurred at Maafushi. This task of 'modernising Shariah' was undertaken by an American professor named Robertson who referred to Islamic penal code as 'barbaric'.
Awareness of Islam
Converting the current tides of 'interest in Islam' to 'Islamic awareness' requires Muslim scholars to respond to the intellectual challenges and be cautious of being swept away by emotions and blind zeal. Sincerity and good intention alone are not enough. Sound political awareness and the precise application of Islamic knowledge to various issues are crucual. Utilising Islam as a stick to attack certain personalities do not generate any meaningful awareness of Islam .The plethora of political party meetings held by the Islamists in Maldives is not a sign of 'Islamic awareness' .The increased references to Hadith or verses to win over arguments is not a sign of 'Islamic awareness.' More and more people flocking to the taraweeh prayer is not a true indicator of the level of awareness of Islam. This can be explained by the fact that many who are steadfast in their prayer have different aspirations when it comes to politics. Others may be deeply attached to the rituals so that they can absolve themselves from the duties of addressing the problems of the society and conveniently blame the '27 years' for every thing. Or others flock to mosque solely driven by some form of escapism from worldly issues. If 'interest in Islam' results in more and more people attracted to few individual aspects of aspects of the deen and neglecting the vital aspects, then this cannot be construed as 'Islamic awareness'. We ought to remember that if we leave any aspect of Islam we leave a vacuum which will be filled by kufr. On the other side of the coin, the increased Islamic ''activism'' without any direction is going to prolong our crisis and promote the notion that Islamic political work can be as dirty as the kufr Machiavellian politics. And this could lead to a perception that Islam and politics do not mix.
In fact the behaviour of the scholars in Maldives is no different from the members of the other two camps. Almost every day there is a new opinion coming from them regarding the same issue. When this erratic thinking is questioned the convenient excuse given by them is 'there is differences of opinion' in Islam. As if they have a hotline with the Creator and receive these new opinions. Forget about differences of opinion, they have not substantiated even one opinion based on the correct evidences. Differences of opinions in Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) results from many factors. Sometimes, the text has the capacity to be understood in many different ways. If this is the case, then it is not our mind that decides if a certain text can accommodate differences. Rather, the text itself is what dictates to us whether it can accommodate more than one opinion. In many instances, the text gives only one meaning, and it is impossible to extract more than one meaning, unless one wishes to twist the text or bend the rules of Arabic language. In areas where the text allows for more than one meaning, differences will arise, but again, these difference are because the TEXT allows such differences to exist. We cannot come across a text that has no room for more than one meaning and insist that a different meaning must exist because Islam is ''flexible.'' It is true that Islam is flexible, but where this flexibility is and the degree of flexibility is decided by Islam itself. The methodology of a party and the objective of the work are also determined by the Quran and Sunnah.
Ends.