The Humiliated Ummah
As for the present condition of Muslims, there are
unfortunately few things to boast about. For all practical purposes, the Muslim
Ummah as an integrated global entity does not exist anywhere in the real world.
The authentic and genuine “Ummah” has long been reduced to a mere academic
concept. In reality, we are left with a large number of Muslim “nations” and
their respective “nation-states.” We are further divided into even smaller linguistic, racial, and sectarian groups —
along with inevitable hostilities and conflicts. The inescapable result has
been that although we are at least 1300 million in number, our combined weight
in the global policy making process is never more than zero.
It is indeed amazing that we are so many, yet we count
for so little. All international disputes are being decided today by the
United States and
her allies, especially
Britain and France, under cover
of the UN Security Council. Our national policies — interior, foreign, and
fiscal — are being formulated and dictated by the guardians of the New World
order, by means of such organizations as the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund. Our natural resources are being controlled and exploited by
them. The wealth belonging to most of the affluent Muslim countries is
practically at their disposal; as a matter of fact, Western powers can “freeze”
this wealth as soon as the country in question attempts to take any step which
is opposed to their wishes. The Arab monarchies — despite material prosperity,
majestic palaces, and luxurious life style — are nothing but puppets in their
hands. Muslim rulers all over the Islamic
world are desperately
vying to win
favors from the West; the interests of Islam and Muslims
hardly ever bother them. Most of the Muslim world is dressed in the garb of
fear and hunger, and disharmony, disunity, poverty, mediocrity, mismanagement,
and corruption are reigning supreme. Even in countries where there is some
material prosperity, the ubiquitous humiliation — in the form of disgrace on a
global level and lack of genuine autonomy — is still there, as exemplified by
the fact that the richest of the Arab Sheikhs are a common laughingstock of
Western media.
On top of this, there are the massacres and other forms
of sufferings being endured by Muslims in India, Kashmir, Palestine, and
elsewhere. The brutalities committed against the Bosnian Muslims are still
fresh in our memories. The anguish of hearing how our sisters were raped by the
thousands and how our brothers were mercilessly tortured and slained is not
something that we can easily forget. To add insult to injury, and much to the
satisfaction of our enemies, there are Muslims who kill — or conspire with
non-Muslims to suppress — other Muslims, and are often proud of their
“achievements.”
Who can deny that we are, indeed, a disgraced and
dishonored community in the comity of nations?
Going through the Qur’an, we often come across words of
severe condemnation which specifically berate the Jews for their sins. We tend
to pass over these verses with a smug self- righteousness, satisfied that these
admonitions are meant for a corrupt people and that these words have nothing to
do with us. But consider the following Qur’anic words with an open mind and an
objective attitude, and it would not be difficult to see that, much more than
the Jews, these Divine words are actually applicable to the Muslims of today :
Humiliation and misery were
stamped upon them, and they drew upon themselves the anger of Allah. (Al-
Baqarah 2: 61)
Isn’t it a fact that our politics today is nothing but an ignominious slavery to the West? That our economy is based upon nothing but shameful mendicancy? That we are, on the whole, the most ignorant, undisciplined, corrupt, and uncivilized people on the surface of earth? Isn’t it true that we are intellectually effete and academically dependent on the West? That we are willing and even eager to collaborate with the enemy so that we may kill our brothers? If all this doesn’t constitute the worst form of humiliation, then what does?
A common Muslim may plead before Almighty God: Aren’t we
supposed to be the best of communities? Aren’t we among the followers of your
most beloved Prophet (SAW)? Aren’t the Christians and the Jews and the rest of
them enemies of Islam? Then how can anyone justify their domination and
opulence and our miseries and destitution?
This most disturbing of questions demands our deepest
attention, especially because of the following two reasons:
First, it is imperative that we familiarize ourselves
with the Divine Law
that has been
operating throughout human history. We must understand that
instead of being innocent victims of the vagaries of fate, we ourselves are
responsible for our pathetic state of existence. We need to clearly realize
that mere grumbling and complaining will not solve our problems, and that we
need to confess our sins and repent with the true spirit of repentance.
Secondly, just as a correct diagnosis is an
indispensable prerequisite for proper treatment, in the same way we need to
identify the real cause of our miseries before we can formulate and chart a
plan of action. This is important so that the limited amount of energies and
resources available to us are not lost in superficial and useless undertakings.
Instead, a precise appreciation of the seriousness of our situation, and a
correct interpretation of that situation in terms of its etiology — both are
essential steps as far as any hopes for a successful revival are concerned.
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