Abdullah Hakim Quick

This lecture series takes a look at the history of Islam, it’s spread from the times of the Prophet Muhammad(saw) and it’s influence on the rest of the world.

Verily, I have been sent to complete the best in character.” (Al- Muwatta)*

Commentary:

The essence of the Islamic message begins with the character of the individual. This has a profound effect on all actions. The first Islamic state has to be developed inside of the person and then in the external world.  If we are not able to establish Islam within ourselves, then how can we establish Sharee‘ah in the land. If we are not prepared to suffer through a “Makkan Period”, then how can we expect the fruits and responsibilities of a  “Madinan Period?”
This was the real message of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Begin with the source, the internal Muslim.  Beautify the person and reflect the Creator in all that we do. This is the beginning of real change, “the complete revolution” that does not stop with economics while
neglecting the individual.  Islam deals with all aspects of life and all spheres of existence.

*This Hadeeth found in Al-Muwatta in the’”Kitaab husn-ul-khuluq”, # 8. It is also supported by  narrations of Aboo Hurayrah and others. It was authenticated by Ibn ‘Abd al Barr.

All praises to Allah, Lord of the worlds. He who revealed in His Glorious Qur’an, “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who came before you that you may keep your duty to your Lord (having taqwa),“ (2:185). And may blessings and peace of Allah be upon His last Messenger Muhammad ibn Abdullah, forever.

O you who believe, Ramadan is a sacred month wherein Almighty Allah is constantly testing His creation and giving humanity the opportunity to achieve infinite, endless Bliss. Fasting is a complete purification and a means to developing the consciousness of Allah’s presence. The consciousness of Allah (Taqwa) is a protection against the schemes of Shaitan, and the suffering of this world. Allah has informed us that, “Whoever keeps his duty to Allah (has taqwa), He ordains a way out for him and gives him sustenance from where he imagines not. And whoever trusts in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah attains His purpose. Allah has appointed a measure for everything.” (65:2)

Many Muslims today have a misconception about fasting and the activities of a fasting person. They go into a state of semi-hibernation, spending most of their daylight hours in bed. If they fear Allah, they wake up for prayer, but then return to sleep immediately. This unnatural sleep makes them become lazy, dull-witted and often cranky.

Ramadan is actually a time of increased activity wherein the believer, now lightened of the burdens of constant eating and drinking, should be more willing to strive and struggle for Allah. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, passed through approximately nine Ramadans after the Hijrah. They were filled with decisive events and left us a shining example of sacrifice and submission to Allah.

In the first year after the Hijrah, the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, sent Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib with thirty Muslim riders to Saif al Bahr to investigate three hundred riders from Quraish who had camped suspiciously in that area. The Muslims were about to engage the disbelievers, but they were separated by Majdy ibn Umar al-Juhany. The Hypocrites of Madinah, hoping to oppose the unity of the Muslims, built their own masjid (called Masjid ad-Dirar). The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, ordered this masjid to be destroyed in Ramadan.

On the seventeenth of Ramadan, 2 A.H., Almighty Allah separated truth from falsehood at the Great Battle of Badr. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, and 313 of his companions set out to intercept a caravan of their own goods that had been left in Makkah. It was led by Abu Sufyan himself, and estimated at 50,000 dinars. They were met, instead, by a well-equipped army of the nobility of Quraish, intend on putting out the light of Islam. Despite being outnumbered three to one and appearing weak and unseasoned, the Muslims defended their faith with a burning desire to protect the Prophet and meet their Lord through martyrdom. Allah gave them a decisive victory on this day of Ramadan, that would never be forgotten.

In 6 A.H., Zaid ibn Haritha was sent to Wadi al-Qura at the head of a detachment to confront Fatimah bint Rabiah, the queen of that area. Fatimah had previously attacked a caravan led by Zaid and had succeeded in plundering its wealth. She was known to be the most protected woman in Arabia, as she hung fifty swords of her close relatives in her home. Fatimah was equally renowned for showing open hostility to Islam. She was killed in a battle against these Muslims in the month of Ramadan.

By Ramadan of 8 A.H., the treaty of Hudaibiyya had been broken and the Muslim armies had engaged the Byzantines in the North. Muhammad, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, felt the need to strike a fatal blow to disbelief in the Arabian Peninsula and conquer the city of Mecca. Allah has declared His Sanctuary a place of peace, security and religious sanctity. Now the time had come to purify the Ka`bah of nakedness and abomination. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam set out with an army having more armed men than al-Madinah had ever seen before. People were swelling the army’s ranks as it moved toward Makkah. The determination of the believers, guided by the Will of Allah, became so awesome that the city of Makkah was conquered without a battle, on 20 Ramadan. This was one of the most important dates in Islamic history for after it, Islam was firmly entrenched in the Arabian Peninsula. During the same month and year, after smashing the idols of Makkah, detachments were sent to the other major centers of polytheism and al-Lat, Manat and Suwa, some of the greatest idols of Arabia, were destroyed.

Such was the month of Ramadan in the time of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam. It was a time of purification, enjoining the good, forbidding the evil, and striving hard with one’s life and wealth. After the death of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, Muslims carried on this tradition and Allah used the true believers to affect the course of history. Ramadan continued to be a time of great trials and crucial events.

Ninety-two years after the Hijrah, Islam had spread across North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. Spain was under the tyrannical rule of King Roderic of the Visigoths. Roderic had forced his six millions serfs and persecuted Jews to seek the aid of the Muslims of North Africa in order to be delivered. Musa ibn Nusair, the Umayyad governor of North Africa, responded by sending his courageous general Tariq ibn Ziyad at the head of 12,000 Berber and Arab troops. In Ramadan of that year, they were confronted with a combined Visigoth army of 90,000 Christians led by Roderic himself, who was seated on a throne of ivory, silver, and precious gems and drawn by white mules. After burning his boats, Tariq preached to the Muslims warning them that victory and Paradise lay ahead of them and defeat and the sea lay to the rear. They burst forth with great enthusiasm and Allah manifested a clear victory over the forces of disbelief. Not only was Roderic killed and his forces completely annihilated, but also Tariq and Musa succeeded in liberating the whole of Spain, Sicily and parts of France. This was the beginning of the Golden Age of Al-Andalus where Muslims ruled for over 700 years.

In the year 582 A.H., Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, after battling with the Crusaders for years, finally drove them out of Syria and the whole of their occupied lands in the month of Ramadan. The Muslim world was then destined to meet one of its most frightening challenges.

In the seventh century A.H. the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called himself “the scourge of God sent to punish humanity for their sins”. In 617 A.H., Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan were put to the sword causing more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656 A.H., Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued this destruction. Even Baghdad, the leading city of the Muslim world, was sacked. Some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine openly while the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the masjids and no Azan (call to prayer) was allowed. In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with the threat of the whole Muslim world and then Europe being subjected to the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt, Saifuddin Qutz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on 25th of Ramadan, 658 A.H. Although they were under great pressure, the Muslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching bravery crushed the Mongol army and reversed this tidal wave of horror. The whole of the civilized world sighed in relief and stood in awe at the remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam.

This was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of intense activity, spending the day in the saddle and the night in prayer while calling upon Allah for His mercy and forgiveness.

Today, the Muslim world is faced with drought, military aggression, widespread corruption and tempting materialism. Surely we are in need or believers who can walk in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, the illustrious Sahabah, Tariq ibn Ziyad, Qutuz, Salahuddin and the countless heroes of Islam. Surely we are in need of believers who are unafraid of the threats of the disbelievers, yet kind and humble to the believing people; Muslims whose fast is complete and not just a source of hunger and thirst.

May Allah raise up a generation of Muslims who can carry Islam to all corners of the globe to establish justice in a manner that befits our age, and may He give us the strength and the success to lay the proper foundations for them. May Allah make us of those who carry out our Islam during Ramadan and after it, and may He not make us of those who say what they do not do. Surely Allah and His Angels invoke blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. O you who believe, send blessings and peace to him forever.

An-Nu‘maan ibn Basheer said, I heard the Messenger of Allah
say,

“That which is lawful is clear and that which is prohibited is clear but between them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. So, he who avoids the doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor. But he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is prohibited, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Surely, every king has a sanctuary, and surely Allah’s sanctuary on the earth is His prohibitions. Verily, in the body there is a lump of flesh which, if it is in good repair, all the body will be in good condition; and which, if it is corrupt, the whole body will be
corrupted. Truly, it is the heart.” (Agreed Upon)4

Commentary:

Muslims have been surrounded by doubtful matters in the guise of modern technology and the Twenty-first century lifestyle. People have developed the ability to make that which is unreal seem real and that which is real appear to be unreal. So-called “Democratic”, secular political concepts empower human beings to set rules of law based on their opinions, while ignoring the already ordained divine laws.

Islamic lifestyle and its Divinely based limits will never change. They were set by the Revelation and the Prophetic directives. The great challenge is to stay within these limits and remain relevant to the actual circumstances that we live in. The essence of our differences lie within ourselves. The never-ending dispute about the beginning of fasting in Ramadaan and the establishment of the first day of the following month of Shawwal is a perfect example. The real difference is not astronomical horizons or schools of Jurisprudence.
The difference is in the hearts, Ikhtilaaf-ul-Quloob. May Almighty Allah enable us to purify the essence before we dispute the external.
4 See Al Lu’Lu wal Marjaan fimaa-Tafaqah Alayhi As Shaykhaan (printed by Darul Jeel) Vol.2 pgs 153 &154
Hadeeth # 1028

By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 31, 2008

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — As big Western financial institutions have teetered one after the other in the crisis of recent weeks, another financial sector is gaining new confidence: Islamic banking.

Proponents of the ancient practice, which looks to sharia law for guidance and bans interest and trading in debt, have been promoting Islamic finance as a cure for the global financial meltdown.

This week, Kuwait’s commerce minister, Ahmad Baqer, was quoted as saying that the global crisis will prompt more countries to use Islamic principles in running their economies. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmet, visiting Jiddah, said experts at his agency have been learning the features of Islamic banking.

Though the trillion-dollar Islamic banking industry faces challenges with the slump in real estate and stock prices, advocates say the system has built-in protection from the kind of runaway collapse that has afflicted so many institutions. For one thing, the use of financial instruments such as derivatives, blamed for the downfall of banking, insurance and investment giants, is banned. So is excessive risk-taking.

“The beauty of Islamic banking and the reason it can be used as a replacement for the current market is that you only promise what you own. Islamic banks are not protected if the economy goes down — they suffer — but you don’t lose your shirt,” said Majed al-Refaie, who heads Bahrain-based Unicorn Investment Bank.

The theological underpinning of Islamic banking is scripture that declares that collection of interest is a form of usury, which is banned in Islam. In the modern world, that translates into an attitude toward money that is different from that found in the West: Money cannot just sit and generate more money. To grow, it must be invested in productive enterprises.

“In Islamic finance you cannot make money out of thin air,” said Amr al-Faisal, a board member of Dar al-Mal al-Islami, a holding company that owns several Islamic banks and financial institutions. “Our dealings have to be tied to actual economic activity, like an asset or a service. You cannot make money off of money. You have to have a building that was actually purchased, a service actually rendered, or a good that was actually sold.”

In the Western world, bankers designing investment instruments have to satisfy government regulators. In Islamic banking, there is another group to please — religious regulators called a sharia board. Finance lawyers work closely with Islamic finance scholars, who study and review a product before issuing a fatwa, or ruling, on its compliance with sharia law.

Islamic bankers describe depositors as akin to partners — their money is invested, and they share in the profits or, theoretically, the losses that result. (In interviews, bankers couldn’t recall a case in which depositors actually lost money; this shows that banks put such funds only in very low-risk investments, they said.)

Rather than lend money to a home buyer and collect interest on it, an Islamic bank buys the property and then leases it to the buyer for the duration of the loan. The client pays a set amount each month to the bank, then at the end obtains full ownership. The payments are structured to include the cost of the house, plus a predetermined profit margin for the bank.

Sharia-compliant institutions also cannot invest in alcohol, pornography, weapons, gambling, tobacco or pork.

Computer engineer Tarek al-Bassam said the crisis made him glad that he had chosen an Islamic bank to take his money. His Islamic savings account has made about 4 percent profit, he said. “Usually it’s a very low risk or a very low gain. But I’m happy with it,” Bassam said.

He has also borrowed from an Islamic bank, to buy a building. Even if he’s late in his payments, he said, he will not have to pay cumulative interest or a larger sum than the one agreed upon. But he notes that under this system, it can be harder to get a loan than from a conventional bank. Islamic banks have stricter lending rules and require that their borrowers provide more collateral and have higher income.

Islamic banking has grown by about 15 percent a year since its modern inception in the 1970s, fueled by the Middle East oil boom of that decade. “There was a lot of hostility when we first started out. We were regarded with suspicion, especially by the regulatory authorities. We were an odd fish. Authorities only acquiesced when they saw the huge demand,” said Dar al-Mal al-Islami’s Faisal, who has been in Islamic finance since the late 1970s.

Islamic finance now accounts for about 1 percent of the global market, according to Majid Dawood, chief executive of Yasaar, a Dubai-based sharia financing consultancy…

Islamic finance first sparked interest in the United States in the late 1990s. The Dow Jones Islamic Index was established in 1999, and the Dow Jones Islamic Fund, which invests in sharia-compliant companies, the following year.

But interest cooled after some Islamic banks were accused of financing terrorism in a lawsuit filed by family members of Sept. 11, 2001, victims, and a lot of Persian Gulf money left the United States for Europe.

In 2004, the German state of Saxony-Anhalt issued a 100 million-euro sovereign Islamic bond. That same year, the first Islamic bank opened in Britain, which now has six Islamic financial institutions, including a retail bank.

Although the biggest Islamic banks are in the Persian Gulf — Dubai Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Saudi Arabia’s al-Rajhi Bank — Malaysia and London are growing as major centers of Islamic banking as well.

Islamic institutions are not immune to ills plaguing other banks, such as corruption charges and bad investments. Differences of interpretation between sharia scholars about what is permissible and what isn’t also create confusion. The sukuk market, which had doubled each year since 2004, growing to a total of about $90 billion in bonds issued, fell 50 percent this year after a Bahrain-based group of Islamic scholars decreed that most of the bonds were not compatible with sharia law.

But as banks turn borrowers away in these times of economic turmoil, Islamic institutions continue to close deals in Europe, the Gulf and the United States, bankers said. “Banks feel safer and more comfortable with us because we put down more money, more equity. We are not allowed to borrow with very little down,” said Tariq Malhance, a former chief financial officer for the city of Chicago who now heads Unicorn Investment Bank’s U.S. office.

And those who have been in Islamic banking for a long time now feel vindicated.

“The current financial collapse is an opportunity. The ugly side of Wall Street is exposed; it’s always been there but covered by a layer of glamour that is now stripped away,” Faisal said. “We are more conservative and sober in our investments. That used to be considered a handicap. Now it’s considered the height of wisdom.”

FOREWORD

The following text is transcribed from the khutbah delivered by Shaykh Abdullah Hakim Quick on Eid-ul-Fitr at Masjid-ul-Quds in Gatesville (Cape Town), South Africa. Nearly five thousand people were in attendance. The impact of this speech was so powerful that an initiative was made to produce audio copies and to make the message available in print. Muslims today, are in need of clear self-analysis and practical steps toward reconstruction. This humble presentation represents one voice among the thousands that are crying for self-analysis, internal change, unity and a realistic approach to current problems.

MUSLIM JUDICIAL COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT OF DA’WAH, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

All praises to Allah, the Self Sufficient, the Praised, the Beginner, the Restorer, the Lord of the Glorious Throne; He who does what He Intends, who has encompassed everything within His Knowledge, and who is Witness to all affairs. I praise and thank Him, the Glorious, and I ask Him to increase us in His favour and I bear witness that He is One and has no partners, or rivals, or helpers and I bear witness that Muhammad(saw) is His servant and last Messenger and the best of those who called the people to faith and Tawheed. May Allah constantly and always send peace and blessings to Muhammad, and to his family, companions and all those who call to his way and establish his Sunnah until the Day of Judgement.

As to what follows, Oh you who believe:
This is one of the blessed days of Allah, in which He has gathered you together in a state of purity and faith, after completing your fasting in Ramadan. You have put your trust in Allah and left your desires in order to fulfill His commandments and He, the Almighty has promised you great reward for your sacrifice.
Glad tidings to those who have fasted and have come together today.
The Prophet(saw) informed us that “…the fasting person has “two joys”: one when he breaks his fast and one when he meets his Lord… (Bukhari and Muslim)
He(saw) also told us:

“Whoever fasted in Ramadan with faith and expectation of Allah’s reward would have his previous sins forgiven”.
( Bukhari and Muslim)

Allah, the Almighty, has prepared a special gate in Paradise called Ar-Rayyaan, for those who have fasted. They will enter through this gate, on the Day of Judgement, and then drink (from the nectar of the Paradise). Thereupon, they will never feel thirsty again. In addition, Allah has prepared countless other blessings for those who have fasted. Many of these blessings could never be imagined by earthly minds
Allah, the Most High, has informed us in a Hadeeth Qudsi :

“All the deeds of the son of Adam are for himself, except fasting it is especially for me and I will reward especially for it…”
( Bukhari and Muslim)

So, regardless of the sins you may have committed in the past, turn to Allah in repentance, for this is a perfect opportunity to start afresh. Some of us were not born in Muslim homes. We were totally off the Straight Path, involved in drugs, gambling, adultery, and crime. Allah, the Most High, Guided us and Blessed us with the light of the last Message. Others amongst us were born in Muslim families but never really understood Islam. Our lives were empty, filled with meaningless rituals and polytheistic practices done in the name of Islam. Let us all take this opportunity to commit ourselves to “living Islam”, the way of the Last Messenger, Muhammad(saw) !

Now that the month of Ramadan is over:
• Don’t abandon prayer. Continue to pray in the Masjid.
• Continue giving sadaqah as you did whilst you were fasting.
• And a special message to sisters: Do not throw away your beautiful, loose Islamic dress, now that Ramadan is over.

“Allah hears and sees all things”

Oh you who believe:
The Muslim is `Abdullah (the slave of Allah) whose Lord is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. His Lord is Ever Living and will never die. `Abdullah recognises this, and so, when Ramadan ends, he continues striving for righteousness. His steady prayer in the masjid continues, his tongue remains clean and his gaze remains lowered. He continues to worry about his Zakah and his other sacrifices in the Path of Allah.
Modesty is a part of him, and it does not change or lessen with the sighting of the Hilal.
`Abdu-Ramadan (the slave of the month of Ramadan) is another character. He becomes “holy” for the duration of the fasting month and changes for the worse as soon as the month of Shawwal is announced. The end of Ramadan closes the door to goodness, instead of opening up the blessings of the fast to the rest of the year.
`Abdu-Ramadan will not meet his Lord for another year. Suddenly, he cannot be found in the masjid. He uses foul language, stares at that which is forbidden to him and does not appear as a Muslim in public.
His cousin, Abdu-Lailatil-Qadr (the slave of the Night of Power) is even worse! His whole religion revolves around the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan wherein he stands in prayer and makes ample dua which he is sure will suffice for the whole year ahead.

Let us strive to change these weak trends within our people.
• Let Ramadan be the training ground for a year of struggle and success.
• Plan Hajj early and make intentions to travel to the three Holy Harams.
• Plan to give part of your wealth to the masjid or to support da’wah efforts in your region.
• Give a portion of your time and wealth to liberate Masjid-Al-Aqsa and assist oppressed Muslims wherever they are.
• Fast six days in Shawwal as prescribed by our Prophet(saw) .
• Make special efforts to continue praying in the masjid and attending Jumu’ah prayers.
• Guard your eyes, ears, hands, feet and tongue from that which is forbidden by Allah and His Messenger .

Oh you who believe:
Eid is a time of divine unity. This year the whole world is celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr together! Despite the differences in calculating the arrival of a new month, despite the differences in Madhaahib, Almighty Allah is bringing us together whether we agree or not – over 1.5 billion Muslims, a quarter of humanity striving for the same goal! In all continents, all races, all colours – fasting, praying, giving charity and standing up against evil.

Allah tells us: “Truly this nation of yours is one nation and I am your Lord, therefore worship me.” (Qur’an: 21:92)

Here in Cape Town, last night over two thousand Muslims converged on the “Sea point” to sight the new crescent of Shawwal. Non-Muslims who witnessed the huge turnout were amazed at this gathering. With no warning and seemingly out of nowhere, crowds of Muslims filled the seashore. Men, women, and children- all there for the same peaceful purpose. There was no fighting, alcohol, illegal drug taking, or rude behaviour – just positive vibrations, excitement and prayer. We Muslims can become a powerful force in this city and country, if we unite and really begin to work together.

0h you who believe:
Eid is a time for victory and joy. Despite the material and spiritual opposition, we have defeated our desires and resisted the temptations of this life. We feel joy upon seeing our friends and fellow Muslims. Allah has blessed us with a relative state of peace and security. We are dressed in good clothing, living in clean, warm homes and able to drive to the masjid peacefully. But is our victory complete when we are only materially secure? Is our victory complete when Muslims throughout the world are surrounded by the enemies of Allah?
“We should look upon ourselves as part of a new Islamic world order (A movement for a better, safer world)”, wherein:

• We are tired of being led by our desires, programmed to live a life in opposition to divine revelation.
• We are tired of submitting to the whims and fancies of evil-minded people.
• We want to be governed by the laws of Allah, the Creator, not the hypocritical rhetorics of men.
• We want to live in peace and harmony with nature and our fellow man in a society, which is free of gambling, drugs, immorality, hatred and violence.
• We want to live in a world where people are not judged on the basis of class or the colour of their skin.

This Islamic New World order will not come about without a struggle.
All the Prophets went into the jaws of death, believing in Allah. They depended on their Lord, persevered, then came the victory.
• The Prophet Nuh (as) believed in Allah and built his Ark. Allah sent the flood and then saved him.
• The Prophet Ibrahim (as) believed in Allah, refused to worship idols and was thrown into a fire. Allah saved him and gave him a way to migrate.
• The Prophet Musa (as) believed in Allah, confronted the Pharaoh and was chased to the sea. He raised his staff in total submission to his Lord, then Allah saved him and destroyed his enemies.
• The Prophet `Isa (as) believed in Allah, confronted his people, then faced near death at the hands of the Romans. Allah saved him by raising him up to the Heavens.
• The Prophet Muhammad(saw) believed in Allah and then stood facing the whole of Quraysh, then the whole of Arabia and then the might of Roman Empire. Allah saved him and established him in power and security before his death.

If we believe in Allah, hold fast to His rope, as a united body, Allah can save us from the plots and plans of the most powerful nations of today! So let us remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering right now as we sit in this Masjid. The struggle in Chechnya continues. The people are freezing in the snow but the Mujahideen are intensifying their attacks on the Russian occupiers.

The tragedy of Bosnia and Kosova is not over. The major struggle for survival has just begun. Despite the cease-fire and a relative state of peace, the whole infrastructure has to be rebuilt. Major projects need to be initiated and financed by the Muslim world.

Masjid-Al-Aqsa is still under attack and plans are being carried out to destroy the Islamic sites and rebuild the temple of Solomon. Children in Palestine are still being maimed and killed. The country has become a huge prison camp with no immediate hope of relief. So our joy should be mixed with seriousness and dedication towards doing something to relieve this suffering.

Let us also never forget that we are going through trials and tribulations right here in South Africa.
So although Ramadan has ended, our second and greatest test has begun.

The Prophet Muhammad(saw) once said,
“Verily, I fear for you the splendor and beauty of the world that will be opened up to you after me.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Some of these trials have been specifically constructed to target the Muslim community and the under-privileged:
• Huge casinos with shopping malls, restaurants and skating rinks have been constructed.
• Nightclubs shaped like Masjids and serving alcohol have appeared.
• Haraam food with beautiful packaging and enticing smells fill the supermarkets.
• Killer drugs with beautiful names and false descriptions permeate our society.
• Immortality and deviation with a smile have become the norm of our world.

The Eid this year, falls in the festive season of the solar calendar. All the valid historical accounts in the writings of the Jews, Christians and Muslims show that the Prophet Jesus (‘Isa ibn Maryam) (ﻢﻼﺴﻠﺍ ﻪﻳﻠﻋ) was born in summer.

In Surah Maryam (16-36), Allah reveals to us that Maryam (ﻢﻼﺴﻠﺍ ﺎﻬﻳﻠﻋ) was suffering from the pangs of childbirth and was guided to a place where running water flowed beneath her. She was told to shake the date palm tree so that ripe dates would pour down. The Arabs understood that, in terms of their environment ripe dates could only appear in the intense heat. Hence, Prophet ‘Isa (ﻢﻼﺴﻠﺍ ﻪﻳﻠﻋ) was probably born in July or August.
Why then do the Christians celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Christ, the Son of God, when this time of the year marks the “winter solstice” for the people of the North? The Greeks celebrated the Bacchanalia, for their pagan god of wine and play, Bacchus. The Romans celebrated the “Saturnalia” for their sun god, Saturn. Mithra was the manifestation of the sun god for an ancient sun-worshipping cult in Rome and Persia. He came down on earth and died for the sins of humanity. His special day was the last day of the week, “Sun-day”.
When the Christians seized power in Rome, they banned the name and the cult of Mithra, but the ideas lived on in a new concept of Christ. In 1647, the Church of England banned Christmas as a Pagan holiday. Christmas had become a drunken, adulterous orgy whose chief character was “St. Nicholas”. This rowdy personality was foreign to the early teachings about Christ.
The Germans saw the image of Saint Nicholas, now known as “Santa Claus” as the Devil himself.
The sun worshippers switched their focus to Dec 31st (New Year’s eve). March was originally the beginning of the Roman New Year. September is from Septum, meaning seven in Latin. For the Romans it was the seventh month. October was the eighth month, November was the ninth month, December stood for the tenth month, January was the eleventh month and February was the last month in the solar year. January was given the new status of marking the beginning of the New Year for a devious reason. It was the month of Janus, the pagan two-faced god who kept one face for spirituality and the other face for gross materialism, drinking and immorality. So this is a time of hypocrisy and two faces, the time when people say one thing and do another.

The Prophet Muhammad(saw) said,
“You will find the most evil, despicable person in the eyes of Allah on the day of Judgement, the person with two faces. He comes to one group with one face and to another group with a different face.” ( Bukhari and Muslim)

This will be our greatest test. Will our Islam end with Ramadan or will Eid be a door that opens onto to the rest of the year?

Oh you who believe:
Fear Allah in your intentions and your deeds. The Last Hour is upon us. The Prophet Muhammad(saw) has revealed to us that the Last Hour would not be established until:
• Two large groups fight each other. There will be a great number of casualiities on both sides. They will be both following one and the same religious doctrine. [1]
• 30 false Prophets will appear, each one claiming to be the last Prophet.
• Religious knowledge will be taken away. [2]
• Earthquakes will increase in number.
• Time will pass quickly. [3]
• Disease will appear.
• Murder will increase.
• Wealth will be in abundance, so abundant that a wealthy person will worry that nobody will accept his Zakah, and whenever he will present it to someone that person will say, “I am not in need of it.”
• The Bedouins will compete with one another in building high buildings. (See “The Book of Al Fitan” in Bukhari and Muslim )
Surely our Beloved Prophet spoke the Truth.
Oh you who believe:
Never forget there are glad tidings in the signs of the Last Day. Islam will eventually be victorious, even before the last days.

The Prophet(saw) was reported to have said:
“Surely this affair (Islam) will reach the distance of the night and the day. Allah will not leave a house except that he enters this religion into it. By the power that Allah will give Islam and the disgrace that he will put down disbelief with.” (Ahmad-authentic)
The Prophet(saw) also informed us:
“There will not cease to be a group of my Ummah, obedient to Allah’s orders, unharmed by those who desert them and oppose them until Allah’s order comes about and they have ascendancy over the people. It was said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, where are they?’
He said, ‘In Jerusalem and the adjacent areas. ‘” (Ahmad-authentic )

So do not cry for the youth who are facing the enemies of Allah in Palestine. They are throwing stones for the whole Ummah. Allah has blessed them with the presence of Shuhadaah (martyrs). According to authentic Ahadeeth:
• The Shaheed gains forgiveness with the first drop of his blood.
• He sees his place in Paradise.
• He is protected from punishment of grave.
• He is protected from terror of the Day of Judgement.
• He is wed with 72 companions from the beautiful maidens of Paradise.
• He is granted intercession for seventy people of his household.
(Tirmidhi – authentic)
So do not just cry for them, assist them and cry for yourself!

What will our response be when we are called upon to give in the path of Allah? I challenge you and myself in these days following Ramadan to make this year a year of rebirth.

Let us look at four great challenges:

In our leadership:
• We need to strengthen and unite our leadership based on Qur’an and Sunnah. Nobody is too great to seek forgiveness from Allah and pardon from his fellow Muslims. We need to base our decisions and strategies on the needs of the community and the truth of the revelation.
In our Families:
• We need to respect and protect Muslim women. There should be no violence between the husband and the wife. Our motto should be “Zero Tolerance for wife assault and abuse”. No Muslim woman should be humiliated and beaten like an animal in an Islamic home. Let us establish Shura in our homes and open up regular discussions with our family members.
With our youth:
• We need to educate our youth, Islamically, thereby empowering them with the revelation. We should include them in the leadership of our organizations and give them tangible responsibilities. The community should also provide action-oriented alternatives to keep the youth out of confusion, anarchy and fitnah, especially on December 31st, the devilish orgy, now known as New Year’s Eve.

In the Da`wah:
• Let this be a year of Da`wah and outreach to the mainstream society. We must take this message to the airwaves, the streets, the schools, and the universities. Let us inform all people black, white, brown and yellow. There are no more Prophets to come and we, the ummah of the Last Messenger, have the responsibility of taking his message to the rest of humanity. Let us not rest until every house in Southern Africa and then, the world hears the Word of Almighty Allah.

• May Allah accept our prayers, our fasting our sadaqah and all our good deeds in the month of Ramadan.
• May Allah give victory to the Mujahideen in Chechnya, Palestine, Kashmir, Sudan, Nigeria and throughout the world.
• May Allah give comfort to those Muslims who are trapped in prison here in South Africa and throughout the world.
• May Allah unite us and raise from amongst us a Khalifah to lead the Muslim world.
• May Allah bless everyone who is here today and everyone who witnesses this message with Paradise, and may He bless us all with the pleasures of experiencing his Divine Presence

Oh Allah bear witness that I have given them the Message, Surely You have power over all affairs.

NOTES
1 This prophecy was fulfilled with the “fitnah” and war that happened between the companions in the Khilaafat of Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra).

2 In another Hadeeth, the Prophet(saw) revealed that it would be
“The death of the ‘Ulamaah”. A number of great scholars have died in the past year.

3 Muslims throughout the world have expressed their surprise at apparent shortness of this Ramadan.

GLOSSARY OF ARABIC TERMS USED
Da’wah: The call to Islam
Eid-ul-Fitr: The day of celebration which follows the fasting month of Ramadan.
Shawwal : The tenth Islamic month, the first day of which marks Eid-ul-Fitr.
(saw) - sallallahu `alayhi wassallam: May Allah Bestow peace and salutations upon him.
Sunnah: The words and actions of the last Prophet of Islam , which Muslims are required to practise.
Ramadan: The month during which fasting is compulsory upon Muslims, as revealed in the Qur’an.
Tawheed: The Oneness of God.
Hadeeth: A saying of the Prophet Muhammad [plural: ahadeeth]
Hadeeth Qudsi: This is a Hadeeth revealed by the Prophet Muhammad , which contains the direct words of Allah.
Masjid: The arabic word for the mosque, the Muslim place of worship.
Sadaqah: Voluntary charity, which is encouraged by Islam.
Zakah: Obligatory charity, compulsory upon Muslims who possess a specified amount of wealth.
Hilal: The new crescent which is used to determine the beginning of an Islamic month.
Hajj: Obligatory pilgrimage to the House of Allah, the Ka’abah in Makkah.
Holy Harams: The mosque of the Prophet in Madeenah, the sacred mosque in Makkah, and the Masjid Al Aqsa in Palestine.
Jumu`ah Prayer: The Friday afternoon prayer which is compulsory upon Muslim men.
Madhaahib: Schools of Islamic thought.
Mujahideen: Muslims who fight in the Path of Allah, to protect and uphold Islam.
Haraam: forbidden, as stipulated by the Qur’aan.
Shaheed: an Islamic martyr. [plural: shuhadaah]
Shura: mutual consultation.
Ummah: nation
Khaleefah: The head of an Islamic state.
Khilaafah: Islamic governance.
Fitnah: trials, discord, civil strife.
`Ulaamah: Islamic scholars.
(ra): radi- Allahu `anhu: May Allah Pleased with him.
Dua: prayer or supplication

(as) – alayhis salaam: May Peace be upon him.

An Interview with Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick on his PhD on Sheikh Uthman dan Fodio.

by Shireen Ahmed.

“Uthman Ibn Fodio is probably the most influential Islamic scholar in the history of Islam in west Africa…”,

stated Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick who has recently acquired a PhD in – Aspects of Islamic Social Intellectual History in 18th century Hausaland: Uthman Ibn Fodio. This is the end of a nine year educational journey, which began with a Masters and gradually moved on to a PhD degree from the History Department of the University of Toronto, St. George Campus.

“The whole experience for me has really been more than just a degree. I don’t look at it like a PhD from the University of Toronto, although that is an achievement, but that is a minor thing for me. Whether I got the degree or not, it wouldn’t really matter compared to what I got by going into the writings of the Sheikh (Uthman ibn Fodio).”

But what is it about this scholar that makes him worthy of study? Who is he and what exactly is significant about him? Questions such as these can be answered once an individual takes a moment to look into the life of this 18 century scholar, who is known as Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio in Arabic or Dan Fodio in Fulani (a West African) language. When asked why he had chosen this particular aspect of study, Abdullah Hakim answered that not only was Uthman Ibn Fodio most likely the most influential Islamic scholar in the history of Islam in west Africa (therefore influencing the people in Hausaland), but his teachings also spread throughout west Africa and even connected to Sudan itself. Even today, people continue to read his books. Abdullah Hakim also wanted to make the Sheikh’s life and achievements in regard to Islam known, so that Muslims could see how Islam grew in other parts of the world besides Southern Asia or the Middle East. As a background to his thesis paper, he examined the presence of Islam and the presence of scholarship coming into West Africa in general and into Hausaland. Hausa speaking people made up the largest proportion in West Africa, and they were a very influential group of people living in Hausaland, who were known for their merchant activities.

During this time period, it was a great time of revival when great changes were coming about in the intellectual thought within the Muslim world. Places such as Timbuktu, now in the Mali Republic of Africa were considered to be great centres of Islamic learning, especially from the 12th century up into the 17th and 18th centuries. There are reports that when the Sahaba went across northern Africa, some of them went down into the desert into desert regions like Mali, Niger, southern Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Lake Chad area. This would account for the number of groups well-versed in Islam stemming from those areas. Abdullah Hakim further stated that the Timbuktu system of learning followed the Maliki school of thought.

A major concept they used was the mulazama system.

“The mulazama system is something which I think we really need to revive today, it was practiced all over Muslim world. It is where the student, instead of studying in a classroom setting where in the western sense a teacher comes in and students are sitting in their chairs…you actually live with the teacher, so you become part of the clerical community & you may even marry into his family. He gets to know you and you stay in the company of a scholar working and living with that person until you master certain texts.”

Each scholar has their own specialty of a particular branch of knowledge (eg. Qur’an or Daw’ah) so that by the time one has reached their seventh or eighth sheikh, they are pretty well-rounded in each of the subjects. This is the classical way of Islamic knowledge. Abdullah Hakim emphasized that when living with the sheikh you pick up his qualities and character as well, so that you are not just learning a set of theoretical rules. Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio studied within this system, which was also something Abdullah Hakim examined in his thesis.

Uthman ibn Fodio was one of the Fulani people, who were nomadic people who most likely originated from Senegal. They moved throughout West Africa, taking their cows to different pastures and using them for trading purposes sometimes. The Fulani people lived in a symbiotic relationship with the Hausa people, who were farmers and blacksmiths. Thus, the two groups traded their wares to survive. In the 18th century, the Fulanis developed a clerical group and this clerical group had a nomadic base while focusing on scholarship. The Islamic body they formed, Torodbe scholars (a Fulani word) continued to move throughout west Africa, and some of their scholars even went on to become leaders of the great jihad movements of the 18th century.

This was the actual movement that Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio gained his knowledge, through the mulazama method. The society at this time was not doing very well. A series of corrupt kings had developed, and Islamic ideals were indistinguishable from local superstitions and practices. There was also a great deal of overburdening people with taxes, government corruption, dynastic rules, oppression, tribalism, and heavy oppression of women.

Now picture Uthman dan Fodio entering into this picture. He was around old 20 years old when he began to teach the people, and he did Daw’ah for 30 years. Allah gave him the ability to express himself well at an early age, and he would move through different areas of Hausaland teaching in a number of different areas. He focused on giving the masses of the people basic Islamic education, and he was well-versed in classical Arabic, Hausa, Foulani language, and Tawheedic language, which made him more capable of speaking to masses of people in their own language.

He espoused many different new Islamic concepts to the people, which he taught them. He focused on basic Islamic education: learning fiqh, learning tawheed, also understanding the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and the basic rudiments for a sound Islamic education, following the Maliki school of thought. Then he worked on the scholars of the time themselves, striving against extremism within them (i.e. taking extreme positions on tawheed, which dealt with heavy philosophy that people were not emphasizing – eg. “where is Allah?” & anyone who couldn’t answer was declared a kafir by this group) Uthman ibn Fodio wrote a book showing them how their extremism was wrong.

He also taught that all madhabs (schools of law), were correct so that people should respect them and the people within each school. He also tried to rectify the position of Islamic scholarship with Sufism. Actually, he was also considered to be a leading part of the Qadarwi Sufi order. Yet, at the same time he made it clear that anybody who went into tasawwuf should only go into it for knowledge of the heart. Any whirling around, musical playing, or extremism that was not within Shari’a he was against. His followers practiced a sober, individual type of Sufism that was more into heavy reflection. Anyone wishing to study Sufism more in depth was told to know their Fiqh first, so that they would recognize any sufi practices that crossed the Shari’a border.

Another area Sheikh ibn Fodio was strongly vocal in was women’s education. During his time, there were either two extremes: women were either walking around in nothing but a waist-cloth, or on the other extreme they were locked into their houses against their will. They were all generally ignorant of Islam. What the sheikh did was he brought the women out of their houses, and put them in one area and the men in another area and began to regularly lecture them. However, the extremists of the time strongly disapproved. “They said ‘fitna, you are mixing men and women!’”, Abdullah Hakim explains, and even went on to a modern example: “The Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) brings a question to me every year, ‘Brother Abdullah, can we have brothers and sisters in the same room?’ Every time there is new leadership in MSA they are asking the same question.”

The Sheikh answered these extremists by saying that they were not educating the women before, they were simply using them like a dish, eating out of it and then throwing it away, having no further use for it. He went on to say that he had brought these women out of their houses and was educating them, and they were covering themselves up. Men and women were always kept in separate areas, and because we were talking about people with high morals coming together to learn and practice Islam – there was no fitna there. He even used examples from the early days of men and women in the Prophet’s mosque. The way men dressed was also addressed by the Sheikh, as he encouraged them to wear turbans and long, loose clothing. Thus, all his followers were readily distinguishable.

Another aspect that he educated the men about was taharah. Surprisingly enough, this Sheikh went into intimate details on various subjects like this one. Apparently at the time, the men had a harmful practice for their method of purification which the Sheikh stopped. Another personal issue he addressed was the relationship within a marital relationship, and how to strengthen the bond between these two people. He took it to the point where he actually spoke to people about the sexual relationship between a man and his wife, which one would usually not expect from someone talking about fiqh. But these were realistic things that he was doing for society. As stated in Abdullah Hakim’s thesis, it is clear that Uthman dan Fodio was not only the jihad leader, but that he also affected the social-intellectual situation in Hausaland, as he radically changed the society. Sheikh dan Fodio has written a book called Yahya al-Sunnah which talks about bringing the Sunnah to life again by going into points like these.

Female circumcision was another major social issue the Sheikh delved into. This practice was in the Sudan, Somalia and was going across to his country and he stopped people from doing it. He brought the hadith of the Prophet showing that only a little bit was allowed to be removed from the tip of the clitoris, but was by no means necessary as it wasn’t really part of Islam. His argument against it, once again went into graphic details of how if men allowed this to happen then a woman would not be able to achieve her climax in a physical relationship, which would then cause their relationship to deteriorate. To have a more fulfilling relationship, they should allow her to retain what Allah gave her. This obviously was a heavy argument for the Sheikh to be making, especially in the 18th century!

“Uthman ibn Fodio went into common events people faced, for instance how to set up masjids, sunnah ways of eating food, describing the benefits of cleaning up your plate, eating with your right hand, washing your hands and other social benefits.”

He went through the Sunnah and explained why they would benefit and the reasons behind these practices. Uthman ibn Fodio also spent a great deal of time concentrating on cleaning of the heart. So a number of his texts deal with Riyaa, showing off, jealousy, arrogance, anger, and other general diseases of the heart which are so rampant today in the muslim world.

“Basically, I was concluding that he was more than just a scholar, that he was a social reformer in his time and he’s still relevant up until now.” stated Abdullah Hakim.

Gradually, the number of Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio’s follows grew, until he was at a point where whenever he travelled he took 1000 of his scholars with him. The kings became nervous because of the number of people he drew away from them. The Sheikh demanded that the laws be changed to become more Islamic. Later he was attacked by order of the kings, and his group made hijrah, then made jihad and won despite their smaller numbers – thus establishing a khalifah. When the battle was won he stepped down from his Amir position, and went to a small village to teach until he died. This shows that the Sheikh wasn’t into power, because he had just won the battle that would have given him ultimate control and yet he chose to step down.

His relevance up to today makes it conceivable for us to consider the types of lessons from him. “The issues he handled were actually very crucial to our own existence today.” Abdullah Hakim pointed out. He went further to mention that many of his khutbahs that he gave at the Jami Mosque between 1985-1990, and many of the positions that he came to on various issues, were actually based on what he had discovered through reading the writings of the sheikh.

“That is why the whole experience for me, has been more than an academic one. It has changed me as a person.”

He has even visited Nigeria and visited the sheikh’s grave, and also visited his family. Even the fact that Sheikh Uthman don Fodio had special classes for women and children after Asr prayers, so that women would have a forum where she could ask for help from the Sheikh, inspired Abdullah Hakim

“..that was one of the things that helped me even to develop this office here, ISSRA. There has to be a place where women can come and youth so they can express themselves. So that was one of the inspirations for me for some of the things we are doing here.”

As students, we can all learn from Sheikh ibn Fodio’s experiences. There are several points to note, for instance the importance of a sound Islamic education (i.e. knowing the meaning of the Qur’an, basic fiqh, a broad-based education), avoiding extremism and having balance, believing in authentic traditions, and putting much less emphasize in culture and superstition – especially in unislamic concepts. Abdullah Hakim also advised that Muslim sisters read the recently published book written by Jean Boyd called Nana Asma’u, about one of the Sheikh’s daughters.

Abdullah Hakim’s actual thesis paper will not be available for another two years. But if anyone is interested in reading it, he plans to make copies available. Some of Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio’s works are also available in English, 37 of which Br. Abdullah Hakim has copies in his possession. Marvin Hiskett, Murray Last, Ibrahim Sulayman and Mohammad Sharif may also have translated some of his works and may act as a starting point for anyone looking up don Fodio’s work.

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The Thesis is now available in the form of a book: “In The Heart of a West African Islamic Revival” (See breezepublishing@gmail.com )

Media Monitors Network (Monday, September 22, 2008)

“The net result is an education system that is failing every student, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Generations of students are being graduated who know very little about their fellow citizens of other faiths; and if they gain any information at all about Islam as a world religion, or about its history, civilization and culture during the entire course of their formal education — that information is most likely to be false.”

The dust cover on the book introduced author Geraldine Brooks as “a native of Australia and graduate of Sydney University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism” and “currently the Wall Street Journal’s United Nations correspondent.”

Brooks’ 1995 book, Nine Parts of Desire, describes the author’s experiences as a correspondent in the Muslim Middle East.

Among the challenges she describes is the difficulty she had checking into a hotel as a single woman. Immediately, she blames a societal issue on Islam: “I couldn’t check myself into a hotel room in the 1990s,” she complained, “because thirteen hundred years earlier, a Meccan named Muhammad had trouble with his wives.”

Wow! Such an ignorant statement coming from a highly educated western professional is a shocker, to say the least. How could an experienced international journalist like Brooks, a graduate of two prestigious universities, jump to such a bizarre conclusion?

Unfortunately, she is not alone. The indignant and ignorant hostility she expresses regarding the hotel incident is widespread product of prejudice – a very specific prejudice called Islamophobia. And it is taught in Western classrooms. Geraldine Brooks, for all her native talent and articulate skill, is just one example among millions who have graduated from an entrenched Western system of miseducation about Islam.

In the West, where Muslims comprise a sizable minority in some of the world’s most affluent and “advanced” countries, institutional Islamophobia in education manifests itself in several ways:

1. by the omission of key knowledge about Islamic civilization in text books and curricula from kindergarten through university;
2. by silently condoning attacks on educators and academics who urge that students become more familiar with Islam as a moral and progressive force that shaped European history over a millennium of Islamic civilization;
3. by advancing negative images of Islam and Muslims either through dis-information, or by focusing on selective events without reference to historical context;
4. by denying funding for university research in the study of contemporary religious and social issues related to today’s Muslims;
5. by cutting back or eliminating teacher training in the areas of multiculturalism and social integration;
6. by downplaying in-school incidents of slurs, bullying, or verbal and physical abuse motivated by the victims’ religion; and
7. by refusing or denying the need to confront and address the issue of Islamophobia in the classroom.

The net result is an education system that is failing every student, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Generations of students are being graduated who know very little about their fellow citizens of other faiths; and if they gain any information at all about Islam as a world religion, or about its history, civilization and culture during the entire course of their formal education — that information is most likely to be false.

From 710 to 1492, Muslim Spain brought Europe a quantum leap ahead in the sciences, medicine, arts, literature, engineering, architecture, culture, music, philosophy, theology, and languages. Prof. Maria Rosa Menocal called Muslim Spain “the Ornament of the World” and wrote a fascinating book under that name; it is subtitled, “How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain.”

Prof. Menocal explains what she means by the often-misused word, “tolerance.” She writes: “… for several hundreds of years – that’s a very long time for a good thing to last! – [tolerance was] a liberal and productive understanding of what is called the dhimma in Arabic, the ‘covenant’ that is part of Islamic religious law that mandates the protection of the two other ‘People of the Book,’ or dhimmi, as Christians and Jews are called, when they live under Muslim sovereignty. The dhimma was interpreted in a particularly benign and generous way by the first rulers of Islamic Spain. Most important, however, is that Muslims, Christians, and Jews did not have separate cultures based on religious differences but rather were part of a broad and expansive culture that had incorporated elements of all their tradition, a culture that all could and did participate in regardless of their religion. Wri ting poetry in Arabic was what educated people did, not just Muslims …”

Prof. Haroon Kharem rightly calls the omission of teaching about Muslim Spain in Western universities “The Great European Denial.” In his book chapter by the same name, subtitled “The Misrepresentation of the Moors in Western Education,” he says:

“Many Eurocentric historians portray the Dark Ages as an exceptionally barbaric period of human existence. This notion, however, is an ethnocentric one that arises from historians who claim that Europe was the only civilized part of the world. The Dark Ages were dark for Europe, but not all human civilization was thrown into this period of turmoil and savage brutality … In fact, at the time when European rulers were preoccupied with religious tyranny, wars among themselves, keeping the masses in utter poverty, burning witches, and disemboweling heretics, the Moors brought Islamic civilization and culture to Europe and essentially ended the Dark Ages. Thus it can be argued that the Muslims actually helped civilize the barbaric ways of Christian Europe.

“It is important to note that paying tribute to Islamic scientific achievements during European Dark Ages is entirely a twentieth-century phenomenon. One does not find anything resembling this in the literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because until the West gained military and economic world supremacy, Islam in the Christian mind represented the principal military and moral threat to Christianity.

The Church could not tolerate losing thousands of people, its land, and the wealth it was still accumulating to more liberal religions like Islam.

Therefore, Christian theologians in order to explain the spread of Islam developed a self-protective theoretical framework designed to demonstrate that Islamic success was the product of violence, lasciviousness, and ungodly deceit.

“This was a useful framework at the time when European racism, protocapitalist imperialism, and colonialism were asserting themselves. In this context, not only did the ‘white man’s burden’ become easier to bear, but also military conquest could assume the form of a moral imperative. Conquered peoples could be portrayed as barbarians in need of civilization who were ignorant of scientific and artistic understanding. Hence a prohibition emerged against scholarship that might lay such assumptions open to question.”

In the prestigious scientific journal, Nature, Francis Ghiles writes;”At its peak about one thousand years ago, the Muslim world made a remarkable contribution to science, notably mathematics and medicine. Baghdad in its heyday and southern Spain built universities to which thousands flocked. [Muslim] rulers surrounded themselves with scientists and artists. A spirit of freedom allowed Jews, Christians, and Muslims to work side by side. Today all this is but a memory.”

http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/55077/

picture found on Flickr