Sosyal Medya

Islam

The Dangerous Path to Modernization

At times, the popularity of the concept of Islam and modernization makes one begin to wonder if Islam really fits into the “Modern” world that we live in.

19-11-2020 11:56
Ashraf Akintola
 
Last week,The United Arab Emirates announced a major overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate and loosening alcohol restrictions. This development made the controversial Gulf country to join the league of Muslim countries that have relaxed or totally done away with their Islamic laws.
 
Islam vs. Modernization
 
At times, the popularity of the concept of Islam and modernization makes one begin to wonder if Islam really fits into the “Modern” world that we live in. In fact, it remains a potent tool in the hands of enemies of Islam in labelling Muslims as archaic groups of people with mosaic laws that fit into the old ages. Orientalists have deployed this tool effectively and they have not only lead the hearts of multitudes of people from other faiths (and those who do not have one) into believing this deceitful concoction but they have hijacked the reasoning of those who are Muslims.
 
This islamophobia has gotten worse to the extent that Muslims, especially in the western world (who have been made to acknowledge the supremacy of western ideologies over other creeds), now brand some laws in the Shariah of Islam as either too harsh, extreme, a mere deterrent, or laws that are impracticably possible in the modern society. Right before our eyes, we have witnessed the evolution of Islamic laws viz-a-viz those termed a prohibition (with pieces of evidence in the Qur’an and Sunnah) to Makrooh (Discouraged or Abominable) and other sorts just so that Islam may look admirable or presentable to non-believers who control the direction of modernity. This begs the question -To what extent do Muslims have to go to feel accepted or loved by the powers that be? And what does modernism really entail?
 
Karl Max defined modernization as being a process that is activated by international, or intersocietal, communication can further be explained as the current term for an old process—the process of social change whereby less developed societies acquire characteristics common to more developed societies. Based on the premise of this explanation, we might argue that any attempt of modernization by any nation is a subtle way of indicating the westernization of such. This show of love, of reverence and submission, is usually preceded by the reprogramming of the minds of people to conform to these alien norms and values and ultimately leading to the abolition of the old system that held sway in such a system of Government.
 
What we witness today in the so-called “Muslim countries” is nothing short of the expositions made above. Fear of repression at the hands of the powers that be is a factor on one side of the coin and the willingness to lie in bed with these foreign ideologies is on the other. Whichever way you flip, the reality is that Muslims and “Muslim countries” are fast losing grip of their religion partly due to their ignorance of the immense benefit that lies in the Shariah which forms the bases of their religion and partly due to the success of the west in their wars on other ideologies in their plot to control the world.
 
The beauty of Islamic laws
 
To the discerning mind, it is noteworthy to point out that as established in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, maqasid al-shari’a i.e the objectives of Islamic law, in its entirety seek out to protect and preserve the five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, offspring, and property. Generally denoted as (al-dharuriya al-khams), everything that includes preserving these five principles is considered a maslaha (interest). And everything that results in failure of these principles is harm that should be fought and tuned to an interest. The prohibition of failing or restraining these five principles has always been included in all religions and Shari’ah, as Shariah comes for the interest of humankind.”
 
I need not go further to argue the validity of these beautiful divine laws in all ages, time and era. The little above is enough to make one wonder how on earth would a group of people abandon ANY part of these laws for another that is filled with errors, amendments, and reviews? You might argue that the shariah also passed through a similar phase while the prophet was alive but Allah sealed the message before the prophet left with- “… This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion…..”  Q5:3. The superiority and profoundness of these laws do not only thrive on the bases of morality, but it stands supreme in the guise of intellect and reasoning. Why would countries that are blessed with such abandon these for something else?
 
A walk-through history shows heavily how true Islamic nations have never been found wanting in improving the social life and welfare of the world. The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. The great progress recorded during these periods were as a result of various Quranic injunctions and Hadith (the very backbone of shariah) which place values on education and emphasize the importance of acquiring knowledge thus prompting several historic inventions and significant contributions in numerous fields that revolutionized human history. This was the era that produced the likes of  Al-Zahrawi, Abbas ibn Firnas, Al-Biruni, Avicenna, Averroes, Ibn al-Nafis, ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, Alhazen, Ibn Khaldunand other great scientists that lead the world into the direction we see it today.
 
The Muslims that conquered Europe, lasted Roman and Persian kingdoms, liberated Jerusalem, invented the Arabic numerals, started the algorithm that was the precursors of the computer age are not those that compromised on their religion. They stuck to what brought them prominence in the world and as “classic” as their laws seem now, they brought civility and civilization to the world that was still rolling in mud. In commerce, economy, law, science, education, sports, government, name it, the Muslims that laid the foundations of what these so-called “Muslim countries” enjoy today stuck to their religion without compromise.
 
Encouraging enough is the fact that Allah referred to us as “the best nation that ever existed among humanity”(Q3:110), thus precedents that we have to follow have been legislated by Allah. The Muslims of old do not tremble or long to be ruled by the laws of  King Heraclius of the Roman empire, Chosroes II the Khosrau of Persian empire,  Armah the Negus of Abyssinia, Muqawqis the ruler of Egypt, Harith Gassani the governor of Syria, and Munzir ibn Sawathe ruler of Bahrain. They believe solely and hearken to the divine laws Allah revealed to them and guess what, their legacy thrives till this day.
 
They do not spread a distorted message of the religion like the ISIS of our day and age nor do they take their religion with levity or regard some of its law as archaic. Even during holy wars, this set of Muslims held high the dictates of shariah. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the first Caliph, told his military commander: “Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for guidance on the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies; do not kill a woman, a child, or an aged man; do not cut down fruitful trees; do not destroy inhabited areas; do not slaughter any of the enemies’ sheep, cow or camel except for food; do not burn date palms, nor inundate them; do not embezzle (e.g. no misappropriation of booty or spoils of war) nor be guilty of cowardliness…You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone." How amazing the world would have been if such were adopted in not just the WW1 that led to an estimated 10 million military personnel deaths, 7 million civilian deaths, leaving 21 million wounded, and 7.7 million missing or imprisoned or theWW2 that left from 50-80 million dead, 38 to 55 million civilians’ death, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Were Muslims the cause of all these? No! None were the cause than the imperial powers of the east and the west.
 
European powers have in the past successfully spread their influence across the globe with colonialism but here we are in a modern era that requires different tactics. For the so-called Islamic countries who are about to tread this treacherous road to perdition, it is high time they were called to caution to save them their honour just like Allah had warned: “Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honour [through power]? But indeed, honour belongs to Allah entirely.”(Q4:139)

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