Chapter One

Peace and Islam for moulding and building their lives without any interference, irrespective of whether or not they possess political power. The fact is that this transformation has taken us out of the age of monarchical authoritarianism and into the age of institutions. It has now become possible for the followers of Islam to set up all sorts of institutions on a large scale to establish their influence in all spheres of life, and even to indirectly influence political institutions. Through such institutions they can gain the sort of influence in society that in an earlier age was available through the possession of political power. For instance, by setting up educational institutions they can educate and train the future generations. Through media houses, they can help shape the intellectual climate of society. Through books and scholarship, they can spread their thoughts. Through research institutions, they can promote new thinking. Through mosques and madrasas, they can guarantee the continuance of their religion. Through setting up industries, they can improve their economic conditions. Through modern means of communications, they can link up with others at the global level to pursue their objectives. Through NGOs, they can organize their religious and cultural affairs in a more effective way. And so on. In the present day, communities that have discovered this reality—of the power of modern institutions—have been able to achieve impressive success despite not possessing political power. Some of them have set up their own educational empires. Others have established empires—in industry, publishing, communications, finance and medicine, and so on. I think that one important aspect of the Quranic verse ‘and religion belongs wholly to God’ (8:39) is precisely this transformation. This transformation has reduced political power to a mere political headache. And so, it is not necessary now for the followers of Islam to wage war for the sake of capturing political power. Irrespective of who wields political power, the followers of Islam can now, under all conditions, establish nonpolitical institutions and thereby access all the desirable benefits.