THE MUSLIM DILEMMA

(The following is a summary of the chapter IV of the book: ISLAM AND SECULARISM by By Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas.

Summarised by Ismail Nizam)

The major problems that plague Muslim society stretches back to the historical confrontation which Western culture and civilization had perpetuated against Islaam. The causes of these problems originated from the earliest periods in the formation of Christianity. The knowledge of the dilemma is only a partial solution to the problem. Some of the components of this dilemma have their origins within our own physical world and intellectual history while others instigated as effects of the confrontation, which was external to our own affairs.
The root cause of the confrontation is to be discerned in the formation of Christianity and the rise of Islaam. The Christian thinkers and theorists believed that the Christianity possessed not only the potentiality and capacity to become a world religion, but also strived to develop into a universal religion that would dominate over nations. They foresaw the lack of potentiality of the existing world religions to become universal ones. Indeed, the historical existence of other religions as confined to their own territory proved themselves to be insulated within their own influential domains and spheres. This is because the existing religions did not possess doctrines of salvation like the one Christianity was formulating, and hence they dispossessed the salvation spirit of mission which was necessary to make religion universally acknowledged. The very idea of universality in religion is itself unique and revolutionary in its effect upon human life. Neither cosmopolitan life nor universal life is possible unless the God of religion is also a Universal God. According to the Holy Qur’an the true religion was from the very beginning universal since it refers to one and the same Universal god. It was thus God who revealed man the universal religion. The idea of universal religion did not originate in man’s intellect and gradually evolve and develop in his culture and history. It was revealed to man by the true God, Allah. If it had been otherwise, man would never have been able to conceive it.
Therefore, at this juncture, there is a question realistically required to be answered; how did the idea of a universal religion come to be claimed as having originated in Christianity? The answer to this question was given in the holy Qur’an and can be interpreted as; God revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him) the coming of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) who would ultimately establish among mankind the universal religion. Jesus (peace be upon him) narrated this revelation to his disciples. Later, the followers of Jesus (peace be upon him) interpreted his teachings incorrectly and applied to their own new creation. The so-called Christian idea of universal religion was taken from the sermon of Jesus (peace be upon him). The original statement of Jesus (peace be upon him) actually referred to Islaam, which was interpreted differently and appropriated for the new religion Christianity. However, as Muslims, the point to be remembered is that God’s plan is far more superior and accurate, which can neither be confounded nor prevented from coming to pass. At the very beginning of its manifestation Islaam addressed itself to the whole of mankind and forged a firm brotherhood among members of multiracial communities. It was this uniqueness of Islaam which naturally followed universality.
The rise of Islaam changed the world. The rapid dissemination of Islaam worldwide caused two major historic events in the western world, shaping its ensuing history and destiny. One was the dissolution of unity in the Mediterranean, molding the life styles of peoples of neighboring regions. The other was the subsequent shift in the western Christian life from Rome to North Aix Ia Chapelle. These two events resulted in a drastic change in Western culture and civilization, not only physically but also spiritually. As a result Christianity itself suffered a separation of destinies between Rome and Constantinople. In addition to the influences that affected the Christianity, Islaam caused revolutionary changes in the linguistic, social, cultural, political and economic facets of Western life. Islamic centers of learning in the west reflected knowledge to the western world, with which western scholars, thinkers and theologians were able to regain their intellectual position, exerting greater influence in nurturing the spirit of their renaissance.
Islaam, in its very beginning, challenged Christianity’s right to universality. The Holy Qur’an challenged the authenticity of Christianity following the revelations at Makkah. Islaam challenged this doctrinal confrontation.
Islaam played a dominant role in shaping world history for a thousand years. The western counter-attack came gradually with the western scientific revolution in the 13th century due to its military and economic power. The progressive exploitation of Muslim world was caused primary by internal elements. As a result, the west was able to implant its worldview in the field where once a single Islamic worldview existed. This intellectual attack resulted in the dissemination of the basic essentials of the western worldview in the Muslim mind. It was gradually consolidated and accomplished via the educational system founded on the western conception of knowledge. This, ultimately, brought about a new concept among Muslims known as deislamisation of Muslim mind. The confrontation between these two worldviews transformed from historic, military and religious levels to intellectual level.

CORRUPTION--DAMAGING EDUCATION

The following short report is taken from BBC

Bribery and corruption damage universities and schools across the world, according to a report for the UN's education wing, Unesco.
The study says education is plagued by rigged tendering processes, academic fraud and bribes over places and posts.
Academic fraud, such as fake degrees, is more common in the United States than in developing countries, it says.
The study of more than 60 countries says that in some, illegal use of funds meant for schools can be very high.
This loss between ministries and schools - or "leakage" as it is called - can be as much as 80% of the non-salary cash for schools.
Recent surveys have shown that ghost teachers on school payrolls represent 5% of the payroll in Honduras and 15% in Papua New Guinea, according to the survey.
Fake universities
In higher education, the problems centre mostly on bogus universities, degrees which can be bought rather than earned and fake accreditation or licensing of institutions.
The study says the number of fake universities on the internet offering bogus degrees rose from 200 to 800 between 2000 and 2004.
Officials in Ukraine had admitted that in 2005 most licensing or accreditation applications for the country's 175 private universities required some form of bribery for success.
Authors Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson paint a bleak picture of world education.
Such widespread corruption not only costs societies billions of dollars, it also seriously undermines the vital effort to provide education for all
Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of Unesco
Their report says: "In most societies - rich and poor - the education sector is facing severe difficulties and crisis; financial constraints, weak management, low efficiency, wastage of resources, low quality of service delivery and lack of relevance as illustrated by high unemployment of graduates, among others".
The authors say the lack of integrity in education systems leads donors to question the worth of aid programmes.
The answer, they say, lies in strengthening regulatory systems and management as well as educating future generations about ethics to try to stamp out corruption.
They say there are good examples of countries which have overcome corruption problems, such as Azerbaijan, where fraud in university entrance exams was cut through the use of computer technology which stopped people altering marks.
In Uganda, they say "leakages" of funds in the transfer of money from the education ministry to schools was cut from 87% to 15%. This was achieved by giving more information to local communities and by publicising penalties taken against corrupt officials.
The director-general of Unesco, Koichiro Matsuura, said the report was a call to action.
"Such widespread corruption not only costs societies billions of dollars, it also seriously undermines the vital effort to provide education for all".
"It prevents poorer parents from sending their children to school, robs schools and pupils of equipment, lowers teaching standards and thus education standards generally, and compromises the future of our youth. We cannot let it go unchecked."

(Source: Taken from BBC)

SECULARISM--THE MODERN JAAHILIYYAH

Author: Ismail Nizam

Secularism is not a new ideology. It is the modern manifestations of the old conflict that existed between Islam and “the way of ignorance” in a new form. Secularism is also mutating and has various names and symbols, but the common element of which is maintained - polytheism. The long-age Islam-Secularism clash is none other than that of monotheism and polytheism. This is the struggle that began against monotheism, Thawheed, since the day the prophets first pronounced the belief in the history of prophets. Secularism, in its mutated forms, will continue to fight Islam until Allah, the Lord of the worlds, calls to the end of the Earth and its very contents.

This global phenomenon has entered the Maldives, and has spread its tentacles all over the intellectual movements, among the reformists, representing the so-called modern democracy. Secularists in the Maldives believe that the society can never be reformed except by buy systems of laws from the West. This is the reason we see them begging behind the West. They, in most learning attempts, are blind followers. They even bring and introduce the most spoiled and collapsed elements of Western civilization in the Maldives, and claim that there is no other way to reform, develop, and civilize. As the Jaahiliyyah of old appealed to the practices of the pagan-Arabian tribes for laws, the secularists appeal to the West for laws to be implemented in the country. However, these legal philosophies run contrary to Islam, our worldview, culture and values. The secularists name their calls “reformation”, “modernization” and “development”, but in reality they are calling to Westernization. This is totally incompatible with the thinking, culture and principles of our society.

GLOBAL WARMING AND SEA LEVEL RISE: FORGOTTEN ISSUES!

Global warming, and an effect of which, sea level rise, are critical to world today. This is the most debated topic in any meeting of enviornmental ministers, NGO officials, and environmentalists and their pressure groups. However, in meetings of such nature, participants often seem to have forgotten some very critical issues which are directly linked to these environmental threats. Infrarred rays are one of the key contributors to global warming, but a very pertinent issue is forgotten while discussing infrarred rays. In world countries, the highways, roads and streets are constructed using tar, made up of coal. This reflects the heated sun's rays back into the atmosphere. The Authorities must now think of an alternative material for constructing these highways such as cooking facility (water) beneath higways, that would keep the temperature low. With regards to sea level rise, no body talks about the increase in sea level due to water displacement by ships and other sea vehicles. Imagine the total volume of water displacement that would be caused by all the ships and sea vessels on the world's oceans. Are we not brave enough to manufacture these ships and vessels in a fashion that would minimise the displacement or develop energy consuming airbuses, that are environmentally friendly? A series of serious research is required in these critical areas.