So difficult and complex is the predicament of Muslims nowadays that it, perhaps, has no equal in history. The problems and challenges are ubiquitous and global in character, encompassing all aspects of life.

However, the most critical and so, most systematically targeted are such aspects as are related to spirituality, morality and education.  The much-talked-about notions of Muslim unity, culture, economy and politics are but corollaries of the former.

There are many entities in the world which seem to be happy only when Muslims are kept ignorant, divided, disoriented, subdued and when they shed each other’s blood.

To them, it is almost an international crime if a Muslim nation becomes genuinely independent, visionary and start doing well (the recent dramatic and hardly fathomable economic troubles in Turkey are the case in point).

To them, furthermore, it is a convention that Muslims should be perennially impoverished and needy, depending on their support and wherewithal.

Muslims and their countries are to be turned into the dumping grounds for such people’s cultural, intellectual, military and industrial leftovers, and in the worst-case scenario, outright waste.

Muslims are to dominate the news for all the wrong reasons. The dark side of history is to be inscribed predominantly by Muslims and their societies.

Hence, the only way forward for Muslims would be in following especially the West and its cultural and civilizational model. It is there that the end-point of humanity’s socio-cultural evolution and the final form of human government will come to pass. As a political and philosophical concept, the “end of history” has thus been increasingly articulated.

Unfortunately, the creators and advocates of this agenda come as much from within Muslim societies, in the form of a myriad of hypocritical and corrupt governments, institutions and NGOs, as from without, in the form of certain hostile and internationally influential governments, institutions, and media together with business establishments.

Being what they are, they all thrive in the environments of fear, uncertainty, mistrust and manipulation. They and their existential identities are the antitheses of the true meaning of justice, freedom and the wellbeing of humankind, even though they exist ostensibly for the sake of upholding those beliefs.

The truth is the least wanted thing.

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The condition is so dire that one can easily sink into despair, knowing that very little can be done. The unholy schemes are so sophisticated and multi-tiered that they cannot be matched, even partially, by any sincere efforts and strategies of any sincere individuals, groups and governments.

No sooner is a genuine threat detected, than it is emphatically and in unison pounced upon till it is neutralized (again the case of Turkey comes to mind and its carefully crafted and orchestrated “impending destiny”).

Of course, the “pacified”, “docile”, “reformed”, “modernized” and “moderate” Muslims are left alone. Moreover, they are encouraged to carry on and try to win over as many other Muslims as possible.

Numerous local and international institutions and bodies are created, and endless funds and awards provided in abundance for the purpose.

In consequence, being constantly praised and presented with accolades and awards by certain Western entities is anything but a good thing. It may yet signify a certificate of betrayal and “treason”.

Whereas being constantly criticized, condemned and ostracized by the same entities may not necessarily be a bad thing. It may yet denote a certificate of a true form of struggle and sacrifice.

The whole of Islam’s and Muslims’ being is targeted in the process. However, one gets a feeling that the Islamic comprehensive concept of education (epistemology), and everything it entails at all levels of its conceptual and functional presence, is aimed at most.

All that is one of the chief reasons why — for example — since the rapid decline of Islamic culture and civilization, and the rise of Western imperialism and colonization, the subjects of pseudo or theosophical Sufism, metaphysical philosophy steeped in some questionable sources and traditions, and scholastic theology (‘ilm al-kalam), became most important and so, most popular among many Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

However, the same was not the case with those authentic sciences and themes of the Quran, Sunnah and Shari’ah, which embrace plentiful implications for living and applying Islam as a total code of human existence.

While the former, when dealt with in accordance with a prescribed set of methods and objectives, renders Muslim thought and action impractical, desolate and insipid, the latter does exactly the opposite, due to which it is often regarded as inappropriate, yet risky.

The former contributes to subjugating and controlling Muslims and their thought, while the latter contributes to withstanding and defying the same.

Thus, for instance, dwelling on such legitimate and, at the same time, pivotal subjects as the creation of Islamic state, application of Shari’ah including its Penal Law, jihad, da’wah and islamisation, is habitually deemed anomalous and aberrant.

As a result, the curricula in the Muslim world have been designed and re-designed accordingly for centuries. Their goal was the serial production of generations of “compliant”, “submissive”, “one-dimensional” and “myopic” Muslims as the obedient servants of the imposed visions and regimes.

However, the situation is not all doom and gloom. There is still much that can be done by everyone.

Optimism, yet excitement and contentment, coupled with creative thinking and constructive action, should be the raison d’etre. Being overly pessimistic and despondent is certainly not the way. It only plays into the hands of the perpetrators and sustainers of the status quo.

The following issues need to be considered.

First

All that is happening is only because Almighty Allah so wills. It is all part of His divine plan for His creation in general, and Muslims in particular.

No earthly, or otherworldly, power, or scheme, can thwart in the slightest His plans. He is the Creator, Lord and Owner of creation. He does what He wants.

He is also just and does things only for just purposes and ends.

Nobody does anything, nor does any event take place on earth, without His infinite knowledge and permission. It is all part of divine providence.

Second

In the end, the truth and the true servants of Allah will be victorious. That is an ontological law and principle as powerful and constant as everyday physical laws.

When it comes to dealing with others, there should be no room whatsoever within Muslims for the inferiority complex.

 

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