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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (48732)	7/18/2005 5:45:34 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Nice article by a Muslim, he invites Islamic society to join the 21st century. ========================================================= dailytimes.com.pk efault.asp?page=story_3-1-2004 _pg3_6 Op-ed: Waiting for Allah How come ‘Muslim blood’ has been targeted, becoming collateral damage in the jihad against infidels? The attacks in Jeddah and Turkey injured 790 fasting Muslims, killed by their own Muslim brothers. Were these Muslims martyrs? Defeatism has become prevalent in the Islamic World and self-inflicted pain has become pleasure. Hostility for the US is a disease inflicting most Muslims. He, who wakes up to a breakfast of Kellogg’s frosted wheat, wears Gap jeans, works on a Cisco-Intel-Microsoft-based technology to surf the Internet whilst sipping Starbucks coffee and gulps down a double Mac for lunch, also lashes out at the American way of life. This is primarily envy for America’s accomplishments and its hard-won freedoms. It is nothing more than passive aggression egged on by the sense of abject failure and the underachievement of the leadership that has failed the people. The Islamic world today faces new questions. Questions that need to be answered by the main body politic of Islam. How come ‘Muslim blood’ has been targeted, becoming collateral damage in the jihad against infidels? The attacks in Jeddah and Turkey injured 790 fasting Muslims, killed by their own Muslim brothers. Were these Muslims martyrs? Jihad in the month of Ramadan is nothing but a parody of righteousness. Islam is supposed to be a religion of peace and constructive thought. It helped start a new era in a period when ‘jahaliyyah’ was prevalent. To now use Islam as symbol of carnage is ‘munafiqat’. The recent attacks by Al Qaeda have opened a lot of eyes; the questions that should have been asked after 9/11 (as most of the people that died in the US were ‘infidels’) are now being asked. What is the point of such attacks? What purpose do they serve? When Western blood is spilled, there is a gleeful silence; when Western interests are hurt, there is a sense of accomplishment in the fringe elements of Islamic communities. Islam does not preach feeling happiness at the miseries of the West. Its very message is peace. A madrassa product cannot be compared to an Oxbridge graduate. This is our biggest failure accumulated over centuries. ‘Innovation of thought’ was denounced by Imam Al-Ghazali as heresy. Ibn Khuldoon, Ibn Sina, Ibn Ishaq, Khayyam, Biruni or Farabi; for one reason or the other, they were declared heretics by the clergy of the time. The efforts to arrest free thought in Muslim societies have always succeeded thanks to the clergy. The silent majority spirit has always been ignored as the clergy has kept the masses in check. The inability to keep pace with time has left the Islamic world directionless. Clerical leadership has been the cause of decay. Had it not been for the foresight of leaders like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the South Asian region would also be backward. As backward as Afghanistan is today. The continuous fighting in this country has led to untold sufferings for its people. Al Qaeda is in the forefront of efforts to achieve more ‘failures’ like Afghanistan across the Islamic lands. Countries that are integrating with the rest of the world are their primary targets. Turkey is a case in point since it symbolises the ability of Islam to co-exist with democracy and freedom. Palestinians may have been the victims of Israeli aggression but their leadership also failed them during the course of this century by aligning themselves with losers. The issue of Palestine would not have risen had the Ottomans not aligned themselves with the Germans in the First World War. Had the Sheriff of Mecca not overthrown the rule of Ottomans in Hijaz, the geographical map of Middle East might have been different. The break up of the Ottoman Empire was the result of realignments within the world and the refusal of Nejd and Hijaz to be ruled by an Osmani caliph! If the ummah had been united, external interference could not have destroyed the Caliphate! In the Second World War that followed, Mufti Al Hussieni made efforts to recruit Muslims for the German army. This was also an error of extraordinary proportions. Why do we become aligned with losers? Why don’t we have the vision to support the winners? The Palestinian issue is the core issue for the Islamic world. However this is also a tale of intransigence and self-inflicted pain. It was intransigence and the desire to annihilate Israel in 1967 that prevented compromise; similarly in 1973 it was the desire to take back what was lost in 1967. Keeping such incidents in mind, General Pervez Musharraf should be given credit for avoiding disaster, post-9/11. The positive economic indicators in Pakistan are a result of the right political decisions by the leadership. The challenge for the Muslim world is to leave the dark ages behind. Muslims must take a giant step forward and encourage debate and dissent in their societies. The fight against Al Qaeda is helping the cause of freedom. One is that the cancer now presents itself as a defined target that can be confronted. Turks are blowing up themselves in Istanbul and the Saudis in Jeddah because of Al Qaeda’s inability to destroy Western homes. In a last ditch attempt, they are now going down the path of self-destruction. The streets that had gleefully applauded the suicide bombers in Israel are now finding out that they themselves are under threat. The Saudis, who did not support Israeli action against Palestinians, are now cracking down on their own would-be suicide bombers and their accomplices. They have realised that this ferocious beast is capable of targeting anyone who opposes their brand of medievalism.