A community embattled or weakened from within?
Syed Badrul Haque focuses on questions Muslims need to answer
14 September 2007, 18:00 PM
Muslims
Life in the Present-Day World
Salahuddin Ahmed
A.S. Noordeen, Kuala Lumpur
This work by Salahuddin Ahmed is a timely venture towards expending fresh thoughts on the Muslim community living in the twenty-first century. It appears that the present world has been divided into camps, 'us' and 'they'. In the interest of an appreciation of diversity there is nothing wrong in that division; but there should be no animosity between them, knowing that the world is a place for co-existence of mankind with all colours, languages and civilisations.
Today, it may seem that Muslims have been confronted from all sides. But by the same token it is now an urgent necessity for putting our own house in order. The Muslim community is paying too much attention to the rigid formalities of Islam, overlooking the inner and higher duties and obligations towards others, which include people around us not to mention the members of the family.
It just happens that in Bangladesh, the third largest Muslim country in the world, the current interim government has identified corruption as the number one enemy of the country and as such introduced various measures to fight out this contagious social disease in the country. But we need to realise that an inner solution is also necessary towards rooting out corruption from the heart; and in this process it is also necessary to correct our notions in relation to following the guidance of Allah in terms of the Qur'an. It appears that a large section of the Muslim community is more engrossed in earning more rewards (sawabs) through ritual performances, although they may be unaware that they are failing to discharge their normal duties and obligations to people around them which surprisingly may even include the members of the family. Analysing the hidden cause of this malaise in a Muslim society in a sub-chapter of this book under the title 'Corruption', the author notes:
"Today some Muslim countries have been labelled as nations where corruptions prevail in the various sectors of the society and government. One of the causes might be the notion of some Muslims who think that attending mosques and performing prayers (Salat) are enough in discharging their duties to Allah so that after coming out of mosques they forget or shut their eyes regarding the commands of Allah in the matter of discharging their duties in worldly affairs as laid down in the Qur'an. The stark result is that after performing prayers (Salat), they are transformed into different persons so that when they return to their office desks or sit behind business counters, they are susceptible to taking undue monetary gains from the members of the public and commit underhand dealings, falsely thinking that Allah would ignore these wrong dealings due to their supposed hardships or special circumstances."
The book has four chapters, under the titles 'Man's Relation to Allah', 'Family Environment', 'Social Environment' and 'Muslim Nation (Ummah): Challenges and Responsibilities'. Rights of women under Islam seem to be a topic in which the Western world takes most interest with a view to contrasting the liberation of women in the West with its make-believe picture of oppression of Muslim women. Brushing aside any negative picture for Muslim women vis-à-vis their entry into any skilled or learned profession, the author says:
"Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim countries to have female soldiers...Pakistan and Bangladesh produced women Prime Ministers...In some Muslim countries like Bangladesh, there are Muslim women judges in the higher courts of the country...in 1920, the first chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in India was Sheba Hayat Jhantar Begum."
Feminism or the feminist movement is certainly a Western concept. However, there is a degree as to how far the concept can be accommodated in other cultures, such as Islam. In the view of the author, "the Western concept of feminism is not acceptable in Islam as the women's roles and aspirations in sexual relationships are in sharp contrast in the two cultures. The sexual revolution during the last 40 years which took place in the West has undermined the institution of marriage and family so much that the gap in the aspirations of Muslim women and Western women has become wider and wider. In the view of some analysts, the rise of feminism in the West has a significant part in the increase (in the) breakdown of marriages."
Today more than 950 million Muslims live in 57 Muslim countries all over the world. It is impossible to deny that there is a big gap of communication or consultation between the people and the rulers who claim governing under the principles of Islamic administration. In this book, a reader finds the the following pen picture of the current situation in the Muslim world and how to overcome it:
"A good number of countries are ruled by kings, Amirs and Sultans, while some countries are governed by military dictators. These forms of government are totally alien to the teachings of Islam. Democracy operates only in a few countries. It is an irony that Arabia, the birth place of Prophet Muhammad (s), is now the land of kings and Amirs . . . he did not leave any monarchy after him. How can the Muslim nation (ummah) return to the past glory? Certainly not by retaining un-Islamic institutions like monarchy, emirates and dictatorships, which are not supported by strict principles of Islamic law. Allah has reminded Muslims that He will not change the destiny of any nation, which includes the Muslim nation (ummah), unless they change it."
It is no good for the Muslim community preaching before others that in the Qur'an, they have been accorded the position of "best nation" in the world without discharging the responsibilities associated with that high honour. In this reviewer's opinion, the author has done valuable service to the Muslim community in dissecting the various issues dividing them and suggesting some rethinking and possible solutions.
It may be of interest to know that Salahuddin Ahmed studied law at the University of Dhaka and King's College of the University of London. He is a Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln's Inn, London, a member of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia. He taught law in the United Kingdom in the early seventies and later at the Law School of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia for 25 years. He is a former Visiting Professor at the Law School of the University of North Carolina, United States. He has authored a number of books published from London, Sydney, New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.
Syed Badrul Haque, formerly Public Relations Officer to the President, People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a contributor to the Daily Star.
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