Islamic World and Islamic Leader
06 September, 2005
By kabir Malik
World is run by a few rich and powerful countries and developing countries are obliged to stay within the scheme of the new world order conjured up by the leaders of the powerful ones to serve and safeguard their interests. When there are clashes of interests between them, powerful leaders carry out nasty acts like illegal occupations, state terrorism, and illegal wars. By the sod's law of nature, Muslims always get caught at the receiving end of the conflicts and in revenge and out of frustration resort to unIslamic acts like suicide bombing, 9/11 in the USA and 7/7 in the UK; and there is no effective mechanism in place that could act as a go between and troubleshoot crises on behalf of the Muslim Ummah. Madrisas are blamed for hate preaching and Maulvies (clerics) are dragged out of mosques by the media and the governments and are expected to come up with satisfying answers for the horrific deeds committed by the perpetrators. I believe global world is too complex for Maulvi community to deal with these issues. However, we have Muslim leaders both at the local community level and at the national level doing their best to safeguard our interests in most western countries.
I believe we desperately need a world class Muslim leader who could grapple with crisis of the troubled world of today on behalf of the Muslim Ummah. This leader in my opinion must be an intellectual, knowledgeable in Quranic teachings, a good communicator able to address the United Nations, influence G8 summits if need be, handle the media, advise governments on Islam related issues, and guide Muslim Umma in crisis. I do not envisage this person as a spiritual leader but a fountainhead of wisdom out there to tackle the world problems in Islamic perspective.
History tells us that when the west was living in what they call 'dark ages', Islamic world in the east was at the height of its learning. It gave the world science to make progress and develop societies and it gave religion to live by the codes of morals and enjoy spiritual gratification. Unfortunately, Islamic world has passed its best and is no longer at the forefront of the progress today. This proposed Muslim leader, this Sallah Ud Din, the crusade buster of the modern time, in my opinion, would not rise from the east this time but most probably would rise from the west. The second and the third generation of Muslim immigrants in the west are emerging with thunder in pursuit of underpinning their Muslim identity and there are more and more Muslim converts popping up both in Europe and America with great zeal for embracing Islam; I am sure someone from this part of the world would make his or her mark and would emerge to take up this desperately needed responsibility. Western culture seems to influence most societies of the world, therefore, this new breed of Muslims who has the language and the mindset of the western culture, I believe are the right candidates for the job. Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, is a shiny example of it.
The present Islamic world is confined to traditional Islamic countries, which are stuck in the past because of their old respective cultural customs and traditions that have nothing to do with Islam. Because of Islam's historic virtues of tolerance, pluralism and inclusiveness, it is the fastest growing religion of our time, therefore, the Islamic world of the future, I guess, would encapsulate most part of the globe embracing modernity and 'enlightened moderation' in its fold. I believe Islam would be the major emerging religion of the world in the 21st century and would need a world-class tall Islamic leader at the helm of it.
Islamic leader must deal with issues, which are detrimental to the wellbeing of Islam. For example, Islam has become a religion of rituals - five times a day prayers, dress code, beard, topi, turban, Hijab, Burqa, etc. It must be brought home to Muslim Ummah that Islamic teachings go beyond these rituals - punctuality, honesty, tolerance, equal rights for women, justice for humanity (not for Muslims only) and much more. These virtues affect our daily lives but they barely exist in Muslim countries we come from. Quran teachings have been distorted and used to serve one's own agenda. Even the custodians of Islam haven't spared their old brush from tainting the image of Islam (Ref: BBC Panorama, 21 August 2005). Salman Rushdi is out of the woodwork and is ready to hurl another insult on Islam. --- The western Islamic leader I hope would tackle these core issues head on, would steer a positive image for Islam and would give a western dimension to spreading Islam in Europe, America and beyond.
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