FEBRUARY 19
The Change of Strategy
The only way to arrive at a practicable solution to the problem of communal riot is to have a change of tactics, that is, there should be a change of the arena in which efforts are being made, that is migration of the field of effort. To date, all our writers and speakers have been attempting to solve the problem of riots by targetting others, that is, protesting against communal parties; demanding that the government and the administration check the riots. But these efforts, though on a large scale, have not resulted in even a one per cent improvement in riot control.
Now it is time for Muslims to become self-reliant on this issue, that is, to think and plan independently to find a solution by their own efforts.
A self-based solution does not in any way mean planning a defence-strategy, or giving a counter challenge. So-called defence would only escalate the matter. It would never solve it. By a self-based solution, I mean the adoption of a policy of patience and avoidance. This is the only sure solution, and it lies entirely in Muslim hands. In this, no one can obstruct or nullify our efforts.
According to a tradition recorded in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet said, “You will prevail over your enemies as long as you never swerve from my path. Once you stray from it, God will let others hold sway over you, who will neither fear you nor have mercy on you until you come back to my sunnah (path).”
The present state of Muslims is not, in fact, the result of an enemy plot but of abandoning the Sunnah. Against the backdrop of riots, the Sunnah which should have been followed by Muslims is that of patience and avoidance. If the present state of affairs is the result of rejecting this Sunnah, it is only by re-adopting it that the present condition of Muslims be improved. No other strategy or policy can ever solve this problem.
It is incumbent upon Muslims to revert from impatience to patience; from the path of confrontation to that of avoidance. They must withstand provocation instead of giving in to it. This is the Sunnah of the Prophet of Islam, the sole path to success.
Muslims have today to go on a ‘migration.’ But not a physical migration. A migration from one field of strategy to another. In this lies the veritable secret of success.
