By Dr. M.I.H. Farooqi,
Muslim World is passing through most difficult times in its history of fifteen hundred years. There was a time during long years of Middle Ages when Muslims ruled two-thirds of the old civilized world but afterwards their ignorance of what was going on around them caused their civilization to decline. They developed, unnecessarily, a superiority complex based on their past victories and achievements and abandoned the path of progress in the field of science and technology. Europe, on the hand started making great advances in science, which it had borrowed from Islamic civilization. Europe became world power and colonized almost entire Muslim world and humiliated them for centuries by their ruthless Rule. Except in a few semi-independent states (Afghanistan, Turkey, Yemen and Arab Peninsula), the Muslim might and political authority – the symbols of Muslim ummah’s dignity – was totally eliminated from around the globe.
The fall of Turks in 1920 was the last big insult meted out to them. Ironically some Muslims thought that this was the wrath of God since they disobeyed Him during recent past and as if those who ruled and dictated them were godlier. However, the fact is that Islamic world lacked in Science and Technology after the 17th century whereas Western nations made fantastic scientific progress after Renaissance. Presently, Muslim nations are no match with the West in economic and military power. They were once known to give new IDEAS to the world. At present they are at the most the RECYCLERS of IDEAS, not welcomed by the world. After few centuries of slavery, Muslim nations became independent but the power generally came in the hands of those who seldom cared for the scientific and technological developments. Instead, most of these regimes preferred weak civil societies where Islam was shown as incompatible with democracy and pluralism. What Islamic world needs today is the scientific and technological advancement so that its presence on the international stage is distinct and effective. Without such an accomplishment, Muslim countries can not serve the Ummah’s interests, fulfill its aspirations and safeguard its rights. Absence of ideas, both scientific and philosophical, freedom of thought, creativity, and intellectual self-determination, are the main causes that the Muslim World is not in a position to fulfill God given mandate of universal leadership. Intellectuals rightly assert that Muslim world will never be able to improve the lot of its people unless the rulers realize the importance of upgrading the status of science and technology.
At present the Muslim Ummah is confused. Their Past was shining, the Present is gloomy and Future uncertain. In the following passages, self appraisal of well known Muslim scholars (alphabetically) is recorded. These thought provoking views on tolerance, scientific temper, democracy, pluralism and global peace may help the Ummah to know their past, asses the present and also to determine their future based on Science Renaissance.
Abdul Rahman Amash (Global University, Beirut): Islam requires believers to study anything that is of benefit to their society, not just religious teaching.
Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri (Islamic Scholar, D.G, ISESCO, Tunisia): The Islamic world cannot stop the spread of cultural globalization because it is a real phenomenon which is imposing itself by the forces of political influence, economic pressure, media and information domination exerted by the new world order. Still, it can control the negative effects of this kind of globalization if it redoubles its efforts to rid itself of underdevelopment and achieve progress in all fields without exception, given the close correlation between the factors and ingredients of comprehensive development.
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, (Saudi Arabia): Islam must do away with the dangers of extremism to present the religion’s “good message” … tell the whole world that we are a voice of justice and values and humanity, that we are a voice of coexistence and a just and rational dialogue – Islamic world faces difficult challenges from the extremism of some Muslims, whose aggressions target the magnanimity, fairness and lofty aims of Islam.
Abdullah bin Ahmad Badavi (Scholar, Malaysia): Muslims must learn to innovate or be left behind.
Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, -(1914 – 1999) Islamic Scholar and Thinker, India): After sixteenth century Muslims lost the interest in Enquiry and Physical Sciences and engaged themselves more in Metaphysical Sciences with the result they could not produce great men of knowledge (genius)- Knowledge got boost in the West and Religion in the East. Muslims forgot their own scientific thinking and followed only traditional knowledge. They therefore lagged behind in Science and Technology and thus became slaves of the West. (Islam & the West).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, – (1888-1958 – Islamic Scholar & Thinker, India): You have spent several nights of indifference (Urdu-ghaflat) and complacency (Urdu-sarshari). For God’s sake, get up now and see how much the sun has risen and how far your co-travelers (non-Muslims) have gone ahead of you-after 16th Century, the situation of knowledge in Muslim and Christian societies changed completely. Now Christians started following Muslims way of progressive thinking and enquiry whereas Muslims copied Christian’s way of life of Middle Ages that was full of superstition, bigotry and retrograde thoughts (Ghubar-e-Khatir)
Professor Amel Grami, (Islamic Scholar, Tunisia): Ijtihad can steer the Islamic world towards democracy and gender equality.
Athar Osama,(Editor Musli-Science. Com, U.S.): Only through an intelligent use of policy, followed by patient and committed implementation, can the Muslim world move out of the scientific backwaters to become equal participants and beneficiaries of the scientific age. Although the results show that many Muslim countries have a poor scientific output, they also indicate a growing realization among such countries that they must catch up with the rest of the world or lag behind economically, socially and politically. If Muslim countries are to become innovative and knowledge-based societies of the 21st century, they will need to develop coherent and relevant science and technology policies and create an environment supportive of research.
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran): Country’s progress is dependent on investment in the field of science and technology. Attaching a high status to scholars and scientists in society would help talents to flourish and science and technology to become domesticated, thus ensuring the country’s progress and development.
A.Bausani, (Social Scientist, U.S): It is true that during Middle Ages the Muslim world was considered more or less like America now, i.e., the world to which one had to go to perfect oneself in science and technology. (Web).
Bilal Hashmi, (Scholar, U.S.): Clash of Civilization is a draconian thesis, purely imaginary.
Fazlur Rahman, (1911-1988, Islamic Thinker, Punjab): Science earlier flourished in the Muslim world because it was fulfillment of the Quranic injunction. Later Muslim Society stagnated because spirit of enquiry had declined. (Islam & Modernity).
Hamid Golpira, (Scholar, Turkey): The Islamic world is at the crossroads-either we have an Islamic Renaissance now or we will experience greater backwardness. Islamic world has been in decline for over five centuries. Once we experienced a golden age, and there is good reason to mourn its loss. To start an Islamic Renaissance, we have to return to our roots, but this does not mean returning to the past. We have to balance modernity and tradition. We had spirituality and also academic scholarship and science. Muslims never had a great Dark Ages where science was superstitiously rejected like the Europeans experienced. Yet, we must learn how to balance Information Age modernity and Islamic tradition. We should not become materialists with little or no spirituality, like the Westerners, but we should also not try to become spiritual people disconnected from the times we live in. The beauty of Islam is that it is adaptable to every era. When the Europeans were in the middle of their Dark Ages, the Islamic world reached the heights of art, culture, science, philosophy, literature, architecture, and many other fields. Many historians say the Islamic civilization actually inspired the European Renaissance. So what went wrong in the Islamic world?
A.J. Hideki, (Scholar, Web muslimglobe): Every single Muslim from every corner of the earth has been dreaming of unity in the Muslim world, but the question that is hitting them nowadays is, is this dream possible? Surely with so many negative entities, bad leaders, growing negative portrayal of Muslims in the media, very little control on the economy and much more problems that are not favouring our community. So what is the answer? You’re probably asking…well the answer alhamdullilah is yes, it is possible. How? Well that is even simpler; the power lies in the Muslim community. Muslims getting involved in business is very important for the development and moving forward of Muslims in the 21st century.
King Husain (Late) (Jordan) -When ‘‘Ijtihad’’-the possibility of reconciling faith and present day life-stopped a long time ago, that was the beginning of the sad fall of Islam.
Ibish Hussein (Turkey) – You can go into any of great religious texts and pull out quotes randomly here and there to prove all kinds of things. You can prove the religion is peaceful, you can prove it’s violent.
Dr. Ibrahim Syed, (President, Islamic Research Foundation, U.S.)- Muslims world over claim (rightly) that Islam is applicable to all places and in all times. How can this be achieved without Ijtehad.
Allama Iqbal, (1897 -1938 – India) – Claim of present generations of Muslim liberals to interpret the foundational legal principles, in the light of their own experience and the altered conditions of modern life is perfectly justified. A false reverence of past history and its artificial resurrection constitute no remedy for a people’s decay. The verdict of history is that worn out ideas have never risen to power among a people who have worn them out Main purpose of Quran is to awaken in man the higher consciousness of his relation with God and the universe. The principle of movement in Islam is ijtihad – effort to form an independent opinion. The closing of the door of ijtihad is a pure fiction suggested partly by the crystallization of legal thought in Islam and partly by intellectual laziness which, especially in the period of spiritual decay turns great thinkers into idols.
Jamal Al-Din Afghani (1839-1897- Afghanistan) – Nothing but science and technology could eliminate economic and cultural backwardness of Muslims. Modern science is universal, transcending nations, cultures and religion. The strangest thing of all is that our ulema these days have divided science into two parts. One they call Muslim science, and one European science. Those who imagine that they are saving religion by imposing a ban on some sciences and knowledge are enemies of religion. Misery in the Eastern countries was due to their ignoring the noble and important role of the scientists.
Maulana Dr Kalbe Sadiq, (Islamic Scholar, India) – Dividing Knowledge into Religious and Worldly was a mistake by Muslims.
Mahathir Mohammad, -(Former P.M., Malaysia) It is necessary for Muslims to give up their illogical beliefs and regressing thoughts and be prepared to face the challenges of the fast changing social order. Our present predicament is not pre-ordained by Allah. It is entirely due to our own doing. We rely merely on praying to Allah for help when Allah has said in the Quran that we have to help ourselves before He will help us. To ward off attacks on us, we must learn science and consider acquiring modern knowledge as the part of ibadah.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Dr. President of Iran– Islam is the point of perfection of all divine religions and is not against other creeds, since it opposes oppression, crime, modern-day idolatry, occupation and the massacre of the people.
Malik Imtiaz Sarwar (Lawyer, Malaysia)-I am only doing what I do because I am a citizen of Malaysia. From a personal standpoint, as a Muslim, I can believe that Islam is supreme, but from the standpoint of society, I must recognize the rights of others to their religion-There should an Interfaith Commission that would tackle the tough issues and religious conflicts. It should also focus the underlying societal discourse on religion. (Interfaith Dialogue-Web).
Mamoun Fandy (Georgetown University) – Jihadist nurtures hostility toward the non-Muslim world, as well as toward progressives and intellectuals within Muslim societies.
Mohammed Haikal (Writer – Egypt/Saudi Arabia) – Islamic civilization had been raised on a foundation of science and rationalism, same foundation on which western civilization of today is based. (Life of Muhammad).
D. Nader, (Medical Scholar, U.S.)- Islam is not radical by any standard as realized by studying its scripture, the Quran. There, however, appeared among the Muslims over the last 14 centuries groups of radicals who interpreted Islam in a totally corrupted way to serve their political and social agenda. While it is true that there are radical Muslims, there has never been a radical Islam as the media like to call it. Using the term radical Islam is the wrong use that reflects ignorance with the facts. These radical Muslims changed the teachings of Islam using the man made books of Hadiths falsely attributed to Prophet that contradict the Quran and allow them all kinds of aggression. By doing so, they have been breaking all the peaceful teachings of God in the Quran. (Web).
Nasim Hassan– (Engineer, Islamic Scholar, U.S.) – The Muslims around the world believe in the glory of past achievements. The religious leaders continue to remind their audiences about great periods in the Islamic history…education and quest of knowledge receives a very low priority in Muslim countries. In India, when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan started the process of establishing educational institution for Muslims, many religious scholars opposed him for polluting the minds of Muslims with western ideas and education. It is observed that many Muslim scholars mentioning knowledge only in the passing and not do highlight it as a critical issue for propagation of Islam. This has been projected as a personal choice issue. In Islamic centers and Mosques any discussion about science, technology and economics is discouraged. Scholars are those who only “memorize” Quran and the related traditions-and are familiar with pedagogical and epistemological tools developed a thousand years ago. In conclusion, the Muslim Societies around the world will stay behind the civilized world if they do not understand and appreciate the principles behind the message of Islam There is no doubt in my mind that the diminishing Muslim vision of knowledge is singularly responsible for the decline of creativity, dynamism, vitality and power of the Islamic civilization. It is time for us Muslims to recognize that we have failed now for centuries to become leaders of humanity. We cannot fulfill our mandate as Allah’s vice regents on earth (Quran 2:30) because we have surrendered our vision, our faith and our reason to deadwood (Website).
Maulana Rabey Hasan Nadvi, (Islamic Scholar, India) – Europe (West) became the leader of the world by working hard and following the path of scientific pursuit. On the other hand we (the Muslims) became indifferent towards knowledge and lost leadership of nations.
Radwan Masmoudi (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy)-Many Muslims believe that they must choose between Islam and modernity, or Islam and democracy. This is a false choice. When faced with this decision, most Muslims would choose Islam and reject anything that they regarded as alien or contrary to the principles of their faith. For this reason there is a crisis in the Muslim world today. There is no way out of this predicament without renewing the concept of ijtihad, and using the process to develop modern interpretations of Islamic principles compatible with both the word of God and the situations, ideas, and values that have emerged over the past several centuries.
Rashid Rida (1865-1935-Egypt/Syria) – Islam as a religion is based on reason and the Islamic Sharia is founded on the basis of Ijtihad. Without Ijtihad, it is difficult to claim that Islam is an eternal religion. Therefore, if any person stands in the way of Ijtihad or tries to prevent it, he is really undermining the basis of Islam and its Shariah and destroying its distinctiveness from other religions. What a heinous crime is being committed, then, by these ignorant persons who call themselves the Ulema of Islam Backwardness of the Muslim countries resulted from a neglect of the true principles of Islam. Positive efforts are needed to improve the material basis of Muslims.
Reza Aslan (Writer, U.S.)– Americans ask: Why do they hate us? As it turns out, it’s really not about “us” at all. Islamic terrorism is for the most part a symptom not of a clash of civilizations but an internal conflict within the Muslim world-a centuries-old battle over the future of Islam.
Saiyid Hamid (Chancellor, Hamdard University): Distance from Science is a devastating deprivation for Muslims. “Learn or Perish’ is the lesson that has to be driven home from all the platforms and pulpits and to be echoed in the Media. In this connection, unambiguous and almost undivided attention of the Ulema is required who wield immense immense influence among the masses.
Sayyed Fadlullah (Islamic Scholar, Lebanon) – Muslim religious scholars need to uphold their historic responsibility of confronting sectarian strife. They should be competent so as to able to have an effective role in determining the world decision. They should increase their wealth; establish the basis of freedom and independence, and also preserve the Islamic unity by resorting to rational objective dialogue concerning the issues that we have disagreed on for long.
Shah Abdul Halim (Islamic Scholar, U.S.) – Islam is basically a tolerant religion. The difference between peoples, nations, races and religions may lead to conflict and therefore mans’ responsibility remains in establishing peace and tranquility in the society. Mutual respect, love and compassion rejecting all types of arrogance, is possible only by sharing knowledge about each other.
Sheikh Mohammad Abduh (1849-1905- Egypt). Traditional Islam faced serious challenge by the modern, rational and scientific thought. Islam and modern Western civilization are compatible. Human reason is supreme and religion supplements and aids reason. Reason sits in judgment on religion. Islam is the religion of reason and all its doctrines can be logically and rationally demonstrated. Blind acceptance of traditional doctrines and customs is deplorable.
Shibli Nomani, (1857-1914, Islamic Scholar, India) – Great advances have been made in the field of Knowledge. Ulema without the familiarity of Modern Knowledge can not guide the Ummah.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898- India) – Harmonize Islam with modern science and rationalism. Islam is the religion of most akin to Nature and conformity to Nature is the essence of Islam It is a great error on the part of the Ahlulsunnah Wal Jama’aah to hold the opinion that Ijtihad has come to an end and Mujtahids have become non-existent. This doctrine has done immense harm to the Muslims and should now be abandoned. We should develop a spirit of enquiry and research. Life in every age brings new problems and new needs. If we do not have living Mujtahids, how can we ask the dead Mujtahids about needs and problems which had no existence in their times. There are three causes for the backwardness of Muslims: (1) the superstitious beliefs and practices that had entered Indian Islam (2) lack of emphasis on the assimilative and universal character of Islam and the aversion of the Muslims to Western education. According to Allama Iqbal “the real greatness of the man (Sir Syed) consists in the fact that he was the first Indian Muslim who felt the need of a fresh orientation of Islam and worked for it.’
Syed Sulaiman Nadvi – (1884-1953) – Islamic Scholar & Thinker) Ulema, ignorant of modern knowledge can not serve the Ummah.
Yahiya Emerick(Scholar, Turkey) -The only place where Islam and I mean real Muslims-not those crazy terrorists masquerading as Muslims-can operates freely is in America, Canada and England. Everywhere else, including France and the rest of the world, they’re harassed, arrested, denied rights and suppressed. It’s pretty sad when you realize that the only thing real Muslims want is peace and justice and obedience to God, while everyone else in the world wants the opposite. Most of the people with Muslim-sounding names in the world, who are involved in “terrorism,” are people acting from political, not spiritual motives and they don’t have the support of the Muslim masses anywhere in the world. What the world hasn’t realized is that there is a silent majority of Muslims who want an Islamic state that has nothing to do with bombs, repression, censorship, oppression, chauvinism or violence.
Dr. Zaki Badawi, (Scholar, London)-Many Muslim states prohibit opposition, suppress any new idea that would challenge authority, and this is a very serious situation because you cannot develop unless you have ideas, new ideas and get on with the debate, internal debate, that will help you adjust to the new situation.
Zia Gokalp,(1876-1924 -Turkey) – Islam has been equipped with an adequate framework to accommodate and adapt to morphological changes in time and space. Islamic law has a two-fold source: the traditional Shariah and the Social Shariah The Social Shariah is continually changing in accordance with social evolution. The stagnation of the world of Islam is due to the failure of the Muslims to relate the ‘nass’ to the ‘urf’ by means of ijtihad. Islam is the only religion that exhorts change. In the first place, in a modern state, the right to legislate and to administer directly belongs to the people. All members of the modern nation, regardless of their religious affiliations, are equal to each other in every respect. In short, all provisions existing in our laws that are contrary to liberty, equality and justice and all traces of theocracy and clericalism should be completely eliminated.
Ziauddin Sardar: (Journalist, UK) Islam as a way of life represents a holistic world view. Values such as ilm (knowledge) and ijtihad (the quest for sustained reasoning) were an integral part of classical Islam. A gradual erosion of meaning of the fundamental principles of Islam caused the decline of science among Muslim societies, reducing Islam to a one-dimensional faith and arresting social creativity. Science had played an important role in the rise of Muslim civilizations. While the definition of ilm during the classical period included everything from science to art and the ulema constituted learned men including scientists, under colonialism ilm was reduced to being only religious knowledge and the ulema. Religious scholars thus became the central authority on social and cultural matters. With the changed meaning of ilm, ijma was reduced to the consensus of religious scholars.
Note: The Article is one of the chapters of recently published book entitled “Muslim Societies – Rise and Fall” authored by Dr. Mohd. Iqtedar Husain Farooqi with Preface by Saiyid Hamid, Chancellor, Hamdard University, New Delhi. Dr. Farooqi is also the author of “Plants Of Quran” and “Medicinal Plants in the Traditions Of Prophet (Prophetic Medicine. Dr. Farooqi is Deputy Director (Scientist-F) National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, and Secretary, Sir Syed Scientific Society, Lucknow. He can be contacted at Email: [email protected].
Photo: http://www.islamproject.org/