Quote:
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Originally Posted by Choux firmbeliever,
The truth is that Islam as practiced CAUSED the social and cultural deterioration over the last several hundred years. There is *no* hope for most Islamic countries to provide even the minimal needs of its vast populations...jobs, education, social equality, hope, justice.....the negative fruits of the dying Islamic cultures and societies are the reason for malcontent, psychopathic Jihadist bombers creating havoc in western countries.
Islamic culture peaked several hundred years ago, and has been dying slowly ever since.
That's just the way it is. |
An excerpt from the following book-
"Crisis in the Muslim Mind", AbdulHamid A. AbuSulayman
translation byYusuf Talal DeLorenzo
The International Institute of Islamic Thought ,Herndon, Virginia USA
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http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrel..._mind/ch6.html
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If the future of the Ummah of Islam is to depend upon the degree of success it achieves in reforming its methodology, thought, education, and organization, as well as laying the foundations for new Islamic social sciences, then the future of all bewildered and threatened humanity rests on the degree of success achieved by Muslims in presenting a living example of Islamic teachings.
Islam provides humankind with a reason for living, and with an ethical code by which to live. It affords humankind with insight into the fitrah and the dimensions of its universal relationships; with the seen and the unseen, the individual, society, and the universe. Islam provides humankind with the foundations for a stable society, progress, security, and world peace.
Islam protects the institution of the family, upholds the principles of justice, self-sufficiency, personal and collective responsibility, freedom of belief and thought, shura, and the oneness of all humankind in terms of their origins, interests, and destiny. It is this perfect Islamic vision which is capable of treating the ills of modern materialistic society and the dangers it has produced. Certainly, the moral bankruptcy of modern society is no secret to anyone. Under the shadow of materialism, the world is divided into north and south, white and black, rich and poor, overfed and underfed, colonizer and colonized, master and slave. To people today, peace is nothing more than the suppression of their fears about the unleashing of the forces of mass destruction by one or another of the nations, classes, or camps competing for supremacy.
In view of the serious flaws in their societies, the developed nations of the world have never had greater need of Islam. This is because Islam embodies concepts capable of mending those flaws.
These concepts may be summarized in two points:
Islam's Society of Unity
Islamic society stands on the foundations of unity and the concept of brotherhood. As such, it focuses on answering the basic needs of the individual and the interests he/she shares with others in terms of the family, the neighborhood, the nation, and humankind in general. If the materialist powers of the contemporary world stand on the philosophy of confrontation, then the philosophy of Islam, collective security, is the philosophy of tomorrow. Allah says:
O people! Heed your Lord Who created you from a single life and then created from it its mate. Then He scattered from them countless men and women (4:1)
O people! We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and nations in order to know one another. Verily the best among you in the sight of Allah are those who heed Him (49:13)
Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth, and the differences in your tongues and coloring (30:22)
People were no other than a single community, but then they fell to differing (10:19)
Do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, the needy, neighbors who are near and who are not so near, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (4:36)
On that account We prescribed for Bani Isra'il that whoever slays another, for other than the crimes of murder or depravity, will be as one who has slain all of humankind (5:32)
Never forget generosity between yourselves (2:237)
Address people with kindness (2:83)
Allah does not forbid you, with regard to those who neither war against you nor drive you from your homes, from dealing kindly with them and justly (60:8)
If you do retaliate, then retaliate in a manner no worse than the way you were attacked. But if you are patient, things will be best for those who are patient (16:126)
Fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you; but do not transgress (2:190)
If they cease, then let there be no hostility except against oppressors (2:193)
Let not your dislike for a people cause you to deal unjustly. Deal justly, for that is closer to taqwa (5:8)
When you speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned (6:152)
When you make a decision between people, decide fairly (4:58)
Assist one another in goodness and taqwa, but not in wrongdoing and aggression (5:2)
If two parties among the believers fall to fighting among themselves, then make peace between them. But if one should then break the truce against the other, fight the one breaking the truce until it compiles with Allah's ruling. Then if it complies, make peace between them with justice, and be fair; for Allah loves those who are fair. Certainly, the believers are brothers. So make peace between your two brothers and heed Allah so that you may be shown mercy (49:9-10).
Islam's Cultivation of Knowledge
This point is related to the meaning of knowledge and the ways in which academic research is carried out. Materialist thought is essentially based on rational, empirical, and inductive methods so that it proceeds from experience and knowledge of the real world and extracts from these theories about the laws that govern life and the universe. There is no connection between this thought, however, and revelation. The main reason for this has to do with the Western lack of confidence in any of the major religions. This state of affairs arose when it became common knowledge that the texts of Christianity in particular had been tampered with, and filled with a great deal of unreasonable, contradictory, and incredible material.
When we understand the amazing complexity of the social nature of human beings and the number of factors which may come together at any given time to influence human behavior, we realize how badly the social sciences and the unceasing progression of social theories have floundered.
Moreover, as the consequences of mistakes made in these fields are imperceptible over the short run, and as they are nearly impossible to rectify once they have begun to take effect, we may come to have an even greater appreciation for the distinguishing factor in Islamic knowledge. Islamic knowledge agrees with rationalist, materialist knowledge in relation to the fitrah and natural laws of the universe. Rather than stop at the point of gathering that knowledge, however, Islamic knowledge passes on to cultivate and refine it, and to prevent its shortcomings from having any sort of negative effects on society.
Thus, the Muslim has access to any number of approaches and convictions revealed through divine wahy and dealing with the basic issues of social behavior. It is for this reason that even if a Muslim develops incorrect notions on the subject, wahy is there to correct them. So, at one and the same time, Islamic knowledge puts both empirical and inductive knowledge together with the sources of wahy so that Muslims may deal and transact as they please, so long as their dealings and transactions leave no ill effects on society. Muslims may thus earn their livings and order their family affairs in accordance with their particular circumstances. So the teachings of Islam should not be understood as shackles and chains, but as beacons and landmarks along the way of life.
Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, injustice, and rebellion (16:90).
These two points, Islam's society of unity and its cultivation of knowledge shall, if the Muslims understand them well, be very important in the world of tomorrow. Human society will no longer be able, in the future, to pay tomorrow for the mistakes it made today. In the decisive battles of history the numbers of dead rarely exceeded a few hundred persons, and nearby nations remained relatively unaffected when their neighbors fell to fighting. Nowadays, however, the whole world is in danger of becoming a battlefield.
When humankind realizes its capacity to destroy itself and the planet on which it lives, then it will realize its need for decisive regulations as prescribed by wahy in the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Only by understanding this will humankind save itself from falling into the depths of destruction. Nor will its way out be anything other than unity and the search for common interests.
In order to achieve their goals, Muslims need to understand the mission with which they have been entrusted.
Thus have We made you a middlemost nation to be a witness unto humankind (2:143).
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Please check the link for the rest of the book.
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http://home.swipnet.se/islam/article...pt-freedom.htm
A link for your reading...
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