Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave an interview to The Sunday Times on March 27. During the interview, he said that “many millions” of Muslims hold a viewpoint that is “fundamentally incompatible with the modern world.” (“Many millions of Muslims ‘fundamentally incompatible with the modern world’, says Tony Blair”, The Independent, 27 March 2016). This statement of Mr. Tony Blair may annoy some Muslims, but it is based on fact. Moreover, his remarks, directly or indirectly, apply to perhaps almost all present-day Muslims.

The comment that ‘Muslims are incompatible with the modern age’ is not meant in the sense of the religious beliefs they hold, but relates to their social behaviour. For example, in today’s world, freedom of expression is accepted as an absolute right of everyone, provided that one remains strictly within the peaceful domain. However, many Muslims are not ready to concede this right to others. For instance, they are of the opinion that one who, according to their law, engages in an act of apostasy or blasphemy is liable to be punished. Similarly, in the present world, democracy is considered the right form of government, but there are Muslims who reject it claiming that it runs

The difference between Muslims and the modern world is that Muslims, according to their traditional mindset, believe in absolutism, but the present age is characterized by relativism. This means that for Muslims certain things are absolutely right or absolutely wrong, while modern thought does not agree with this viewpoint and holds that a person has the freedom to adopt whatever he thinks is correct according to him, only if he does not take to violence.

In this respect, Muslims’ stand on blasphemy and apostasy should be reconsidered. If somebody leaves Islam for another religion, Muslims believe that he should be killed. However, the modern mind regards opting for one religion instead of another as one’s freedom to choose, something which is a person’s inalienable right. In a similar way, if a person passes a derogatory remark about the Prophet Muhammad, it becomes an issue of blasphemy for Muslims, who demand punishment for the blasphemer. But for the person who makes such a statement, it is not an issue of blasphemy, but rather one of freedom to express one’s opinion. There were many instances during the life of the Prophet of Islam when his opponents issued scornful statements about him, but he did not command his followers to kill them.

The standpoint of Islam in this matter is that there is a need to differentiate between personal belief and universal norm. A person is free in matters of his personal belief, but when it comes to universal norms, Islam agrees with what has been accepted internationally. For example, in the case of the Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty, the Prophet agreed to erase the word ‘Messenger of God’ suffixed to his name as the other party was not ready to accept him as a prophet.

This means that in matters of belief, Islam holds that a person can follow idealism, but in matters of international relations Islam advocates the principle of pragmatism.

According to the dictionary, incompatibility means not capable of existing in agreement or harmony with something else. After the formation of the United Nations, it has been universally agreed upon that disputes should be resolved through peaceful negotiations. Many of the present Muslims, however, are not ready to accept this: their militancy in the name of jihad is a clear example of this disagreement. It is important to note that although this could be the way of thinking of present Muslims, it is totally against the spirit of Islam. In the first quarter of the seventh century, Islam had accepted the principle that disputes should be settled by way of peaceful negotiation. A practical example of this policy can be seen in the Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty which was signed between the Prophet and his opponents in 628 CE.

If Muslims adhere to any other policy, it would be regarded as invalid according to Islam. This is why in this matter; it is important for people to judge the Muslim community in the light of Islamic teachings and not vice versa.

Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016

Muslims of the present day generally see themselves as the victims of plots and targets of the violence of their “enemies”. The Quran rejects this theory, saying, ‘And never will God allow non-believers to harm the believers.’ (4:141). Then what is the reason for the Muslims’ present plight? In another verse, the Quran, in response to this question, has this to say: ‘Whatever misfortune befalls you is of your own doing.’ (42:30)

Now the question arises as to what is the real cause of the problems being faced by Muslims in present times. This is the answer given by the Quran: ‘O Prophet, deliver what has been sent down to you by your Lord. If you do not do so, you will not have conveyed His message. God will protect you from the people.’ (5:67)

This verse of the Quran makes it clear that the issue of the protection of believers is linked to dawah work. That is, if the Muslims perform their dawah duties, they will continue to remain under God’s protection. Whereas, if they neglect dawah work, this divine protection will be taken away from them. The solution to the problem of Muslims cannot be found either in protests or in confrontations. The only solution to their problem rests in dawah work. No other strategy can be of any avail to the Muslims in this matter: only dawah work guarantees divine protection for the Muslim Ummah.

According to the teachings of Islam, Muslims were bound to fulfill the responsibility of disseminating the message of God at a global level. A global infrastructure was necessary for the performance of this task, but Muslims failed to develop it. Then, God allowed the secular people to develop the necessary technology. This role for the secular people had been predicted in a tradition of the Prophet. According to this tradition, ‘In the future, God will certainly make secular people support this religion.’ (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 3062)

The coming into existence of this global infrastructure through secular people, after the failure of Muslims to develop it, was exactly in accordance with this tradition of the Prophet. The Muslims were duty-bound to understand this divine plan and to make full use of the modern infrastructure for global dawah work. But, for certain reasons, they have failed to understand this divine plan and, on the basis of self-styled issues, have unwisely entered into rivalry with secular people—even going to the extent of waging war and indulging in violence against them.

This attitude on the part of the Muslims was totally against the divine scheme. Now, the only salvation for the Muslims is to revise their policies and plan their actions anew. They must regard other people not as rivals, but as madu, or addressees. With the help of the infrastructure produced by modern civilization, they must perform peaceful dawah work at the global level. This is the only way for the Muslims. There is no other way in which their problems can be addressed. It is the duty of the Muslims to make everything else secondary to dawah work. They must make dawah work the sole mission of their lives. Only then will they regain God’s help. This will ensure not only protection for them in this world but also salvation in the Hereafter. 

Source: Crisis of Muslims Leaflets

These days violence committed by Muslims has become a daily news feature. Referring to this, commentators generally observe that the case of present-day Muslims is a case of terrorism. However, such a comment is based on face value. If we go deeper we would realize that this way of looking at the phenomenon is not right.

To my way of thinking, the case of present Muslims is not one of terrorism, in fact, it is a case of unawareness. Present Muslims are victims of misunderstanding about the present age. These Muslims are obsessed with the historical glory of Islam. They want to re-establish the political empire of Islam, which according to their notion was successfully established in the past. Their actions are a result of this conditioning of theirs. What is required is deconditioning of their minds. De-militarization of Muslims can be achieved only through the de-conditioning of this political mindset.

The modern age is an age of globalization. Modern opportunities have made it possible for every group of people to establish an ‘Empire’ of their own. The political empires of the past cannot be brought back. However, building non-political empires is possible for any group in this age. There are various scopes for work in the non-political field.

In today’s age, one can build, for instance—an educational empire, an industrial empire, a media empire, as well as a spiritual and ideological empire. The making of peaceful empires has become so much possible today that if any group uses wisdom and the right planning, it can certainly create an empire for itself.

In the Makkan period, the tribal chiefs of Makkah once asked the Prophet what he required of them. The Prophet replied: “Only a kalima (word), which if you adopt you will become masters over the Arab and non-Arab world.” This prophetic saying was about the coming age. It means that the advent of Islam was to initiate a new process in history, which would usher in such developments that it would become possible for a group to attain global supremacy, provided it remained completely peaceful.

De-militarization of Muslims can be achieved only through de-conditioning of their political mindset.

Present Muslims are unaware of this reality. They want to build a political empire of Islam. In the present age of nationalism, this has become totally non-workable. Muslims should make the ideological empire of Islam their target, which is as much possible as the making of a media empire.

Make Muslims aware of the present age and “Terrorism” will automatically disappear.

Source: Spirit of Islam April 2015