The Revolution of the Prophet

great gusto, and made untold sacrifices for these causes, only to see the Muslim world split up under numerous national governments. We struggled for our country’s independence, but when it came, other parties took hold of the reins of government. We suffered significant losses in forming the Islamic state of Pakistan, but secular leaders took control when it came into existence. We gave our utmost to establish Islamic rule in Egypt, but finally, power fell into the hands—not of religious groups—but of military dictators. For nearly forty years, we have been crusading for the end of the state of Israel, making enormous human and monetary sacrifices in the process, but all that has happened has been the expansion and consolidation of the Jewish state. And now, after the indescribable tribulations of the people of Iran, it will not be long before we hear that the Islamic republic was only a stepping-stone for rule by unIslamic forces. These are the hard realities of our times. We can pull the wool over our eyes, but we cannot expect future historians to do likewise. True, they will be forced to say that the Russian revolution took a vast toll on human lives, but it also brought about significant changes in the world thought. It caused the collapse of Tsarist, or monarchical rule, and replaced it with a republican form of government; it established the ascendancy of the socialist economic system over capitalism. As for Islamic revolutionary efforts have been even more costly in human terms, but they have left no stamp on the pattern of the world thought.