Can Religion Be National?

Can Religion Be National

1989 1 January 15 Can Religion Be National? (331) At a recent international conference, a well-known Muslim leader, speaking, by his way to it, on behalf of the 900 million Muslims of the world, said: “As they enter the 15th Century Hijra, the Islamic peoples, who have rediscovered their pride in their religion, their great culture and their unique social and economic institutions, are confident that the advent of this century would mark the beginning of a new epoch, when their high ideals of peace, justice, equality of man, and their unique understanding of the universe, would once again enable them to make a worthy contribution to the betterment of mankind.”

This resounding statement, far from attesting to Islamic ideals, betrays the overweening pride which Muslims take in their religion. It is this attitude, more than anything, which has caused Muslims to deviate from their true objective – worship of the Almighty – and concentrate instead on temporal supremacy. The Quran makes it clear that pride can lead only to worldliness (5:20) whereas a feeling of servitude, born of humility, engenders a proper sense of responsibility, pride, with its emphasis on egoism and selfishness, only distorts this virtue, thus rendering it ineffective.

A genuinely Islamic movement aims at warning man of the likelihood of being punished by God if he does not conform to the ideals of true religion. But the aim of present-day so-called Islamic movements would appear to be of a very materialistic nature. This has grown out of feelings of national superiority, which can never lead a nation or an individual along the path to eternal success. It is unfortunate that the supporters of such movements are quite unaware that they are adhering to a false set of ideals – pride, ego, nationalism, world supremacy. There is nothing even remotely Islamic about anyone of these concepts. The true religion of God calls upon man to centre his attention, not on temporal supremacy, but on the Hereafter. Responsibility, and not pride, is the virtue which will enable man to do so.