Islamic Resurgence
We are definitely indebted to the arduous and often un-
acknowledged efforts by our Ulama, as they have succeeded in keeping the
structure of traditional
beliefs and rituals
intact during the extremely unfavorable period of Western colonialism.
However, the most
significant aspect of
the process of our
revival concerns an entirely different type of response to the decline of
Muslims. The forerunners in the revivalist movement include all those
organizations and groups which were created with this very purpose in mind,
i.e., to re-awaken the Ummah and to re-establish the domination of Islam. Such
groups and parties have categorically rejected the two common responses to
Westernization: either withdrawing in the shells of tradition or blindly
accepting whatever arrives from the West. Instead, they have emphasized again
and again that Islam is not merely a collection of dogma, rituals, and customs,
as are other religions, but that it is the God-given Deen, i.e., a complete way
of life encompassing the whole spectrum of human activity, including its
social, cultural, legal, economic, and political aspects. And, most
importantly, like all other ways of life, Islam demands its complete and total
ascendancy, and the struggle to establish that ascendancy is the duty of every
Muslim.
For a number of centuries, India and Egypt have held the distinction of being the two most prominent centers of culture and learning in the Muslim world. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the two major revivalist movements of the twentieth century — Jama‘at-e-Islami and Al-Ikhwan Al- Muslimun — rose from the Indian subcontinent and Egypt, respectively. Although, at a certain point in its history, the Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun of Egypt had become the focus of all revivalist aspirations due to its unprecedented fervor and widespread influence, the fact remains that the real superiority — in this field too — belongs to the Indian subcontinent.
The first person to invite the Muslims towards the struggle for Islamic revival in the Indian subcontinent was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958), who, during the early part of the present century, called for the establishment of “God’s Kingdom” through his pioneering magazines Al-Hilal and Al-Balagh, and, in order to reach that goal, formed a group known as Hizbullah. His ability to motivate the audience through a unique style of writing and oratory, which became especially prominent during the Khilafat Movement, made him a well-known public figure throughout the subcontinent, and his own sincerity and enthusiasm conquered the hearts of millions of Indian Muslims. If it were not for the opposition and obstructions created by some of the traditional scholars, he would have been selected as Imamul Hind (supreme leader of Indian Muslims) during the early 1920s. Disillusioned and frustrated by the lukewarm response from the religious establishment, Abul Kalam gave up his mission altogether, and, from then onwards, dedicated his life to the nationalist politics of India, until his death in 1958.
The echoes of his vehement and vociferous clarion call to the Qur’an and Jihad continued to reverberate in the four corners of Muslim India. Like the second runner in a relay race, another unconventional and courageous young man appeared on the scene with the firm resolve to continue the mission that was forsaken by Maulana Abul Kalam. He worked alone for nearly seven years as a journalist, presenting a methodology for the establishment of “God’s Kingdom” and the revival of Islam as a complete way of life. He then worked for sometime at Darul Islam — an Islamic research academy established by Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan, a devotee of Alma Iqbal. He finally laid the foundation of his own party in 1941, called Jama‘at-e-Islami, and started an organized movement. This young man was, of course, none other than Maulana Sayyid Abul A‘la Maududi (1903-1979).
The spirit of Islamic revivalism and the aspiration to establish the ideal Islamic system, as generated by the Jama‘at-e- Islami, has influenced a considerable section of Muslim youth in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Simultaneously, the same spirit — initiated by Hassan Al-Banna when he established Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun in 1928 — has been active throughout most of the Arab world. Although the widespread impact produced by these movements is beyond dispute, it must be realized that lack of a unanimous policy in relation to the all important matter of methodology has been responsible for the creation of a number of divisions among them, leading to the formation of various smaller parties and organizations. For example, though the Al- Ikhwan Al-Muslimun in Egypt and Jordan has, in general, taken the path of peaceful social and political struggle, some of its dissatisfied offshoots have adopted violent and even terrorist methods for achieving the same objective.
However, such radical organizations, along with the enthusiasm of other non-violent but nevertheless revolutionary groups, have succeeded in bringing the goal of Islamic Resurgence a bit closer to reality — at least in the eyes of the West. The whole phenomenon has produced a sense of alarm among the Western powers and their “Muslim” stooges, despite the fact that the actual achievements of parties like Takfir-wal- Hijra, Al-Jehad, Islamic Tendency Society, Jama‘a Islamia, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), are as yet far from the establishment of an Islamic state. One can have a number of disagreements with each of these organizations, but it has to be admitted that these movements represent, as a whole, the revivalist aspirations of the Muslim Ummah, and have become a force that has to be recognized at the international level. The role of the revolution in Iran and the rise of Shi‘ite fundamentalism is also significant in this respect.
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