DIVINE WARNING, NOT HUMAN OPPRESSION

According to a hadith, the Prophet is said to have predicted with regard to the Muslim ummah that that soon people would summon one another against them just as when eating, people call others to share their meal. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 4297)

Events show that this prediction came true in the second half of the 18th century with the emergence of European colonialism. The Europeans later began being joined by other communities. And this process is continuing till today. The question is: Why did this happen?

A study of the Quran reveals that this happened directly in accordance with the practice, or sunnat, of God. God’s sunnat in this regard is that He sends warnings to communities or peoples to wake them up. This is a sort of shock treatment to jolt people and make them reform themselves. As God says in the Quran:

When the affliction decreed by Us befell them, they did not humble themselves, but rather their hearts hardened, for Satan had made all their doings seem fair to them. (6:43)

This Quranic verse mentions a common human tendency—of dressing up a bad deed in beautiful-sounding words so that its wrongness is concealed. This is exactly what has happened with Muslims in present times. Present-day Muslim leaders have, consciously or otherwise, done exactly what this Quranic verse describes.

The difficulties that Muslims have faced in modern times in their relations with other communities were divine warnings. Muslim leaders, however, began to present these problems in terms of oppression and conspiracy. These events should have prompted Muslims to recognize their own shortcomings and devote themselves to internal reform. Instead, owing to the misguided approach of their leaders, their entire attention became focused on other communities.

What should have awakened a spirit of self-examination instead gave rise to a tendency to blame and scrutinize others. This attitude gradually intensified until it ultimately led to violence.