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Reviving the Spirit of
Islam by Following the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Recommendations of the Second
Conference for the Support of the Final Prophet (peace be upon him)
Toronto, Canada; 4-5 November 2003
Never have so many Arab
and Muslim countries and organizations been as united as they have been in
condemning the September 11 attacks on the United States. Regardless of their
various ideologies and orientations, they have spoken out strongly against those
atrocities that took so many innocent lives. Many have gone to varying lengths,
openly and secretly, to help America in its all-out war against what it calls
“terrorism”. They did so under the principle that “you are either with America
or against America”. Nothing, however, is being done to put an end to the
attacks being orchestrated to make people hate Islam and the Muslims. The most
vicious of these attacks are those that target Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) and those that ridicule Islam. This campaign has been growing in strength
and ferocity day after day. Many important public figures and thinkers in the
United States, including many prominent religious and political leaders, have
joined the fray, supported by Jewish lobby groups.
What We Have to Do
We, the world’s Muslims, comprise over one and a quarter million people. That is
roughly 23 % of the world’s population. There are 54 Muslim countries covering
over 19 % of the Earth’s landmass. We are to be found in over 120 other
societies around the world. We have to make it known that we condemn these
baseless accusations being levied against the Prophet (peace be upon him), the
Muslims, and the religion of Islam. We must emphasize the facts that such
attacks are precisely what will bring about a “clash of civilizations”. This is
what some circles in the Western world want. They find support in the radical
Jewish right. They find an ideological framework in the theories of Samuel
Huntington, who, in his Clash of Civilizations, advocates inciting Western
decision makers against Islamic civilization, and in Francis Fukuyama’s The End
of History that praises Western civilization, declares its superiority, and
asserts its greater right to continue existing. Then there is The End of the Era
of Ideologies, wherein America’s ideology is declared superior to all others.
It is the responsibility of the
Muslims to wake up and understand the threats and challenges that face Islam
today. We must not give in to the provocations of the bigots who want us to
react irrationally and give them the justification they need to attack us while
we are unprepared. It is also our responsibility to work together in a spirit of
cooperation to resist the vicious campaign being waged against us. We must
muster all of our skills an expertise to refute the falsehoods being spread
around and clarify the truth to the world. We must put aside our differences to
deal with this very real threat.
It is also imperative for us as
Muslims to become stronger in our adherence to Islam as found in the Qur’ân and
Sunnah. We have to make it clear that there will be no compromising our beliefs
and our principles. In this way, those waging their campaign against Islam will
know how hopeless their efforts really are. They will realize that they are
bringing about the opposite of what they are trying to achieve when they see
that the Muslims only become stronger and more united when their religion is
attacked and their beliefs are threatened. Therefore, the unity that we as
Muslims much achieve today as scholars, leaders, and citizens, must be grounded
in the Qur’ân and the authentic Sunnah.
The onus is upon Arab and Islamic
organizations to initiate an international alliance against this hate campaign
against Islam and the Muslims. This alliance must then call for an end to these
poisonous campaigns that prevent people from seeing the truth and that merely
open the door to a world of unjustifiable and uncontrollable bloodshed. It must
also call for an end to the calumnies being levied against Islam and the Prophet
(peace be upon him). We must demand this especially from the West’s leaders, who
ironically are the ones demanding from the Muslim governments to take
responsibility for the actions of a few Muslims who are not even living within
their countries’ borders. It makes more sense for the leaders of the West,
especially those in America, to take action to put an end to the slanders and
calumnies coming from some of their own most prominent and influential people,
many of whom have strong and intimate ties with the highest-placed decision
makers in their governments.
It is the duty of Islamic organizations and Arab to make it clear that radical
right-wing Christian and Jewish interests that support Israel are behind this
fruitless campaign that they are able to wage by using their inordinate
influence over of the media.
It is the duty of all Muslims to
live according to the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and show
the world the beauty of Islam and the good that it has to offer through its
mercy, its justice, and its tolerance. The way the Prophet (peace be upon him)
conducted himself with non-Muslims is the most eloquent testimony to these noble
qualities that anyone can hope to find.
It is the duty of our Islamic
workers, intellectual leaders, and media people throughout the Arab and Muslim
world to engage in productive dialogue with the West, especially with regard to
the contradictions, the bigotry, the bias, the selective vision, the moral
bankruptcy, and the many other problems that plague Western civilization and
especially American society.
In conclusion, we call upon all
thinking people to put an end to the bigotry and the intellectual terrorism that
fosters hatred and civil unrest and to work productively towards solutions for
the problems that threaten us all.
ICSFP
