Back to the Present
So far we have examined the similarities between the
Jewish and Muslim histories vis-à-vis their two phases of rise and two phases
of decline. In this context, the events of the 20th century are especially
significant in that they represent — for both the Jews and the Muslims — the
unfolding of the third and final stage of their respective histories.
Note that although “rise” and “decline” are essentially opposite and contradictory concepts, both of these processes are usually found simultaneously during the greater part of the history of a particular culture-civilization. In other words, both the phenomena of “rise” and “decline” may be found operating side by side, although in due course of time one of these trends gradually weakens and disappears, and the other one becomes dominant.
It is apparent to any careful observer that the Jews have continued to suffer the floggings of Divine punishment in the present century — the Holocaust during the Second World War being a case in point — just as they have been suffering for the last two thousand years. Simultaneously, however, they are also undergoing a process of revival, as exemplified by the establishment of the state of Israel. In the same way, the second phase of decline for the Muslims has continued in the present century — prominent examples of which include the termination of Ottoman Empire, abolition of the Caliphate, the Six-Day War of ‘67, the humiliating fall of East Pakistan, and the devastation of Iraq in the Gulf War — but, at the same time, powerful currents of revival and regeneration are also visible, as epitomized by Islamic activism throughout the world.
According to the predictions of the Qur’an and Hadith, the process of Muslim re-awakening and revitalization is going to continue, culminating not only in the renaissance of Islam as a moral and spiritual ideal, but also in the establishment of the Islamic System of Social Justice over the entire globe. On the other hand, the revival among the Jews is going to be evanescent and short-lived, and their continuing decline, in due course of time, will overshadow their apparent “rise,” ultimately leading to their final and total extermination. Moreover, the beginning of the domination of Islam and the annihilation of the Jews will be temporally coincidental. The relevant predictions in the Qur’an and Hadith will be discussed later in this book. At the moment we shall consider the dynamics and details of the revival among the Muslims.
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