The Present Struggle

The present struggle, more or less in all Muslim countries,, is that the people are not prepared to go along with the rulers in the direction in which they are trying to take them; and the rulers are not prepared to lead the people in the direction in which they desire to move. This has resulted in a perpetual conflict in all the Muslim countries of the world. And this is `Islam Today'.

In all the Muslim countries, we witness organized attempts to de-Islamize the people. Education has been designed as to eliminate Islamic values, vitiate the morals of the new generation and alienate it from its culture and traditions. Attempts are also being made to promote amongst the masses new cultural values that are bound to corrupt their morals. Western thought and disciplines are being introduced and encouraged. All that these policies and efforts can achieve is to reduce the Muslims to a characterless people; they cannot, even at their best, succeed in persuading the Muslims to give up Islam and deliberately accept a secular state.

The miserably slow peace of progress in the Muslim countries shows how heavily they have had to pay for the perpetual conflict resulting from their rulers' attempts to foist alien values upon them. None of the Muslim countries have been able to make any remarkable progress in any sphere. Turkey, for instance, has been a free state since 1924, but can it boast of any great progress in industry or trade ? During the same period, Japan has made amazing progress in practically all fields of life and now stands amongst the moat advanced nations of the world. Obviously the reason for Turkey's failure to progress lies in the internal conflict to which she has been subjected by her secularist rulers. The people in power have striven all along to de-Islamize the people whereas the people have been keenly desirous of a return to Islam. The story has been repeated, more or less, in the other Muslim countries that have achieved freedom during recent decades. It should be clear to us that no nation can become really strong or achieve any great progress in any field if it is involved in a perpetual conflict between the conscience of the people and the policies of the rulers. Even if such a nation is compelled to tolerate its rulers, it can not be expected to give them its wholehearted cooperation; and the people's non-cooperation and resentment might become a source of danger to the state itself. A nation can develop and progress only when there is complete harmony between the conscience of the people and the policies of the government. It is only for such ideals, principles and policies as accord with their own sentiments and aspirations that a people can be expected to stake their all.

In trying to set up and maintain more or less secular system of society and government, the rulers of various Muslim countries are motivated solely by self-interest. They know fully well what the people want. They know it from more or .less direct experience that their people fought and won the battle of freedom in the name of Islam. They are also fully conscious of their people's deep and abiding association with Islam and all that it stands for. But, on the other hand, the rulers have acquired a vested interest in the perpetuation of the Western way of life. They have accepted Western culture themselves and made their children's future dependent upon the continuance of the Western way of life. Self-interest, therefore, prevents them from following the Islamic way of life. They are determined to retain power in their hands and are not prepared to adopt the Islamic way of life; therefore, they are trying to de-Islamize the people. This is the logic of their policies.

This, in short, is 'Islam today'. I shall now try to outline briefly what `Islam tomorrow' ought to be.