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by Idris Ahmed Osman
Sunday, March 29, 2009
On one front, the Islamic organizations and institutions in the West are being allegedly portrayed (by some Islamophobes like Daniel Pipe, John Spencer, David Horowitz, Evangelical Zionists John Haggee, Jerry Falwel, Pat Peterson, belonging to Jewish/Zionist Churches and foundations mostly based in North America) as representatives or collaborators of extremism. On the other, with no other choice left, they try to redefine misinterpreted religious terms and concept adapted by minority of Muslim groups, in compromise with Western values and conforming to interfaith mission. It is in these counter-reactive defensive measures, undertaken by the authorities of the Islamic organizations that Islamophobes seem to be reaping more concessions and compromises from the latter’s response to pressures and media character assassination. In the process of self defence, a grave error is being committed when redefinition of Jihad is done in contrast to the misconception held by any abusive Muslim group. The Islamophobes raise a certain misconception, sensitively and negatively polarise it in the media, waiting for the Muslim authorities to take extreme negative stand. Whenever they accuse us of these misconceptions, instead of presenting the irrevocable and invariable dogmatic right concept, unfortunately we tend to excessively compromise in our redefinition thereof.
In a bid to solve this mysterious riddle, one need define the term Jihad exactly in the light of the Quran and Sunnah, strictly not according to certain fallible practices of men.
Before doing so, let me clarify that throughout the history of Islam, there has been many such attempts launched by Islamophobes in collaboration with orientalists to distort, twist, portray it as a taboo, reform, renovate, innovate, modernise, revolutionize, or totally undermine the spirit of jihad. Of all such sinister efforts, none has come to fruition as the Islamic scholars resisted its materialization among the Ummah. Primarily the vicious aim, orchestrated and heralded by the colonialists, was to rid the Muslim colonies of any resistance. In collaboration with the colonialists, it was the Sufi orders in Muslim colonies who first introduced the ideology of pacifism, non-resistance against the colonialists, and the wrong concept or redefinition of Jihad. This is where Sufi concept of Jihad intertwines in full harmony with the ethos of interfaith to which Br. Abukar Arman belongs. (Br. Abukar Arman is a council member of interfaith association of central Ohio).The purposes of the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio are: To provide interfaith public worship and ceremonies expressing local and global concerns. And its achievements are: Children of Abraham exhibit toured a mosque, synagogue, two churches, and a North American Islamic conference attended by over 20,000 persons (Aug-Sep). Interfaith Open House: Baha’i Center (June), Hindu Temple (July), Butalia Home (Aug). Quotations above are from http://www.iaco.org
Al Kafirun 109-6: To you be your Way, and to me mine.
The verse above has been revealed when the idolaters who partially acknowledged the existence of Allah, came up with cunning interfaith solution. O’ Muhammad, let us have a common way of serving God. The idea that we worship and have ceremonies together, unacceptable in the uncompromising one and only truth, Islam dismissed it as nonsense and the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam was told to readdress pronouncing: To you be your way, and to me mine; because the truth and falsehood can never be harmonized in unity. Lest the message gets wrong, Islam calls for interfaith dialogue but rejects the interfaith activities (Today public prayer held in the Mosque, tomorrow the Church and after tomorrow in the Synagogue), whereby the Quran invites the non Muslims, especially the people of the book, Jews and Christians, to reflect, ponder, contemplate, reason, think and produce evidences. One such verse in the Quran addressed to the people of the Book reads:
Al-Imran 3:64 Say: "O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will). http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1212666064225&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout
I have shed light briefly on the interfaith and misled Sufi concept, with object to familiarise readers where Br. Arman is coming from with all good intention. Br. Arman included in his definition of Jihad, struggle, striving, against the soul’s evil desires, against injustice, etc. While all of that is correct, nevertheless, this part of his understanding is totally misleading:
Finally, Jihad means the attainment of the ultimate goal of Tazkiyatul Nafs, or purification of the soul - morally, spiritually and ethically. Indeed, it is this latter aspect, the jihad with oneself as one resists temptations and strives against his/her evil tendencies, which Prophet Muhammad referred to as “the Greater Jihad.” The purification of the soul, or simply self-purification, is an around-the-clock process of deep introspection.
As mentioned aforedom, it was few Sufi leaders who paved the way for the colonialists. The former deliberately attached more importance on the purification of the soul (In subcontinent, the British Raj (1858-1947) have got solid ground after bribing the few corrupt Sufi leaders to compose mystical poems in reverence of the moral and spiritual aspect of riddance of revolt and rebellion against the colonialists). Likewise did, the whole Muslim world, suffer the harsh colonial grip when monastic and meek Sufi orders defined and promulgated jihadu-nafs as the “Greater Jihad”, in order to castrate the Muslim colonies and demoralize them of any resistance against the colonialists. This article on BBC website practically puts the nail on head, pertaining to the type of Islam recommended by RAND-an American think-tank which promotes Sufi Islam through its global network of pay-rolled crooked Sufi leaders: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7896943.stm
In fact, there were great, genuine, Sufi leaders who lead the armed resistance against the colonialists. Greater Jihad, as tazkiyatu-nafs, purification of the soul, came into the context as the prophet salallhu alaihi wasallam and companion came back from a certain expedition, then he saying to them: You came back from the good place, but you also came back from the small jihad to the great jihad. ( Minal Jihad Al-Asghar ilal Jihad Al-Akbar). They said: what is the great jihad?. He said: the servant’s striving against the evil of ones’ soul. This is not an authentic hadith at all; it is not mentioned in any of the authentic renowned hadith books. The great scholar, Ibn Hajar, says: this hadith is publicly famous but it is just the statements of Ibrahem Ibn Aylah. Others say: the hadith is very weak as it is reported by AlBaihaqi through Jaber.
The likes of this unauthentic, unknown, hadith is an attempt to erode and blemish the value of true Jihad. Let alone the text, even the sound analysis of the hadith depicts the opposite of greater jihad. Someone who defends one’s self, territory, dignity in jihad, had dedicated the soul (nafs) itself, which would be purified and through which greater jihad acquired, for the sake of Allah. It is not only the soul but also wealth because jihad necessitates financial commitment. So where is the significance or relevance of the soul purification with greater Jihad?!. Jihad-u-Nafs is not the greater jihad. It is, as the great scholar Ibnul Qayyim, classified the jihad in thirteen categories or levels, one of them.
This is an ideological warfare. Our minds seem to be numbed. The only way to disillusion us from this hypnotism is to unravel the deliberate misinterpretation of the Western media about Jihad. In modern European history, since King Ferdinand and Isabella of Andalucía staged a notorious religious cleansing of Muslims from Spain, the horrific attacks poured upon Muslims in the West and the East.
In 1878 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia. The Austrian rulers forced the Bosnian Muslims to either accept Christianity or face the wrath of Serbians and Croatians.
In 1941-1945 the Bosnian Muslims were tortured by the Serbs by peeling off the skin of faces, backbone and hair of women to denote the Muslim woman’s veil. Men’s arms skin was flaked off as a stigma to the parts of ablution. Soon after II world war, when the communists came to power twenty thousand Muslims were massacred in cold blood, many Masajid and Islamic schools were demolished. The most recent Bosnian war in which hundreds of thousands of Muslims were raped, mutilated, tortured, displaced, has its roots as a replica of the past, not ethnic cleansing, as the Western Media put it and parroted by global media, but a blatant religious cleansing.
Bush clearly said: This is a crusader war in the run up for bombing innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. Crusaders are well known to have believed waging holy war. Which Muslim statesman can open his mouth and say: this is Jihad. In Palestine, the Zionist state committed genocide against unarmed civilians mostly children, pounding them with tons of missiles and phosphorous weapon. Until this moment, the US aeroplanes are constantly hitting poor and innocent villagers in Afghanistan with missiles to kill and wound helpless children, women and old men as strategic targets. Aren’t innocents same innocents on both sides?. Before concluding with the right concept of Jihad in Islam, I would say Br. Arman again fell into the same trap as millions in the Muslim world when he said: The Obama administration is adamant about its desire to improve relations with the Muslim world. Unfortunately unable to view the “change” announced by Obama as just change of faces, but a real perpetuator of the neo-con legacy, please watch this documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=related
Following is the right concept of Jihad as defined by the Quran, which the Western media fully know how just and right it is but intentionally hide, hence no redefinition is helpful:
39. To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid;- 40. (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah.. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will). 41. (They are) those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs. Surah 22- Pilgrimage
8. Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just. 9. Allah only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances), that do wrong. Surah 60- She, that is to be examined.
Idris Ahmed Osman
E-mail: [email protected]