The New Nation - Internet Edition

Modern Islamic thought and revivalism

Muhammad Khan

Ali Rahnema is a prominent writer and academic, having authored several books, including Islamic Economic Systems (London, 1994) and An Islamic Utopian: A Political Biography of Ali Shari'ati (London, 1998). The author is a keen observer of Iranian affairs and his biography of Shari'ati must be considered a major contribution to the study of contemporary Islamic thought and history. By contrast, the book under review was originally published in 1994 and has been recently reprinted.

The difference between the two editions is that the editor has contributed an in-depth new introduction to the current edition. Consisting of more than 80 pages, the Introduction seeks to provide the social, political and cultural context for its featured Islamic thinkers and ideologues and their contributions.

In the words of the Editor, "The purpose of this book is to provide an understanding of what Islamic thinkers and ideologues thought about the position, role and possible contributions of Islam in the modern world. It is the story of how intellectuals, teachers and practitioners of the Muslim faith sought to provide socio-political and cultural responses anchored in their faith to the anxieties, contradictions, dichotomies and needs of their co-believers and compatriots. These were all men of reflection at first, aware of their times, yet, like all visionaries, not always content with what they saw." (plxxiv)

Who were these Islamic thinkers and ideologues? The following nine people feature in this book: Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Ayatullah Khumayni, Abul A'la Mawdudi, Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Musa al-Sadr, Ali Shari'ati and Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. Written by nine different scholars, these essays attempt to survey the life and works of these Islamic thinkers and revivalists because "each man has left his own imprint on the contemporary Islamic movement and its national or regional intellectual leaders. Their writings have been translated into the many languages spread across the Muslim world (…) To generalize, one can say that in the Islamic world they are often praised as heroes and idols, while in the West they are usually vilified as Islamic fundamentalists, threatening the fabrics of western life-style. Seldom, however, are they studied or analysed." (p 10)

Although the Editor was right to include the nine intellectuals mentioned above, it seems rather odd that he chose not to include Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of the Tabligi Jama'at, and Bediuzzaman Sa'id Nursi, the author of the Risale-i Nur (The Epistle of Light) and the founder of the Turkish Nurculuk movement, arguably two of the twentieth century's most influential Islamic revivalist movements.

The Editors' failure to include these two influential figures means that this book can, at best, be considered a partial and incomplete survey of contemporary Islamic thought, scholarship and revivalism. Having said that, the essays do provide a wide ranging analysis. All the contributions are roughly of equal length and they seek to place each of the personality within the wider socio-political and cultural context of their societies, focusing especially on the writers' works and contributions, and their impact on the Muslim world at large. And in so doing the contributors seek to show how these Muslim thinkers and ideologues tried to reform their cultures and societies in the light of the challenges posed by Western culture and modernity.

In the words of the Editor, "To provide a preliminary explanation of how the Muslim people of reflection and desperation have responded to the West, it is necessary to follow a historical trail. In trekking through this historical map, it will become clear that the interaction, negotiation and reaction to the opportunities, challenges and threats that Western ideas posed sometimes resulted in the adjustment and modification of the position and mind-frame of the Muslims and sometimes resulted in their rejection of the Western discourse. The plurality of Islamic responses and discourses reflects the continuous engagement of Islamic thinkers with varying existential and socio-political problems during different historical epochs. The particularity and novelty of analyses by people of reflection is based on an understanding of the times, conditions and the prevalent ideals and aspirations, both national and international." (p xxv-xxvi)

Some factual inaccuracies have to be pointed out, however. On page 3, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, the great Muslim poet and philosopher of the Indian subcontinent, is wrongly referred to as 'Muhammad Iqbal Lahouri', and on the same page, it is mentioned that Muhammad Rashid Rida, the prominent disciple of Muhammad Abduh, published a journal called al-Minar when the journal was actually called al-Manar (The Lighthouse). On page 118, it is claimed that Mawdudi was buried in his house when, in fact, he was buried in front of his house, and on page 188, it is incorrectly stated that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was the brother-in-law of the Prophet (pbuh), when in fact, he was his father-in-law.

While it is hoped these errors will be rectified in the future, the book remains a very useful, informative and enlightening contribution to the discourse of Islamic intellectual revival.

(Book Review - Pioneers of Islamic Revival: New Updated Edition with Major New Introduction, Edited by Ali Rahnema, London: Zed Books Ltd, pp 279, 2005, PB. M Khan is author of The Muslim 100 (Leicester: Kube Publishing Ltd) (Source: Muslim News, London)

King Abdullah calls for interfaith dialogue

Dialogue is the best way to move forward, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said recently as Muslim scholars led by Saudi Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh endorsed his call for opening a dialogue with people of other faiths at the start of a historic three-day summit at the Royal Al-Safa Palace.

The king started his address with a prayer to Almighty Allah for the determination and strength to take up the Islamic mission of cordial dialogue with other faiths even if the other side is hostile. The king cited Chapter 16, Verse 125 of the Holy Qur'an: "Invite to the Way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." The king said in his opening speech that those amidst Muslims that hold extremist ideologies have compounded the challenges faced by Islam.

"The enemies of Islam target the salient goals of Islam such as tolerance and justice. That is why your brother invited you to assemble here in order to find ways to counter the challenges of isolation, ignorance, narrow vision and convey to the world the broad Islamic messages based on humanitarian principles and away from hostility and aggression."

King Abdullah reminded scholars and thinkers of the purpose of the conference.

"You gathered today to say to the world around us, with confidence, that Allah bestowed upon us," he said. "We are the voice of justice and human moral values, and we are the voice of rational and just coexistence and dialogue, the voice of wisdom and admonition. Allah says, 'Invite all to the Way of Thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best' and InshaAllah, we will do so." The Muslim world, he said, should take steps to counter the forces against human progress. "This invitation from your brother is to counter challenges of rigidity, ignorance, narrow-mindedness and to make the world accommodate the concepts and the prospects of the kind message of Islam without enmity or antagonism.. . Islam's greatness founded the concepts of dialogue and sets its milestones, which are reflected in Allah's saying, 'Were Thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about thee'."

He also said that hearts are filled by faith, tolerance and love.

"Yes, the way to the others is through shared values advocated by the divine messages, which were revealed by Allah for the benefit of humanity to preserve their dignity and promote the ethical values and dealings, which certainly are not in conformity with deception," he said. "These values, which reject treason, alienate crime, combat terrorism and despise lying. These lay the bases for good morals, honesty, truthfulness and justice, and enhance the concepts of family values and its cohesion and ethics, which are slowly diminishing at present and disintegrating ties, and where human beings are distancing themselves from their Lord and the teachings of their religion."

He stressed the importance of the task at hand. "From the vicinity of the Holy Mosque of Makkah, we begin - with the Will of Allah, and, from there, we will move in our dialogue with the others in confidence derived from our faith in Allah and then from knowledge sought from our tolerant religion," the king said. "We will argue in ways that are best; what we agree upon we accept it in our hearts, and what we disagree about we refer to the sublime, saying 'Lakum Deenakum Waliya Deen' (To you, be your way and to me mine)."

Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani welcomed the king's proposal of engaging people of other faiths but cautioned that Muslims have to close their ranks and not allow their "enemies" to exploit differences among the Islamic schools of thought. "I am a Shiite, and I spent all my life studying Islam," he told the audience. "And let me tell you here that we (Shias and Sunnis) have 95 percent in common. Why should we then allow the difference of five percent to let our enemies play havoc with?"

Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, the Saudi grand mufti, endorsed the king's project and said the whole Ummah was looking up to the benevolent king to take the lead and bringing different communities of the world together.

"He has taken this step with good intention and this is the only way of propagating the real values of Islam," Al-Asheikh said, adding: "We cannot live in an isolation. We need to cooperate with others to make the most of advancement in all aspects of life."

The summit has brought together some of the most influential scholars, academics and organization leaders in the Muslim world, who all expressed hope and optimism that this meeting of the minds would help improve relations with people of different religious backgrounds or Islamic schools of thought. "This conference is a historic opportunity," said Muslim World League Secretary-General Abdullah Abdulmohsen Al-Turki. "It brings together leading Islamic scholars and thinkers from across the globe." "This conference offers a new channel to strengthen cooperation among Muslims," said Al-Azhar University Grand Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi. "It is essential to reduce differences and promote understanding."

In attendance at the inaugural ceremony were many leading scholars of the Muslim world, including Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi from Qatar, Lebanon's Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Rasheed Qabbani, Darul Uloom Deoband's Marghoobur Rahman, Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and chief of Indian Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Jalaluddin Umri.

(Some 600 Muslim intellectuals and academics are attending the summit to work out the details and parameters of the interfaith dialogue.)

Hidden agenda against American Muslims

Abdus Sattar Ghazali

WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 25: The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life today released the first report of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which details estimates to date of the size and demographic characteristics of religious groups in the U.S.

Insisting on its flawed and arbitrary figures about the Muslim population in USA, the new PEW survey finds that Muslims account for roughly 0.6% of the U.S. adult population. This is not a new claim. Its May 2007 survey claimed that the population of the American Muslim community is no more than 2.35 million which is closer to the estimates announced by the American Jewish Committee in October 2001.

The AJC study - titled Estimating the Muslim Population in the United States - claimed that the best estimate of Muslims in the United States is 2.8 million at most, compared to the 6 or 7 million figure used by many researchers and Muslim organizations.

The PEW survey, just like the AJC report, seems the latest attempt to undercut the influence of American Muslims. It looks another desperate attempt to discount the role of American Muslims. The PEW's demographic figures of American Muslims already made an entry into the Wikipedia encyclopedia's article on American Muslim population estimates. Since then the Pew numbers are quoted frequently as an authoritative estimate of American Muslims.

Religious denominations, like all interest groups, can gain or lose political clout based on perceptions of their size, according to J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, Calif. In the case of the U.S. Muslim community, Melton says, its efforts to influence policy in the Middle East would get a boost if it were viewed as being larger than the country's Jewish population, which is estimated at 6 million. (The latest PEW survey puts Jewish population at 1.7%.) "It's a political question: How does it sway votes?" he argued.

The American Jewish Committee's executive director David Harris has warned that the increasingly visible American Muslim lobby posed a challenge to U.S.-Israel relations. In an article published by the Jerusalem Report in May 2001, Harris urged American Jewry to unite with Israel to battle against the growing Arab and Muslim lobbies here and the challenge they present to long-standing U.S. support for Israel. Harris cited the "myth" of high Muslim population figures as one tactic Muslims are using to advance their position. The American Jewish Committee and other groups estimate the number of Jews in this country is about 6 million. "Six million has a special resonance," Harris wrote in the Jerusalem Report magazine. "It would mean that Muslims outnumber Jews in the U.S. and it would buttress calls for a redefinition of America's heritage as 'Judeo-Christian-Muslim."

The American Jewish Committee survey of Muslim population was conducted by Tom W. Smith of the National Opinion Research Center in Chicago who questioned the study, "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait," released in April 2001 by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The CAIR study reported that the number of mosques rose by about 25 percent, to more than 1,200, from 1994 to 2000. Based on reports of attendance at some mosques, researchers estimated the number of American Muslims at 6 million to 7 million. The project surveyed individual mosques, finding that 340 adults and children participated at the average mosque and that another 1,629 were "associated in any way" with the average mosque's activities, yielding a figure of 2 million Muslims. The authors then adjusted the estimate to 6 million to 7 million overall to take into account family members and unaffiliated Muslims.

Based in part on that report, most media organizations, as well as the White House and the State Department, have said that there are at least 6 million Muslims in the country.

Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Project Director the American Muslims Studies Program at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, argues that in the absence of any census data on religious affiliation, the estimate of religious communities' population is always a problematic venture.

"One can find various estimates of the evangelical Christian, Catholic and Jewish population that are available in the survey literature. What are the numbers of evangelical Christians in the population? A recent Baylor University study put the percentage at 33.6 percent, roughly 100 million people. At the same time, a study by the Bliss Institute of University of Akron put the percentage at 26.3 percent, roughly 79 million people - a difference of almost 21 million followers. The same is the case with the Catholic population. The range of the estimates is between 22 percent and 26 percent, a difference of about 12 million people. The Latino population has surpassed the African-American population in the United States. How many of them are Catholics or Evangelical is again a matter of speculation and religious aspirations. The controversy about the extent of declining Jewish population in the USA has not been settled yet."

Dr. Bukhari suggests that instead of criticizing scholars and studies in the pages of Jerusalem Post for their "brazen manipulation" and "exaggeration" by quoting different estimates of the Muslim population in America, the American Jewish Committee, along with other national religious groups, should support a call to the Bureau of Census to include a question on religious affiliation in the coming census of 2010. The census question will at least present a real picture of the religious landscape of the United States. The religion question is being asked in Canada, England, Australia and other industrial countries who also maintain the separation of church and state.

(Abdus Sattar Ghazali, Executive Editor of the online magazine American Muslim Perspective)

Contributions of Imam Khomeini

Dr. M. R. Hashemi

Political aspects of Imam Khomeini overshadowed his other facets. As a consequence, his scholarship in other fields of humanity is remained in obscurity. It is time to deal with his thought in an academic manner and shed light on his works in order to grasp his thoughts and ideas. Imam Khomeini was an authority in Fiqh, Islamic philosophy, mysticism, as well as poetry. Thus, a thorough research on his works and thoughts are a worthy endeavour. Herein the content of a speech delivered by Hamid Algar, Professor at Berkeley Univ. in New York on July 4, 1994 is presented. With reference to certain verses from the Holy Quran, Hamid Algar offers the view that Imam was among those who were very firm against the unbelievers and merciful in dealing with the believers. In this speech he pointed Imam's greater political Jihad and his predictions of the disappearance of communism. He told that Imam exemplified all the dimensions of Islam simultaneously. Indeed the more we study Imam's thoughts and works, his advises and declarations, the more we realise the great thinker and leader that he was.

If we call Imam Khomeini "great" this simply inserts him into a long list of figures who have exercised an important role in the development of humanity. I Assume Imam to be simply one more influential personality among others in recent history. When searching for an Ayat from the Holly Quran with which to open the presentation, entirely by chance I opened the Quran at the following:

"O You who believe! If there are those among you who should turn away from their religion then Allah will bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him, and they are humble to the believers and powerful and harsh towards the unbelievers. They struggle on the path of Allah and they fear not the censure of any censurer. This is the super abundance of Allah that He grants to whom He wills, and Allah is all encompassing, all knowing." (5:54)

It seems to me that this Ayat is, indeed the most appropriate of all possible Ayat of the Holy Quran with which to begin an evocation of the specific greatness of Imam. It's true that the verse refers to the plural (people), but Imam may be regarded as a supreme example of the category mentioned in our present stage. It immediately struck me, upon seeing the Ayat, that we have here an enumeration of many of the characteristics of the Imam. The first and foremost one is that his whole being was permeated by love of Allah, a love which enabled him to dispense with the illusions, the fears and the deficiencies that halt many of us in this world, the same love which is mentioned in the Ayat. Next the Imam was indeed among those who was gentle and humble towards the believers. The Imam on one hand, was a manifestation of the power of Allah, one who brought about, by Allah's permission a tremendous transformation, which was none other than a manifestation of the Divine Power. Yes, at the same time he was a man who, in his behaviour, in his comportment, was indeed humble before the believers and at the same time he was among those who were firm, powerful and unafraid with respect to the unbelievers. In fact, we may say that Imam also manifested the quality expressed in the Ayat where Allah says :

Muhammad, the Messenger, and those who are with him are extremely firm against the unbelievers; kind and merciful among themselves. (48:290) Imam was among those who were very firm against the unbelievers and merciful in dealing with the believers. The first Ayat, we mentioned speaks of Jihad. The word Jihad has had numerous misuses in the present age. Its reality begins with an inner dimension. The inner Jihad, the Jihad Imam spoke of in the celebrated lecture delivered in Najaf, was clearly exemplified by him in his own person. Beyond that he declared jihad against the outward enemy and not necessarily a jihad that involves recourse to weapons; but a Jihad definitely on occasion if necessary included that. Thus we find in the person of Imam one who practiced Jihad in all its comprehensive forms. The description of these people whom Allah shall bring forth continues :

"And they fear not the censure of any censurer." (5:54).

This is another necessary corollary of that first attribute that Allah has mentioned. "He loves them and they love Him", in other words there is a firm primary relationship of love between Allah and those of His chosen servants that are mentioned here. Once that a firm relationship of love is in existence, it follows that the believer should not fear the censure of any censurers. Out of fearlessness of any man comes a total disregard for reproaches of any kind from the enemies of Allah. This is, of course, another very clear and outstanding attribute of Imam Khomeini. "And that is none other than the super abundance, the generosity of Allah." This combination of unique attributes is none other than the generosity of Allah, and it is, moreover, given by Him. He gives it, He bestows it, upon whomever He wills. Its not something to be acquired by efforts, which brings me to what I call, hesitantly and with reservations, the greatness of Imam. If we speak of the greatness of Imam, it is precisely because we see manifested in him qualities which were indeed the result of a divine gift. It is not a question of exertion on his part, although without doubt he was one whose whole life was devoted to conscientious effort and struggle. But in a certain sense we may say that the greatness of Imam was precisely a reflection of the greatness of Allah Himself. I hope this does not sound like an exaggerated form of expression. I think when one speaks of the greatness of Imam, it is the greatness of Allah reflected in him in a certain fashion. But it is not his greatness, it is the greatness of Allah manifested in the form of a choice human being. There are those individuals in whom the Divinely accorded function of vicegerency and instrument of Divine Will is realised, and it seems that Imam was one of those persons. He was a sign of Allah, who was emptied and purified of any individual volition, who was motivated and determined by the love of Allah. By his desire to serve Allah, by his wish to submerge himself in obedience to Allah, he achieved this high state. He was a person who was able, without effort or conscious, (but simply by being what he was), to transcend the differences between Sunni and Shi'i and to present himself also as Hujjatul Islam (a proof of Islam). This, of course, was recognised by Muslim across the world in the Imam. In the years immediately following the revolution in Iran I had the opportunity to travel to a wide verity of Muslim countries in Asia and Africa. Places as far apart as Manila and Mobasa, Istambul and Singapore. I would see, on the walls of Muslim quarters, pictures of Imam and encounter great excitement on the part of everyone who heard that I had met with him and been to Iran. This is extremely important to understand. Imam should not be regarded simply as a figure who inaugurated a turning point in Iranian history. He is a figure who belongs to the collective memory of the entire Ummah, and who contributed to the ongoing awakening despite the very harsh conditions we now face. This contribution toward awakening was considerable. We come now to another extremely important dimension of Imam, that is that we see in him one who exemplified all the dimensions of Islam simultaneously.

Imam is unique. He was able to do all of this and, at the same time, he was a Faqih and an Aref. He was an implementer of the Shari'at and one who walked upon the Tariqat. He was, at the same time, one who was submerged in contemplation of the Divine reality at times. He also struggled on the political sphere. We cannot assign these qualities and attributes to a simple versatility or a high degree of personal accomplishment. It seems to me that the matter must be sought beyond this. It is, rather, that the Imam had penetrated the inner core of Islam and having come to the heart of it, having internalised it and settled himself in it, he necessarily automatically participated in all the dimensions we have mentioned. These are purely analytical distinctions which appear to us who have not realised that degree of integration in the totality of Islam. For Imam, however, these distinctions clearly did not exist; the one implied the other. Particularly important is that we try to examine the connection between Imam's political Jihad and activity and his contribution to what is called Erfan or mysticism. Mysticism has been defined as turning away from this world; and of course, in many cases, it has been that. But in the case of Imam we see it correlated with a high degree of practical activity in the world. In fact, a degree of practical activity in the world, yielding a success far greater than that which has yet been obtained by any other Muslim movement. I think if we wish to understand the remarkable political insight that Imam demonstrated on a large number of occasions we will be doing ourselves an injustice if we rationalise to be simply some kind of political perspicacity. We should regard this on the contrary, a certain particular kind of vision that he attained. For example, his instance, from the Fall of 1978 onwards, that the movement in Iran should continue until the point of overthrowing of the monarchy and explosion of American influence from Iran. This was at a time when the Iranian army still appeared to be solid in support of the position of the Shah. American support also was unwavering and most significantly a large number of people from within Iran were convinced that this was an excessively ambitious goal. More than one hinted that Imam was out of touch. Having been abroad, in exile, for so many years, they said he was overtaxing the resources of the Iranian people. Yet, Imam never hesitated. He insisted that the movement had the potential of complete overthrow of the Iranian monarchy and of course this proved true.

Another instance was Imam's confident prediction of the disappearance of communism and the breakup of the soviet union. It is true, of course, that at the time Imam made these remarks to Mr. Gorbachev the Soviet Union was already in deep crisis. But not even the most well informed experts on soviet affairs were predicting that the Soviet Union itself would collapse and disintegrate and that Maxism, as apolitical ideology, would be discredited around the world. Yet, Imam clearly and calmly made that prediction. There are many important instances of the interrelation between Erfan and political activity in Imam Khomeini and ultimately I think the unity of these two goes back to his penetration to what I call the innermost dimension of Islam. Now that the Imam has passed from us, a crack has appeared-a crack in the fortress of Islam. From this point of view indeed we must mourn his passage. We mourn him with a sadness and sense of loss which is not lessened by the passage of time. However, at the same time we remember him with gratitude to Allah for the gift of his life to the Ummah. Hopefully, we do not limit this remembrance to a ritualistic fashion on a certain date in the calendar, but we remember him actively with consciousness. Let us remember some of the important lessons he taught. Let us remember the comprehensive Jihad that starts with our own persons and should also embrace our social and political lives and if necessary go to the point of taking weapons in our hands to defeat the enemies of Islam. Let us also remember the insistence of Imam on unity among all Muslims, let us remember the clear analysis of the West that Imam gave us. He described the West as a collection of international bandits. Nothing has changed, the international bandits are still there. Let us never forget the essential nature of the system, which has consolidated itself since Imam's death. This system remains the same. Let us also remember his insistence that the abominable genocide-state of Israel completely disappear from the face of the globe. Let us also remember the achievement of Imam in the destruction of the tyrant regime in Iran. This was regarded as something impossible but he had the vision to see that it was possible. The New York times wrote in December 1978 : "The unthinkable become the inevitable." It should be aspiration and duty of all Muslims to make that which the kuffar believe unthinkable to become inevitable. Allah says :

"tyou see the mountains and imagine them to be solid and fixed and yet they will pass away just as the cloud passes." (27:88)

The west looked at its position in Iran and thought it to be solid as mountains, and yet these mountains disappeared and crumbled and passed away as the cloud pass. Let us not only hope, but act and work so that those mountains of tyranny, oppression, and genocide that surround the Muslims, by the Will of Allah, also crumble and pass away like the cloud.

In conclusion, let me remark that we benefit by praying for Imam Khomeini (R.) that he be resurrected in the proximity of his noble ancestor, the best of humanity, and his pure progeny, and that we shall be resurrect with those who followed him and who strove to imitate his example.

(On the occasion of the 19th demise anniversary of late Imam Khomeini R.)