Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, LONDON
Tarikh/Date : 22/09/2003
Tajuk/Title : ISLAM AND THE UMMAH : REEXAMINING
AND REINVENTING OURSELVES
IN THE FACE OF NEW CHALLENGES
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
Islam and the Ummah : Reexamining and Reinventing
Ourselves in the Face of New Challenges
I have chosen to speak on a very sensitive and
controversial subject - Islam and the Ummah:
Reexamining and Reinventing Ourselves in the Face of
New Challenges. I hope I don't touch any raw nerve by
doing so.
2. Firstly, does Islam need to be reexamined? To
determine whether it should or should not, we have to
understand the fundamentals of Islam, the original
Islam as brought and preached by the Prophet, and see
whether there is any difference between this Islam and
the Islam that we believe in and practice today.
3. We cannot change the fundamentals of Islam or we
will be changing the message and the teachings of Islam
as brought by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad s.a.w.
We will in fact be changing the religion of Islam. And
it cannot then be Islam anymore. All we can do is to
determine whether the Islam of today has deviated due
to the interpretations of the fundamentals in order to
suit changing circumstances. We cannot and must not
accept a "New Testament" for Islam.
4. Islam changed the feuding Arab tribes into a
united highly organised and sophisticated people who
built a great civilisation which lasted 1,300 years.
But today the followers of Islam, the Muslims are no
longer the great people they were in the early years of
Islam. The great Muslim civilisation has almost
disappeared and the Muslims today are looked down upon,
oppressed and humiliated, their religion said to be a
terrorist creed, propagated by a terrorist prophet.
5. Yet we know from the Quran that the Prophet s.a.w
brought glad tidings to the human community and
promised good to those who accepted Islam.
6. And we always pray to Allah for good (hassanah) in
this world, and good (hassanah) in the akhirat.
7. The prayers by Nabi Adam Alaihissalam on his
arrival on earth in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 201 clearly
stated that he asked "Our Lord, give us good in this
world and good in the hereafter".
8. Can we honestly say that the situation of the
Muslim in this world today is good? It certainly is
not. And if it is not, is it because of Islam, because
of its teachings? Or is it because changes have been
made to Islam so that it is no longer in accordance
with the original teachings of Islam.
9. Changes occur to everything over time. All
religions change over time. All ideas and values
change over time. The Christian religion for example
has changed and changed again until the early
Christians must find it impossible to reconcile their
Christianity with that practised today. The sins of
yesteryear are now no longer sins so much so that even
the priests can indulge in them openly.
10. The same things happen to the ideals of
egalitarian ideologies. The French Revolution was
supposed to be about liberty, equality and fraternity
but no equality was accorded to the aristocrats. Over
time the ideals of the Revolution evolved into
Socialism, Communism; and then to the Dictatorship of
the Proletariat, the Dictatorship of a few in the
Communist regimes. Millions were killed during the
evolution of the egalitarian ideas of Socialism and
Communism. Eventually the ideals of liberty, equality
and brotherhood were made convenient excuses for
denying them to those opposed to the Communist elites.
11. Today we are seeing the same thing happening to
Democracy. It has become an excuse for applying
sanctions, denying food and medicine, and finally to
war against innocent people, killing and maiming them,
invading and occupying their countries. The wishes of
the majority are negated by the veto of one, even as it
talks about promoting democratic processes. And we can
expect more changes to the application of democracy
until a dictatorship of democracy eventually destroys
the great ideals. As with the communists, the wheel
would turn full cycle.
12. Clearly, it is not just Islam which needs to be
reexamined. All the religions, the ideologies and the
value systems of the world's human community need to be
reexamined. But we are of course concerned today with
the religion of Islam. Is it the religion that the
Prophet, Muhammad s.a.w. preached or is it different?
If it is then is it responsible for the sad state of
the Muslims today? Or is it because the religion has
been changed that it cannot deliver the good that was
promised? Is it true as some would have us believe
that what the Muslims suffer today have been pre-
ordained by Allah and Muslims will just have to endure
it? Is it true that they will enjoy heaven in the next
world because of their sufferings on this earth?
13. The Al-Quran says that all that is bad is from us
and all that is good is from Allah. So we must
conclude that the present miserable fate which we
suffer, our oppression by others and the denigration of
our religion is due to us, not pre-ordained by Allah.
If that is so then we must find out what we have done
which is wrong, which is not in accordance with the
teachings of Islam, and has brought misfortune upon us.
We have to know this and knowing we have to correct
ourselves and return to the true Islam so we may once
again be blessed by Allah.
14. Islam as all Muslims know is not just a religion,
a belief in the one God, Allah, in His Prophet. It is
not just about the performance of certain rituals, the
avoidance of sins. Islam is a way of Life -- Addin.
Islam governs every aspect of the life of the Muslims.
It guides their behaviour and everything that they do,
as individuals, as a community.
15. But is our way of life today Islamic? Many of us
believe that by the Islamic way of life we must wear
certain dresses, keep a beard and cover our body or
"aurat". But this is not everything as a way of life.
We perform prayers, fast, pay the tithes (zakat) and
perform the Haj. These are enjoined upon us together
with our declaration of faith in Allah and His Prophet.
But still these cannot be Addin, a way of life in
accordance with the teachings of Islam.
16. Life for the individual and more so for the
community is much more complex and involves many more
things. We have to eat, clothe and shelter ourselves.
We have to secure ourselves from all kinds of dangers
which threaten us. We have to ensure good health for
ourselves. And this we cannot achieve as individuals.
We need the services and efforts of others, the
members of the community.
17. The Muslim belongs not just to himself. He
belongs to the Muslim community, the ummah. The well-
being of the ummah is the responsibility of all the
members of the Muslim community. If that well-being is
not taken care of by the individuals or collectively by
the community, then every Muslim in the community would
have sinned. That is what is meant by "fardhu
kifayah."
18. While the performance of "fardhu ain" is to gain
merit for oneself, "fardhu kifayah" is for the
community. Even if one performs "fardhu ain", it does
not absolve him from sin if the community needs are not
taken care of by some member or members of the
community. And so the production of food, clothing and
shelter for the community would form a part of the
injunction of Islam, failure in which would bring sin
and retribution in the afterlife for all in the
community. In fact as we have seen the retribution can
come even on earth.
19. Apart from food, clothing and shelter, the human
community needs physicians to take care of the
individual and the community's health, laws and their
enforcement to ensure the security of the community and
its members.
20. The Muslim and his community most certainly need
religious guidance so there will be no straying from
the prescribed path. For this there must be Muslim
scholars (ulama) and teachers. But obviously not
everyone has to be Muslim scholars or teachers. If all
are, then there would be no one to provide the food,
shelter and clothing. If that happens then the
community including the ulamas would be sinning because
there is no one to provide for the non-spiritual needs
of the community to enable the Islamic way of life to
be lived.
21. The number of scholars conversant with the
teachings of Islam must be limited so as to allow for
the performances of "fardhu kifayah" by others. Those
who perform fardhu kifayah which enables the ulamas
themselves to lead an Islamic way of life must surely
earn merit. It cannot be that only those who study
religion and become ulamas earn merit.
22. The role of the Islamic scholars and teachers is
essential but so are the role of the food, clothing,
shelter, health and security providers. Since all are
performing their duties and contributing to the
Islamic way of life, all must gain merit, in addition
to the merit gained through the performance of "fardhu
ain".
23. Then there is the all-important task of defending
the ummah from outside attacks. In the Quran it is
enjoined upon the Muslims to prepare for the defence of
the community, to have war steeds and the necessary
weapons. Unfortunately many stress the horses and the
ancient weaponry and not defence. They believe in
gaining merit through being able to ride a horse as
this was one of the things the Prophet did. If by so
doing they cannot defend themselves, in today's world,
they seem not to care. The form of the preparation
rather than the objective of the preparation is
emphasised. We admit that Muslim countries do prepare
for their defense, but they have no capacity to invent
and produce their own weapons. This is because by and
large they neglect the study of those subjects
concerned with the invention and production of modern
weapons. Once again in interpreting the injunctions of
the Quran to read they look at the form rather than the
substance of Islamic teachings.
24. It is the same with regard to the implementation
of Islamic law. Despite the Quranic injunction that
when we judge, we must judge with justice, we still
emphasise the importance of procedures and process,
ignoring the injustice that it may cause. Thus if a
woman is raped and she lodges a complaint against the
rapist, if she cannot produce four witnesses then she
is guilty of false accusation and should be whipped.
If later she bears a child, then that is evidence of
zinah and should be punished by stoning to death.
Obviously this particular application of Islamic law
ignore the injunction to judge with justice. But the
orthodox remain adamant that the procedures must be
adhered to even if they result in injustice. If anyone
disagrees then he is considered to be against Islamic
law and condemned as unbelievers in Islam.
25. Clearly the teachings of Islam is being wrongly
interpreted. As a result the good that is promised the
believers has not manifested itself.
26. In fact it can be said there is deliberate
obstruction so that the Islamic way of life cannot be
practised and the good achieved. In the early years of
Islam, the Muslims, obeying the injunction to "Read"
i.e. to acquire knowledge, studied the works of the
Greeks and others on philosophy, medicine, science and
mathematics. They actually expanded these fields of
knowledge so much so that the Europeans and others had
to access the works of the Greeks through the Arabic
translations of these works, stored in the great
libraries of Spain and present day Iraq and elsewhere.
The Muslims were ahead of the rest of the world in
agriculture (food), in the production of cotton and
silk (clothing) and in architecture and the
construction of homes and public buildings. They were
good administrators, governing the vast lands which had
accepted Islam. And certainly they were able to defend
their territories. They were great navigators and
traders, enriching the countries they live in and those
of their trading partners.
27. Because of the extensive knowledge in all fields
of learning and their consequent skills in the
acquisition of wealth, in administration and in
military defence, the Muslim civilisation thrived and
grew enabling the Muslims to live the way of life as
prescribed by the Quran.
28. Muslims must refer to the Quran for guidance in
life. But for the ordinary Muslim it is not easy to
understand the Quran. There are verses in the Quran
which are clear and can easily be understood. But most
of the verses are in parables and in the form of
anecdotes of the pre-Islamic and Islamic period. These
are not precise but because of that they can serve as
guides in dealing with worldly affairs resulting from
changes with the passage of time. But of course
different interpreters may interprete them differently.
29. Unfortunately so varied can the interpretations be
that they often contradict each other. Some of the
differences in the interpretations are so extreme that
they lead to schisms within the Muslim ummah. At the
time of the Prophet reference could be made to him and
his words would be accepted by all. Almost immediately
after his death, the interpretations began to differ
and different sects began to emerge. The biggest break-
up resulted in the emergence of the Sunni and Syiah
sects. But each of these two again broke into the
followers of different imams. Then there are numerous
other sects resulting from the personal teachings of
different scholars and imams some of whom are
charlatans. Frequently the sects are so different in
the practice of Islam that they accuse each other of no
longer being followers of Islam, of being apostates,
"murtad". And because of this they often fight each
other violently, even go to war against each other.
The situation now is not unlike the feuding of the Arab
tribes in the pre-Islamic period.
30. Because of the differences and the need to display
what is considered as Islamic virtues, the so-called
"non-religious" matters were neglected. While the
early Muslims had a well-rounded education and
knowledge, the later Muslims tend to concentrate on
religious knowledge only. Although Muslims do not have
a system of priests, nevertheless the Muslim scholars
gained a powerful role in the community. If they
misinterprete Islam deliberately or otherwise, all
their followers do not contradict them. And through
the ages many scholars misinterprete Islam for personal
gain, giving rise to numerous fanatical feuding sects.
31. Being knowledgeable only in religion, the Muslim
scholars downgraded other fields of learning. The
number of great mathematicians, scientists, physicians,
navigators, astronomers in the Muslim world began to
diminish when the ulamas and the Muslim jurists gained
power and influence in Muslim Spain. Soon the Muslims
lost their lead in those fields of learning which had
contributed to the greatness of the Islamic
civilisation. They became inward-looking and neglected
the development of their countries. They missed the
Industrial Revolution completely.
32. But later the division into different sects became
complicated with the acceptance by the Muslims of the
nation-states. This is an alien concept. The Muslims
had no nation-states as such. They belonged to the
Muslim community, the ummah. Their loyalty is to the
community no matter where they may be. But after the
British and the French broke up the Ottoman Empire, new
nation-states were created without regard for ethnicity
or even geographical boundaries. Thus Sham which lies
to the north of the Arabian Peninsular, to which region
the traders from Arabia, including the Prophet used to
go, was divided up into Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and
Palestine. The British installed feudal rulers in the
territories which came under them, while the French
treated these territories as provinces of France. When
these colonial territories became independent they
became separate states and no longer Sham.
33. Whatever may be the states created by the
partition, loyalty to the states now complicate the
commitment to the ummah, the Muslim community. And
State loyalties lead to conflicts and wars between the
Muslims. The arms dealers of Europe enjoyed brisk sale
at the expense of Muslim unity.
34. After the collapse of the Turkish Ottomans, the
Muslims everywhere became divided and much weaker. In
fact for a time there was hardly a Muslim country which
was not colonised or dominated by Europeans.
35. Some Muslim reformers then began to question the
orthodox views of the Muslim scholars. They wanted to
"modernise", to emulate the Europeans. Some went so
far as to believe that only by discarding Islam and
becoming secular could the Muslims regain their pre-
eminence. They achieved very little success in the
face of strong opposition by the influential orthodox
scholars.
36. The problem was that some of the reformers were
too much influenced by the European concept of the
separation of state from the church. It may be
possible in the Christian context. It is not possible
in the Muslim world. Islam is a way of life and a way
of life cannot be compartmentalised into spiritual and
material. Everything that a person does is part of a
way of life. Certainly the system of government of a
country and its development is a part of the way of
life.
37. It is entirely possible to be Islamic even if a
modern administration or system, including democracy is
adopted. It is possible if we go back to the
fundamentals of Islam. The problem is that Muslims
tend to emphasise and venerate the form rather than the
substance in the practice of everything. Even in
modernisation they look for the form.
38. Thus clothing which are meant to cover the body is
translated as the wearing of the Arab dress. That the
other forms of dress, including the now universal coat
and trousers can also cover the body is regarded as
being of no merit, unIslamic. Reading to acquire
knowledge is interpreted as reading to acquire Islamic
religious knowledge only. Defense of the ummah is
interpreted as veneration of the ancient weapons of
war.
39. Perhaps this sounds too simplistic. But what is
one to make of the neglect of learning and defence in
the Muslim world. Must Muslims forever buy their
weapons from others, some of whom may be their enemies?
Surely they must have indigenous capacities to invent
and produce their defence needs themselves. To do this
they must learn science, mathematics, technology and
the rest. Far from regarding the pursuit of these
subjects as not as good as the study of Islamic
theology, it should be regarded as an ibadah, which
should gain merit for the individual and merit for the
community. But to focus on the defence of the ummah
will need political stability and economic wealth. And
so Muslims must learn to restrain themselves and to
make whatever system of Government they adopt, work.
40. Democracy is compatible with Islam. The Prophet
s.a.w. did not create a dynasty. He left it to his
followers to choose from among themselves a leader, a
Khalifah. It was only later that the Muslim dynasties
were set up. One can say that a system where the
leader is chosen by an electorate, regardless of his
antecedents, is much more Islamic than otherwise.
Having been elected, a leader must care for his people,
for the ummah. And caring means ensuring his people
will have food, clothing and shelter and be secured
from domestic or foreign aggression.
41. If the fundamentals of Islam are adhered to, there
should not be conflicts and wars between Muslims. The
fundamentals cannot differ. Muslims are brothers.
This is fundamental to Islam. But we are hardly
brothers to each other. We are ready to accuse each
other of being apostates and we are ready to kill each
other.
42. Islam means peace. We wish peace upon each
other. This is also fundamental to Islam. We only
fight against those who attack us, be they Muslims or
non-Muslims. When the enemy sues for peace Muslims
must respond positively. But we are doing none of
these fundamental things.
43. Today Muslims are labeled as terrorists. We don't
think that it is justified. We may be right. But the
fact is that we are killing people because of our anger
regardless of who we kill, regardless of the
consequences. Admittedly we are desperate and
outgunned and there is very little else we can do to
defend ourselves against the injustice perpetrated
against us. But should we just lash out
indiscriminately, killing innocent people, including
those who sympathise with us? Shouldn't we stop to
think, to plan and to strategise with ultimate victory
as our goal?
44. Is it impossible to do this? If we think
rationally, we must admit that it is possible. What
have we got after almost 100 years of fighting?
Nothing. Even our anger is not assuaged. We are in
fact getting more angry.
45. If we think then we must realise that our present
predicament is not pre-ordained by Allah. It is
entirely due to our own doing. We have neglected and
misinterpreted the teachings of Islam. When we should
be acquiring knowledge which can help us ward off the
attacks against us, we reject such knowledge. We rely
merely on praying to Allah for help when Allah has said
in the Quran that we have to help ourselves first
before He will help us. We have not helped ourselves,
not in the right way as prescribed by our religion.
46. We do not have a need to reinvent Islam. Islam is
perfect and is for all times. The present age does not
make Islam irrelevant. It is relevant if we stick to
the fundamentals, if we interprete them correctly. The
problem is with the interpretation of Islam. It has
not only divided the ummah but it has made the ummah
practically illiterate, incapable of dealing with even
the simple problems of governing ourselves.
47. The fundamentals of Islam are still relevant. We
must go back to the fundamentals, to reading in order
to acquire knowledge, to the brotherhood of the
Muslims, to the way of life as prescribed by Islam, to
the substance of the teachings of Islam in the Al-Quran
and the verified Hadis and not to the forms of Islam or
the weak unverified hadis.
48. Islam is still the perfect religion. It is the
Muslims who are not perfect, who have allowed
themselves to misinterprete Islam, to deviate from the
teachings of Islam. The Muslims must correct
themselves and it is they who must change, not through
discarding Islam but through going back to the true,
the fundamental Islam. The fundamentals of Islam are
good. The early Muslims who succeeded in building the
great Islamic civilisation must be fundamentalists, for
the numerous and contradictory interpretations of Islam
had not yet emerged to confuse and confound.
49. The Prophet brought to us only one religion of
Islam. Today there are hundreds of Islams. We have
to go back to the one Islam brought by the Prophet. We
must do so as thinking Man, not as emotional Man.
50. We can face the challenges of our times not by
giving vent to our anger, our frustrations and our
bitterness. We must instead use the brain, that
thinking capacity that Allah has endowed us with. We
take stock of our assets, we plan and we strategise.
And Allah has endowed us with riches beyond
imagination. We have certain strengths, which we must
identify and apply with wisdom.
51. Above all we must reduce the enmity between us, if
not completely, at least selectively to face the threat
against us.
52. There is no magic in the successes of our
detractors. We can do what they can do. But we have
to rid ourselves of the baggage of history and focus
completely on the problems we face today. And,
Insyaallah, we will overcome the challenges without
losing our faith or deviating from the fundamental
teachings of Islam.
53. We must certainly re-examine the Islam that we
practice. We have no need to reinvent it when facing
the new challenges of today. But we must certainly
correct the wrong interpretations of Islam if we are to
overcome successfully the threats and humiliation that
we face.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
|
|