Features

Towards a new destiny

Muhammad bin Sabu

Dhu al-Hijjah 08, 14171997-04-16

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Since the late Dr Kalim Siddiqui wrote his book Towards a New Destiny, which was actually a report on the Tripoli conference in July 1973 on Col. Qaddafi’s Third International Theory, much water has flown under the bridge. Since this conference bears the same theme as the title of Dr Kalim’s book, I tried to read the book again before coming to this conference. I felt rather blank. During the last 20 over years since he wrote the book, we have not moved much forward towards the destiny defined by him.

On the other hand the Muslim world as a whole, especially after the two Gulf wars, has slid backward. We seem to have lost the initiative. The Muslim world appears to be completely in the grip of our enemies and is ruled according to their dictates through their surrogates - kings, sheikhs, presidents, and prime ministers - installed there by our enemies. These surrogate rulers, some of them elected with 99.9% majority, are now working double hard to reform Islam to suite the agenda of their political masters in Washington. Even performance of Hajj by Muslims in any country depends on the approval and goodwill of our enemies. The sacred territory of the Arab peninsula, now known as Saudi Arabia, has become a full colony of the US, and even the next Khadimul Haramain [‘Servant of the Two Holy Places’] will be appointed, not by the people of Arabia, but by the CIA on the death of Fahd which we hope near at hand.

These agents of global zionism are congratulating each other with exchanges of titles and awards "for serving Islam". Only last week our prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, received the King Faisal Award for "services rendered to Islam". The service rendered by Mahathir was, according to his own admission during his previous visit to Saudi Arabia, that he helped Arafat to make up his mind to surrender. He also had a piece of advise to the Arabs: that is "don’t you ever think of fighting Israel" for it is bad for business. He sees everything through the eyes of a businessman. He is a very successful businessman for he has managed to turn Malaysia, previously a country with a people, to just a business corporation with a large work force from all parts of the world. He calls Malaysia, rather with pride, ‘Malaysia incorporated’. This corporation is the private property of few individuals which they share with their Jewish masters. You can do anything there so long it brings profit and more business. We need a super optimistic like Dr Kalim to keep ourselves sane under these conditions.

Sometime we wonder where we go from here. Dr Kalim is no longer with us to indicate a possible direction. I personally feel orphaned. I am sure many present here also feel his absence. But we have to carry on - unless we gather all our wits and energy together and make a new start, we will not able to come out of the dark cloud enveloping us now.

As almost all the secular governments in the Muslim world have now accepted the protection of the global zionists, they no longer need to hide their hatred of Islam. They have joined their masters and have declared an open war against Islam with all their resources. This open declaration of war by the so called Muslim governments with the complete tactical and media support of the Zionists, in one way, will enable us to see things more clearly but it is not going to make our struggle easy.

The attack on Islam by these secular nationalists is multi-pronged. For this purpose, organisations and institutions are established with unlimited funds, bearing such fancy name as Institute of Islamic Understanding in Malaysia. The initiative of taking the Muslim world to a new destiny seems to have been snatched by these Masjid Dirar- [a reference to a mosque built by non-Muslims during the Prophet’s time] type organisations set up by the secular governments. They are in fact taking us to a graveyard destiny. Meanwhile, the institute of a global level visualised by Dr Kalim is yet to take an operational shape. Although Imam Khomeini put us in the driving seat of history, to use a famous phrase coined by Dr Kalim, for a short while, our train now seems to have lost steam and is just limping forward.

The agenda of these institutes and organisations set up by the so called Muslim governments is to prepare the Muslims to accept a subservient role. This they can do only by striking at the very root of our aqidah [belief]. A Muslim believes that the only religion acceptable to God is Islam. He believes that all other religions are leading men to darkness. The main concern of these official institutes is to promote ‘universal values’ by which they mean that all roads lead to God and Islam is one of them. This is, according to them, the tolerance advocated by Islam. This way they look moderate Muslims acceptable to their masters. They organise seminars, dialogue sessions etc., to promote this new version of Islam. This way Islam has nothing to do with the public life and it becomes purely a personal religion. Anyone goes against this new version of Islam is branded as ‘fanatic’, ‘extremist’ and finally given the label "terrorists". Once they are made terrorists, they become common targets of both ‘the enlightened Muslim’ governments and their protectors in Washington or Paris or London.

In Malaysia millions of money are at the disposal of such organisations and they frequently invite experts like John Esposito, Henry Kissinger and Samuel Huntington to help them to formulate their policies. We can see the fallout of this propaganda in Malaysia very clearly. Now we have even apostasy among us.

In Malaysia since January 1994, there were more than 3,000 cases of apostasy. This is the great service our Malaysian prime minister has done to Islam. The Muslims can now relax, they do not have to worry about these things like before for it is bad business - it is lack of tolerance. Islam advocates tolerance and "there is no compulsion in religion" they argue.

Malaysia is supposed to be a Muslim state and it enjoys some prestige among the Muslims abroad. Mahathir is spoken of approvingly just because he sometimes come out with some criticisms of the Americans. To criticize America is the sure way to become a hero. Even Saddam Hussain reformed himself in the Muslim eyes by going against the Americans. From time to time, every so called Muslim leader has to resort to this ruse to keep himself afloat. Qaddafi does it, sometime even the Saudis do it, Mubarak does it and Mahathir is no exception. But the taste of the pudding is in the eating. They never go against the American interests because American interests and their own interests coincide.

Now look at the way Mahathir has gone out of his way to be friends with Israel. He sent his trusted business partners to Israel to open up two way trade - of course no diplomatic relations, they will protest. These people were in King David Hotel sipping tea with their Israeli partners whilst the Israeli bombs were killing innocent women and children in Lebanon. Only last week the Israeli cricket team was in Malaysia for the first time. The people are so conditioned that it no longer creates a ripple either in the press or in private. Of course the press is fully controlled and you do not expect to see that in the press. People are being brainwashed to accept this humiliation which is no longer considered humiliation. Mind your business is the moving spirit. Palestine is not our problem. Bait ul Muqaddis? What Bait ul Muqaddis, what difference it makes if it is under Israel?

My point is that the main purpose of these organisations and institutions is to eradicate all brotherly feeling for fellow Muslims. The Hadith [sayings of the Prophet] saying that the "Muslims are like a single body, when one part of it aches the whole body aches" is no longer heeded or even mentioned. The propaganda machine of the government and these organisation come with all sorts of arguments to show that religion has nothing to do with one’s business relations. Business is as usual and that is progress. The Muslims have already been prepared to accept its present condition of defeat and subservience as permanent. This attitude is given a glamorous veneer.

Social ills among the Muslims of Malaysia is so serious that they themselves have declared an emergency to deal with it. But the solution they seek is amusing. It is like abolishing marriage to eradicate adultery. The ruling cliques get more funds to organise mountain climbing, clean concerts, big walks, etc., etc., for this way they hope to keep the young people busy. Now when financial implication of these social ills becomes clear, they want to act, but it is too late. It is estimated that Malaysia has to spend a billion dollars a year to look after the drug addicts.

Now we need to take some concrete steps to get the caravan moving again towards the new destiny. We do not need too many institutes, only we need people in different parts of the world to work together in unison under one institutional guidelines. We have to choose our targets and the method of reaching them. Some Sufi groups work from the top, taking people like the Sultan of Brunei, business tycoons and super-rich people as their targets. Leave these gullible people alone, let them enjoy their trance for a while in this world. We will work from the bottom, as the Prophet did show us, and also like Imam Khomeini demonstrated in our own time that the method of the Prophet was the only method which will work. All other methods may enjoy a temporary popularity until it wears out itself like Levis jeans.

Abridged version of a speech presented by the author at Kalim Siddiqui Memorial Conference - "Towards A New Destiny", Pretoria, South Africa on March 28, 1997.

Muslimedia: April 16-30, 1997

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