Utilization of Modern Opportunities

colonial rule, basing their efforts on violent struggle. Despite waging a bloody war for over sixty years, their movement failed. However, when Mahatma Gandhi assumed leadership of the independence movement in 1919, he adopted a fundamentally different approach, rooted in peaceful struggle. Consequently, India achieved independence in 1947. What explains this stark difference? The failure of earlier efforts stemmed from the taqlidi (imitative) mindset of the Muslim leadership, which recognized only armed jihad as a strategy. The classical texts of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) were written in an era when the sword was the predominant symbol of power. These works reflect the worldview of their time, emphasizing violent struggle as the sole method of achieving goals. This is reflected in an old Arabic saying: “War eliminates war” (al-harb anfa lil-harb). A Persian poet similarly captured this ancient mindset: “Whoever wields the sword, The coin bears his name.” The military mindset is so deeply ingrained in contemporary Muslims that almost no Muslim remains unaffected by it. This mindset is perpetuated in various forms across different contexts. For example, a line from a Palestinian song states: “Halumma noqatil, halumma noqatil, fa inna alqitala sabeel al-rashad” (Come, let us fight, come, let us fight, because fighting is the way to success).