“Don’t Confuse me with the facts”
When the black consciousness movement (i.e, when everyone was wearing ‘X’ hats, t-shirts, and reading fairy tale Afro-centric books, etc) had regained some cultural strength in the early 90s, there was this thought amongst Afrocentrists that there is this huge, one minded monolith out to get black people known as “white America”.
All whites collectively plotted to make black people into drug addicts, intentionally put more beer in the stores, litter the streets, and steal jobs from black people.
When presented with the fact that beer being in the stores was a product of pure economics, no white man was forcing a crack bottle to peoples’ mouths, that the litter on the streets was thrown down by blacks themselves and that white men like former President Bill Clinton were putting billions of dollars into job training programs for black youth (that they often did not respond to) these people basically responded: “Don’t confuse me with the facts.”
They just want to be angry.
One of the things that really bothers me nowadays is the fact that many Muslims want to ignore the problems amongst themselves while pointing out the finger at this massive monolithic, hive mind known as “the kufaar” that is collectively plotting against the Muslims. All of them are in cahoots. (Perhaps they are superimposing their thoughts of how ideally, in their minds, the Muslims are supposed to be some one minded Borg-like collective)
The Kufaar are the reason why the Muslim streets are dirty and the governments are corrupt. Every media outlet on the planet has collectively collaborated to give the Muslims bad press. All the governments worldwide are itching to blow up the Ka’bah, want to carpet bomb all the Muslim cities and convert all the Muslims to Christianity. After all US Government policy makers like Ann Coulter (?) have said so! And all other governments are just itching to join in.
However, when you point out to them that Ann Coulter is not a policy maker and/or ask them to how many times George Bush has bombed the Kab’ah, they reply with the same equivalent of “Don’t confuse me with the facts”.
Instead they invest in empty slogans, bankrupt solutions and/or throw the word “Islamic” on things that do not stand up to reasoned and critical analysis from experts. Some other bloggers on the net have noted this phenomenon and have written about it.
Some of my favorite slogans or empty solutions:
“Islam is the Answer”/ “Islam is the Solution”
Mahmoud Elgamal, a Professor of Finance at Rice University, and Masha Allah a brilliant brother has written about this as it relates to “Islamic” Finance and noted that many of the very people who use this slogan are so narrow and restrictive that they render it void.
Some Islamic groups, for example, endlessly call for re-establishment of the Khilafah in the model of the Kulafaa ar rashideen, but give no solutions as to how solve the much more complex questions the Muslims are facing in the world today, such as what to do about the near complete lack of a middle class in the Muslim world.
Br Mahmoud writes:
Let’s look at Muslim societies: Their biggest problem is the striking absence of a thriving middle class (in some countries, no indigenous middle class ever developed, and in others, it has been eroding very quickly). The vast majority of Muslims who can form the middle classes of those countries are in dire need for credit to avoid falling into (or staying in) poverty, and yet banks that are swimming in excess liquidity can’t think of any better role to play than investing in various high-yielding bonds… And if the bank is called “Islamic”, then let’s just create an “Islamic bond” for it, mimicking the same risk and yield structure of conventional bonds… In other words, there is a fundamental crisis of financial disintermediation in Islamic societies, and “Islamic finance” has not — to date — done much to solve this problem.
So what mechanisms can be put into place to solve this problem that has been in place for hundreds of years in some places?
The Khulafaa ar-rashideen did not collect taxes. How do they propose to run a modern society without collecting taxes? Zakat cannot be used for building roads, schools, and paying police officers, so what mechanism will be in place to provide these services? There are people so poor in the Muslims countries that it is actually dangerous to give the beggars money because you will be mobbed by the others trying to get money from you. On the other hand, you have people so rich their cars are made of actual silver.
Have they thought about it beyond crying “Khalifah NOW!”?
Besides the near complete lack of a middle class, what about the lack of education? Any plan for how this Khalifah get any loyalty with all the extreme tribalism? Much less where this domain will be.
What is to keep the Khalifah they select (assuming how he is selected and what his qualifications are are hammered out) from running the country like a family business?
Who will stop this if the army’s highest officers and troops are filled with his close relatives and are loyal to him as is the case in many Muslim countries? Will there be transparency in ruling or will he say that he has a right to do what he wants with fatawa backing him up. Not that simple as many will tell you that the ruler is to be obeyed absolutely and “transparency” is a “Western” concept.
So in the end, this Khalifah, is likely to only become another corrupt ruler under the current circumstances of many unanswered questions. So, then they will be left to call for another Khalifah. (”Another Khalifah Now” could be the new slogan)
Otherwise they will be left to continue borrow from Marxism, Stalinism, and Machiavellianism and give them “Islamic” labels. So it is not surprising that many of them think that phrases such as ”The end justifies the means” and “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” are ’Islamic’ mantras.
You can read more about the dictatorial and communist tendencies of these Khilafah callers here and here. Unfortunately, they don’t want to be confused by the facts.
“Islam always starts among the poor”
I have heard this so many times used as an excuse for not giving da’wah to higher educated or middle to upper class individuals. The only response I have to it is that every other religion and religious movement also starts amongst the poor. Yet, we hear people say this as if this is divine and/or something that is totally particular to Islam. The poor are always the first converts to any religion and the first to enthusiastically come on board because they have little or nothing to lose.
“Make Hijrah”/ “Go Overseas”
Anyone who knows me knows that this is one of my favorites. First of all, I will say that if a brother can find a good job, has a plan, some savings, finds a good school for his children etc, then I am not saying that this type of brother should not go.
I am talking mainly about brothers who have barely saved up enough money for a plane ticket, and expects to go live the rest of his life in the desert or mountains on $25/month living amongst people that act like the sahaabah.
I can remember talking one brother out of trying to go to Bangladesh expecting that the people there will take care of him “like a Muslim is supposed to”.
I ask him, “What are you going to do once you get there? You have a plan?”
Brother: “Nope, I mean, it’s a Muslim country. They will take care of me”
Me: “Brother, Bangladesh is a poor country. How do you expect them to take care of you?”
Brother: “This is what the Muslims are supposed to do. And they are not doing it here”
Anyway, I was eventually able to reason with the brother. (Or maybe he just didn’t have the ticket money, but either way, he did not go.) However, many other brothers actually make their way over to some Muslim country expecting a utopian dream world. Others expect to go over to do some farming and “live off the land”. Keep in mind that this is a brother from a relatively cozy urban city and has never even planted a flower, much less farmed and raised crops in a hostile and primitive environment.
Further, he has no plan for how to educate his children when he gets there. No plan for earning any money. And tells everyone who tries to get him to think about these things that he is weak and attached to the dunya. (Translation: “Don’t confuse me with the facts”)
Several months later, you see the brother back in the states either disenchanted from his experiences or trying to go to another country because that country was all messed up while this new one is going to be much better.
Some brothers spend 10-12 years talking about hijrah. You can’t get them to do anything because they don’t want to get “tied down” because they are making hijrah. He spends ten or twelve years chasing this mystical Muslim land that reflects what he reads in the books. Meanwhile, the children become adults and the brother never makes anything of himself. His children are lost and he has accomplished little to nothing. He wakes up one morning, sees this and experiences a mid-life crisis of sorts, gets depressed and stops practicing.
All the time and energy spent talking about hijrah, he could have spent that time improving himself, his family, making sure his children were educated properly and working to build something and improve the very community he lived in for the past 10-15 years. But no. He got caught in the “hijrah trap” of talking about hijrah for years while never doing that or anything else. Now he looks around himself and sees that he has done nothing but talk and has lived in a bubble the past decade.
This is why sloganeering is so dangerous. All hopes are put in the slogan, while true answers are not considered, because it becomes taboo to ask the right questions.
*UPDATE: Prattle from the Party
**UPDATE 2: Sloganism
Filed under: Sloganism over Reality, The Culture of Denial and Pretense
Against the sloganisation of Islam: II…
Earlier this year, I wrote a polemic against the sloganisation of Islam. Tariq Nelson offers his own views on a variety of popular slogans amongst Muslims in Don’t confuse me with the…
I could not agree with this more brother Tariq. I remember hearing all of the lines about the white man putting crack in the community, owing the planes, and there being liquor stores on every corner in the black community and all that conspiratorial nonsense.
In the Muslim community we hear that Muslims lag behind because of “the Jews” and Zionist conspiracies and that” Islam is the Solution” and other slogans. Yet no Jew is making the streets of Arab countries filthy, is mistreating Muslim workers, and is forcing Muslims to shun science. Many of these problems stem from the fact that Muslims ignore facts that are uncomfortable such as the fact that there is virtually no middle-class anywhere in the Muslim World and that the IQ rates in the Muslim World are falling. It is a lot easier to blame the Jews and Americans for all of your problems then it is to look at the culture of your fathers and recognize it for the failure that it is.
Slogans have really caused us to be lazy. Lazy in da’wah - why re-assess our methods and honestly determine if we are approaching da’wah the right way when all we have to do is rely on the slogan - “Islam is the fastest growing religion in America!’ As if the slogan will do the work for us.
Same thing with racism amongst Muslims. When are we really going to admit that this is a serious problem? Instead of honestly bringing this to the table and trying to establish some REAL community, we simply allow the current caste/class/clan system to continue and reply with the slogan - “There is no racism in Islam”. Even though little Arab boy Zaid hears his parents refer to black people as ‘abd’ or ‘monkey’ and goes to the Masjid, gets into an argument with black boy Jameel over a toy and blurts out - “Give me that football, ‘Abd!!” When the parent is confronted, what is his reply - “There is no racism in Islam” And so it continues…
Same thing with many social issues that have yet to be confronted because no one has the training or the sensibilities to address them. They don’t teach them about how to deal with crackheads, prostitutes, heroin addicts, sexual deviance, homosexuality, spousal abuse at the University of Madinah - oh yeah, they can regurgitate the same tired slogans, and legitimize them with a few ayat and hadith. Yet, none have been trained to really deal with and confront these issues beyond the intangible answers - and so it continues…
Rashad:
“Islam is the fastest growing religion in America” … I forgot about that one!
Gives us the impression that the growth is from converts and not immigration. The same demographers who said that Islam is fastest growing (due mainly to immigration) are saying that it will stagnate in the absence of immigration. Of course Allah is the one who guides and knows the future
Great article. My wife and I are thinking of moving to the Middle East, but we do have a plan. My wife finished her Bachelor’s degree and has been accepted for her Master’s program here. Insha’Allah, I will finish my bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering in a year or two (who knows with the new kids).
After these things are done we will look for jobs and try to find something decent. My degree will take us a long way in a country like UAE, where we have friends and family already.
My wife speaks fluent Arabic, I can speak conversationally. My wife has lived in the region and knows it well besides having the bulk of her family in Saudi.
If you want to leave, do so with plans. Get an education, support yourself. Sounds to me these people use this as a reason to be shiftless, not to put down roots, you name it.
By all means, go live abroad, but give yourselves the tools to be successful. In the likely event you wont like it (you know, the large racism problem in many Muslim countries, ect) you can come back to the USA and provide properly for your family.
The problem in the ENTIRE Muslim community is that we have lost our respect for learning. The Islamic world used to be the center of the world for education. It is no where near that now. Time to get that working, everything else will come in due time.
I personally believe that unless one has a real concrete reason for relocating himself and his family, “hijrah” as it is promoted today should not even be an option. If you have a wife from the region and have family ties to the region (like bro. Abu Sinan) then it begins to make a little more sense as long as all of the groundwork is done and the consequences of such a move are carefully thought out.
How will this affect my children if I pull them out of this country that they know and move them to a foreign country where they will not be citizens, nor ever be afforded the rights of citizenry? Then if it doesn’t work out and the family has to return to the west, the children (not to mention the adults) have had their development and growth in THIS society stunted. Will my children be able to function as second class citizens in a land that the native people consider them foreigners in? What about their education level? Will they be able to compete academically on an international level if their development is hampered by a move clear across the globe? If they are small children, they will grow up thinking that they are Saudi - but they ain’t Saudi - and the Saudis won’t hesitate to remind them of this fact. But, guess what - at that point, they won’t be Americans either - even though they may or may not have been born here.
I’m a westerner. My parents, my grand-parents, my greats, etc, etc. all were born in America. This is my country. And in many cases, it is easier, and safer to practice Islam here than in some ‘Muslim’ countries. I do not feel obligated to move myself and my family from their homeland where they will be able (insha-Allah) to grow and develop in their own culture and maybe even flourish - all while being Muslims. Literate, modern, rational, educated, thinking, progressive Muslims.
Rashad:
I can tell you many stories of those who went and their children were picked on and called names in school, and the teacher/principal basically blew it off. That is a very difficult situation to be in. I know a brother that went overseas and is facing all of those problems. His 11 year old daughter was not in school last I heard, and with her being black, it will not be the easiest thing in the world getting her married over there.
Everything you bring up are very valid points that are rarely thought of or brought out when it comes to hijrah for those in 100% convert households.
In the context of converts, ‘hijrah’ is most feasible in this order:
1 - Female converts married to immigrant males. It is very feasible and probably by far the most common. The situation is much easier to deal with, with the male being a national and getting his rights. The children can essentially grow up as nationals of that country because the lineage goes through the Father and they will be looked at as homegrown children to a large extent
2 - Male convert married to immigrant female. Much tougher than the first, but as Rashad mentioned, some roots are there which gives an advantage over couples where both are converts, but citizenship issues arise for the children because of origin of the Father being American
3 - Convert couples. More difficult still for convert couples where both are black. This is assuming that both 2 and 3 have done their due diligence in making sure the situation is right
These are the cold hard facts. Hijrah is good for those that can do it. But just jumping up and trying to do it is not wise
It’s enough for there to be a little bit of truth in the conspiracy theories. Afrocentric “fairy tales?” Worse could be said of your average public school textbook. There are definitely people who have agendas - believe that. But this isn’t an argument against personal or community responsibility.
I used to think many of these same thoughts when I was younger. It’s sad to me that some parts of the Muslim community are still repeating these old behaviors.
bismillah
assalamu alaikum
First of all, I support the brining back of the khilafah and I never said, neither did the group I support, ever claim that the kufaar are the source of all our problems.
Tariq said:——————————-
The Khulafaa ar-rashideen did not collect taxes. How do they propose to run a modern society without collecting taxes? Zakat cannot be used for building roads, schools, and paying police officers, so what mechanism will be in place to provide these services?
———————————————-
So the khulafaa never had to build roads, schools and pay police officers? I always hear this excuse from you reformists and “modernists”, “what about the change in time?” Well what about it? What exactly changed other than technology? Did human value change? Or are we now past obeying the Quraan and are wise enough to make our own rules and laws? And how would the change in technology effect Islamic rule other than make it easier?
As for the middle-class problem, Islam brought the waring tribes of the desert to people who ruled the world for several centuries. Is the problem of the middle class a modern problem? A problem that could not possibly exist at the time of the khulafaa? I said it this countless of times before and I’ll say it again, the khilafah in one sentence is “forbidding what Allah made haram, allowing what Allah made halal, and to man his ijtihaad on what is mubaah”. Ijtihaad is taking circumstances and the environment in the light of the Quraan and sunnah to find a solution. You simply cannot disagree with this statement and keep up a blog on Islam at the same time. What exactly do you have a problem with? Forbidding what Allah made haram and allowing what Allah made halal? Or is it the ijtihaad part; finding solutions that don’t go against the Quraan and Sunnah?
Those very questions can be asked at the democracy model (I take it the you support such a government) that you’re proposing, to any government model. It amazes me how reformists comes up to a Muslim who want to live under Islam and expect him to answer all government policies, their method of implementing different rules, like some brother in another blog asked me what speed limit will be put for the highway (!!!). There will be experts akhi, it’s a government like any other government, how hard is it to understand that? The only difference is it will rule by what agrees with Islam, and what Allah didn’t talk about, we do ijtihaad. What exactly is bothering you so much with the khilafah?
Nafi’a reported saying: ” ‘Umar said to me that he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: Whoso takes off his hand from allegiance to Allah will meet Him on the Day of Resurrection without having any proof for him, and whoso dies whilst there was no bay’ah (allegiance or a pledge) on his neck (to a Khaleefah), he dies a death of jahilliyah.”
(reported by Muslim)
Akhi Tariq, are there problems in Muslim societies? Yes there are. Could they be solved without using methods that anger Allah? Ofcourse they could. If it is an open market that, then that is in Islam, but there are restrictions on types of businesses (argumentative) and what is being sold in the market that should be implemented if we are to obey Allah (swt). This is the whole argument we’re presenting. Nobody said that all our problems are because of the kufaar, no body said that we want to wage war on anyone. Economic problems could be solved through economic and social means. These need government legislators and a secular government legislates on what people think is right and not what Allah says (which IS right). And a government that considers Allah’s demands in its legislations is an Islamic government and an Islamic government is for all Muslims because Islam could not be restricted to political boundaries.
As for “Islam starts among the poor” and the making hijra argument, I never heard niether of these and don’t support them anyway.
wassalamu alaikum
Muslims should be critical to themselves and at the same time should be proud of choosing Islam as the truest religion. but as far as islam in usa, i think american muslims should make a distinctive and unique identity different to those of Muslims in other parts of the world. I agree to what has been written by Jeffrey Lang in his “Even the Angel Ask” and the spirit behind the writing.
What do we expect? That a noble khalifah is just going to fall out of the sky, justly and wisely applying the laws of Allah? Nepotism EXISTS in the Muslim world. Corruption exists.
"There is no corruption/nepotism is Islam"
And from where do we get this khalifah? What are the qualifications? "Why Qur'an and Sunnah!! Ahk!" Oh yeah, how could I miss that?
How will this Khalifah rule? - "Qur'an and Sunnah, of course!"
Oh really? How will we know if he is on the Qur'an and Sunnah ?
"Why, the 'ulama' of course!"
Riiiiiiight, and who are the 'ulama again?
"Anyone from Saudi, of course!!"
Oh-kay then….
So what about all these other groups, movements, madhahib, manaahij, differing scholars, etc. etc, who don't agree to so-n-so's interpretation of what exactly IS Qur'an and Sunnah?
"Well, it's obvious - they're people of innovation! - Ahlul-Bid'ah following ther own desires!"
Riiiight - I should have known by the sign on one of their Masjids that said "Masjidu-Ahli-l-Bi'dah wa-l'ahwaa"
Muslims can't even agree on what kind of carpet to lay in the musalla - let alone something as homogenous as 1.6 billion muslims from a variety of experiences and backgrounds miraculously aligning themselves behind a khalifah. And based on the current trends in the Muslim world, who would this new "Islamic Government' turn to for implementing a solid, modern infrastructure of communications, agriculture, finance, economics, environmental studies? Who, from amongst those fundamentalists who yell for "khalifah" and "hijrah" and "Qur'an and Sunnah" are studying these sciences?
When these matters are brought up, in terms of positioning ourselves and our children as leaders in these fields and others, it is said (by fundamentalists) that these matters are secular and are of no benefit so we should ALL study mustalahul-hadith and usul. So, when this utopian government is established, based on a model right out of the pages of books full of romanticized stories of our glorious past, all of its citizens, if we think this logic out to its conclusion, will be fuqahaa - yet ignorant in terms of the engineering necessary to construct, maintain, and operate a global (yes 1.6 billion people is global) infrastructure to meet the needs of its citizens INDEPENDENT of other governments.
Let's establish the khlilafah in our homes first. We have a tendency to think very big, when legitimate problems exist right in front of us. And the sad thing is, these problems are problems that we can actually work on if we acknowledge that they exist. If we are honest with ourselves, there is nothing we can do to bring about a khalifah. Allah has power over everything. But we need to focus our energies on the many social problems that we have right in front of us.
Abdur-Rahman:
wa alaykum as-salaam
You wrote:
//First of all, I support the brining back of the khilafah and I never said, neither did the group I support, ever claim that the kufaar are the source of all our problems.//
OK, brother exactly why are you taking this so personally? I didn't say "Abdur-Rahman says kufar are the source of all the problems." I have met numerous brothers like I described above. Just because YOU are not like this does not negate the facts. This reminds me of when I was lamenting the African-American Muslim men that marry 10-12 times, the brother responds "I haven't done that!" or "I don't know anyone (in his small circle) like that" as if that automatically negates what I am saying.
I assume that you also haven't noticed, for example, conspiratorial forgeries like "Protocals of the learned Elders of Zion" and other things that have spread amongst the Muslims under this thinking.
And unfortunately you have missed the ENTIRE point. You have brothers that say:
"Racism in the Ummah was introduced by colonialism" in response to blatant racism by many
"The media is plotting to make Islam look bad" in response to the media showing rioting or other things done by the Muslims
"They are stealing our resources" etc etc etc
If you haven't heard this type of diatribe, then I suggest you pay more attention.
//I always hear this excuse from you reformists and “modernists”, “what about the change in time?” Well what about it? What exactly changed other than technology? Did human value change? //
Ah yes, another thing that we do: "label and discredit". Give him a label in order to discredit him. What exactly of anything I have wrote is "reformist" or "modernist" on this blog?
Suggestions that American Muslims live in the real world instead of closing our minds to modern technology, ignoring reality and fooling ourselves is "reformist"? In the end it only hurts individuals and their children when the bubble pops.
At the end of the day, I am calling for us to take a critical look at ourselves and try to solve some real problems that we can actually do something about.
For example: A few weeks ago, I was told of the situation of a brother who has been a Khalifah caller for the past 10 years or so. It was just found that his son is in a street gang. Not to pick on this brother, but this story is telling because he put so much concentration on something essentially abstract, yet ignored the things right around him. And guess what? Still no Khalifah
That brother would have been much better served if someone had told him: "Brother you need to get an education or skill, then get a good job, provide for your family properly, spend time with and work with your wife and kids, put lots of effort into educating your children, and work to improve the neighborhood you live in and the Muslim community. You want to be the one who WRITES that $10,000 check for charity. And if you do these things, then Insha Allah you will provide an excellent example to your non-Muslim family members and others"
Instead, someone came and recruited him to a movement that encouraged him to bury himself in abstract issues that he can do nothing about. This brother (an American convert) had probably not even been overseas, much less understood the complex intracasies of the societies over there.
This does not just go for Khalifah callers, but for many other groups as well.
This investing in sloganism is especially damaging for converts. They enthusiastically dive in head first thinking that this slogan is going to be "it". Ten years later, he is burned out, disenchanted and/or was a horrible example for his non-Muslim family. The rest of the world has moved on while he finds he has nothing but that slogan. Everyone else sees him as a bum. He is ashamed and goes away. Sad stories like this exist.
As for change in times, you are very naive if you think that the world has not changed in ways other than technology.
I will give you three ways in which the world has changed:
- The Muslim lands are still largely tribal in their thinking and very discriminatory against non-tribe members (i.e., non-family members) while the rest of the world is moving toward more global thinking. This way of thinking worked all over the world 1,000 years ago. It does not work now. And no Khalifah or any other type of ruler can command authority with that type of "loyalty to the tribe first" type thinking. Then what happens to those who have bayah to current Kings?
- Modern Finance, for example, is much more complicated now than 1,000 years ago or even 100 years ago. Money exchanges, inflationary cycles, deflationary cycles, stock markets, banks, and other such things did not exist then. Do we get rid of them or throw the name "Islamic" on it?
- In the modern nation-state era of borders has the electoral system been considered? What about the role of banks? What kind of health care system? (Health Care insurance? If free, then who will pay for it?) In what ways can people enjoy music, arts or entertain themselves?
The answers to those questions as you and I both know range from the liberal to the rigid and everything in between. That being the case, most of the issues dealing with how an modern day Islamic government is supposed to function has not been hammered out. Much less how he is elected, WHERE this state is supposed to be, and citizenship issues
Trying to convince people (particularly us in the West) that we have to return to the 7th century model with no problem solving of modern issues is in the end a bankrupt ideology. I do not believe that the Sahaabah themselves would operate the same way given current conditions.
A simple slogan of "Khalifah Now" does us no good. We keep concentrating on that fact rather than trying to solve all of the other far more complicated problems in the Muslim world.
//Or are we now past obeying the Quraan and are wise enough to make our own rules and laws? And how would the change in technology effect Islamic rule other than make it easier? //
*sigh* Many Muslims also have the unfortunate tendency to make "straw man" arguments. And the above is that. Refer to my above points on the "making Islamic rule easier" point.
//I said it this countless of times before and I’ll say it again, the khilafah in one sentence is “forbidding what Allah made haram, allowing what Allah made halal, and to man his ijtihaad on what is mubaah”. //
Just what we need yet another slogan! Listen, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the slogans I listed on the surface. The problem is that we don't go any deeper than that and put our hopes in it, rendering the slogan meaningless.
//What exactly do you have a problem with? Forbidding what Allah made haram and allowing what Allah made halal? Or is it the ijtihaad part; finding solutions that don’t go against the Quraan and Sunnah?//
Unfortunately your entire post was littered with straw man arguments and more slogans. As to the hadith you quoted, Allah does not hold us responsible for those things out of our control. He DOES hold us responsible for those things in our control.
My point here is not to discuss the finer points of Khalifah, but to make the point that we are putting our hopes in slogans while deeper thought is not put into real issues that are right in front of us. I am for solving the issues that are right in front of us that I have discussed on this blog.
It makes no sense for a person to be cry day and night about the lack of a Khalifah (or anything else that he has no control over) while doing little to nothing (which is what happens with these people) about the things that are around them.
It makes no sense for a convert living in an American ghetto to lament the lack of a Khalifah, or continuously dream about going overseas, or live in whatever "Islamic Bubble" he has created for himself while he and his family is surrounded by drugs, his children need to learn how to read and survive in the world, and other things. His efforts need to be on trying to improve is IMMEDIATE situation and not on talking to the brothers about a Khalifah or anything else that is out of his control.
Tariq, the more I read your posts, the more I like you! Spot on brother!
Bro Tariq
unfortunatly I am much of what you have described on this blog. I accepted Islam in my early 20s, dedicated myself to different movements and now here I am in my mid 30s broke, depressed and looking for answers. I believe that we think that we have to keep clinging to these dreams to keep some hope in our lives. when you realize that the dream you have believeed in for years is not realistic it is very hard to keep yourself together after that
Subhanallah…
bismillah
assalamu alaikum
Rashad, you sound very smart and well informed, especially when you’re discussing with yourself and answering questions you yourself ask. To make this “discussion” more fair, allow me answer your questions.
Rashad said:————————–
What do we expect? That a noble khalifah is just going to fall out of the sky, justly and wisely applying the laws of Allah?
————————–
For a person that sits behind his computer the whole day reviewing movies, I’d imagine this is how they think. As for the people who belong to international groups working to establish the khilafah, then no, by definition they don’t think this way.
Rashad said:———————-
Nepotism EXISTS in the Muslim world. Corruption exists.
———————–
And how do you plan to solve the problem? Grow a beard and roll up your trousers? Or work to change the corrupt system in the Muslim world?
Rashad said:——————–
And from where do we get this khalifah? What are the qualifications? “Why Qur’an and Sunnah!! Ahk!” Oh yeah, how could I miss that?
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A khilafah is a government that rules by Islam. Islamic law is derived from the Quraan, sunnah, ijmaa al sahabaa, ijmaa al ulamaa, qyaas and ijtihaad. A more simplified way of looking at it is Quraan, sunnah and ijtihaad. If you have any other sources for deriving Islamic laws then please tell me. If not, then what are you being sarcastic about?
Rashad said:————————
How will this Khalifah rule? - “Qur’an and Sunnah, of course!”
Oh really? How will we know if he is on the Qur’an and Sunnah -
“Why, the ‘ulama’ of course!”
Riiiiiiight, and who are the ‘ulama again?
“Anyone from Saudi, of course!!”
Oh-kay then….
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There is majlis al shura which will advice the khaleefah. If the khaleefah, however, ruled outside of Islam, he would be tried at a special court called mahkamat al madhalem.
Rashad said:—————————
So what about all these other groups, movements, madhahib, manaahij, differing scholars, etc. etc, who don’t agree to so-n-so’s interpretation of what exactly IS Qur’an and Sunnah?
“Well, it’s obvious - they’re people of innovation! - Ahlul-Bid’ah following ther own desires!”
Riiiight - I should have known by the sign on one of there Masjids that said “Masjidu-Ahli-l-Bi’dah wa-l’ahwaa”
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Majlis al shura is where every single group in the khilafah has a representative all of equal power. Even the non-Muslims will have representatives who can converse directly with the khaleefah.
Rashad said:———————–
Muslims can’t even agree on what kind of carpet to lay in the musalla - let alone something as homogenous as 1.6 billion muslims from a variety of experiences and backgrounds miraculously aligning themselves behind a khalifah.
—————————–
The division amongst the Muslims is all the more reason why we need a Khaleefah.
Muslim narrated on the authority of al-A’araj, on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said: “Behold, the Imam (Khaleefah) is but a shield from behind whom the people fight and by whom they protect themselves.”
Rashad said:———————————–
nd based on the current trends in the Muslim world, who would this new “Islamic Government’ turn to for implementing a solid, modern infrastructure of communications, agriculture, finance, economics, environmental studies? Who, from amongst those fundamentalists who yell for “khalifah” and “hijrah” and “Qur’an and Sunnah” are studying these sciences?
——————————————-
list of books
Economic system of Islam
Social System of Islam
Funds in the Khilafah state
Rashad said:——————-
When these matters are brought up, in terms of positioning ourselves and our children as leaders in these fields and others, it is said (by fundamentalists) that these matters are secular and are of no benefit so we should ALL study mustalahul-hadith and usul.
——————————
I’m a fundamentalist muslim and I never said that.
Brother Tariq:
Tariq said:————————–
OK, brother exactly why are you taking this so personally? I didn’t say “Abdur-Rahman says kufar are the source of all the problems.” I have met numerous brothers like I described above. Just because YOU are not like this does not negate the facts. This reminds me of when I was lamenting the African-American Muslim men that marry 10-12 times, the brother responds “I haven’t done that!” or “I don’t know anyone (in his small circle) like that” as if that automatically negates what I am saying.
———————-
you are right. I apologise for taking it personally.
Tariq said:——————————-
I assume that you also haven’t noticed, for example, conspiratorial forgeries like “Protocals of the learned Elders of Zion” and other things that have spread amongst the Muslims under this thinking.
And unfortunately you have missed the ENTIRE point. You have brothers that say:
“Racism in the Ummah was introduced by colonialism” in response to blatant racism by many
“The media is plotting to make Islam look bad” in response to the media showing rioting or other things done by the Muslims
“They are stealing our resources” etc etc etc
If you haven’t heard this type of diatribe, then I suggest you pay more attention.
——————————-
I heard all these, but this is as predominant amongst the non-caliphists - if I may use the term- as it is amongst the caliphists. I don’t see how you can relate this to us in particular. I agree that such thinking is pushing us backwards, allow me to add the freemasons nonsense to your list as well.
Tariq said————————
Ah yes, another thing that we do: “label and discredit”. Give him a label in order to discredit him. What exactly of anything I have wrote is “reformist” or “modernist” on this blog?
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As far as I understand, people who argue for a democracy in the muslim world are “modernists” and people who claim Islam should not be put to rule are “reformists”. If you are neither, then again I apologise, but this is the idea I got from you article.
Tariq said——————————
For example: A few weeks ago, I was told of the situation of a brother who has been a Khalifah caller for the past 10 years or so. It was just found that his son is in a street gang. Not to pick on this brother, but this story is telling because he put so much concentration on something essentially abstract, yet ignored the things right around him. And guess what? Still no Khalifah
He would have been much better served if someone had told him: “Brother you need to get an education or skill, then get a good job, provide for your family properly, spend time with and work with your wife and kids, put lots of effort into educating your children, and work to improve the neighborhood you live in and the Muslim community. You want to be the one who WRITES that $10,000 check for charity. And if you do these things, then Insha Allah you will provide an excellent example to your non-Muslim family members and others”
Instead, someone came and recruited him to this movement that encouraged him to bury himself in abstract issues that he can do nothing about. This brother (an American convert) had probably not even been overseas, much less understood the complex intracasies of the societies over there.
————————————-
We are in agreement akhi. But that doesn’t mean we completely let go of working towards the khilafah. That’s jumping from one exterme to the other.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah does not punish the individuals for the sins of the community until they see the evil spreading among themselves, and while they have the power to stop it, do not do so.”
(Ahmad)
We have a duty towards our family, true. But we also have a duty towards our community and society and the Muslims as a whole. They are our brothers and sisters as well.
Let me ask you a question, why was that brother’s son in a gang? His father wasn’t paying too much attention towards him? Now let me ask you, does the environment around him effects him in any way? Putting aside his father’s niglect, there should have been an opportunity of a gang presenting itself to him and a benefit he saw in it for him to join. The fact that without the father’s guidance the son fell into such a situation shows that the society is certainly doing nothing on its part. The father was the only thing that could have kept him away from entering such a cituation and his absence threw the son towards the gang. This means the society itself is corrupt. If the environment, however, was islamic, would not the society itself protect the child? Would not the government? I myself didn’t see my father until I was in seventh grade because he was working abroad. If every child falls to such a level in the absence of his father then most of the Arab world will fall apart as almost everyone is looking for work abroad.
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “This is why those who are in authority are of two groups: the scholars and the rulers. If they are upright, the people will be upright; if they are corrupt, the people will be corrupt.”
Tariq said:—————————
- The Muslim lands are still largely tribal in their thinking and very discriminatory against non-tribe members (i.e., non-family members) while the rest of the world is moving toward more global thinking. This way of thinking worked all over the world 1,000 years ago. It does not work now. And no Khalifah or any other type of ruler can command authority with that type of “loyalty to the tribe first” type thinking. Then what happens to those who have bayah to current Kings?
———————————————-
May I ask, where do you live? Exactly where is that huge tribalism in the Muslim world? I’m not saying that it is non-existant. It does exist, but (1) it is not on a huge scale (2) it is very quickly falling. This way or that, how is this any change that occured in time. Tribalism was around since the time of the khulafaah and is not something that came up in modern times. It’s a problem, I agree. The lack of jobs is also a problem, shortage in electricity and water is another problem. Another problem would be corruption, starvation in some regions like Niger, civil wars in others like Somalia, one amongst the many problems that the Muslim world is filled by that should be solved. But I don’t see how that is an excuse why the Khilafah wont work. I also don’t see how that is considered as a “changes in time” problem. The rest of the world is moving towards global thinking? And what? How exactly is that a problem in relation to whether the khilafah will work or not?
Tariq said:———————————-
- Modern Finance, for example, is much more complicated now than 1,000 years ago or even 100 years ago. Money exchanges, inflationary cycles, deflationary cycles, stock markets, banks, and other such things did not exist then. Do we get rid of them or throw the name “Islamic” on it?
———————————————–
You’re forgetting the point of this argument. The argument is “the khilafah should not be implemented because of the changes in time”. How is modern finance going to work against the khilafah? When we speak of the khilafah, don’t get the image of horses and tents. For the second time, the khilafah is a government just like any government, only that it rules by Islam. If managing inflation using the fiscal policy, monetary policy, banks, whatever it is, is beneficial and does not have any haraam, then we will work through it. Umar (raa) brought in a Persian law into the khilafah. Ofcourse, he only did that after he looked at it in the light of Islam and saw that it does not disobey a commandement of Allah in any way. So I don’t see in this an argument either.
Tariq said:——————————–
- In the modern nation-state era of borders has the electoral system been considered? What about the role of banks? What kind of health care system? (Health Care insurance? If free, then who will pay for it?) In what ways can people enjoy music, arts or entertain themselves?
———————————–
subhaan Allah, exactly like I said in my previous post;
“It amazes me how reformists comes up to a Muslim who want to live under Islam and expect him to answer all government policies, their method of implementing different rules, like some brother in another blog asked me what speed limit will be put for the highway (!!!).”
Akhi, it’s quite simple to understand. Quraan + Sunnah + ijtihaad = khilafah. It seriously cannot get any simpler. If something agrees with Islam then it is implemented, if not then it is not and to people their ijtihaad on every matter Allah made mubaah. Do you want to ask me about the the building designs? how clean the roads will be? what colour the Quraan covers will be printed in? Akhi, these things are policies that we make ijtihaad on. If Allah gave no clear orders then we are allowed to adopt anything that works as long as it does not disobey Allah either in its method or in its consequence.
Tariq said:—————————————–
The answers to those questions as you and I both know range from the liberal to the rigid and everything in between. That being the case, most of the issues dealing with how an modern day Islamic government is supposed to function has not been hammered out. Much less how he is elected, WHERE this state is supposed to be, and citizenship issues
—————————————————–
The answers could be anything the khalif decides to implement after the advice of the relvant people in the majlis al shura. Anything he decides to implement as long as it does not disobey Allah.
How he is elected, well Abu Baker was chosen by the majority of Muslims. Omar was chosen by Abu Baker. Uthman was chosen by a group of scholars whom Omar choose and gave three days to choose a Khaleefah to succeed him. We can adopt any of these methods.
As for where, the Khilafah will be where ever it is implemented. Hizb ut Tahrir works all over the world. It started in Palestine and is currently exteremly powerful in Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan and the Xing-Yang region of China. Allah decides where and when, we only do what we can to establish it in the corrupt method.
Tariq said————————————
Trying to convince people (particularly us in the West) that we have to return to the 7th century model with no problem solving of modern issues is in the end a bankrupt ideology. I do not believe that the Sahaabah themselves would operate the same way given current conditions.
—————————————————–
Tell me, what are the things that the Sahabaah did in the past that they would leave if they were alive today? Ruling by what Allah says, forbidding what he forbid and allowing what he made halaal? What exactly would the sahabaa leave of Islam if they were alive today? What is this part of Islam that you think we should not consider any more today?
Tariq said:————————–
Many Muslims also have the unfortunate tendency to make “straw man” arguments. And the above is that. Refer to my above points on the “making Islamic rule easier” point.
————————————
I’m sorry, I re-read your main post and your reply and couldn’t find that point.
Oh and the “yet another typical comment of fundementalists” to every word someone says in disagreement with you is getting quite silly.
Tariq said:—————————–
Just what we need yet another slogan! Listen, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the slogans I listed on the surface. The problem is that we don’t go any deeper than that and put our hopes in it, rendering the slogan meaningless.
—————————————–
It is sad that you say this because it shows how little research you made to this topic. There are dozens of books that deal with political Islam, some as old as ibn Taymiya and alot is being published today. Akhi, my advice to you is to research the topic before you write articles. If you want I will name you books you could read. I already posted links to three books above on economics in Islam. If you need more, I’ll give you more.
ANYWAY, if you don’t have a problem with this “slogan” then I take it you’re saying you don’t have a problem with impelmenting a khilafah? Which is actually contradictory to your whole post where you kept on trying to give reasons why the khilafah wont work today. Let me tell you what I think is your problem. You cannot argue against that “slogan” because it is so obviously the basic Islamic concept. Disagree with it and you’re treading on VERY thin ice. However at the same time, you cannot get yourself to accept that democracy might have a better alternative.
Who said Western propaganda doesn’t work?
Tariq said:———————————–
As to the hadith you quoted, Allah does not hold us responsible for those things out of our control. He DOES hold us responsible for those things in our control.
——————————————
Umar Ibn Al-Khatab said: “There can be no Islam without Jama’a; no Jama’a without an Ameer (leader); and no leadership without obedience.”
Ibn Taymiyyah said: “This is why those who are in authority are of two groups: the scholars and the rulers. If they are upright, the people will be upright; if they are corrupt, the people will be corrupt.”
“And rule between them by that which Allah revealed to you and do not follow their whims, and beware that they may deviate you away from even some part of what Allah revealed to you.” [The Holy Quran 5:49]
The prophet (pbuh) said: “The best of your Imams (leaders) are those whom you love and they love you, who pray for you and you pray for them; and the worst of your Imams are those whom you hate and they hate you and you curse them and they curse you.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked: “Would we not declare war on them (face them with the swords)?” He said: “No, as long as they establish salat (meaning Islam) among you.”
The imam in Arabic is also a term used for a ruler, just as khilafah could be called imamat. Salah also in this hadith refers to the whole of Islam. This can be easily seen in surah Hud:87 in the Quraan;
“They said: “O Shu’aib! Does your Salat command that we leave off what our fathers used to worship, or that we leave off doing what we like with our property? Truely you are the rightly guided!”
Tariq said:—————————————
I am for solving the issues that are right in front of us that I have discussed on this blog. It makes no sense for a person to be cry day and night about the lack of a Khalifah (or anything else that he has no control over) while doing little to nothing (which is what happens with these people) about the things that are around them.
————————————–
“Why did Allah reveal the shariah laws? For example, when Allah says in the Quraan that we should cut the hand of the theif, why did Allah reveal this verse? Is it not, that in his wisdom subhaanuh wa taala, he knows that the best punishment of the theif is the cutting of his hand? And what is the purpose of laws and punishments? Is it not to stop crimes from happening? So in other words, is it not true that punishing a theif the way Allah told us will be the best solution to the problem of theft? It might not completely solve it, but it will bring us the closest as it is the law that Allah, who created man and knows man better than any other creature, told us off? Did Allah (swt) reveal this verse so that we read it and then put it back on the shelf? Or did he reveal it so that we implement it?”
So if you’re claiming that we could solve all our problems without implementing Allah’s shariah, then you’re saying that you have a better alternative to better the people than that told to us by Allah. Is that what you’re saying? Because if you’re claiming that you could solve all our problems without implementing Allah’s rules and laws, then that is what you’re implying. Personally, I don’t think that’s what you really want to say, you just never thought about it.
Tariq said:——————
It makes no sense for a convert living in an American ghetto to lament the lack of a Khalifah, or continuously dream about going overseas, or live in whatever an “Islamic Bubble” he has created for himself while he and his family is surrounded by drugs, his children need to learn how to read and survive in the world, and other things. He efforts need to be on trying to improve is IMMEDIATE situation and not on talking to the brothers about a Khalifah or anything else that is out of his control.
——————————–
And where did you get this “out of his control” “slogan” (to use your term)? Is that the excuse you found so that you do absolutly nothing? Why is it outside our control?
assalamu alaikum
bismillah
assalamu alaikum
There is a small typo;
“As for where, the Khilafah will be where ever it is implemented. Hizb ut Tahrir works all over the world. It started in Palestine and is currently exteremly powerful in Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan and the Xing-Yang region of China. Allah decides where and when, we only do what we can to establish it in the corrupt method.”
Corrupt is suppose to be ‘correct’.
wassalam
bismillah
astaghfurullahul azeem. I reread my post and I realised I was getting rude in some parts. Walahi I apologise, astaghfurullahul azeem. I’m sorry akhi, but I’ve been in four different blogs and all are generally talking about more or less the same points. So I’m repeating myself and sometimes might forget that I’m talking to someone new.
forgive me akhi. Tariq and Rashaad.
wassalamu alaikum
Abdur-Rahman:
No offense taken. But on to what you posted, as I said earlier, I don't want to debate the finer points of Khalifah. You have sadly MISSED THE ENTIRE POINT of the post which "Ashamed's" comments personifies above.
Before leaving this discussion I will point out two flaws in your argument
- Assuming that anyone who disagrees with your particular methodology by default is against Islamic law. No Muslim in their right mind is against implementing Islamic law.
- Using generic terms like 'ulamaa', 'majlis ash-shuraa' and such things when this means so many different things to so many different people.
Your argument is like someone coming to me and saying they have a great new invention
Inventor: "Got a new invention that will change the world and make lots of money!"
Me: "Great what is it"
Inventor: "It is a transporter! You can transport people from one place to the other instantly, like on Star Trek! All I have to do is figure out the entire space/time continuum thing and we are on our way to billions!!!"
We do agree on this though:
///I heard all these, but this is as predominant amongst the non-caliphists - if I may use the term- as it is amongst the caliphists///
It was never my intention to only pick on "caliphists" when it came to blaming. My thoughts on that issue just led me to that. Perhaps I should have seperated the two.
Abu Sinan:
Thanks Bro!
Uhh..oh-kay. I didn’t get a chance to read these posts until i got back to my office. (I’m actually working believe it or not, not reviewing movies all day.) Oh, is it movies or MOVIE?? So after reading your first reply and becoming very pissed and ready to reply, I read your apology and jazakallah khair.
Now, I never accused you of one who would make those mock replies bro. Abdur-Rahman…never. These are template replies from dealing with Muslims for over 20 years.
Now, I apologize in advance but ease up on the blogs brother. You are taking things a little too personally. Okay, so we may not agree - no need to write bidaaya wa nihaaya. I don’t have the luxury of writing detailed replies all day. And by the way, this blog and my own is just a way to blow of some steam…nothing said in these blogs is earth-shattering so it’s really not that serious brother.
Zaid Shakir said years ago that the khalifa is not going to pray for you and pay zakat for you. The khilafa will also not transform corrupt Muslim societies automatically and corrupt concepts of family and business that exist in the Muslim World. These are problems that are too deep-rooted to be solved by some nanny-state falling from the sky. The government is a reflection of the people and their culture.
Prattle from the Party: I…
Abdurrahman Hilmi, a Hizb al-Tahrir activist who has left numerous comments across a variety of Muslim blogs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and of all of which look more or less the same), asks a question on Tariq Nelson’s post,…
Spot on Tariq,
There is a deeper religious problem with all of this. Many muslims ascribe primary cause to a conspiracy of jews/americans/the isreali governmen etc.., but this is an act of unbelief.
two words that have become haram amongst muslims, are personal responsibility,
Some excellent points.
Bro Ashamed May Allah make it easy for you.
I have gone through similiar situations and trying to pull myself out of it now. It gets frustrating but IO trust in Allah and keep it moving.
In Islam we are taught that we will never see a change in the world until we, ourselves, change. Why have we forgotten this? Blaming everyone else for our ills goes back on this teaching.
We, as an Ummah, are really an ignorant people, on the whole. Once Islam was the center of the world, the bright light of science and the arts. Nothing is farther from the truth today.
One Imam in a khateeb said that there were more books translated into Greek last year, a language with relatively small numbers of native speakers, than there were into Arabic, a language with 300 million native speakers. It is clear that when the Prophet of Allah told us to seek knowledge, even to China, that he has NOT been listened to.
The smartest and brightest then often move to the west. Brain drain, lack of respect for knowledge and innovation. It is starving us as a people and fueling massive inferiority complexes. Time to return to the Islam that motivated people to learn, to innovate, to invent.
bismillah
assalamu alaikum
brother Abu Sinan, I agree with everything you said. The thing is, it is one thing to make such statements and a completely other thing to actually ask yourself, how should we get out of the hole we’re in.
What exactly do you propose we do? Go to every door and preach Islam? You should realise that it was only when Islam was a state that the Muslims were at the forefront of technology and science, not as simple ibadaat (private worships). I hear the arguments that we will never get the state untill the Muslims become like the sahabaa. But then I ask, who said that all Muslims at the time of the prophet were perfect? There were the Muslims that were too afraid to even publically claim to be Muslims, there were the Muslims that stayed away from the battles the prophet and his companions fought, there were the Muslims that didn’t carry out the hijra, there were the Muslims that didn’t fight in Badr and other battles, there were even hypocrites amongst the Muslims around the prophet.
we should certainly not expect that the state will come when the Muslims are perfect, no, we should certainly not even expect to make the Muslims perfect without the state. There is a reason why the sharia was revealed.
The prophet said that whatever helps you make your fard is a fard. So if political leadership of the Muslims will help the Muslims in their deen, then it is a fard upon us to establish that political unity.
In no way am I reducing the importance of ibadaat or other aspects of worship and Islam. No, akhi. I am only saying that there is this and there is that. We do not stick to one and forget the other, whether it’s political work or private worship.
wassalam
Abdur-Rahman:
Brother, I’m not trying to belittle you, but you strike me as someone that is young, unmarried and has no children. Those of us with families know that we can spend very little time on things that we just can not control as THAT is a full time job.
Spending hours TALKING about theoretical things like establishing a khalifah in Uzbekistan or whereever with a group of brothers at a coffee shop in Washington, DC, Chicago, London, Cairo or whereever is not going to change anything.
Our time is better spent educating ourselves, our families, contributing to our local communities (financially and otherwise) volunteering at our children’s schools, and other wise. Insha Allah you will see this point
Once again, the point of this is “Ashamed’s” post above which is all too common. May Allah help them and all of us
Thabet, like i said before @ haroon’s, this is a broad stroke. Bro, talk to em’, engage em’ and honestly i really believe your perspective will change. I have + had the same critique as you, some that I admit STILL exist, but am telling you, its simply not like before.
Also, brother “down and out”, Stay strong bro. this group mentality sickness i saw a mile away and Thabet seen it as well. Shit like this would get any muslim get pissed to see that and it breaks my heart to hear you. But, i honestly believe this is Not Tahrir.
Thabet, i think that is where the problem is. When we see some around sloganising, has it ever occurred that it is simply not them? I can tell you straight up that it simply a case of mistaken identity. Ask em’ yourself.
gotta go.
back, sorry, I believe you have a slight bent on localization. I dunno if its an academic thing brought on by prevalent post modernist thought (relax, doesn’t mean its a bad thing, lol am not labelling you or anything, u freakin’ ‘modernist’
but there is a part of me askin if its a retreat. I think Abdul Rahman picked up on that as well. If your suggesting Tahriri rhetoric is in the extreme of polity, perhaps localization is as well.
Again -Ashamed-, u got NUTHIN to ever be ashamed about. WTF??!!! I know some who have only grown stronger from there experience. This by NO MEANS excuses this. We learn, we grow. May Allah make us a better and spiritually stronger Muslim from this. This just gives me more the reason to go over and talk w/ em.
You may feel alienated and spiritually bankrupt, but your not. Hold strong to the rope of Allah swt. Better to recognize the silence and see The Herd for what it is. Didn’t mean to drop the nietzche or existential shit but you get the drift. Its good that you have addressed this for yourself and recognize that YES, there are shortcomings. But thats what makes this an oportunity bra, strive from it.
bytheby, I got the link to this post from another. Original link was from Thabets. Sorry. am going to post this back to Thabets
I think the biggest problem with the Middle East is that it has lots and lots of oil (easy way for the rulers to become rich beyond their wildest dreams), and almost no other natural resources (very few ways for ordinary people to earn a living, except by working in the ruler-controlled oil industry).
The “rentier state” is the problem.
I think there is a common misconception amongst muslims who disagree with working towards a khilafah state. This misconception actually concerns the khilafah itself; the misconception results in muslims not really understanding the true purpose of the Khilafah- especially its effects and necessity upon society.
The Khilafah is not merely a islamic facade of state rulership, nor is it secular political state with an islamic flavouring, nor is it a utopia- Put simply: the khilafah IS the means left by the holy prophet (saw) for the perfection of society.
Yathrib was not a ‘perfect society’ before Muhammed (Saw) became the ruler of it and it became an Islamic state, they were still loads of hypocrities, less than devout muslims- zina, adultery, wine drinking, tribalistic tensions streching back from before Islam etc… What made Yathrib into an Islamic society and made them the best of generations- was not that they were a collection of individuals who just incidentally happened to be perfect in their islamiic personalities- rather it was the application of Islam in society and the recognition that Allah (swt) was the sole legistlator and reference point for all disputes that made people implement the Islamic solutions and enable them to perfect themselves as a whole.
Put again simply, we all know that a Muslim who does not make Islam and Allah is sole reference point in life, may be tempted into haram and corruption, thus if a muslim is told to pray 5 times a day and not look at girls, yet, he wants to follow what society has ‘taught’ him is normal for those who have a ‘life’- thus, he goes to clubs and spends time with his friends talking about the latest trivia: it would not be surprising to find that he misses his prayers due to tiredness from his constant partying and has a girlfriend or at least feels bad in himself that he can’t pull girls…
Thus, the key to him reforming himself is to adopt islam as the sole basis in his life- FOR EVERYTHING. He may not become masum overnight, but he will greatly reduce his sins to a trickle.
Contrast this to a Society that is NOT based upon ALLAH and Islam solely, not only would it corrupt the individuals within it (as mentioned above), but it would corrupt the very social values of Islam and would lead to oppression and human environments that are unnatural to the fitrah of man. Leading to his abnormal behaviour and actions.
To conclude, just as adopting the Islamic aqeedah as a comprehensive reference point within ones heart, is the startpoint to progressing in the owrship of Allah (swt) and purifying oneself; SO the adopting by society of Islam as its sole reference point in life and ultimate point of authority- is the start point to its purification.
An New convert does not have to be perfect in order to embrace islam, indeed, his personaility will usually have many faults, but when he has made the concious decision to refer to Islam in his life, for all his solutions- and he acts upon this, his personlity will start to change to that of a Islamic one.
People do not have to be perfect to establish Allah’s (swt) laws, they merely have to believe, agree and work for its implmentation so that their whole environment, system, society and peoples utilize Islam to solve all their problems and needs- then we shall see the perfection of society. This implementation of Islamic social solutions has many names, but the name I will use for it, is the name left to us by the Prophet (saw) as one of the most important legacies of His (saw) lifes work: The Khilafah.
Abdullah:
All of that is great in theory, but many of us have concerns that are pressing us right now and can not wait until HT picks a Khalifah for us all
[...] After hearing this rationale and the facts, the brother disagreed and dismissed further conversation as "not being beneficial" (because he knows that he is right) then abruptly ended the conversation. [...]
Salam alaikum,
Yes, I understand brother, there are many social concerns that press all of us right now, but to work for them separately from the issue of khilafah is like working to solve the symptom separately from its problem. Its not like we should all just sit down and do nothing while we wait for the return of the khilafah; but we should work to resolve these symptoms en route to solving the root-cause which is the absense of khilafah.
So, when our governments deprive the people of their needs, we should call out for their islamic rights; In doing so, the people realise practically what Islamic social rights are and the need for their establishment throughout society
And when the west tell muslims to integrate and accept their artificial nationalities, we should publicly reject it and declare our unity first with the Ummah and it’s issues/problems, by doing this, this divisions that prevent the Ummah uniting into a unitary political entity with common problems, concerns, goals and responsibilities-are eliminated.
All these issues have been addressed with the re-establishment of the Khilafah in view- therefore the Ummah progresses closer to attaining it.
Basically, the attempts at solving our problems will not be productive nor progressive unless we stop being reactionary to them and start approaching them with a view to achieving a final objective. And not just any objective, but the establishment of a Society where Allah’s (swt) word is the highest reference for all affairs in life (i.e. The Khilafah).
Assigning the blame and making up slogans is something that has distracted the Ummah, and I thank Allah and appreciate you for pointing that out.
But many of these Afro-centric books of the ealry 90s weren’t fairy-tales. The ones promoting an opinion or philosophy were merely that, and the ones teaching history were oft-times written by historians who had done research and reported their findings. The ones writing about politics and conspiracies were sure of what they were writing, and the worst many would have been is honeslty mistaken or misinformed. No, they were absolutley right to point fingers at the white power structure in place that still benefits from stolen land and forced free labor in North America and from colonization in Europe.
Now, you are still correct in saying that white people weren’t throwing down trash in Black ghettoes, nor were Israelis and Americans littering Muslims lands and ruling Muslim lands with secular laws and corruption.
But why have none of us said regarding race or religion that the blame lies with both parties? The slave masters and their willing heirs (i.e. white supremacists and policy makers) have their share of guilt for what they have started, and we African Americans our share of guilt for what we have continued and perpetuated. Conspiring disbelievers have their share of guilt for their misuse of indirect power, as their so-called Muslim puppets have theirs for complying and misruling Muslim lands.
In short, aft-times in these struggles, both sides have been at fault… the agressor for starting and maintaining the problem, and the victim for perpetuating it. Much of the problems that African descendants and that Muslims face does start with conspiracies, and many continue without the need for further conspiracies or outside effort.
Oppression is worse than slaughter, and it seems that the key to resisting oppression is being willing to die before being willing to be oppressed. Non-Muslims have atleast one excuse, they don’t know what is waiting after death.
We don’t have that excuse. We must live ready to die, and the wicked cannot oppress those of us who limit them to the options of ceasing oppressing others, killing us since they cannot oppress us, or dying while trying to oppress us. Umar Mukhtar told General Graziani “We win or we die!” Now, can you or I or anyone else oppress Umar now that he has been buried? If they can only either leave us alone or meet resistance from us, either way we will no longer be oppressed.
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