Since I'm thinking so much about this whole Islamic State thing, naturally I started thinking about other groups who claim that they wish to also establish the Islamic State, the people who nowadays are often called 'Islamists' (which I think is stupid. They're Muslims. They call themselves Muslims. People who follow the religion of Islam are Muslims. Not Islamists. Doesn't matter if they're political or not. They're Muslims!). There are so many of them! There's al-Qaeda (but they've got some serious issues...), the Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon, Jaami'ah Islamiyyah... so many more that I don't know about!
But the thing is, they're all pretty different, too. Depending on where they're located, their goals are different, and their ideologies are different, too, at various degrees. I mean, sure, they all believe in the fundamentals of Islam, but their positions on different subjects are often very different from each other. And, of course, the way they operate is very different, too.
Unfortunately, I don't know much about any of them :( However, I will, insha'Allah, start doing some research... I've begun reading about the Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon, and honestly, I think they're sorta cool. They seem to have the same basic ideas that I do, the grassroots stuff AND the political thing...
I asked my dad about them, and he said that his opinion is that while they started off pretty well, nowadays some of them are sacrificing their Deen to achieve their political goals. Myself, I can't really say anything, because as I said before, I don't know much about them at all.
What do you guys think about them?
Monday, August 21, 2006
Posted by AnonyMouse at 8:33 PM
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4 comments:
Religion, as a Muslim or any religious zealot, having faith in god is important. Life is a desert that a man must go through, but going in without faith, determination, courage, is like going in without water, and eventually, the man will die.
Before being a muslim, I am a man, living in a society. What keeps this society together? The Law? The Rules and Regulations? Respect for others? Home? Our Family? All these important things ...
So, I don't truely believe, that a state, that depends first on religion or anything related to religion, like the Sharia law or w/e will succeed.
Right now, I wished, I could say, that the US, would have been a model, but its president itself, think he is a messiah for the Christians.
I am a Muslim before anything else. States come and go, countries come and go. I can change my nationality, but not my religion. I am a Muslim first.
As to the Muslim Brotherhood, many of these groups have great ideas that just dont translate well into real life.
The test is when they have to put rhetoric to action.
I agree with Abu Sinan. Islam comes first and foremost, always.
As for the ideas, I think that they *can* be implemented, but it has to be done carefully, and done right, taking into consideration all the different factors that will affect whatever it is that we're trying to do.
Also, I think that they should tone down the rhetoric and focus more on the action. That way, people won't go, "Oh, more ranting and raving," and ignore them; instead, they will actually see what is being done and will be more inclined to listen to the speakers.
Most of the Muslim organizations lack a coherent focus. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; each one tends to overlap with the others in some way or another, which in many cases, strengthens that overlapped sphere of focus.
A person will gravitate towards any one of a number of organizations based on temperament, history, and any number of other variables. That's why we have so many; because there are so many types of people. There's no grand solution that will fit everyone and solve all our problems, so everyone tries to apply their own solution. The result is that we have a number of fragmented bandaid solutions which do little but mask the troubles we are facing.
Alhamdolillah, a lot of these groups are doing very good work. Unfortunately, they are lost in the plethora of organizations which seek to further political goals rather than moral or spiritual ones. The other problem is that many of these groups inherently dislike each other. They compete with one another, belittling the opposition even when their goals are almost identical.
I don't know if al-Qaeda is actually an organization of any sort. The US would like us to believe that it's an intricate network of evil monsters; more likely, any one of these "sleeper cells" is just a group of disaffected and exasperated people who seek to strike out at society in whatever way they can. It's much simpler to say that you're at war with a sinister organization run by an evil terrorist mastermind than saying that you're up against the frustration that emanates from decades of persecution and marginalization.
I can recommend one book for you that should give you a good basis to learn about most of these organizations; it is called "Saviours of the Islamic Spirit" by Shaikh Abul Hasan ali Nadwi. It is a collection of biographies of many of the most eminent people in Islamic history after the companions of the Prophet (salallaho'alayhi wa salam). Many of the organizations today are inspired by the characters described in the book.
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