Rebooting Islam: Let us at least resolve the issue - Who is a Muslim? Says Sultan Shahin

Rebooting Islam:
Let us at least resolve the issue - Who is a Muslim?

New Age Islam too wishes Mr. Salauddin kazi and all other readers a very happy new year. Let us resolve to keep helping Muslims in the New Year mapping an agenda for Islam in the Twenty-first century – the task New Age Islam has set before itself.
Islam is of course, a universal Deen, for all people in every corner of the world and for all times to come; but in order to fulfil its destiny it has to keep reinventing itself in every new age; it has to be rethought and reinterpreted in the light of the orthodox Islamic principles of Ijtihad, the gates of which were opened for us by Allah and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and no Muslim has the right to close them down.
The pace of change has accelerated so much in the last decades that our very way of life has become quite distinct even from the recent past. How does the Islamic way of life mesh into and cope with the demands of the New Age is the major challenge before us Muslims, that too at a time when we have not only vast numbers of Muslim societies in nearly all parts of the world varying from one another in our social norms and customs, but also a vast number of interpretations of Islam resulting in deep sectarian divisions. While for enemies of Islam in the extortionist and exploitative sections of human society Islam is one religion and Muslims are one religious community the world over, for Muslims themselves there are scores of Islams and scores of Muslim communities, nearly all baying for each others’ blood. We apparently need to reboot Islam in our systems.
Let us at least resolve that in the New Year 2009 we will at least find the lowest common denominator or the greatest common divisor for what should have been the simplest of questions and has become a very complicated one: who is a Muslim? Let us also resolve to work in the New Year towards closing down all the Kafir-and-Mushrik-manufacturing factories that are flourishing so much in our midst. There are so many things to be done; but let us start at the easiest first step.
Sultan Shahin, editor, New Age Islam
URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1085

COMMENTS
1/30/2009 12:02:33 AM
Ashok Chowgule
From Ashok Chowgule
To: Sultan Shahin
date 29 January 2009 15:26

Understanding the Muslim Mind
Author: Dr Omar Zia
Publication: Islam Watch
Date: January 29, 2009
URL: http://www.islam-watch.org/Omar.Zia/Understanding-the-Muslim-Mind.htm
29 Jan, 2009

Continuing with my last topic of evolution, or lack thereof, in a Muslim mind, let me give you three real-life examples of how I observed Islam’s toxic effect on the mind of Muslims and how, in my view, they will effect the world around us in the foreseeable future.

1. Mind of a Sri Lankan Muslim

Two years ago while travelling through Sri Lanka I befriended a taxi driver in Colombo.

He was a young devout Muslim from a family of ten: two aged parents and eight grown-up children. He was the youngest member of the family born and bred in Sri Lanka. From my chats with him during several excursions in the city, I pieced together a detailed picture of the conditions and aspirations of Muslims in Sri Lanka.

Muslims constituted only 7% of the population in Sri Lanka. This boy of 22 knew that. He told me in a meaningful way that non-Muslim Sri Lankans are too cautious when it comes to raising a family. They worry about the education and upbringing of their offspring too much; for that reason, birth-rate amongst non-Muslims is quite low. Muslims in Sri Lanka, on the other hand, believe that Allah will provide everything and do not care how many children they have. This boy was prophetic. Current Muslim population of Sri Lanka is listed as 9% according to many guide-books.

Upon my enquiry as to how he got along with his non-Muslim neighbours, he praised them for their placidity and then complained that he found it quite annoying that Muslims had to take their cowardly neighbour religious sensitivity into account and slaughter animals hidden from the public eye. He assured me that as soon as Muslims were in ascendancy in his country, which, he was sure, would happen in his lifetime, one of the first laws to be passed will be sanctioning of slaughtering of animals in the open, like in any Muslim country. While visiting Hindu temples with me, he proudly informed me that Muslims never allow non-Muslim Sri Lankans to enter mosques, as they were unclean. He was also quite sure that if allowed, Muslims being the worthy fighters and jihadis, can sort out the Tamils within a very short time.

In order to understand better the Muslim society in Sri Lanka, I even accepted his offer of a cuppa at his house towards the end of my stay. All that I had heard from this young ‘time bomb’ proved absolutely certain. Indeed, the visit proved even more shocking: the rest of his family members appeared even more radicalized and angrier at their majority countrymen. I felt absolutely horrified at the prospect of what is in store for the affable, but oblivious to danger, non-Muslim Sri Lankans.

2. Mind of my young, ambitious nephew

On my last visit to Pakistan, my 18 year nephew visited me and implored to arrange a visa for him to go to England. He was close to completing his schooling but was quite despondent of his future prospects in Pakistan. I explained to him that even though I will endeavour to help him all I can, the final word would rest with the British consulate and it would be his academic records, which, in the end, would decide his fate. My motive was to inspire him to study harder as he seemed quite lacking in knowledge for his age. I also told him that he would have to supplement his studies in England with menial jobs. He seemed absolutely comfortable with that news.

As I was once analyzing a disturbing verse from the Quran (9:29), he arrived. I decided to test him on his humanity and asked if he had ever read Quran. He proudly replied that he had, several times, but only in Arabic and therefore did not understand any of it. I explained the verse to him and asked for his thoughts on this fascist verse. Without any hesitation, he responded that he absolutely believes it is correct. Upon my flustered query as to how can he think of subjugating or killing his hosts in England, he replied to my astonishment that once Islam has overwhelmed England, this verse would become mandatory and Allah’s deed must be carried out. I couldn’t help but feel awed at the corrupting power of Islam.

3. Mind of my educated, progressive, and nonreligious Muslim brother

The third incident, which I wish to relate, came soon after the above incidence during a dinner chat with my progressive, highly educated and largely non-religious brother. I was lamenting to him at the Taliban’s tactics of usurping power in Pakistan. He coolly informed me that Taliban are good people except that they have interpreted Islam wrongly and all true Muslims harbour a Taliban within them. Much shocked at this statement, I asked him to show me what part Taliban had misinterpreted from the Quran. Noticing that he was attempting to change the subject, I persisted and asked him if he had read the Quran with the understanding of it meaning. Not surprisingly, the answer was a somewhat embarrassing "NO".

After the dinner, I asked him to bring out his translated copy of the Quran. He did not possess one. What he luckily did have though was a functioning computer in his son’s room. I persuaded him to sit with me and I got out the verses which were being used, with proof and through their own mouth by Osama, Naik, Israr and many other unabashed fascist nuts. I showed him ahadees, which corroborated those verses from the Bukhari and Muslim collection. I could almost hear his Islamic world collapsing inside him and heard his heartbeat rising. I knew that I was very near to my goal of making him see the truth. It was just seconds away when all of a sudden he almost toppled the monitor and got up in a rage screaming that it was all western propaganda. He started an incoherent, and increasingly alarming, tirade against the Jews, the West and America and eventually blamed me for being an instrument in the hands of some Western think-tank. Suffice it to say that I left his house with a heavy heart that there is little no hope for a peaceable future for our globe.
Dr. Omar Zia is a Pakistani-born ex-Muslim.
URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1085
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1/24/2009 9:13:28 AM
Posted by: Gulzar
Taliban’s Swift Justice
By DR. GHAYUR AYUB
Friday, 23 January 2009.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—It was during a visit to Peshawar that I met a senior police officer. He narrated a story which was brow-raising. He told of a person from Bannu who lent Rs. 40,000 [approx. U.S. $500] to a man he knew, who promised that he would return it within a specified time. He told the borrower that he had saved up the said amount to help pay for his children's education. When the agreed time lapsed, he asked him to return the amount. The borrower started making excuses and after a few months he flatly refused and challenged the lender to do what ever he could. There is a Pukhtu word for it ‘Laas Da Azaad De’.
The man went from pillar to post to seek justice but with no result. The police proved incapable as the borrower was a powerful man with strong connections. When he tried to knock on the door of the court for justice he was dismayed to hear that it would take months for the case to come to a hearing and years to reach a final judgment. After all that, the chances were that the verdict would go against him as he was up against powerful people. To top it off, he was told he had to pay Rs 1000 upfront every time he wanted to put his case forward for a hearing. This amount did not include the amount he was going to pay the lawyers. When he calculated it, the approximate amount turned out to be more than the actual amount he was going to seek justice for.
At the end of every day, he would go back home heart broken; cursing his luck to be living in a country where there was no justice for the middle or poor classes. He tried to persuade the borrower by pleading with him, explaining how desperately he needed the money for his children’s education. He even offered a discount or to split the amount into installments, but all in vain. It was like hitting a brick wall. He felt dejected, helpless and powerless to see his children suffering just because he came from a stratum of a society pushed against the wall.
One evening, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and saw two strangers with bushy beards standing outside. Thinking they were there to collect charity, he asked with irritation what they wanted. They told him that they saw him crying in the mosque and on enquiry they were told that someone was refusing to pay his money back. With a surprised look on his face, he asked them who they were.
“We are local Taliban,” they said. Then they asked if he would let them have his side of story. He saw a ray of hope and ushered them in. After listening to his story, the Taliban told him that the borrower had committed an un-Islamic act, and if he wanted they could persuade him to return the said money. “We want your permission”. His heart jumped with flickering optimism and immense joy and without any hesitation, he gave them his consent. Before they left the premises they asked for 72 hours.
According to the police officer, the Taliban went to the influential man and told him it was un-Islamic not to pay the amount he had borrowed from the man. They threatened that if he did not pay the debt back within 48 hours; he would bear the consequences. They also told him how Taliban had previously dealt with people like him. Shivers went through the spine of the ‘powerful’ man as he knew what their threat meant. With a dry mouth, frightened face and shaking body he nodded his head in agreement, promising he would return the amount. The next day, he went to the house of the lender and paid back the full amount he had refused up until then. He apologized for the delay and requested him to tell the Taliban not to harm him or his family and to let them know that he had returned the money. The Taliban never went back to ask whether he got the money back, but they must had been watching the development. From that day on, according to the police officer, that man became a strong supporter of Taliban. Could anyone blame him?
Another related story about quick and effective justice comes from the Bugti tribe of Balochistan. According to electronic media, a man named Nazim Ali was refused his share in a dispute. According to him, he spent a lot of money to get justice from the court but failed because of corrupt practices. So he went to the tribal chief who referred him to the Jirga. The Jirga decided that he should walk on fire and if he was telling the truth he will not be burned. Nazim Ali agreed to it and in front of onlookers he walked on red hot coal. After the walk, people saw that his soles were not burned. The chief decided in his favour and he was given his due share.
There are countless other stories of parallel justice systems running in Pakistan in the present day. These systems seem to be nippy and effective satisfying their poor clients. Some are Taliban style, others tribal style, sharing one commonality; they are swift, just and not stained with corruption.
In my discussions with different walks of people living in the troubled parts of FATA and NWFP the vast majority agreed that the justice provided by Taliban is fair and quick. They might not agree with other activities related to Talibanization such as discouraging western education, burning of schools, gender discrimination etc; but they do appreciate the provision of justice served at the doorsteps with efficiency, audacity and honesty. Swift justice is the major achievement which attracts the poor people of Pakistan to Taliban.
Dr. Ayub can be reached at turi555AThotmail.com
URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1085