Islam Facing Modernity: Hamed Abdel-Samad

ISIS, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram are forces of Islamic extremism that, even at their most brutal, appeal to a fringe of angry and disaffected people. Hamed Abdel-Samad joins The Agenda to discuss his most recent book, "Islamic Fascism," which outlines what he sees as the authoritarian underpinnings of modern Islamism.

Open Minds: Lessons from Arabia's Past
THE SUNDAY TIMES: To embrace modernity, says Adam LeBor, the Arab world must look back to its golden age

The Arab world is in crisis, besieged by modernity. No fully sovereign Arab state is a democracy with meaningful independent institutions where power passes peacefully by popular vote. Economies are sclerotic, but human-rights abuses are flourishing. The internet and globalisation are not opportunities, but threats. The Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman was jailed in 2007 for four years for insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak. His trial lasted five minutes.

South Korea and Taiwan export more manufactured goods in two days than Egypt in a year; 35% of Cairenes live in slums; in Saudi Arabia, up to 30% of people live in poverty. Since 1950 the Arab population has risen from 79m to 327m, but real wages and productivity have barely moved since 1970.

Intellectual life is atrophying. More books are translated into Spanish in a year than have been translated into Arabic in the past 1,000, states the UN’s Arab Human Development Report. The authors trace much of the region’s problems back to Arab society’s methods of child-rearing (“the authoritarian accompanied by the overprotective”) which, they argue, “affects how the child thinks by suppressing questioning, exploration and initiative”. All of which perfectly suits the Arab world’s leaders and corrupt bureaucratic elites.

Should we care? Very much so. Already, poor economic opportunities, endemic corruption, education based on rote learning, state-sponsored Jew hatred, soaring youth populations and unemployment are a recipe for social catastrophe. Add the rise of radical Islam and the growth of Al-Qaeda and the mix becomes something explosive. >>> Adam LeBor | December21, 2001

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Reconciling Islam with Modernity Can Only Be a Vain Hope!
There are few voices of moderation in Islam, either here in the West or there in the East. One notable exception was Zaki Badawi, a moderate voice of Islam in Britain. Unfortuantely, there are all too few moderate voices in the Islamic world.

Zaki Badawi's obituary in The Times tell us a lot about this moderate man. The obituary in The Telegraph tells us that "the true teachings of the Koran were incompatible with terrorism."

Whilst there is no doubt that this man had good intentions, the evidence of history tells us a very different story about the Qur'an's compatibility with terrorism. Whilst the moderate, ever-ready-to-compromise British would love to believe that the teachings of the Qur'an are incompatible with terrorism, the fact remains that Islam has been spread largely by the sword of Islam, by acts of terrorism, and brutal ones at that. Wasn't it the Prophet Muhammad himself who set the precedent? Wasn't it he who told them to kill the non-believers, usually called infidels, or Kufar, in every strategem of war unless and until they submit to the will of Allah, or at least feel themselves subdued enough to pay the extortionate tax known as the jizyah, in return for protection?

The Times tells us that "few men have played such a crucial role in attempting to find a harmonious balance between the beliefs, culture and values of Islam and secular British society." That is probably very true. But the fact remains that in Islam and secularism, we have two 'religions' which are totally incompatible, totally irreconcilable, totally opposed. How can a "harmonious balance" be found when the one believes, ultimately, in the inviolable will and power of the people, and the other, ultimately in the inviolable will and power of Allah?

Further, The Times tells us that the Qur'an, according to Badawi, "emphasised that those who disturbed the peace of society and spread fear and disorder deserved the severest punishment that could be imposed." Really! Did he read the same Qur'an that I have read? According to Islam, the world is divided into two parts: Dar al Islam, or 'House of Peace' - that part of the world which has submitted to the will of Allah, that part of the world in which the people have accepted the Prophet Muhammad as Allah's final messenger, accepted him as ar rasul Ullah, the messenger of God; and Dar al Harb, or 'House of War' - that part of the world which has yet to submit to the will of Allah, that part of the world in which the people yet have to accept the Prophet Muhammad as the final messenger of Allah. The name, 'House of War', says it all! In the 'House of War' every stratagem is fair game in order to bring the people to accept Islam as their religion and Prophet Muhammad as the final messenger of Allah.

The Times also says that Zaki Badawi "believed passionately in interfaith dialogue". Now this is a noble concept. Unfortunately, it is not a realistic one. How can one have interfaith dialogue with adherents of a religion who are incapable of budging an inch (the Qur'an can never be changed), and who would be unwilling to do so anyway. The result of such a dialogue can mean one thing only: the Christians giving way and diluting their faith still further.

In Christianity and Islam, we have two religions with diametrically-opposed belief systems. For starters, Islam believes that Jesus was merely a prophet of Allah, or God (though calling Allah and God one and the same is a debate unto itself!). They deny absolutely that He was the Son of God, calling it a sin to associate a son to God. To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is absolutely essential if one wishes to be a Christian.

Moreover, to be a Christian means that one has to believe that Jesus was not only crucified, but that He was crucified to save us from our sins. He is the Christians' Saviour, their Redeemer. This is anathema to Muslims, for they deny that He was crucified at all, believing that someone else was crucified in His stead so as to save the penultimate 'prophet of Allah'!

These are just two basic incompatiblities. There are many more. But these two important ones highlight why interfaith dialogue would appear to be a totally and utterly fruitless exercise. Fact is: Islam believes passionately in its ultimate destiny of Islamizing the whole wide world. There is to be no peace until this is brought about. Fact!

In addition to all that, though, there is another problem. Zaki Badawi, according to The Times, called for an Islam which fitted comfortably with British values, so that younger generations, brought up and educated in this country [the UK], would find no conflict between their faith and their civic identity as British citizens."

Alas, there is bound to be conflict between being British and being a Muslim, since Islam calls for the laws of the Qur'an, as Shari'ah to take precedence over all laws in other countries. Muslim citizens of other countries are to follow the laws of the land only inasmuch as they do not conflict with Shariah law.

It is a sad fact of life that modernity and Islam are totally and utterly incompatible: they cannot be reconciled. To hope for such a reconciliation can only be a vain hope. Islam is essentially a belief system of a bygone age, a belief system based on mediaeval thought and values. It also encourages its adherents to revere their ancestors and follow them in their ways of dressing, follow them in their living habits. The emulation of the ways of the Prophet Muhammad is elevated almost into an art form! In short, it is a backward-looking faith. One glance at a photo of Osama bin Laden will highlight this point for you. Modernity, by contrast, is forward-looking. Whilst it might sometimes revere what has past, it certainly looks forward to changed times, to brighter times. Modernity likes to find new and exciting ways of living, new and exciting ways of dressing. It is vibrant. Islam, on the other hand, is moribund, stagnant, lifeless.

Moderate Muslims, however well-intentioned, however sound the character - and there is little doubt that Dr. Zaki Badawi was such a sound, moderate, well-intentioned character - can do little to alter the basic nature of Islam. And that's the rub! (No cryptic pun intended!)

©Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved