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Question:
In view of the terrorist attacks and possible U.S. reactions, how
do you view the impact of such events on the pro-democratic
Islamist movement?
Answer: In my view, the recent events, and their much dreaded
aftermath, will make all such efforts extremely difficult. The
establishment of democratic regimes and demands for a more open
political culture, a culture of debate and consensus building,
will not, in the short term, strike the right chord with the
general public. Civil liberties will be deemed, perhaps in the
West as well, as dispensable luxuries rather than indispensable
staples. Much depends of course on how the American retaliation
unfolds and plays itself out. If it is brutal, overbearing and
totally out of proportion with the crimes committed against her,
if its is colossal, collective and indiscriminate, it is bound to
brutalise Muslim societies as well.
Question: Radical Islam, Fundamentalists, and other terms are
being flagged up by the media all over the world. Do you see this
a victory for those who said Islam and the West were bound to
clash?
Answer: If these acts of terror indeed have been perpetrated by
Muslim radicals or fundamentalists, they have reaped nothing but
eternal damnation, shame and ignominy. For nothing, absolutely
nothing, could remotely be advanced as an excuse for these
barbaric acts. They represent a total negation of Islamic values,
an utter disregard of our.. tradition, and a slap in the face of
the Ummah [Muslim nation]. They are in total contrast to what
Islamic reason, compassion and faith stand for. Even from the more
mundane criteria of common good.. these acts are treasonous and
suicidal. Islamic faith has been so callously and casually
sacrificed at the altar of politics, a home-grown politics of
parochial causes, primeval passions, self-endorsing piety and
messianic terror.
Let's hope and pray that it is not the beginning of a 'clash of
civilizations,' for only the enemies of humanity - and Islam -
will have to gain from such a development. The West is as much
under trial as the Muslim world, for she will now be tested. For
the sake of whole humanity, let's hope that she can live up to the
values that she has been preaching so far. Active Muslim struggle,
together with the like-minded forces in the West, for a humane
world-order and sane politics is therefore of utmost necessity.
Question: For a country going through a democratisation process,
like Bahrain, do you think the recent events would help or hinder
political reforms in the Muslim World?
Answer: Even if the prospects seem, in the short term at least,
quite bleak, the struggle must go on. The hawks of the Western
world, everybody knows, are not loath to making an unholy alliance
with the tyrants of our world. Nonetheless, one must expect, even
if it is unrealistic, that common interests will prevail over
sectarian passions. To find a middle ground that avoids the
extremes of crass cynicism and unrealisable idealism, a politics
of hikma [wisdom].. must be pursued. The challenge is to translate
Islamic ethics and values into a pragmatic vision of politics.
Unfortunately, this is something that, our recent experience
shows, is easier said than done. Let's hope that this tragedy, and
- God forbid - the greater ones to follow, teach us to act justly
and wisely. Let's find an inspiration in our faith that is for the
making of a better future for all of us.
For
full text, refer to source:
www.islam21.net
Posted
with agreement.
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