August 26, 2012
by AFP
Source:muslimvillage.com
Bamako -The creation of a religious affairs ministry in Mali shows the growing influence of Muslims in politics in the secular nation which has lost over half its territory to Islamic extremists, observers said.
“Religion enters government,” wrote the private ‘Indicateur du Renouveau’ newspaper on Wednesday, after a government shake up by transition President Dioncounda Traore to better deal with the nation’s mounting crises.
The new portfolio will be led by Yacouba Traore, a member of the country’s Islamic High Council (IHC) which has been negotiating with the armed Islamist groups.
According to the newspaper this “confirms the importance of the religious debate and the rise of Islamism in society” marking a “victory for the IHC which has always demanded the creation of this department”.
More victories
It is not the first political victory for the council, which in 2011 succeeded in getting a controversial new family law revised, cutting out sections which would have given greater freedoms and rights to women.
An initial version adopted by the National Assembly in 2009 had removed phrases that a woman must obey her husband, increased the legal age of marriage and gave greater rights to women in case of divorce or inheritance.
However this sparked angry protests in the nation which is 90% Muslim and the law was sent back to parliament for revision.
“It is an open secret. The Religious Affairs Ministry is a request from the ICH,” the main Islamic organisation in Mali, said sociologist Ali Samake.
On 12 August, about a week before the president unveiled the new unity government, the ICH held a rally for peace in Bamako which attracted up to 50,000 people.
Support
Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, who held onto his position despite calls for his resignation from much of the political class, appeared on the flanks of ICH president Mahmoud Dicko in a sign of his support for the Muslim leaders.
In political circles, some say the controversial Diarra was saved due to his support from the influential religious group.
The ICH has also taken a leading role in negotiating with the extremists who occupied the north of the country in late March in the chaos following a coup d’etat in Bamako in which president Amadou Toure was ousted.
The armed Islamist groups have openly allied with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) and are enforcing strict sharia law.
“We are already an Islamic state and the Taliban of Afghanistan are our model,” spokesperson Senda Ould Bouamama of Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) said in an interview with Swiss and Belgian newspapers published on Monday.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2012
The place of politics in religion
August 22, 2012
by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Translated by Zameelur Rahman
Source:muslimvillage.com
It has become well-known of Christians that they distinguish between religion and politics by their well-known dictum “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”. It is thus as though religion has no relationship with politics and politics has no connection with religion. This concept has slowly advanced to its ugliest form in recent times in the name of “secularism” (al-’almaniyah) or “secularisation” which expelled religion from all matters of life until it did away with it completely.
Truly this concept in reality is one category from the categories of polytheism whereby religion’s authority in the material world is not recognized and the authority of religion is restricted only to rituals and worship which one practices in his private [life] or in his place of worship. It is thus as if God is not god except in [matters of] worship and ritual, and as far as worldly matters are concerned, they have another god. And refuge is [sought] from Allah.
For this [reason] Muslims firmly rooted [in their religion] will continue to reject this deviant concept in every age and place because there is no scope for it in Islam which safeguards the creed of monotheism in its most accurate expression and its most perfect form, and which assigned divine rules in all affairs of life along with all that they contain of politics and economics. Therefore, it is incumbent on the people of knowledge to reject this concept and refute it knowledgeably and satisfactorily. And indeed they have undertaken this task, and all praise is due to Allah.
However some Muslims in our time[1] who undertook [the task] of refuting secularism have gone too far in this until they fell into a subtle mistake, that changed the focus and caused many errors in this field; that is, they made politics and the establishment of an Islamic government the primary objective and highest aim of all the rules of religion, and it is as though the rules of worship etc. are not aimed at [anything] besides one goal which is the establishment of an Islamic government, and it is as though worship and religiosity (diyanah) are all means in the attainment of this primary objective; to [the extent] that they diminished the importance of worship and made it an exercise and training for the fundamental target, which is the establishment of a theocratic government (al-hukumat al-ilahiyyah).
Due to this cogitation, two dangerous causes of corruption emerged:
First: since worship became a means in the establishment of a theocratic government, it is not regarded as an objective in itself, and by its [performance] is intended a gradual progression to the fundamental target. Thus, if the conditions demanded that these means be sacrificed by choosing other means to [attain] that important objective then indeed from the results of this cogitation is that there is nothing preventing sacrificing them because they are not the objective.
Second: one does not have a relationship with means besides a basic ordinary relationship [which falls] within the domain of necessity, and naturally he will regard it as a transitory passing stage, and will not regard it as his life target and the goal of his efforts, and will not progress in it and excel therein with the sensations of [spiritual] experience, delight and tranquillity within him.
In the words of the esteemed scholar and great preacher Mawlana Shaykh Sayyid Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi (Allah Most High protect him) in his refutation of some of the writings of the deceased teacher, Sayyid Abu ‘l-A’la Mawdudi, “Indeed those who obtain their religious information from the source of this interpretation of Islam alone, and limit their study of Islam to these books alone, their relationship with Allah will be rendered restricted and limited, and [will congeal] into dry, rigid formalism (jamidatun rasmiyyah), empty of internal states which the believer is required to adjust [himself] to. This is particularly when the emphasis that the root goal of sending Prophets and the end target of their teachings and the utmost of their actions is the production of change in this limited worldly life, and bringing about change for the better, and establishing human civilisation on proper foundations, appears [many] times repeatedly [in these books]; and when the focus on this aspect appears with ferocity and irascibility, enthusiasm and passion, and in a manner that makes conceptions of divine love, lordly pleasure and otherworldly success, meagre; it is natural and something that concurs with reason and is consistent with [logical] analogy that he departs the vehicle of effort and work from the road of faith in the unseen, yearning for the Afterlife, seeking Allah’s pleasure and devotion to His love, that road which the Prophets instituted, to the path of seeking rule, glory, dominance, and achieving rule and subsequently the materialist galaxy.” (Al-Tafsir al-Siyasi li ‘l-Islam, p. 107, published by Nadwat al-’Ulama Lucknow, 1399 AH/1979 AD)
In sum, these authors in their eagerness to refute secularism, and their focus on the political aspect of the Shari’ah, made all of Islam a political ideology, instead of making politics religious. The truth is that politics is a branch of the branches of religion, just as business and economics is a branch thereof, and indeed the rules of religion pertain to politics, just as they pertain to business. However nothing of politics and business is the root goal of the message of Islam, nor a fundamental objective of its rules and teachings. Thus, just as the connection of the rules of the Shari’ah to business do not entail that business becomes the objective of religion, similarly the rules of the Shari’ah pertaining to politics do not imply that politics be made the fundamental objective of Islam.
Hakim al-Ummah Shaykh Ashraf ‘Ali al-Thanawi (Allah Most High have mercy on him) drew attention to this point in a brief [but] firm statement, all of which is insightful, so we will quote it here, translating it from Urdu to Arabic. He says (Allah Most High have mercy on him):
“Allah Most High said: ‘those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end and decision of all affairs.’ (Qur’an 22:41). It is clear from this verse that the essential objective is religiosity (diyanah) and nothing of politics and jihad is the fundamental objective — it is only a means to establish religiosity. And for this reason, spirituality and the rules [regulating] religiostiy were given to every one of the Prophets (upon them be peace) without exception, while politics and jihad were not given to all of them. Jihad and politics were given to some of them when the need and interest [of their communities] demanded [them], and indeed that is the condition of means, since they are not given except for a necessity.
“It is possible that a doubt will arise here in the minds of some, which is that another verse of the Noble Qur’an indicates the opposite of this, that religiosity is a means, and establishment (tamkin) in the earth and politics are the objectives, and this is His statement (Most High): “Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance [of power], as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion — the one which He has chosen for them” (24:55). Since this verse makes belief and good deeds preconditions to the establishment [of Islam] on earth from what is apparent thereof of establishment and politics being the objective.
“The response is that Allah Most High promised in this verse establishment and power, and conditioned them on faith and good deeds, whereby establishment is qualified upon them, so politics and power are promised [to the believers conditional upon] faith and good deeds. It does not follow [however] from it being promised that it becomes the objective, for otherwise Allah Most High said in another place: “If they had observed the Torah and the Evangel and that which was revealed unto them from their Lord, they would surely have been nourished from above them and from beneath their feet” (Qur’an 5:66). So He promised expansion in provision [conditional] upon the observance of the Torah, Evangel and the Qur’an. Can then one say that expansion in provision is the objective of religion? No, rather it is promised. Thus, it is established that a promise does not entail that it becomes the objective. Similarly in the verse of establishment [i.e. 24:55], establishment is promised [conditional] upon faith and good deeds, so they are a consequence of them by the decision of it being qualified upon them, but that is not the objective of religion, nor a target of it.
“Thereby it becomes clear that politics is a means from the means and the objective is spirituality. The implication of this is not that politics is not sought after altogether. I only intend thereby to specify the place of politics in religion in that it is not the objective, as opposed to spirituality, for indeed this is the essential objective.” (Ashraf al-Sawanih 4:28-9, published in Multan)
by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Translated by Zameelur Rahman
Source:muslimvillage.com
It has become well-known of Christians that they distinguish between religion and politics by their well-known dictum “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”. It is thus as though religion has no relationship with politics and politics has no connection with religion. This concept has slowly advanced to its ugliest form in recent times in the name of “secularism” (al-’almaniyah) or “secularisation” which expelled religion from all matters of life until it did away with it completely.
Truly this concept in reality is one category from the categories of polytheism whereby religion’s authority in the material world is not recognized and the authority of religion is restricted only to rituals and worship which one practices in his private [life] or in his place of worship. It is thus as if God is not god except in [matters of] worship and ritual, and as far as worldly matters are concerned, they have another god. And refuge is [sought] from Allah.
For this [reason] Muslims firmly rooted [in their religion] will continue to reject this deviant concept in every age and place because there is no scope for it in Islam which safeguards the creed of monotheism in its most accurate expression and its most perfect form, and which assigned divine rules in all affairs of life along with all that they contain of politics and economics. Therefore, it is incumbent on the people of knowledge to reject this concept and refute it knowledgeably and satisfactorily. And indeed they have undertaken this task, and all praise is due to Allah.
However some Muslims in our time[1] who undertook [the task] of refuting secularism have gone too far in this until they fell into a subtle mistake, that changed the focus and caused many errors in this field; that is, they made politics and the establishment of an Islamic government the primary objective and highest aim of all the rules of religion, and it is as though the rules of worship etc. are not aimed at [anything] besides one goal which is the establishment of an Islamic government, and it is as though worship and religiosity (diyanah) are all means in the attainment of this primary objective; to [the extent] that they diminished the importance of worship and made it an exercise and training for the fundamental target, which is the establishment of a theocratic government (al-hukumat al-ilahiyyah).
Due to this cogitation, two dangerous causes of corruption emerged:
First: since worship became a means in the establishment of a theocratic government, it is not regarded as an objective in itself, and by its [performance] is intended a gradual progression to the fundamental target. Thus, if the conditions demanded that these means be sacrificed by choosing other means to [attain] that important objective then indeed from the results of this cogitation is that there is nothing preventing sacrificing them because they are not the objective.
Second: one does not have a relationship with means besides a basic ordinary relationship [which falls] within the domain of necessity, and naturally he will regard it as a transitory passing stage, and will not regard it as his life target and the goal of his efforts, and will not progress in it and excel therein with the sensations of [spiritual] experience, delight and tranquillity within him.
In the words of the esteemed scholar and great preacher Mawlana Shaykh Sayyid Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi (Allah Most High protect him) in his refutation of some of the writings of the deceased teacher, Sayyid Abu ‘l-A’la Mawdudi, “Indeed those who obtain their religious information from the source of this interpretation of Islam alone, and limit their study of Islam to these books alone, their relationship with Allah will be rendered restricted and limited, and [will congeal] into dry, rigid formalism (jamidatun rasmiyyah), empty of internal states which the believer is required to adjust [himself] to. This is particularly when the emphasis that the root goal of sending Prophets and the end target of their teachings and the utmost of their actions is the production of change in this limited worldly life, and bringing about change for the better, and establishing human civilisation on proper foundations, appears [many] times repeatedly [in these books]; and when the focus on this aspect appears with ferocity and irascibility, enthusiasm and passion, and in a manner that makes conceptions of divine love, lordly pleasure and otherworldly success, meagre; it is natural and something that concurs with reason and is consistent with [logical] analogy that he departs the vehicle of effort and work from the road of faith in the unseen, yearning for the Afterlife, seeking Allah’s pleasure and devotion to His love, that road which the Prophets instituted, to the path of seeking rule, glory, dominance, and achieving rule and subsequently the materialist galaxy.” (Al-Tafsir al-Siyasi li ‘l-Islam, p. 107, published by Nadwat al-’Ulama Lucknow, 1399 AH/1979 AD)
In sum, these authors in their eagerness to refute secularism, and their focus on the political aspect of the Shari’ah, made all of Islam a political ideology, instead of making politics religious. The truth is that politics is a branch of the branches of religion, just as business and economics is a branch thereof, and indeed the rules of religion pertain to politics, just as they pertain to business. However nothing of politics and business is the root goal of the message of Islam, nor a fundamental objective of its rules and teachings. Thus, just as the connection of the rules of the Shari’ah to business do not entail that business becomes the objective of religion, similarly the rules of the Shari’ah pertaining to politics do not imply that politics be made the fundamental objective of Islam.
Hakim al-Ummah Shaykh Ashraf ‘Ali al-Thanawi (Allah Most High have mercy on him) drew attention to this point in a brief [but] firm statement, all of which is insightful, so we will quote it here, translating it from Urdu to Arabic. He says (Allah Most High have mercy on him):
“Allah Most High said: ‘those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end and decision of all affairs.’ (Qur’an 22:41). It is clear from this verse that the essential objective is religiosity (diyanah) and nothing of politics and jihad is the fundamental objective — it is only a means to establish religiosity. And for this reason, spirituality and the rules [regulating] religiostiy were given to every one of the Prophets (upon them be peace) without exception, while politics and jihad were not given to all of them. Jihad and politics were given to some of them when the need and interest [of their communities] demanded [them], and indeed that is the condition of means, since they are not given except for a necessity.
“It is possible that a doubt will arise here in the minds of some, which is that another verse of the Noble Qur’an indicates the opposite of this, that religiosity is a means, and establishment (tamkin) in the earth and politics are the objectives, and this is His statement (Most High): “Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance [of power], as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion — the one which He has chosen for them” (24:55). Since this verse makes belief and good deeds preconditions to the establishment [of Islam] on earth from what is apparent thereof of establishment and politics being the objective.
“The response is that Allah Most High promised in this verse establishment and power, and conditioned them on faith and good deeds, whereby establishment is qualified upon them, so politics and power are promised [to the believers conditional upon] faith and good deeds. It does not follow [however] from it being promised that it becomes the objective, for otherwise Allah Most High said in another place: “If they had observed the Torah and the Evangel and that which was revealed unto them from their Lord, they would surely have been nourished from above them and from beneath their feet” (Qur’an 5:66). So He promised expansion in provision [conditional] upon the observance of the Torah, Evangel and the Qur’an. Can then one say that expansion in provision is the objective of religion? No, rather it is promised. Thus, it is established that a promise does not entail that it becomes the objective. Similarly in the verse of establishment [i.e. 24:55], establishment is promised [conditional] upon faith and good deeds, so they are a consequence of them by the decision of it being qualified upon them, but that is not the objective of religion, nor a target of it.
“Thereby it becomes clear that politics is a means from the means and the objective is spirituality. The implication of this is not that politics is not sought after altogether. I only intend thereby to specify the place of politics in religion in that it is not the objective, as opposed to spirituality, for indeed this is the essential objective.” (Ashraf al-Sawanih 4:28-9, published in Multan)
Monday, May 2, 2011
In An Alien World
written by Sheila Quinn
This post is one of a personal nature. Usually, on this blog I post news articles that I find to be either interesting or informative. A few times I have written, myself, articles on a few issues. So this post is a very unusual one where I expose myself,as a human being,to the public.
It is my nature as an individual human being to be very shy, but at the same time I am outspoken on issues that I feel I must speak out on. My conscience does not allow me to remain silent about things that I have deep feelings. If I feel that something is really wrong, I must speak out about it- irregardless of what others think or how they might react. I can not live with myself if I remain silent about things that are wrong.
I am interested in many things; I am very, very mentally active. I love the truth-and I have loved it all of my life. I started searching for the truth that is independent of human thought during my childhood. When I was a young adult of twenty-nine, I found what I was looking for in The Islamic Faith. The more I experience life, the more my religious convictions are confirmed. By nature I am deeply religious. I am so religious that it seems that the lack of religion from anyone seems so very, very alien to me. I don't understand why anyone would not be religious... anyway... to go on.
My mother taught her children the importance of being able to agree to disagree. Through this we can appreciate each others inner beauty.
There were times during my childhood when I saw this world and everyone in it as aliens. It was through my abilities to observe and analyze that I was able to understand this world. It was through such abilities that I was enabled to function in this world.
One of my interests is politics. Through understanding politics I am able to understand why things happen as they do. One of my hobbies is political analysis. I have been an amateur political analyst for forty years. It might be said that differences in politics can -and sometimes does- damage relationships. For me, politics, and political analysis is important. Through it I can understand the world. As I said before, being outspoken about things that are important to me is necessary. Without it I am not able to live with myself.
This post is one of a personal nature. Usually, on this blog I post news articles that I find to be either interesting or informative. A few times I have written, myself, articles on a few issues. So this post is a very unusual one where I expose myself,as a human being,to the public.
It is my nature as an individual human being to be very shy, but at the same time I am outspoken on issues that I feel I must speak out on. My conscience does not allow me to remain silent about things that I have deep feelings. If I feel that something is really wrong, I must speak out about it- irregardless of what others think or how they might react. I can not live with myself if I remain silent about things that are wrong.
I am interested in many things; I am very, very mentally active. I love the truth-and I have loved it all of my life. I started searching for the truth that is independent of human thought during my childhood. When I was a young adult of twenty-nine, I found what I was looking for in The Islamic Faith. The more I experience life, the more my religious convictions are confirmed. By nature I am deeply religious. I am so religious that it seems that the lack of religion from anyone seems so very, very alien to me. I don't understand why anyone would not be religious... anyway... to go on.
My mother taught her children the importance of being able to agree to disagree. Through this we can appreciate each others inner beauty.
There were times during my childhood when I saw this world and everyone in it as aliens. It was through my abilities to observe and analyze that I was able to understand this world. It was through such abilities that I was enabled to function in this world.
One of my interests is politics. Through understanding politics I am able to understand why things happen as they do. One of my hobbies is political analysis. I have been an amateur political analyst for forty years. It might be said that differences in politics can -and sometimes does- damage relationships. For me, politics, and political analysis is important. Through it I can understand the world. As I said before, being outspoken about things that are important to me is necessary. Without it I am not able to live with myself.
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