Across Three Continents (continued

Across Three Continents (continued)

1987 7 July 15-21 Across Three Continents (continued) (2681)

The Conference

The Bamako Islamic conference was inaugurated on the evening of December 6th, 1985. The Malian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and Education were present at the opening ceremony along with other dignitaries. The three working languages were Arabic, English and French. The conference was attended by delegates from various parts of the world. As was pointed out by the Kuwaiti delegate: “We have come from the western portions of the earth and from its eastern portions.”

Muslim intellectuals from the following countries took part; Canada, Mali, Cyprus, Greece, Saudi Arabia, The Maldive Islands, Switzerland, Madagascar, England, North America, South America, Brazil, Sudan, Kenya, India, Turkey, Kuwait, Pakistan, Guyana, Syria, The Philippines, Ghana, Gambia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Korea, Tunisia, Nigeria, the Yeman and Japan.

The majority of the speeches and discussions centred on two main topics: Islamic Dawah and the attacks on Islam or on Muslims, by other nations. The latter topic was actually given the greater prominence. The various delegates explained the difficulties they were facing in their respective countries, especially at the hands of Zionism, Communism and modern Imperialism.

Even the discussion of Dawah had a defensive ring to it. It was pointed out that in the last few years, the Christian church had set its mind on converting large numbers of Muslims to Christianity, or at least changing their outlook so radically that their intellectual roots were no longer in religion, making them neither Muslim nor Christian. To this end, Christian missionaries were working among Muslims with considerable zeal. From the lengthy discussions on this subject, the most important question which emerged was on ways of stemming such endeavour.

One of the African delegates made the point that the real reason for the Christian missionaries’ success among the Muslims was the latter’s poverty and the excessive difficulty of life in large tracts of the African continent. In fact, the basic issues nowadays were, mote often than not, survival versus extinction. People who did not even have such basic necessities as clothing and housing often converted to Christianity simply to obtain these things. “When we have lost everything,” they say, “how does it matter if we lose our faith as well?”

It was explained that this was why all cases of conversion had occurred in villages, where poverty is more acute. In the cities, no Muslim changes his religion, for the simple reason that it is quite possible to make a living there without renouncing one’s faith. Another proof that turning Christian is motivated by materialistic consideration is the fact that many people who convert to Christianity later revert to Islam.

Another participant said that the real reason for conversion is not material bankruptcy but intellectual bankruptcy. “This is all the outcome of a lack of Islamic consciousness,” he said. It was his belief that we should place special emphasis on the education of African Muslims, particularly those living in rural areas. If people were to become educated, they would automatically be safeguarded from dangers of this nature. The present unsatisfactory state of the Muslim world was also ascribed to the fact that control of Islamic affairs lay in the hands of ignorant rather than of learned men. This statement, made by one of the Arab scholars, is undeniable. It is, indeed, a fact that people of true learning are few and far between and that the responsibility for Muslim affairs has passed into the hands of those who have nothing to offer save ignorance. But we must ask ourselves why this has happened. The real reason for this would appear to be a regrettable neglect of the Book and the Sunnah, and a failure to come to grips with the exigencies of modern living.

An Arab scholar told of a European who, having made a study of Islam, later remarked on the pitiable state of the Muslims: “They have a faith but lack men of faith 1” It is quite true that today, Islam is the one true faith in the whole world, but its Muslim standard-bearers have become so devoid of spirit that they can no longer be expected to behave constructively. They are like wood which, having rotted away, cannot be put to any good use.

An Egyptian scholar also lamenting the state of present day Muslims, said that they had acquired the habit of sowing a seed one day and expecting by the next day that it should have borne fruit. Still, he remarked, we should not lose heart, nor should we give up all hope.

The delegate from Afghanistan speaking within the narrower purview of national affairs said that although his nation was small, the Afghans were possessed of an indomitable spirit. “Our jehad,” he said, “will not end with the liberation of Afghanistan. After freeing Afghanistan we will go on to liberate the Muslims across the border who are the slaves of the Soviet Union.”

This statement, unfortunately, did not impress me. Emotional utterances of this nature, far from solving problems, only serve to aggravate them.

Learning how to listen.

I am more in the habit of listening than of speaking, and, during the conference, I kept up this habit. When one of the participants commented on my not speaking as much as the others, I told him that I was trying to be a good listener. Most of our groups seem to think that they should talk continuously, even when etiquette requires them to remain silent. Amongst present-day Muslim groups, it is only the Tablighis (followers of the Tabligh Movement) who show any recognition of the value of keeping quiet and listening to what others say.

Refugees

One delegate pointed out in his speech that in the world of today there are no less than 10 million refugees – that is to say, people who have had to leave their country in the face of oppression and persecution. (The speaker was himself a refugee, and now lives in Europe.) Out of this number, approximately 7 million are Muslims, half a million of them being in Sudan alone. Commenting on this state of affairs, another delegate made the emotional charge that; if they were refugees, it was because they were fighting for Islam. Thinking in this way is the result of a gross misapprehension, and present-day Muslims all over the world fall into the same error. What they are actually fighting for is not Islam, but, their own nationalistic ends, and without having it clear in their minds what they are aiming at, have taken it upon themselves to call this kind of War jehad. These wars, moreover, are futile because they are being fought without any real preparation. In my opinion, baseless wars of this nature are not worthy of the name of Islamic jehad. To give them this illustrious and time-honoured appellation only serves to degrade the word jehad.

When Islam ceases to exist in its true form

An official of a certain institute recounted the story of an elderly lady who had come to him, saying that she wanted to perform Hajj, but did not have the means to undertake the journey. She asked if the institute could make arrangements for her travelling expenses so that she could do so. She was told that since she lacked the means, – from the point of view of the Shariah – it was not incumbent upon her to go on the pilgrimage. She answered: “I have been going on Hajj every year for the last seventeen years, why should I be deprived of it this year?” This is the kind of misconception which occurs when Islam ceases to exist in its true form.

Dawah Power.

One of the speaker gave an account of the situation in Holland, part of which concerned a gathering in the Dutch town of Utrecht which had been attended by many Muslims from Europe and America, with participation even by members of the Christian church. In the course of a dialogue on Muslim-Christian relations, an Engineer from Belgium declared his acceptance of Islam, and, at the close of the session, a number of people from one of Holland’s villages also entered the fold.

Clearly, Islam’s greatest strength is its message, but if it is ever to make a true impact, that message must be communicated as was done in Holland. Unfortunately, the present-day standard bearers of Islam in other parts of the world are making fewer and fewer attempts to do so, thus depriving themselves and the world of this great source of strength.

In spite of this neglect of the duty of dawah, Islam still manages, by virtue of its inherent strength, to find” a place in the hearts of people all over the world. An African delegate told of the conversion to Islam of a Christian from Mombassa, who subsequently wrote a book on Islam, in Swahili, entitled, Why I Forsook Christianity. His main contention was that according to the New Testament, the Messiah stated that he had come to the Children of Israel, whereas Mohammad had been sent for the benefit of the whole world.

How much there is in Islam which gives it a universal appeal. But Muslims, caught up in petty, nationalistic issues, lose sight to their principle duty, which is to propagate Islamic ideals on a universal scale.

Contradiction between practice and principle

On the way back from Bamako, I met a French Engineer at the airport by the name of Barnar. After conversing together for about half an hour, he told me, in response to one of my questions, that he read the Bible, and believed in it, but did not attend church. When I asked him why, he said that there was a contradiction between the Bible and the Church, in that the Bible forbade the worship of idols, while the churches were full of them. As for the divinity of Jesus, he said that Jesus was not the son of God in any biological sense, and that he felt the word ‘son’ should be taken in a metaphorical rather than a literal sense.

Famine in Africa: Motivating Factors in Giving Aid

Speaking of the famine which afflicted Ethiopia in 1984-85 a participant from America said that initially, the US government had shown no interest in the matter. Later, however, after the crisis had received wide coverage in the media and various governments had made substantial contributions to the famine relief fund, the whole issue became a matter of international prestige for America, laying claim as it did to world leadership. If they failed to play their part in a humanitarian issue of such vast proportions, they would likewise fail to bolster their position as world leaders in the eyes of the international fraternity.

The American Vice President, George Bush, then called together officials of famine – and agencies working in Ethiopia, some of whom were Muslims, and wrote out a cheque for one billion dollars, so that this generosity on the part of America should be front page news allover the world the next morning, the cheque signing was done at a televised ceremony attended by 72 correspondents.

All too often, actions which appear generous and conciliatory are carried out merely to consolidate a certain position. Their motivation is all a matter of power politics and has little to do with altruism.

Building from the top.

An Arab scholar made certain painful observations on the state of present-day Muslims. “I am sorry to say that Muslims, commence their works from the top and that is why they achieve nothing. Their works never reach completion, because in order to complete anything, one has to start at the foundations.” It is indeed lamentable that this weakness is found in Muslims the world over.

The real task ahead

When the conference was over, I returned via Paris and London on December 10. At Paris I found that my onward journey had not been confirmed, so that the lady at the desk had to do a good half hour’s work on the telephone, computer and telex to sort matters out. Even then, no direct flight from Paris to Delhi being available, the route had to be changed, entailing repeated re-calculations of flight schedules. In spite of all this extra work, she became neither exasperated nor annoyed. Finally she managed to book me on a British Airways Flight form London to Delhi. All this had taken quite a long time and I had to rush to catch the B A Flight. It was not until I had reached the aircraft that I discovered that I had left my collection of books at the airport desk. When I informed the air-stewards of this, they requested me to remain seated, assuring me that they would fetch my books. They then telephoned from the aircraft itself to the lady at the desk, who sent my package immediately. Just as the plane was about to take off, it was handed over to me.

I was quite bowled over by this whole episode and now cannot find words of praise good enough for the speed, precision and efficiency with which everything was carried out. All the airport systems had to be in working order to produce such excellent results. The fact is, the world of today is not in need of any “better order”, which is that our politically-minded Islamists would like to bestow to the world. But to my way of thinking the world has got all the order that it needs. Rather, it is food for the soul which mankind stands in need. The real work to which those who seek to propagate Islam should address themselves is that of presenting Islam in the form of spiritual nourishment.

Promotion of one’s own interests

On the BA flight, the announcements were made first of all in Arabic. Various notices on the aircraft were written in Arabic on top and in English below. We were also told over the loudspeaker that among the stewards on board, there were people who knew English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Urdu and Punjabi, and that we could ask for whatever we needed in our own language. Hearing this, I realized that having people on the cabin crew who know the main world languages was not just a way of being more helpful and obliging to passengers, but a way of plying their international trade more profitably. If any venture is to be successful, the requirements of the clientele have to be properly catered for. But when it comes to spreading the word of God, the urge to be so accommodating has not proved so strong, for nowhere is there an Islamic Institute which has made arrangements to have a multi-lingual staff, so that people speaking different languages may have the benefit of Islamic teachings. It seems that for man worldly motivation is more potent than that of the next world.

Were it ever to be asserted that Islam had come to the world for the benefit of one nation alone, all Muslims would dispute this. But, in practice, the behaviour of Muslims would suggest that Islam is the exclusive prerogative of one single nation. In this, they are out of step with the rest of the world, and what is necessary is a major readjustment of their ideas. They are like the passenger who went from Delhi to Bamako and, not realizing that there is a difference of six and a half hours between Delhi time and Bamako time, felt bewildered when he could not relate to what was happening all around him. All that it took was a readjustment of his watch to local time, and then everything fell neatly into place. Similarly, in Islamic affairs, an adjustment in our time-scale must be made. We must realize that we are now living in the twentieth century and that if the Islamic message is to have its full impact, the ways and means of propagating it must be adopted to present-day conditions in different parts of the world. The most important aspect of this readjustment will be the development of a multilingual approach (111: 24-43).