<!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> The Muslim delusion
> IQBAL SYED HUSSAIN
>
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/august-20...lumns3.php
>
> In the 21st century, when the world is moving fast and some nations have
> already reached the stars, Muslims remain far from the horizons.
> Decadence, illiteracy and orthodoxy are the pronounced facets of the
> current Muslim culture. Deluded by their fantasies they are entrenched
> in illusions, vanities and misconceptions. Illiteracy, sectarian strife,
> and misconceived perceptions have further added to their despair.
>
> The delusion that besets the Muslim mind represents a deep psychological
> betrayal that leaves severe scars on the body politic of the Muslim
> Ummah. It is a period of anguish, despair and delusion, which many
> Muslims fail to recognize. They brush aside the realities by declaring
> that they are the darlings of God and everything will be resolved in
> their favour.
>
> The issues are varied and the situations are challenging. Muslims are
> entrapped in the cobweb of their fantasies and imaginations. It is from
> this premise that we have to take a start and pursue our quest for truth
> and insight. We have to see where we are wrong and how we are being
> undermined by a growing wave of fanaticism and distorted perceptions.
>
> The Muslim delusion based on past achievements is not likely to play any
> significant role in the transformation of our destiny but consciousness
> of present experiences and the quantum of concrete contributions will be
> the driving forces to impact our destiny, politics, economy and
> civilization.
>
> The current realities will not allow us to outstrip our religious
> imagination and fantasies. We will be needing more knowledge, more
> insight and more vitality to capture the segments we have lost.
> Unnecessary links between religion and violence will have to be smashed
> to reinstate balance and affinity in our attitudes. Humanity and
> creativity will have to be the focal points of our ingenuity.
>
> Muslims might raise loud slogans, but the world will not believe them
> unless they come forward with more realistic and pragmatic ideas to
> change their environments. A vacuum of purpose and meaning would not he
> helpful in fostering the plans we may need for our well-being. Without
> change, we cannot reach our destination.
> We have to make a serious attempt to give a coherent explanation which,
> of course, is backed by convictions and implications. These have to be
> involved in the formulation of appropriate policies which motivate the
> interplay between traditions and practical realities.
>
> Our extreme orthodox sections need to be coaxed into a more
> knowledgeable and intelligent conversation on religion and modernism,
> science and dogmatism. They have to be brought into a debate which
> should establish how humility and balance are restored to the corridors
> that refuse to be familiar with other's point of view. Jihad and ljtihad
> have to be examined in context of new situations and realities.
>
> Religion and violence ought not to be mixed in modern age, which merits
> new strategies and new technologies. Riding camels, living in caves and
> deploying Stone Age weapons cannot help us defeat the enemies. Muslims
> may be good warriors of Allah, but employing wrong policies in varying
> situations may not merit divine blessings, they could lead to fatal
> consequences.
>
> Links between religion and violence too are not desirable facets of any
> progressive ideology and may not be an endearing aspect of our culture
> and civilization. As civilized human beings we have to resolve our
> differences with intellectual and diplomatic means even though the
> results may be frustrating in the short term.
>
> In responding to the changing political and technological realities
> Muslims will be well advised to upgrade their infrastructure and
> accelerate the development of their modern outlook. This does not mean
> the breaking with traditional modes emanating from the Quranic
> injunctions and the Prophet's traditions, but a growing realization of
> intellectual and secular notions.
>
> The call for rationality and intellectual ingenuity may not be agreeable
> with the modes of thought of some sections of society. However, an
> attempt has been made in this book to show that the door is open and
> efforts have to be made to discern it.
>
> In the words of Wittgenstein, we may be caught in a philosophical
> despair, or find ourselves like a man in a room who does not know how to
> get out. He tries the window, but it is too big. He tries the chimney,
> but it is too narrow. And if he would only turn around, he would see
> that the door has been open all the time. This is the door of knowledge,
> wisdom and insight.
>
> Writing a hook on this subject dealing with so many varying situations
> in so many dark recesses is an exceedingly challenging task. The task
> becomes all the more menacing when conversing and colliding with other
> disciplines and world views. At the same time we have to be concerned
> with the unity of faith and reality of experiences.
>
> The situation demands that the mindset is refreshed and activated to
> assign it the role of the decision-maker, the leader and the propagator.
>
> Caught in the contradictions of orthodoxy and modernity we need to
> evolve a strategy for the explanation and exploitation of our resources.
> The destination has not to be painful stage of stagnation, but a
> perpetual process of thoughtful exertion for exalted goals in life, both
> from secular and sacred perspectives.
>
> The ensemble of doctrines, traditions, values and norms that built the
> past civilization may contain the seeds for the realization of ideals
> that we aspire. The great civilization that Islam cultivated could be
> revived to reveal the real facets of a humane life. Humanizing the
> civilizations will be the next stage, which will need in larger measure
> the growing components of insight and innovations. To reach this, we
> will have to be far from fantasies and vanities.
>
> This will also help us serve the great Islamic traditions and survive
> the dazzling brilliance of modern culture and civilization. We don't
> have to be afraid of western cultural hegemony that is oriented to
> perpetuate the modern imperialist impact on Muslim culture. Muslims to
> thwart such onslaughts must be equipped with sustained vitality and
> inbuilt values so that no foreign culture should be able to tarnish the
> essential contours.
>
> The Islamic faith in this respect has been explained in broader
> perspective transcending the orthodox and obscure views and dogmas. The
> essential views have been preserved without allowing them to be
> subjected to sectarian and distorted ideological interpretations.
>
> Human progress, whether sacred or secular, is the main measure of human
> accomplishments. Our writings will prove that there is a constant need
> of ever-growing vitality in religious doctrines and socio-cultural and
> scientific innovations. Religious traditions have been a source of
> guidance and they have often inspired me. But Muslims will have to come
> out of their preconceived perceptions to shatter the darkness that
> obscures their power of discernment. This is where we falter and this is
> the cross-road where we have to choose the correct course.
>
> The root of all troubles, in our view, lies in illiteracy, orthodoxy and
> obscurantism. The -self-serving fantasy is a serious obstruction on the
> way to mutual understanding and viable resolution of our difficulties.
> This is an age of cynics who, through fanaticism and intolerance, refuse
> to comprehend and compromise. This impedes the process of resolution
> between the two extremes. The loss of consciousness makes man incapable
> of penetrating into the recesses of darkness and bringing the resources
> of faith and reason to task.
>
> This is the major challenge that confronts any daunting undertaking and
> especially the writing of a purpose-oriented book. The importance of the
> task has encouraged me to traverse this journey and reach the
> destination that remains a collective aspiration of the Muslims as a
> whole. This is the task, if realized graciously, might lead to improving
> and recycling the ideas that are replete with hopes and aspirations.
> This is the first step that paves way for a thousand-mile journey.
>
> The writer is the author of a number of books on Islam and contemporary
> socio-political developments.
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