|
Socio-Political Challenges For U.S. Muslims In The New Millennium
By Imam Ghayth Nur Kashif
03/05/2001
Since the collapse of Communism, there has been a much-ballyhooed rush to establish the so-called "New World Order" by Western powers. Consequently, the socio-political challenges facing Muslims in the U.S. have heightened dramatically.
For Muslim nation-states, the basic challenge lies in their ability to balance the advantages of an enforced "peace" (through U.S. intervention) among themselves with the effects of occupation and political control over their fragile-knitted states.
The humiliation suffered by Muslims on both sides of the Gulf conflict and the Afghan victory (and renewed conflict) coupled with the crushing losses of Muslims in Bosnia, India, Somalia, Kashmir, etc., all represent a devastating indictment against continued autocratic rulership of these states. These situations have paradoxically highlighted the failure of the Muslim Diaspora in the Americas and elsewhere to shed moribund concepts and cultural precepts derived (unperceived) from post-Sahabah Khalifat and subsequent colonial subjugation.
Muslims are challenged, therefore, to take advantage of an imposed period of reflection to develop a "Qur'anic World Order" among all Muslim states. Such an Order would disallow tribalistic and nationalistic leadership and seek to unify the various regions, whereby each state would be committed to the social and economic welfare of the whole. It would require those communities and governments that boast of their Islamic legacy to explain their negligence in the face of the moral crises afflicting the world. It would further challenge them to take off their "Robes" and British sounding titles, which are truly demeaning imitations of the Western culture of elitism and class-ism.
The same should apply to some of the "Islamic scholarship" and culture now being developed in North America that is threatening to descend into the pompous academic morass of Western academia, and plunge the Muslims in this country into something akin to the "moderate vs. fundamentalist" quagmire now facing so many Middle Eastern countries.
Allah commands us, "And hold to the rope of Allah all together and do not be divided..." (Sura Ali- Imran, 3:103).
It can be said that the way in which Muslims in America meet the new challenges they face may determine the fate of the Muslim Ummah as a whole. Allah (SWT) has said that He can bring fire from a green tree. Certainly, we can, by His help, overcome the opposition to Islam in America.
While media attention often focuses on the negative, Muslims are given an opportunity to air their case and explain the religion of Allah (SWT) to the American people. Strangely enough, the media's constant negative blitz against Muslims has actually accelerated the rate of acceptance of Islam by Americans.
Many Americans have been "turned off" by the obvious media distortions and, therefore, a number of Christian organizations have been inspired to initiate serious dialogue with Muslim Americans. At the government level, the executive and legislative branches have signaled a grudging willingness to publicly acknowledge the validity of Islam and to enter into dialogue with Muslims at varied levels. The Armed Forces, for instance, is actively assisting Muslim organizations to gain religious parity within their ranks. We can be sure, however, that this openness is not without an underlying agenda on the part of the entrenched opponents of Islam within military and government circles.
All said, these "accomplishments" are all due to the inevitable rise of Islam, which will be accompanied, nonetheless, by efforts to employ a strategy of "containment" that cuts at the core of the basic Iman (faith) of Muslims. Every possible "ploy" will be used within that strategy.
Muslims must be aware of the "divide and rule" tactics that have been used for centuries (with great success) against the Muslim world - particularly in the Middle East where Muslims have killed more Muslims than their Western opponents themselves and, Allah forbid, claiming to do so in "His Name").
The current Western "world government" thrust presents the greatest challenge for Muslims in this modern era, and exposes much of the Ummah to its weaknesses and its lack of preparation for what lies ahead. How the Muslims in America meet this challenge will be critical.
These questions come to mind: are Muslim organizations, communities, and masajid prepared to receive the destitute, the homeless, and the struggling masses? Are Muslim intellectuals prepared to provide quality education and appropriate facilities for the diverse and growing Muslim population? Are Muslim academicians prepared to translate their scholarship into useful and relevant social and economic development for the Muslim community?
These challenges will test the Muslims' commitment to the Qur'anic injunction, "Be ye not divided," and the warning against splitting up into sects. Will the Muslims adhere to the Prophet's (SAW) warning against elitism and racism?
The Muslim response to these challenges will certainly highlight our adherence to the fundamental principles of Islam - for example, that of charity. The rich shall be tested in the distribution of their surplus; appreciation and tolerance of cultural differences will become a litmus test for unity and justice.
Affluent Muslims and professionals, engaged in their particular disciplines, shall be asked, "How much time will you spend freely to help the Muslim poor? How much time will you volunteer to help struggling Muslim children and their under-funded schools?"
How much will they invest in the Muslim community without attaching "strings" - like those of whom it was said, "... they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan and the captive, (Saying) We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: No reward do we desire from you nor thanks" (Sura Al Insan, 76:8-9).
Here is the litmus test:
· How much time will those who claim the mantle of scholarship and leadership in Fiqh and culture - those who claim the right to legitimacy and credibility among Muslims in North America - spend in dawah among their neighbors (and not just patronizingly among their Muslim peers within their inclined minorities)?
· How much time will the ummah spend in cross-Muslim cultural activity and dialogues of understanding? How will the Muslim elite justify the withholding of material resources from those whose hearts Allah has inclined to Islam? Do they say like the unbelievers, "...Shall we then feed those whom if Allah had so willed, He would have fed (Himself)? Ye are in nothing but manifest error" (Sura Ya'sin, 36:47).
· How much effort will be made to destroy the stereotypes that Muslims have among themselves by way of importation of racism and schisms from abroad, bound up in historical rivalry and tradition?
· How shall the ummah seek to involve local Muslim communities in determining their own futures through political influence and voting? How shall Muslims engage American leaders in dialogue regarding their affairs both at home and abroad?
How shall the Muslims respond to these challenges? With continued isolation, apathy or fear? Or on the other hand, by seeking to change or at least neutralize the ills in "the system?" Or by establishing a rival Islamic system?
How will the Muslim ummah meet the challenge of mass media? How shall the community become involved in enhancing the perception and image of Islam among the American people?
The challenge of ensuring unity within families and communities requires that Muslims address the resolution of disputes.
Muslims must also meet the serious challenge of economic survival for all - it is a mandate from Allah (SWT). Many new adherents to Islam, as well as longstanding Muslim families, are faced with economic and social difficulties that create havoc in their family lives. Muslims must re-establish the honorable traditions of craft and trade that are so often mentioned in their legacy.
Muslims must provide food and housing for the elderly and women who are without the traditional support of male guardians. How can a Muslim sleep well at night when a single Muslim goes hungry or is homeless?
Muslims must seek to establish appropriate forums to address these concerns. As the Muslim community grows in America, these are the challenges it will face - and more. Meeting them will involve building upon the basic and fundamental responsibility to establish worship that all Muslims have.
May Allah (SWT) grant us insight, the willingness to acknowledge our responsibilities, and the wisdom to successfully fulfill them.
|
