Universal Islam
Aileen Qaiser
Some fervent Muslims in Peshawar have been smashing up television sets in shops and homes. They have allegedly taken this course of action after failing to convince the people for the past six months to reject cable television. Other courses of action which some of these Muslims are reportedly thinking of are running electricity into the cable wires which will destroy all the equipment attached to them, and ransacking the cable offices.
As a Muslim, one cannot argue that some of the dresses, dances and shows on cable television are indecent and, therefore, un-Islamic. But does Islam allow or condone the use of force and action of the kind described above to counter this trend? In fact Islam teaches us to convince and influence people by persuasion and education in the Islamic ways and values. Islam teaches us to interact with people and to influence them through our behaviour and character.
The problem is nowadays there are completely different versions and interpretations of Islam, not only amongst different Muslim countries but also amongst religious leaders within any one Muslim country. For example, a group of ulema in Egypt passed a fatwa that the donation of human organs is allowed in Islam, whereas a group of religious leaders in Pakistan passed a fatwa that the donation of human organs is haram.
This kind of completely opposite views is not only disadvantageous to Islam as din, but also confusing to many Muslims, especially the young who need guidance from the religious leaders to the right direction and the true path.
Muslim religious leaders throughout the world ought to overcome the subjective versions of Islam by particular groups of ulema and try to formulate a consensus on a universal interpretation of the Islamic way of life today which would be applicable to all Muslim societies. This universal Islamic message should then be imparted to Muslims as part of the curriculum in Islamic education.
To facilitate universal interpretations of the Islamic way of life today, we need religious leaders groomed in proper, adequate, unbiased education. Because of advances in science and technology, there are many new issues today which Muslim religious leaders the world over need to study and understand in the proper context and perspective before they can come to a consensus on a universal interpretation of the issues.
In today’s global village world, technologically superior cultures are affecting and influencing the less technologically advanced cultures. Muslim societies are being deluged with information and recreation–unfiltered and unchecked. This contains influences that conflict with Islamic virtues and paradigms.
But we cannot rid ourselves of this influence by simply isolating ourselves from the rest of the world. We would only be creating a cult form of society and would not be able to influence other non-Muslim societies through interaction with them. At the same time, this kind of action may be repulsive to some Muslims, driving them to leave their Islamic countries for the more “attractive” world. By forcing Muslims to change their lifestyles, isn’t this basically negating the free will ordained to them in Islam?
It is a historical fact that people in Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan were once forced to adopt un-Islamic lifestyles. What is happening in Afghanistan today is the opposite of this. There is no denying that there should be an Islamic culture and Muslims should live within the teachings of Islam. It is the way to achieve this objective which is subjective.
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