In 2008, “change” was the buzz word. The U.S. media was hypnotized by the magic word, and people shivered with anticipation. In 2009, another exciting term– “Muslim world”–is sweeping through the media.
The people of the free world are not only acknowledging the presence of the so-called Muslim world, they are ready to build a bridge between the two worlds. Engineers have drawn the sketches and truckloads of concrete have been delivered by the bank of the river without realizing how deep and ugly the river is!
The very first question that would bother any rational mind is: Why should there be another world for the Muslims? Secondly, what makes Muslims different from the rest of the humans that requires them to have their own world? Third, why don’t we hear about the Christian world, the Buddhist world or the Hindu world for that matter?
The answer to the first question lies in the teachings of Islam. It is widely believed by most Islamic scholars that the world is divided in two parts - dar ul-islam (’abode of Islam’) and dar ul-harb (’abode of war’). A place where Islam is dominant, or where Muslims live under a Muslim ruler or Islamic laws is considered dar ul-Islam; the lack of Islamic rules or the ruler is considered a dar ul-harb. Some scholars further add another area of division known as dar ul-kufr (’abode of infidelity’), which, in fact, is an extension of dar ul-harb.
Typically, disagreement is the number one criteria to become a scholar, and, as such, there are some modern Islamic scholars who disagree in the concept of dar-ul-harb and dar-ul-Islam. This is because Islam is not powerful these days, and they are afraid of infidel power. They argue that the terms dar ul-harb or dar ul-Islam are not mentioned in the Quran or in the ahadith. They do, however, proudly acknowledge the existence of Umma or so-called Muslim World.
Although those terminologies were not specifically cited in Islamic scriptures, after Mohammed and his pirates died, the Muslim scholars of Abbasid Caliphate coined the terms based on their understanding of the scriptures. Since then, those terms have become the integral parts of Islam.
They surely had reason for such justification. There are over 500 verses in the Quran that demean, curse and guarantee hell fire for the unbelievers of Islam. It is obvious that Allah used to work in an iron factory where melting iron was his primary job or he might have worked as a cowboy in Texas, branding the cows on their butt. In Q 9:35, Allah says of priests and rabbis who hinder the course of Islam, “On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of hell, then their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it; this is what you hoarded up for yourselves, therefore taste what you hoarded.”
Obviously, the believers of Islam live in a world far from the rest of the humanity. Their supposedly supreme world can not mingle with the others.
An essence of supremacy answers the second question: What makes Muslims different from the rest of the humans that requires them to have their own world?
Muslims are indeed better people than the non-Muslims - so they claim.
Mohammed, the founder of Islam, taught Muslims that they are the best people in the world and the Quran explicitly commands (Q 3:110), “You (true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Mohammed and his sunnah) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind…”
Such arrogant understanding not only makes Muslims red-necks, it further forces Muslims to distant themselves from non-Muslims.
For the third question regarding why we don’t hear about the Christian world, the Hindu world or the Buddhist world, there is one simple explanation - spirituality dominates the believers of the other religions, whereas Islam likes to dominate the rest of the world.
It is true that in the past, the followers of some religions fought many wars because of religion, and used religion to rule the people. In the medieval age of Europe, for example, kings and priests committed many crimes in the name of religion.
However, many philosophers and academians stood up against the atrocity and harshly criticized the authorities at that time. Denis Diderot, a French philosophe of the 18th century, rightly claimed, “Men will not be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
Unfortunately, Muslim scholars have not stood up against the Islamic aggression; instead, they are continually defending Islam. They don’t have much choice, either. The rigidity of Quran, the holy book of Islam, left no room for reformation. Muslim intellectuals, in fact, are not different from the fundamentalists. The only difference between the two is that the Jihadists like to subjugate the rest of the world under Islam through violence; the other exploits democracy and human rights to impose Islam.
Now, in a civilized world, religion is merely a personal issue rather than a state matter. People may find solace in their own perceived gods but they would not allow religion to dictate the government. On the other hand, although an element of spirituality is present in Islam, the fundamentals of Islam teach Muslims to conquer the world. Most decent Muslims would pray to god, fast and pilgrim to Mecca. However, those usual rituals are not enough to secure a place in the heaven. In order to become a perfect Muslim, the guidelines of the Quran must be followed, and they happen step by step.
Step 1 - Muslims must have their own banking system, must eat halal food and their religion must not be criticized. When living in a non-Muslim country, these are only a few of many demands that they try to achieve. This is what is happening currently in most of the secular societies.
Step 2 - When Muslims create their own world within a secular society, they will go for the next step. They will isolate themselves from the non-Muslims as the Quran dictates (Q 4:144), “O you believe! Take not for Auliya’ (protectors, or helpers or friends) disbeliveers instead of believers…”
Step 3 - At the final stage, Muslims will force the non-Muslims to become Muslims, as the Quran demands (Q 2:193), “And fight until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah) and (all and every kind of worship is for Allah alone).”
Obviously, Islam is not confined in religious rituals or spirituality; it has its own agenda to conquer the world.
Muslims have created their own world and proudly belong to so-called Umma or the Muslim world, which means community or nation only for Muslims. A Muslim may live in any country of the world, but he must be loyal to the Ummah. When a conflict arises between nationalism and Ummah, it is Ummah that takes precedence over patriotism. Ironically, from Jihadi Muslims to moderate Muslims, they all belong to the same Ummah. The violence and terrorism committed by the extremists are the final stage of Islam and mirror the life story of the prophet of Islam. No matter how the moderate Muslims protest the extremism, at the end of the day, they, too, must follow the footsteps of the prophet and embrace the fundamentals of Islam, which is no different than the fundamentalists.
The concept of the Muslim world is arrogant and unacceptable because it divides humanity and it gives a group of people a sense of false supremacy that they don’t deserve.
11 years ago
