IN THE NAME OF ALLAH,
THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
ISLAM STANDS ONLY FOR PEACE
[A Rejoinder to
Mr. Daniel Pipes]]
[Shamim
A Siddiqi, New York]
Mr. Daniel
Pipes recently in his papers: “The Danger Within Militant Islam in America”
[published in Commentary of November 2001] and “Fighting Militant Islam,
Without Bias” [published in CITY Journal, Autumn 2001, Vol.11, No. 4] and
latest in his Middle East analysis [published in New York Post of November 12,
2001] has allegedly pinpointed that persons like Imam Zaid
Shakir, Imam Siraj Wahaj and the undersigned [Shamim A Siddiqi] are working to
bring Islamic revolution in the USA through peaceful process and hence they are
no better than persons like the [respected] Br. Omar Abdur
Rahman [who is suffering a life long sentence for no
fault of his own but for the prejudices prevailing in the Jewish lobby against
Islam and Muslims]
From the
aforesaid writings of Mr. Pipes, it appears that perhaps he is suffering form
some kind of “determinism”. He thinks that he and his Jewish community is the
sole proprietor of the USA
and the rest are the “goyim” and hence they have no right to exist on this
earth. He forgets that all citizens of the USA have equal rights, irrespective
of the fact whether he is a Jew, Christian or a Muslim. From the very outset he
takes Islam as a “Militant” religion and hence when if it is established
somewhere in this world, it would bring forth nothing but tyranny, oppression
and a closed theocratic state. This is the creation of his imagination and the
reflection of his prejudiced mental horizon that is surmounted with ignorance
about Islam and the history of Muslims.
He talks whimsically without logic and giving any substantial evidence
as why Islam is so bad [in his opinion] and the Islamic system of life is not
better than the lost communism or the prevailing capitalistic system or the
liberal democracy? He is making a lot of hue and cry about the Islamic
system of life even without making a comparative analytical study of
capitalism, socialism and Islam, pinpointing the superiority of one over the
other. This is the least that we expect from a learned scholar like Mr. Daniel.
Mr. Daniel
forgets that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad were all the Prophets of Islam.
Prophet David, Solomon and Muhammad [Peace be upon them] established nothing
but the Islamic State of their time. Islam is the common heritage of the
Judeo-Christian-Muslim community of America
and establishing the Kingdom
of God on earth is the
joint responsibility of all the three Abrahamic
faiths. Islam [obedience to Allah] was the Deen [the
way of life] both of the Jews and Christians but when they lost their Deen [system of life] through human innovations, they
forgot their original name “Muslim” [who follows Islam] and preferred to be
called as Jews and Christians. Now the Muslims want to remind their Jews and
Christian brothers and sisters their original Deen,
Al-Islam and their commitment to establish the Kingdom of God
on earth. These are the facts of history. Can Mr. Pipes or anyone else deny
these hard facts of our common heritage? If it were denied, it would be out of
prejudices or out of ignorance about Islam and its continuous history from Adam
down to Prophet Muhammad [Peace be upon all of them].
THE
EXISTING HUMAN CONDITION:
Islam and the
Islamic system of life or in other words the Kingdom of God
on earth is the supreme need of time. Human problems are surmounting by leaps
and bounds. There is no peace anywhere in this world. The human abode is full
of thorny and ever increasing issues of global magnitude. Fundamental needs of
man - food, drinking water, shelter, basic education and medical necessities,
especially of the poor and downtrodden countries and regions of the world are
lying unattended. More than two billion people of this globe are practically
starving, hardly getting one meal a day. There are more than 32 million people
in the USA
alone who are poor by our own standard. The rich is getting richer and the poor
is getting poorer day by day. Human rights are just for the privileged people
of the liberal societies but are denied one way or the other to the vast human
societies of Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Communism, capitalism and
the liberal democracies of the world, in spite of their tall claims, have
failed and failed bitterly in getting any of the human problems resolved.
Rather, they have become an instrument in augmenting these basic problems
manifold. Entire mankind is crying for peace, justice, equal opportunities and
a world free of exploitation, hate and discrimination on account of color,
race, language and geographical bounds but it is no where visible even on the
horizon. Not a single cause of human anxiety and tension could be removed. These
man made systems have filled the earth only with greed, exploitation, unethical
morals unacceptable to the Abrahamic norms and
imposition of the will of the haves over the have-nots. How long the scholars
like Daniel Pipes would prefer to prolong the game of subjugation
[neo-colonialism] in different forms of human exploitation and the hegemony of
remote control modern slavery through international financial institutions,
WTO, multinational corporations and NGO’s, socially, economically and
politically? The time has come that
this proxy game of socio-economic-political domination of the fortunate few
over the unfortunate billions must come to an end. But the question arises: When and how?
THE
ALTERNATIVE
In the present
context of the world, Islam is the only alternative left with the suffering
humanity to try its luck as all the secular man-made systems have failed to
deliver good to mankind. But how and when it will be available? It is difficult
to pronounce outright. It would come
into existence through a long drawn out and a well-articulated peaceful process
that I have discussed in detail in my different books that is now being
misinterpreted by Mr. Daniel Pipes to suit “his Jihad” against Islam and the
Muslims of America. He has given a totally wrong turn to the tragic episode of
September 11. In order to mislead the American people not to point their
fingers towards the Jewish lobby of America and the Jewish State of
Israel, he is unashamedly accusing Muslims and Islam to bear the burnt of it.
He has used accusative language whimsically without any proof. This is called
the travesty of the facts and I hope he will apologize for his concocted
references and irresponsible allegations against the Muslims of America and our
common heritage Al-Islam.
I would like
to share very briefly the salient features of the Abrahamic
faith with readers in order to remove the misgivings created, if any, by the
writings of the scholars like Daniel Pipes and give an idea to the people of
the land as how peacefully the establishment of the Kingdom of God proceeds and
progresses in an evolutionary process.
FUNDAMENTALS OF ABRAHAMIC FAITH
Islam at the
very outset invites the people to accept the authority of their Creator and
Sustainer, feel accountable to Him on the Day of Judgment for all their actions
and deeds on earth, follow the pattern of life as demonstrated by the prophet
of the time [now Prophet Muhammad as the model till eternity], take everything
that humans possess as trust in their hands, remodel their character, moral
behavior and individual life based on these concepts in order to fill the earth
and the society in which they live with piety, kindness, compassion, care and
concern for human beings and their sufferings. This approach creates a
responsible, dependable and trustworthy character that human society needs in
the present context of the world and not the irresponsible, reckless and
selfish characters, the products of the materialistic systems of life that
prevail around us.
Islam gives
due emphasis on building human character and it is done on person-to-person
basis. It builds the human society on dependable and trustworthy characters
that Islam produces. Such society becomes a boon for mankind. It is a matter of
freewill not of coercion and compulsion. If individuals by
free will and free choice change themselves, who can stop them? It may
take decades if not centuries to build such a benevolent human society based on
Abrahamic faith and why persons like Daniel Pipes who
should be an integral part of this process feel averse to it? How they will
face their Creator and Sustainer is a big question for each of them to think
before they breathe their last.
Working through this peaceful and
constitutional process, inviting the people to the fold of their Creator and
Sustainer for a considerable long time, the people of the land may
prefer the Islamic way of life as a boon for the society and may resolve by
themselves sometime in future to adopt it as a system of life, thereby paving
the way towards establishing the promised Kingdom of God on earth.
COMPATIBILITY
OF VALUES:
The
fundamental values of the USA – individual human rights, family values,
democratic process, religious tolerance, promoting social and economic justice
at home and abroad, free market values, caring for the oppressed and the
deprived, rendering services to the suffering humanity - and that of Islam,
more or less, coincide with each other. If the concept of monotheism [oneness
of God], the accountability on the Day of Judgment and that of Amanah [trust] and the life pattern of Muhammad as the
model are accepted by the people of the land through peaceful persuasion,
knowledge and understanding in depth the objective behind the creation of man
and this universe, the American people by their own free choice may prefer one
day to transform themselves as the most obedient to the will of God. It would
be a turning point in the history of America and that of the world. With
this transformation, the USA
will stand for justice to all, uphold the human rights both at home and abroad,
promote the Abrahamic family and moral values and
fight for human rights at each level of human society. It would be a red-letter
day for America
and its people. The entire world, especially the downtrodden people and nations,
the have-nots will love America
and Uncle Sam will be greeted everywhere with open arms. That would be the
zenith of American rise and fame in the community of nations. The golden era of
the USA
will dawn at that time. It is yet to come.
CONCLUSION:
This is in
brief the process through which the USA can repair its tarnished image, a
nation that has double standard - one for the rich and one for the poor; a
nation that stands for human rights but supports the undemocratic regimes
throughout the world for the sake of its political and economic expediencies; a
nation that correctly and justifiably condemns terrorism but connives with
state terrorism of its close allies; a nation that loves freedom and liberty
but keeps silence when the oppressed people fight to come out of their
subjugation. The list of these anomalous situations is quite long and
painstaking to elaborate. The establishment of the Kingdom of God
on earth is the only way now to correct this situation. Will Mr. Daniel Pipes,
instead of criticizing the emergence of Islam as a political entity, not help,
work and cooperate with his mighty pen for the emergence of the era that would
be a boon for the humanity, especially for the Jewish community that had
enjoyed the golden period of its safety, peace and growth only when and where
Islam was the system of the day. In its wake, terrorism will die its own death
when the USA
will deliver justice to the suffering humanity.
May God bless America and give its people courage and
foresight to work hard for the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
It is an obligation of the entire Judeo-Christian-Muslims community of America and
they are to work together hand in hand to save their skin from the wrath of
their Creator and Sustainer on the Day when each of us will be accountable
before Him.
Shamim A Siddiqi
Dated November 21,
2001