Islamism-The Scourge of the Modern Muslim Community!
This entire article can be summarized by an interaction between my Sufi Sheikh of the time, -Sheikh Nazim Haqqani, and a small group of Ikhwanis (Muslim Brotherhood people) who were heckling him at a public event. He looked them in the eyes and said the following:” You don’t understand our religion. We are not agreeing to any ‘ism’’ -neither Socialism, nor Communism ,nor Feminism .Especially we are not agreeing to ‘Islamism’. People get the governments they deserve (i.e. you will not be able to improve their lot by establishing an Islamic state which is one of the core belie4fs of the Islamists).
Now if you truly understand these words, you can stop here! But I doubt that to be the case. It took me about 30 years to do so and the recent tragedy in the Middle East only served to underline how important his words are ! What the sheikh is saying in essence is that the entire Islamist narrative is flawed from the start. And it is flawed for several fundamental reasons. Firstly, it is a man-made solution-a product of human hubris (“mind-productions”).Unfortunately a typical human mistake.. We start with a problem- in this instance let’s say the corruption of the modern world, in values and behaviour-which has spilt out into the Muslim world .Both Syed Qutb and Abul A’la Maududdi ,the two principal thinkers of the Islamist movement, are quite clear that this is their starting point. Then you develop a theory to solve the problem. In both cases, the answer is the same. We need to recreate a Muslim Caliphate. And then you figure out how to implement your theory.
Notice already the difference from the origins of our Islamic Faith! Our Prophet saws was neither a theoretician (thank God) nor a politician. He received a Revelation and then communicated that to the people around him. He did not start with an idea! He then promulgated the Revelation with wisdom and discernment-not with Aristotelian logic. Thank God the Greek philosophers had not yet made their way into the Arab world. That was only to happen much later starting with the Abbasids and reaching its culmination in the Andalusian period.
Now if you think about this process, not about the contents of the Islamist discourse, but about the philosophical underpinnings, you will see an ironic and significant parallel. The Marxist movement! Marx, too, identified a problem-the exploitation of the working class- a real problem which he described very well. Btw Marx was mostly right in his critique of Capitalism. Where he went wrong was the solution. He, too, wanted a state to solve the problem. His state was called “the Dictatorship of the Proletariat”. The Islamic State and The Dictatorship of the Proletariat . Six of one, half a dozen of the other lol.. Have you noticed the catastrophe of Marxism and the massive loss of lives involved-40 million at least under Mao and another 30 million under Stalin. Not to mention Pol Pot in Cambodia and the North Korean regime. They outdid all others- including Christians and Islamists- in their murderous ways .Is that who we want to emulate?!
Then think of the abysmal failures of the so-called Islamic states-Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt under Al Morsi, And now, Turkey under the latest Ikhwani -Erdogan-all going in the wrong direction! There is no coincidence here. As long as man thinks he has a better plan than God, we are headed for disaster.
And how odd?1 This movement, that is so critical of Western society and so anti-Semitic at its core, is using the template of a European Jew(Karl Marx) to try to solve its problems. And btw there is evidence that Syed Qutb studied both Socialism and Communism in developing his ideas! How ironic?!
The secular Muslim journalist Tarek Fatah poses the dilemma this way in his book : ”Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic state”. “One could say there are two Islams that Muslims have introduced to the world. One peaceful, spiritual and deeply respectful of the ‘other’ an Islam that relied on the Quranic expression ‘To you your religion, to me mine” …However parallel to the spiritual Islam ,an equally militant stream of puritanism (read Wahhabbism) and supremacist philosophy(read Islamism)was evolving. It sought statehood, political power, and mastery not just over the conquered , but over competing Muslim interests as well(read the “takfiri” movement of which Algeria was the clearest example!).
Btw I used to think that the principal problem in the Islamic ummat was the Wahhabis. But they are a simple-minded, Bedouin people at heart ”Shirk”, “kufr” and “bida” Skeikh Nazim used to say. ”Those are the only terms in their lexicon” lol.They did do the disservice of spreading a dry, lifeless, unspiritual version of Islam across the world with their petrodollars. But they are nowhere near as sophisticated and sinister in their influence as the Ikhwanis and the Jamat al Islamiya people- who claim to be reasonable and well-thought out . The latter represent a significantly greater danger.
This article is not intended to be a comprehensive study of the recent history of Islamism. I will leave that to the academics lol. They love that kind of stuff. I am, at heart, an Essentialist-trying to get to the heart of the matter! But before getting to my “Charge Sheet” (a term I borrow from the great Quran scholar Israr Ahmad May Allah have mercy on his soul) let me say a few words about the major personalities involved. We could date the beginning of Islamism back to the 1920’s in Egypt with Hassan Banna who founded the Ikhwan Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood). Others may predate it to Rashid Rida, the Muslim reformer, who predated Al Banna but these historical details are not really relevant to the discussion at hand. Of the 4 principal characters involved , the other three being Syed Qutb, Abul Ala Mauddudi and Ayotollah Khomeini, representing the Shia wing of the movement, he(Al Banna) was the most moderate and probably the most likeable .He advocated a gradual, peaceful Islamization .By contrast, his successor in Egypt, Syed Qutb, was more militant ,more aggressive and later became one of the major inspirations for the Salafi Jihadists- including Ben Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri. Both Ben Laden and Zawahiri studied with his brother, Muhammad Qutb, at his classes in Saudi Arabia1 Anwar Al Awlaki, ,the head of al Qaeda in Yemen, was also an avid reader and follower of Syed Qutb. So the links between the terrorists and the Ikhwanis are very clear. But take note: All Islamists are not terrorists but all terrorists are Islamists.
The personality most linked to Islamism in the subcontinent but who had influence all over the Muslim world was Maududdi. Like Qutb, he wrote a long tafseer of the Quran justifying his point of view and like Qutb he had a refined intellect and considerable knowledge. However, even at their time, the traditional scholars of Islam did not accept their point of view! Qutb was declared a heretic by Al Azhar University (I would totally agree with that assessment even if it is shown that Al Azhar was under political pressure to do so). The Deobandi scholars were somewhat divided about Maududdi but below you can find a typical assessment by a South African Deobandi. N.B. It takes Muslims a long time to find out the reality of a person if they speak the familiar Muslimese lol. I think the Turks will have a rude awakening with Erdogan just as the Egyptians learnt the hard way by having Mohammed Mursi (another Ikhwani) in power!
About Maududdi: “I admired many things about Mawdudi Saheb and detested many. For a long time I did not wish to degrade him. I felt that from his innovated style of presentation, the modern generation could benefit. Although at times such compositions appeared from his that it was not possible to endure it, but taking into consideration the Deeni well-being, I tolerated it and kept silent. I did not foresee that this Fitnah would spread worldwide and have a detrimental effect on the Arab world; that every day from his master pen new buds would keep on blossoming and indecent words would be used regarding the Sahaaba Kiraam (Radhiallaahu Anhum) and the Anbiyaa (Alayhimus salaam). Later on, such things appeared daily in the “Tafhimul Qur’aan”.(Maududdi’s Tafseer)
Now it has become known without doubt that his writings and publications are the greatest Fitnah of the present time, notwithstanding a few beneficial treatises that have appeared, it is the case that the sin of them is greater than their usefulness.? (Surah Baqarah 219). Now that stage has been reached where to keep silent seems to be a great crime. It is regretted that for forty years an offensive silence was kept. Now the time has dawned, where without fear of rebuttal and censure all his writings from A to Z should be thoroughly studied with a view to fulfil the demands for the preservation of the Deen with Haqq and justice.
Wallaahu Waliyyut Tawfeeq
Moulana Muhammad Yusuf Binnori
(under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa).
Last, but not least, is the Shia version of Islamism under Ayatollah Khomeini. I had just become Muslim-in Jerusalem- in 1978 and shortly afterwards we were all excited to see Khomeini return from France to Iran. ”Finally, a real Islamic country” we thought. It reminds me in retrospect about our enthusiasm when Mugabe came to power in Rhodesia! “Finally, an African leader with a pure left-wing agenada” Paradise was at hand lol. Well we know where that led ! And Iran is more or less on the same track! More people have left Islam in Iran because of the Mullahs than at any previous period I am aware of! That is the effect of Islamism in action! The Quran teaches: ”There is no compul.sion in Religion”.But the Islamists turn this teaching on its head! ” Compulsion leads to virtue. We need to force it upon people”. How much more un-Islamic could they be?!
The ”Charge Sheet” against the Islamists
Let me put the following figures in perspective since this article is being written during the Israel-Hamas war. The best figure I could find put Palestinian deaths between 1948 and 2020 at 31,000! With the current conflict that could easily rise to 45,000. Now 45,000 deaths is a very significant number, no doubt. And it doesn’t count the injured , the displacements and the general misery and economic consequences of war. But let us consider the following numbers-much of which is directly or indirectly caused by Islamism. And btw the excessive deaths in Gaza can also be traced to Islamism as well. That is not to negate the Israeli responsibility But think about it! 31,000 deaths in 70 years mostly under P.L.O. and Palestinian authorities and now let’s say 15,000 deaths in six weeks with Hamas. Draw your own conclusions.
- Iran/Iraq war: 1980-1988 One to two million killed. Islamist contribution; Saddam Hussein was no angel but he was legitimately concerned that Iran would try to infiltrate and even take over Iraq where there was a Shiite majority So, Islamism certainly played a role.
- The Afghan Civ!il War:
Before Ben Laden and al-Qaeda.1978-1992
1.5 million deaths
Afghanistan since 2001– 243,000 deaths !
Islamist contribution: The Taliban and other Islamic parties like Hizb Islam Gulbuddin and Hizb al Wahdat certainly played the major role let alone al Qaida and Isis in Khorasan- two Salafi Jihadist groups directly derived from Islamist ideas
- Syrian Civil War: 500,000-600,000 deaths. Islamist contribution :No doubt the Assad family is the principal culprit but the threat of an Ikhwani uprising was always in the background-especially after their attempt to assassinate the elder Assad in Homs failed!
- Algeria I.S. (Front Islamique de Salut1 What a strange name?! “salut” means salvation in French. Should rather be called Front Islamique de L’enfer.The Road to Hell.- 200,000 deaths!
- India/Pakistan separation.2-3 million lives lost Islamist contribution Muhammad Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was not an Islamist but rather a secular Indian. However, the project of having a Muslim state can be considered a consequence of of Political Islam even if it is not properly Islamist. Btw the traditional Deobandi Islamic scholars were not in agreement with this project The debacle of separation was followed by an unnecessary war between Pakistan and Bagladesh which claimed another million lives(estimates range from 300,000-3 million!)
This is admittedly a cherry-picked list- cherry-picked for the numbers of deaths involved. Not included are the deaths in Pakistan caused by the Pakistani Taliban, the Lebanese Civil War , the people murdered by the Mullah’s regime in Iran, the deaths of Iraqis due to sectarian violence after the Americans pulled out. the deaths in north Africa with the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt , the deaths from Al Qaida and Isis(the latter 33,000 -outdoing the Israelis in a few short years!), Boko Haram in Nigeria, The Al Shabbab in Somalia etc ,etc.. Many if not most of these deaths can be traced back to Islamism.
At this point, the conclusion should be clear. As the formerly cited South African scholar said about Maududdi, this political current is the greatest “fitna” (civil disturbance ) that Islam has know-possibly since the Mongol Invasions in Iraq and the Crusades in the Middle Ages .It far outstrips the problem of Israel that Muslims seem to be obsessed with-as it goes to the very heart of out tradition. In reality, it should be considered a “heresy” in the same class as the Khawarij and the Mutazili heresies before it. More than destroying lives, it ends up destroying Islamic consciousness which is about being humble and peaceful and surrendering to the Divine will-NOT about showing how clever and willful and strategic we can be. Not about self-assertion , but about self-discipline and self-control(the jihad-a -nafs thats our Prophet saws taught us was much greater than the jihad of War) .As Muslims we are surrendered and obedient to Allah-not to any theoretical doctrine that sounds Islamic. That is a subtle but fundamental understanding that the ummat needs to appreciate if it is to survive and thrive, May Allah protect us all.
Salaams, Sufi Ibrahim