DIALOGUE, NOT WARS
Muslims around the world today face destruction and humiliation. This period of hardship has lasted throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. For two hundred years, from Sultan Tipu (1751-1799) of India to Yasir Arafat (1929-2004) of Palestine, this cycle of destruction has continued, and there are still no signs it will end. The cause of this destruction is not inactivity; instead, it happens amid ongoing and intense action. It would not be an overstatement to say that Muslims worldwide have sacrificed more lives and wealth in these two centuries than in the entire rest of Islamic history. So why, despite all this action and sacrifice, have Muslims in the modern age failed to achieve honour and dominance? The Quran and Hadith clearly promise that God will never waste the efforts of true believers and will grant them success over those who oppose them.
The answer to this question is that today’s Muslim leaders have chosen the wrong approach for their efforts. They have not carried out their work in the way that would bring God’s help. Indeed, success in this world belongs only to those whom God blesses with His support. Without God’s help, success is impossible. The truth is that God has promised His help to those who follow the prophetic model in their efforts.
This prophetic model aims to make people aware of God and His divine plan through peaceful dialogue. The true success of believers depends on this same model established by the Prophet. However, Muslim leaders today have been heavily influenced by the Sultanate model, which focuses on political power and confrontation, set up by later Muslim rulers. As a result, they have based all their movements on this model. This shift is the main reason for the current destruction of Muslims. Muslim leaders observed that later Muslim sultans expanded into different regions with armed forces, defeated existing governments’ armies, and established their own rule.
The Sultanate model became so dominant that most Muslim histories written afterward focused on it. Today’s Muslim leaders read these histories and mistakenly think that the Sultanate model is the only way for Islamic movements. Whether intentionally or not, they accept the Sultanate model as the standard, and in the name of armed jihad, they spread it everywhere. This mistake is the main cause of Muslims’ downfall today.
The proper Islamic model is illustrated by Prophet Muhammad and other prophets. It is a model based on making people aware of the message of their Creator. The message should be communicated logically, adjusted to the audience’s comprehension level. Completely avoiding violence is essential, and a peaceful campaign should continue. Every effort must be made to prevent environments of hatred or conflict in society. A peaceful environment has always facilitated the growth of Islam, whereas instability has consistently hindered it. This was a guiding principle of the Prophet Muhammad, through which he advanced the religion to a position of prominence and influence. In the prophetic model, dialogue served as the primary method—encompassing both initial engagement and sustained exchange of ideas.
Sometimes, as a rare exception, a defensive clash may occur with someone, and that only happens when all efforts at avoidance have failed, and due to one-sided aggression, believers are temporarily forced to fight in self-defense. Even before this temporary defense, the process of bringing humans closer to God was ongoing, and it will continue afterward as well. In the prophetic model, purification of the soul is the main approach, and fighting, as an exceptional case, is limited to temporary self-defense.
In today’s world, revolutions have taken place globally. Consequently, the overall situation has been transformed completely. These changes have made armed conflicts unnecessary. Now, it is possible to achieve the goals of elevating Islam and the Muslim community to a position of dignity solely through peaceful dialogue.
In ancient times, believers had to work hard to spread their religion in a setting of religious oppression. Today, this work can be done freely in an environment of religious freedom. In the past, prophets had to undertake challenging journeys to share the truth. Now, modern communication allows the message of truth to spread quickly and reach people worldwide.
In ancient times, the bearers of truth had to spread their message amid many superstitions. Today, the scientific revolution has nearly eliminated superstitions, making it easier to share the message of truth in an open intellectual environment. In earlier eras, the economy relied solely on agriculture, so those sharing the truth had to work with limited resources. Now, after the industrial revolution, this work—like other tasks—can be done abundantly, whereas before, it was constrained to just economic means and so on.
It is a fact that modern changes have significantly increased the effectiveness and importance of media and communication. However, the leaders of today’s Muslim world were only familiar with the traditional model of power, which is the method of political confrontation. They remained completely unaware of the emerging power of ideology. In an act of profound misjudgment, they steered the whole community toward the imperial model—one based on political confrontation—thereby causing harm not only to the community but also to themselves.
