Equation between Islam and West must for peace

Columnist Lt Col (Retd) ZAMAN MALIK advises rapprochement instead of "a clash of civilisation".

Within a century after the migration from Makka, Muslims had extended their empire from China to France. During this period, Muslims continuously brought new enriching elements into a cultural mosaic which was just beginning to emerge out of multi-cultural and multi-racial experience, galvanized by spirit of Islamic teachings. New branches of knowledge 'Ulum
al-Quran' (sciences of Quran) emerged opening a vast horizon of intellectual activity, and a systematic effort was made to have continued innovation for an ever progressive Islam, through Communal Consensus and Analogous reasoning (Ijma and Qiyas, each based on Quranic teachings and the apostolic traditions). As a result, Muslim Civilization enlightened the East and West both, for a long time - at least upto 1500 CE.
But Andalusian society had a strong presence of Jews, some of them were associated with the Courts, rulers, and other influential segments of the society (just as they were, when because of their intrigues and pleadings Jesus Christ was Crucified by the Roman Viceroy, and just as they are today, influencing the US administrations and some governments in the West), who twisted the Islamic Message, which affected the relationship of the Latin Europe with Islam in a negative way. But before that, cumulative treasure of the intellect had been transferred from Islamic lands to Europe.
After that, Western Civilization began to dominate the Islamic World, with the help of those sciences and technologies, and succeeded in conquering almost the entire Muslim World. Muslim states, existed only in Central Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan, and they too were weak and under the influence of European powers. The colonization of the Muslim societies not only cut short the process of inner evolution in these societies, but also produced a startling transformation of the most basic institutions, completely changing the relationship between the Muslims and the West. However, the mandate of the European powers was not religious, as such. Like today, sources of wealth accessible to European, was listed by them as their top priority. True, the Civilizations are cyclic and repetitive!
It was after a long time, that here, in the Subcontinent, Syed Ahmed Khan succeeded in establishing seats of learning like that of the Aligarh University, that provided light and incentive to Muslims, to benefit themselves, from the Great Britain, in turn. During this period, a great transformation of the Muslim society took place, and it was only then that they managed to preserve their identity, that led to the creation of Pakistan.

The growing concern for security and peace has already an element of sane reflection in the equation between Islam and the West. Several initiatives, on both sides, have started to produce an environment which may give birth to a mature relationship between Muslims and the West. There are many American and European Muslims, as well as those who have a profound understanding of the Islamic world view, who are writing about Islam in a language which Westerner reader can understand, more easily. But this kind of work is just beginning, and is far from being anywhere near the set goals, in correcting the image of Islam and the Muslim world, accumulated over several centuries. The Muslims, all over the world must accept the challenge and work together, in close cooperation for the creation of a world of peace and tranquillity. It must receive their utmost attention, and they must enable themselves for a quantum leap forward in this most useful field. They must pool their resources. To face the terror created by "Clash of Civilization", an intrigue engineered by Prof. Huntington of Harvard and Fukuyama, an academic of the USA (both served the State Department of the USA), Muslims must accept the challenge squarely or succumb to the abyss. There is no third option. The Indo-Israeli nexus as outlined by America, is moving forward at a very fast speed without allowing, particularly their own people, to understand the game for which they are being paranoid, while allowing no respite to the others, to join hands, to check their excesses, against them. Muslim scientists, philosophers, scholars, and academics must, right now, therefore, gird up their loins, to immediately, not only to remove those false misconceptions that have been created by the Zionists in America and the West, but also enlighten them about the glorious philosophy and thought, that has been propounded by Islam to ensure world peace, tranquillity, scientific and socio-economic principles, for the mankind without discrimination in terms of religion, colour, caste or creed. Let them realize clearly that what a Muslim might be doing does not essentially mean that he is following or doing according to the teachings of Islam, like anyone else, who does not claim to be a Muslim. To begin with, emphasis on the following aspects pertaining to the Islamic teachings, be laid.

a) JIHAD. Jihad means "Effort". It has been wrongly translated by the West as Holy war. It were the Crusades which were termed as a Holy war, by the Zionists, who had arrayed the entire Christendom against Islam (like today), due to their old enmity against the Muslims who had followed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), rejecting their age-old conspiratorial actions, that were the cause of every feud or killings, apart from other hair-raising maladies, like the burial alive of the baby or child girl. By creating bottomless pit of conflict and tyranny, and by putting one against the other, they flourished in their trade and commerce. They supplied food and weapons of fighting to the Arabs and became rich and highly influential, amongst those idol worshippers. Money and Gold/riches was their underlying goal throughout, and they can go to any extent for that. By such tactics they had become a predominantly affluent society in the Roman Empire.
So therefore, when it served their purpose they profusely lauded Jihad, (as they did in Afghanistan against the Soviets, in the 1980s), and when it did not, they termed it as the fault of Islam - the religion that propounded barbarism. One needs to understand what Islamic views about Jihad have been. Jihad is indeed the instrument which should facilitate the imposition of order and harmony on "World of war". "Effort" can be violent, but has no exclusively military specifications. For historical and psychological reasons, only its war-like meaning has been retained by the Western Jewish and Christian Zionists. A religion of justice and mercy, Islam has nonetheless known wars and violence throughout its history. The reason for this can be found in the conduct of men rather than the substance of the religion. And yet, one characteristic of Muslim morality (who really know Islam/are not the hypocrites), should here be stressed, one that is distinct from Western theoretical principles (viz for life in its broadest meaning is the shifting outcome of destructive and constructive propensities... war bloodshed or fighting is instinctive in human beings... human instinct is blind to his own interests and that he never restrict war until disaster is so overwhelming that, unless he does restrict it, he and all will inevitably be destroyed), which is named in the West as "Mercy". Mercy carries a specifically Islamic meaning. It is not individual but collective, it is dynamic rather than passive. It is active because, in certain cases, it allows violence or even armed hostilities in order to repress injustice. Committed, positive, and constraining, it calls for the 'effort', the Jihad, wrongly translated into English as "holy war".
So, since men are inherently involved with enmity between themselves, God, in fact, did not rule it out. "If thy Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one nation, yet they cease not differing" (11:24). Violence and intransigence are accepted, only as functions of justice. The authority to engage in armed hostility is explicitly motivated and strictly limited. "To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight) because they are wronged ... (they are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of Right (for no cause), except that they say "our Lord is God". (22: 39-40). Also, "Fight in the cause of God those fight you, but do not transgress (the limits), for God loveth not transgressors". (2: 190). All believers, men and women have an obligation to combat error, and oppression. The nature of hostilities is defined by that of imbalance to be righted." Personal struggle first, against evil tendencies is the most meritorious form of effort - the "Great Jihad" according to the prophet's expression.

Besides, there are numerous stipulations regarding peaceful settlement of International differences, problems and issues, diplomacy, commercial law, the conduct of hostilities, and protection for victims of armed conflicts. At this point, an outline of the principal characteristics of Muslim "International Law" is in order:-
Conceptual Unity, which is not derived from the order of political relations, but imposed globally by spiritual "guidance."
Dynamic pacifism, which is understood as the prohibition of aggression and all forms of violence which could betray designs of power, or material interests, but which, on the other hand, encourages effort and sometimes authorizes war for the purpose of reestablishing order and justice.
Personalism, the perfect monotheism of Islam implies oneness of truth, law and humanity. Thus, in the Muslim International Law, the protection of the person is the true purpose of Law.
Egalitarianism, In the purpose of divine oneness and worldly unity, all mankind and human societies, in their substance, are equal. The postulate implies the cooperation and interdependence of people and consequently, the rejection of all forms of domination.
Justice, resulting directly from the principle of equality, whose corollary is "Equilibrium". As an ideal standard, justice gives Muslim law its pacific yet intransigent character. The imperative of justice and the prohibition of reciprocity, taken together, form the essential nature of Muslim international law relevant to our subject, that can help create equation between Islam and the West very fast. These rules are binding for internal conflicts too.
The Geneva Conventions, Doctrines, agreements or treaties, the Court of Justice at the UN, all incorporate these golden principles, as though those who made them were indeed real Muslims who knew Islamic essence. Muslims in the US and the West must begin with this beginning; God will help the Truth to triumph, despite virulent and baseless propaganda campaign of the antagonists. God helps only those who help themselves!