Muslim 4 Reform Broadcasting my thoughts

Dear Mr. Irfan Hussain

With regard to your (mostly
one-sided) column http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/26/enough-enough-enough.html
 on the Palestinian statehood bid at UN,
you have pointed to Barack Obama’s abdication of his commitment to Middle East
peace and the unreasonable stance of Israel.  You have however not mentioned anything about
the Muslim-Arab-Palestinian intransigence which is the root cause of the
conflict.

To your credit, at the end of the
column, you mention that Israel’s millions of opponents need to accept it as a
member of the international community. In view of this however, your lament about
Obama’s proposed veto of Palestine’s bid is contradictory. How can a state of
Palestine be allowed to be created if it does not recognize the right of the
Jewish state of Israel, its neighbor to exist. And it is clear from several
indicators, from speeches of Palestinian diplomats to the statements from Hamas
and others in the Arab world that statehood is only a small battle in the
Palestinian cause while the final war remains for eradication of the Jewish
state of Israel as it exists.

It is noted that there is no
basis for institutionalized hatred for Muslims or Christians anywhere in the
Jewish scriptures or from the lives of their holy figures. On the other hand
however, Jew hatred is enshrined in Muslim scriptures of Koran, Hadees &
sira of its prophet Mohammed. Jews are much vilified in Islamic texts and all
are well aware by now of various suras and ayahs of the holy scripts where such
vilification is there for all to see. Mohammed is known to have carried out
several expeditions against the Jew tribes of Arabia in his time. It is also
noted that on his deathbed, Mohammed is known to have declared that the two
great religions (namely the Jews and Muslims) could not co-exist in the holy
land (of Arabia) and thus set his seal on Jews to be banished forever from the
holy land. It is due to this proclamation of their prophet which the Muslims deem
to be their religious duty, that the Muslims remain so resolutely and irreconcilably
opposed to the Jewish nation state of Israel. Thus it can be seen that
Palestine issue is not about land or self-rule of Palestinians but is all about
eradication of the state of Israel in accordance with Islamic injunction.

The above was the reason of
banishment of Jews from Arabia. It was the reason of the uniting of several Arab
states to undertake several hostilities against Israel and their continuing to
not recognize Israel’s legitimacy as a nation. It was the reason that Gamal
Nasser of Egypt was deemed a great hero amongst Arabs to have undertaken war
against Israel. It was also the reason, why Anwar Saadat of Egypt was assassinated
(for making peace with Israel). It is the reason why Khomeini & Ahmadinejad
of Iran vow publicly to eradicate the Israeli regime. It was the reason why
Yasser Arafat did not conclude the best ever peace deal offered to him by
Clinton and Barak for he feared that such a deal would render him a villain
akin to Saadat in the eyes of the Muslims and that he would meet the same fate
of Saadat if he did so. It is the reason why Palestinians continue to choose
terrorists like Yasser Arafat earlier and Hamas at present who vow to on a fight
to death against Israel. It is the reason why the terrorist outfit Hamas which
now rules Gaza, urges Abbas of Fatah to not submit statehood bid to UN as it
would in some way legitimize Israel. It is the reason which unites the
otherwise disparate and opposed Islamic factions of Sunnis and Shias like Iran,
Hezbollah, Hamas etc. to come together to wage war on Israel. It is the reason,
why the Arabs refuse to make peace with Israel and move-on despite the fact
that Israel occupies such a miniscule of an area in the Arabian Peninsula. See
pic. http://twitpic.com/57sphi It is the reason that
Palestinians instigate intifadas of terrorism against Israeli military and
civilians. It is the reason why Israel required building separation walls and
check-points to secure themselves against the Palestinians. It is the reason
why Israel needed to cordon off Gaza to stop Gaza rulers Hamas to acquire
weapons and attack Israel.

In view of above, it is disingenuous
and downright inappropriate to suggest that the Palestinians should be granted
any concession before they change their attitude of unreasonable hatred and
hostility against Jews and Israel. Justice demands that there should be equity
amongst all parties and no party usurp any rights of the other. However, if the
parties remain unreasonably opposed to each other and if one party remains
adamant on not allowing the other party to exist, then it is only fair that the
rights of the intransigent party be curtailed and it not allowed its freedoms
until it agrees to abide by the ‘live and let live’ principle.

Mr. Hussain also hinted that
Hamas was created by Israelis to counter the PLO, thereby suggesting that it is
in cahoots with them. However, as we know, Hamas and Israel remain resolutely
opposed to each other and Hamas is the main reason of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which is known to all. In an earlier column, Mr. Hussain
had mentioned of the ‘Occam’s razor’ principle of accepting facts as they
present themselves, without looking for deeper and indirect meanings into them,
which advise he had given to the Muslims of Pakistan when considering issues of
terrorism and suicide bombings. However, Mr. Hussain fails to heed his own
advice in the issue of Hamas vs Israel.

It may well be true that Israel
itself is not blameless and it may quite be culpable of imperialist and expansionist
ambitions. But once its right to exist as a nation-state is accepted, then any
of its actions to secure its existence which are deemed downright oppressive
and brutal are sure to get benefit of doubt of being carried out as a reaction
to the original hostility against it by its Arab opponents. And as long as
Arabs and Muslims continue to have Jew hatred and anti-Semitism prescribed in
their scriptures and as long as these verses of hatred are not reformed or
given up openly and truly by the Muslims, they will continue to be considered
as the ones who are the original sinners in their conflict against the Jews.

This Mr. Hussain is the fact of
the matter which is not considered by the like of you or leftists like Noam
Chomsky etc when you pronounce your views on the Middle East conflict.

Problem with most Atheists coming from among Muslim societies is that they consider Atheism to be an end whereas it is in fact only a beginning. 

It may be because effort required for human minds in such overwhelmingly deist societies to appreciate and establish Atheism is so great that it is by itself considered to be a major advance worthy of a lifetime of striving.

However, it must be noted that Atheism is not an end but only a beginning, that too a very small one. Atheism only removes any supernatural and superstitious influences from human thinking & reflection process. Once, this supernatural excess baggage is removed from thinking, humans need to proceed with science on one hand and philosophy on the other to reach to the pinnacle of technological progress and establishment of Justice in personal & social life respectively.

Noted philosopher Ayn Rand mentions: “Science was born as a result and consequence of philosophy; it cannot survive without a philosophical (particularly epistemological) base. If philosophy perishes, science will be the next to go.” Creator of the Pigman Cartoon Bosch Fawstin who is an atheist and an Ayn Rand follower mentions “ atheism without a moral philosophy is nothing” http://goo.gl/n5JML

In all prehistoric tribal societies, there were two leaders- The Tribal Chieftains and the Witch Doctors. Tribal Chiefs ruled with force (physically) while Witch Doctors ruled the souls (mentally). Islam too has the rule of the Mullah and the Mujahid. But in modern society, the Tribal Chief and Witch Doctor are replaced by Scientist and Philosopher respectively. It is noted that both these leaders are essentially required to secure the nature of the society. The problem since renaissance & industrial revolution is that even though Atheism took root and Science and Scientists excelled in their areas to bring great technological development to mankind, the Philosopher function has severely lagged behind, which is why, we find that scientifically advanced and developed societies and nations slipping into decline and retreat.

Thus even though Atheists can commend themselves to have seen the light and opted for Atheism, they need to reflect upon issues of philosophy and justice to establish an enduring system of science and justice in personal and social life.

As a general rule, countries respect each others’ sovereignty and do not interfere in one’s internal matters. However, when a country displays hostility towards other country(ies) and indulges in any aggressive action towards them, the other countries do not remain obliged to respect its sovereignty and their declaration of war against the hostile country is justified. Even in society, internal matters of any household are left to its senior inmates (in-charge) to handle. However, if any member of a household engages in a crime outside the house, then police/ law enforcement step in to restrain and punish that member and sanctity of the household to manage its affairs is set aside.

In case of Islam and the Muslim community, non-Muslims are the major victims and sufferers from the Islamic ideology.  It is worth to know that about sixty-one percent of the contents of the Koran are found to speak ill of the unbelievers or call for their violent conquest; at best only 2.6 percent of the verses of the Koran are noted to show goodwill toward humanity. About seventy-five percent of Muhammad’s biography (Sira) consists of jihad waged on unbelievers.

In view of such a constitution and such a role-model, peace, mutual trust & respect, brotherhood and harmonious coexistence between non-Muslims and Muslims is mostly not possible. At the most, you can have an uneasy truce (mostly in cases where the Muslims are weak) which is easily shattered on the flimsiest of pretexts.

Jihad (or holy war) is a central aspect of Islamic dogma which is Islam’s vehicle for imperialism. Jihad is not a just war but an imperialist war in which looting & pillaging of wealth, humiliation of unbelievers’ by destroying their places of worship and raping of their womenfolk and dividing the spoils of loot obtained from jihad is not only justified but promoted.

Mistrust and hatred of unbelievers is a dominant theme of Islamic ideology.  Camaraderie and assimilation with unbelievers is shunned by Islam while maintaining a way of life, culture, dietary habits and even an external appearance as totally distinct from unbelievers is mandated. Deception & disinformation of unbelievers in institutionalized. Migration to lands of unbelievers with a motive to takeover is prescribed, thereby rendering even migration as another vehicle of Islamic imperialism.

History is witness and proof of Islam’s nature and its imperialist actions. Unbelievers of India have suffered centuries of atrocities at the hands of Muslim invaders & kings. VS Naipaul mentions that Indian civilization is a wounded and scarred civilization as a result. Eminent Western historian Will Durant mentions: “The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history (of the World). It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex of order and freedom, culture and peace, can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within.” Millions upon millions of Hindus were slaughtered in these conquests, many more were taken and sold into slavery, cities upon cities pillaged, looted and burnt, women dishonored, temples upon temples razed and idols broken and humiliated. Being an agrarian non-martial community, Indian unbelievers were unable to formulate a strong and repulsive response to the Islamic invasion from 11^th century till the 18^th century. Only by fag end of Aurangzeb’s rule were Shivaji in Deccan and Guru Gobind Singh in the North able to style formations which checked the Islamic imperialism and started the decline of Islamic rule in India.

Another community which has suffered most at the hands of Muslims is that of the Jews. Jews are very much vilified in the Islamic scriptures and by Mohammed. They are mentioned to be the worst amongst the unbelievers (except for pagans (like Hindus)) . Mohammed himself undertook many expeditions against them and by some accounts indulged in their genocide. Finally on his deathbed, in one of his concluding so called prophecies received from his God, Mohammad mentioned: “The two great faiths (Islam & Judaism) can never exist together on the holy land (Arabic peninsula). This sealed the fate of the Jews and they were banished from the holy land of Arabia accursed to live as refuges in other parts of Asia and Europe.

Christians too did not have any peace with the Muslims and many Crusades were fought between them and Muslims in Europe. However, compared to Christians, Muslims came out looking more righteous and just as the Christian faith of Jesus is a very severe and unworkable corruption of Judaism which does not have any concept or value of justice and Christianity was responsible for condemning Europe to a period of Dark Age from 400 ce to around 1600 ce. By that time, Catholicism was exposed and a monk called John Calvin among others undertook to form a new strain in Christianity which broke away from Pope & Catholicism and restored Christianity to the values of the ‘Old Testament’ of the Bible which were the Jewish values. This ushered a renaissance in Europe and it has’nt looked back ever since.

Coming to later times, in India, after start of decline of Islamic imperialism by end of Aurangzeb’s rule and an interregnum Peshwa and Ranjit Singh rule , a new imperial power namely the British took over and the Muslim imperialist designs were severely crushed and humiliated. Muslims tried a last attempt to win back power in 1857 in vain. Indians afterwards mobilized their freedom struggle for Self-Govt (swaraj) against British. Sensing that the Indian unbelievers were on the verge of a great victory of obtaining self-governance for themselves after centuries of slavery, and the implication that under the new dispensation based on democracy, Muslims will have to accept being ruled by Hindus, Muslims put forth the two-nation theory of Muslims and Hindus being two separate nations. This two-nation theory may be formulated by Muslim League or Iqbal, but is based totally on Islamic ideology and concepts mentioned above. Vivisection of India took place thereafter which can be reasonably be said to have been caused by Islamic ideology. Unbelievers thereafter went thru the excruciating pain of partition and millions were killed albeit on both sides. Even after partition, Hindus are still not insulated of pain from Muslims. Muslims continue to live in India in substantial numbers without proper integration still thereby causing deadlock in India’s progress. Civil disturbance, communalism, riots and terrorism have become part of India’s national culture. There is an Islamic insurgency in Kashmir where Muslims have majority and are not willing to stay with India, while India has accepted to keep 15% Muslims in India with full rights and powers. Pakistan remains a hostile neighbor who has undertaken several major Wars, supports insurgencies in Kashmir & Punjab and is engaged in a nuclear arms race with India till date. All of the above is directly linked to the Islamic ideology.

The Jews too are still suffering from Islam. After decline of Ottoman empire in early 1900s and after a painful holocaust in Europe, Jews were given a mandate by colonial British to establish a nation for themselves (called Israel) in the holy land. However, the Muslims rightly saw it as a negation of Mohd’s prophecies and hence a negation of Islam itself and opposed that tooth and nail. The Israel Arab problem continues in full frenzy till date and again the culprit remains the Islamic ideology as mentioned above.

The West too is now confronted with the evil of Islam. Muslims have migrated in great numbers to West but have not assimilated over there. In keeping with the tenets of Islam, they are working towards undermining and takeover of their host lands. They have used their access to these lands to carry out spectacular terrorist attacks on the West. The West was forced to respond and had to commit trillions of its resources and its military to defend itself from any future attacks. It has had to undertake expensive measures for its homeland security and for securing its air travel which has taken a great toll on its economy and is responsible among other factors to bring it closer to bankruptcy. And all this is again directly linked to Muslims and the ideology which they follow.

Thus a substantial part of the non-Muslim world is under attack and continues to suffer from ideology of Islam and it is now fully justified to advocate and force a reform or better still a total repeal of Islamic ideology as it exists in its current form. Still, in spite of that, no such call or demand has been forthcoming from any section of the aggrieved quarters. No US leader has mentioned that they are against Islamic ideology leave alone advising of any reform. They are just content to treat the symptoms of Islamic aggression namely terrorism. They have conveniently defined two sections with Islam, namely moderates and extremists. For sure, there are some moderates to be found in Muslims, but Islam itself is not at all moderate and it remains the ideology of aggression and war. They have taken Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda to be an exceptional extremist formulation amongst Muslims, but fact of matter is OBL is nothing except a 21^st century version exactly in the image of Islam’s prophet. Thus as long as Islams ideology and its role model’s status remains intact, OBL can never be exorcised from Muslim consciousness.  The US’s hands are tied in this matter because they themselves are religious and believers in God and hence cannot ask another religion to give up its practice. Also, Islam has more than a billion adherents around the World and they control most of World’s energy resources hence it has taken to discretion. Merkel of Germany and Sarkozy of France have criticized Muslims for not assimilating, but that again is fighting only a symptom and not a disease. Europe meanwhile continues to guarantee all rights to the Muslim immigrants. A lone voice, namely of Geert Wilders from Holland has taken the Koran to task, but he is subjected to lawsuits and is only a head of a minority party in Holland.

The Jews too have not spoken openly against Islam. Also, because of their minuscule presence and heightened antipathy with Muslims, their claim may fail to carry any weight.

In India too, even after suffering atrocities for centuries and vivisection of mother-land due to the imperialist Islamic ideology, there is no single group or even a voice which has called for reform of Islam. The Congress has appeased Muslims at all stages and allowed a substantial percentage of Muslims to stay back in India, while Pakistan has resorted to ethnic cleansing of all Hindus & Sikhs from its land. Muslim enfranchisement and their street power ensures that they remain a political & social force in India. Pakistan razed and converted many temples on the reason that it was ordained by Islam, but Hindus could not get Babri Masjid, a mosque built by a Muslim invader after razing a temple of birth of Hindu deity Lord Rama back from the Muslims in goodwill. A demand for this temple with which lots of Hindu emotions are attached led to a great communal divide in India, which led to an unending cycle of violence which continues till this day. The Bombay riots, bomb blasts, Godhra massacre, Gujarat riots and many subsequent instances of Bomb blasts and maybe even the terrorist attacks of 26/11 are all related to the Ramjanmabhoomi movement and all this is based on the Muslims’ intransigence to compromise on the issue with Hindus.

Still, Muslims continue to enjoy all citizens’ privileges and more in India. They are treated exactly on par with other nationals, despite the fact that they have already taken away a large portion of the land for their rule and stay. They have remained backward due to the medieval Islamic ideology to which they cling to, but the Indian State has appointed commissions of enquiry to report of their backwardness and suggest measures for emancipation. Also, currently, India is contemplating a communal violence bill to safeguard Muslims from Hindus in riots!

On the reform front, there is no attempt from any Hindu leader to at least roundly criticize and oppose the inhuman Islamic ideology which is the cause of its centuries of untold sufferings. India has accepted the Muslim civil code for Muslims in India. There is no move for implementation of uniform civil code in India. There are no reformers or even any celebrated ex Muslims in India. M C Chagla and Hamid Dalwai were just flashes in the pan. One Muslim ex-Bohra scholar Asghar Ali Engineer has recently suggested disingenuously that Islam in Indi needs an Ambedkar. Ambedkar was a Dalit who fought for Dalit rights in a wider society. Muslims don’t need somebody to fight for their rights, because they are all very good fighters and generally take away more than their fair share of rights. They need a reformist like John Calvin who can advocate excising portions of intolerance, hatred and dogma from the religious texts.

It is understandable that advocating such reform in Islam from outside is very difficult and awkward given the sacred status of the principle of political correctness and freedom of faith. But the taboo has to be broken as an exception due to the critical and existential nature of the issue involved. It would also not be very difficult to implement once such a stand is taken. If the West boldly goes ahead and forms a reformist Islamic religious supreme body mandating it with reforming Islam on following grounds:

►Removing all passages of intolerance, Jihad, mistrust and injustice against unbelievers from texts including Koran, Hadees and Sira.

►Promoting scientific thought, rationalism and justice amongst Muslims, abandoning of Arabic in favor of English and obtaining best scientific education. Justice and Laws of Cause & Effect should be given much weightage.

►Promoting gender equality, abolition of veil etc

►Reducing ritualism in Muslims of five times prayer, fasting for a month and curbing wasteful expenditure on Hajj pilgrimages. Also, beards should be abolished as done by Ataturk.

►Etc etc

Once such a platform is formed and it is populated with some respectable names from the Muslim society & clergy, it can be given state support and full protection and promotion to do its mandated work. Also, all Muslims should be called upon to join this platform. This platform will then finalize and give shape to the new version of humanitarian and tolerant Islam complete with its own set of rules and rituals. If some Muslim groups or Rulers are brought about to subscribe to this version of Islam, it will take root and endure. Afterwards, its idea and agenda is sure to prove its worth where its adherents would surely excel in their fields and attract ever more Muslims to join it.

The above is a suggestion to initiate and expedite reforms in the Seventh century Islamic dogma which continues to hold 1.2 Billion of Mankind hostage in the 21^st Century and causing suffering and inconvenience to the remaining humankind.

MY PHILOSOPHY: 1) METAPHYSICS-OBJECTIVE REALITY, 2) EPISTEMOLOGY-REASON, 3) ETHICS - JUSTICE & 4) POLITICS & ECONOMY-CAPITALISM

I commend Pervez Hoodbhoy for raising a very
crucial issue of the stagnation of scientific development in the Muslim World.
I can very well imagine his frustration which he is bound to have felt as a
person of Science in the stifling environment of Islamic world. The only
complaint about his article is that he does not take his argument to its
logical conclusion. He has done well to identify the issue, discuss the
indications and the symptoms of the disease, measured its degree and gravity
and given some hints as to what the reasons could be, but stopped short of
identifying and holding responsible the real cause which leads to the resulting
stagnation. But the poor man’s limitations and restraints in not being able to
do so are understandable being an inhabitant of a closed dogmatic society which
does not brook any dissent and where disbelief and criticism of the sacred
could cost you your life.

But as far as we are concerned, we could very well reflect on this crucial
issue and take it to its logical and relevant conclusion as we do not share Pervez
Hoodbhoy’s restraints and restrictions.

The conclusion is that medieval, retrograde and the highly unscientific and
non-secular ideology of Islam, which occupies so much space of the Muslim public
and individual consciousness is the single most important culprit in arresting
the scientific development to use the terms mentioned by the author. As long as
this illogical, irrational and outdated ideology continues to prevail amongst
people, reasonable scientific and technological advancement as witnessed in the
environment from which it is absent can never be hoped to be achieved.

We have good cause and reasons to arrive at the above stark conclusion. To
understand the same, we shall have to discuss and know what constitutes the
basic requirements of scientific approach and attitude and how scientific
reasoning and research progresses to reach to the desirable results of
scientific advancement. It would then be clearly demonstrated as to how the Islamic
ideology is found wanting and lacking in the said requirements, thwarting the
desired scientific progress.

All societies and people work according to some guidelines or charted maps.
These guidelines when compiled are collectively known as the philosophy of that
society, philosophy is the “roadmap of life” for us. The basic issue
at work here is the vast difference between the Philosophy of Muslims and the
developed world.

 

The branch of philosophy which deals with the
process by which humans acquire knowledge is known as epistemology. It is here
that you will find the basic difference between the two.

The ancient Greek philosophers are credited as the originators and pioneers of
the rationalist philosophy which works in the Western Free and the Developed
world today. Their age circa 4th century B. C. is known as ‘The Golden Age’.
The best known philosophers of that era were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Socrates was Plato’s teacher, and Plato was Aristotle’s. The star of the
“Golden Age,” and its prime mover, was Aristotle. He developed the “Law of
Identity” and the “Law of Causality” which is the basis of the Western world’s
epistemology. The “Law of Identity” spoke about the nature of things – what
they were made of, the way they were put together, and so on. The “Law of
Causality” spoke about the impact that their natures had on their behavior and
the way, because of their natures, they related to other stuff. Thus to gain
knowledge and to put it to use, it was required that we first study the nature
of things, their formation and how they existed in nature (Identity), and
subsequently, what effect and impact did the innate nature of things had on
their behaviour (Causality). In short, this is the classic Cause and Effect
theory. Effects and phenomena which happen around us have some underlying
causes due to which they occur. The cause and effects are linked and
exhaustive. That is, they are complete and independent of any other
supernatural spirits or divine intervention. And to comprehend, set out and
establish the contents of the ‘Causes’ and their ‘Effects’ and the link between
them, reasoning and rationalization was the process advocated by Aristotle.

It is here that the major difference between the rational west and Islam
exists. ISLAM’S EPISTEMOLOGY OR THE PROCESS TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE IS NOT BASED
IN REASON BUT REVELATION.

Islamic ideology maintains that all knowledge worth knowing had been
“revealed” to Muhammad, which is registered in its Sacred and Holy
Scriptures. Thus, Islam prescribes that to acquire any knowledge which is
needed by human beings, one has to refer and consult the revelations which
Allah made to Muhammad which are mentioned in its holy Scriptures and follow
the example set out by Muhammad in his life which are supposed to be guided by
these holy revelations. The Muslim community in particular and the world in
general are many a times reminded that ‘Recently discovered astounding
scientific facts, accurately described in the Muslim Holy Book and by the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 14 centuries ago.’ Here one will find that everything
from quantum mechanics to black holes and genes was anticipated 1400 years ago.
Further, new science was sought to be built on lofty moral principles such as
tawheed (unity of God), ibadah (worship), khilafah (trusteeship), and rejection
of zulm (tyranny), and that revelation rather than reason would be the ultimate
guide to valid knowledge. Others took as literal statements of scientific fact
verses from the Qur’an that related to descriptions of the physical world.
Those attempts led to many elaborate and expensive Islamic science conferences
around the world. Some scholars calculated the temperature of Hell, others the
chemical composition of heavenly djinnis. None produced a new machine or
instrument, conducted an experiment, or even formulated a single testable
hypothesis.

Also, resulting from the above notion that “all knowledge worth knowing had
been “revealed” to Muhammad” in the Islamic world, new knowledge is
not only not needed, it is a threat to the very existence of Islam, and is
therefore evil. In Islam therefore, the intellectual windows are closed. No
deviation from the sacred documents is permitted. No questions about Islam are
tolerated. The religious clerics are in total control of every aspect of the
lives of the individual human beings within their sphere of influence. The
Koran and other holy scriptures of Islam are the constitution of the Muslim
lands, a constitution which are not based in reason but a compilation of
revelations. A “constitution” describes the relationship between an
organization and its membership, so the Koran, which the Fundamentalists insist
is the unquestioned and literal word of Allah, is law. The body of law derived
from the Koran is called “Sharia”.

Muslims are conservatives” in the worst sense of the word. “To
conserve” means “to keep something the same, to prevent change.”
That’s fine, if you have something great to begin with, like Ghalib’s poetry,
the works of Shakespeare, a magnificent breed of horses, the music of Tan Sen,
or a wonderful family recipe, and you want to preserve it. BUT IF IT INVOLVES
THE FREEZING OF KNOWLEDGE, THAT IS A BIG PROBLEM. And that’s what Islam did.
All five branches of the Koranic philosophy — ethics, epistemology, metaphysics,
aesthetics, and politics — are frozen in time, in the 9th century, no less,
and what’s even worse, they are frozen in the context of its primitive desert
tribal mentality.

Islamic ethics are’nt based on life; they are based on death. Its epistemology
as mentioned above is not based on reason; it is based on revelation. Its
metaphysics do not regard the universe as a benign place, but rather, as a
place of fear and uncertainty. Its art is not free to express anything that
valued life; it is restricted it to the portrayal of the non-living, and
preventing any non-verbal expression of potentially threatening values from
sneaking in. Its politics is not founded on the protection of individual
rights, but on absolute totalitarianism.

In the above scenario, it is very obvious why scientific development based on
scientific though and enquiry is so difficult to take place.

As seeking of new knowledge outside the realm of the Koran and Hadees is
considered undesirable and a dangerous influence that could lead all the way
from serious doubt to heresy and even total disbelief with rejection of Islam,
if people were allowed to think independently, by the Muslim establishment, it
has actively sought to scuttle all enquiry including the scientific enquiry and
desired the freezing of knowledge.

Now, given that the human mind, because of the way it is constructed,
“wants to know,” how on earth do you achieve the process of
“freezing knowledge?” Aristotle had argued that it was the very
nature of human beings to be curious, to investigate, to innovate - in short,
to bring about and participate in change as knowledge increased. Its just what
human brains DO. Hearts beat and pump blood, while brains think and learn.

If it is in the nature of the human mind to pursue knowledge, just how is it
possible to prevent it?

It’s not easy, since you are “swimming upstream” with respect to the
nature of the human mind. You have to have total control of every aspect of
thought and behavior. You perform that nasty little trick by declaring anything
you deem dangerous to the status quo to be immoral.

A “moral code” is a set of values chosen to guide your thoughts and
behaviors. So you proclaim thinking, which leads to questions, which lead to
knowledge, which lead to change, to be immoral.

 

If you can pull it off, declaring thinking to be
immoral actually works. People will do almost anything to avoid feeling
immoral.

So, if you want to keep things from changing, you outlaw intellectual inquiry.
You prohibit questions; you prohibit innovation; and you impose certain highly
prescribed behaviors. If you deviate, if you rock the boat, if you change, you
are pronounced immoral. And of course, since immorality is a bad thing, you
will be punished. But since thinking is in the nature of humans to do, when it
is outlawed, they become frustrated, they do not progress, and life becomes is
miserable. Just as it is really uncomfortable for us to experience limitations
in the function of the heart, it is really uncomfortable for us to experience
limitations in the function of the mind.

 
Of course, if you comply and manage to live with the frustration and misery,
there is the promise of complete happiness after death. That’s one of the
reasons that Muslims who practice the purest form of Islam claim not to fear
death, and in fact why some live only in order to achieve death. How much worse
can death be than life? It’s their only escape from the misery and frustration
of a miserable, frustrating, life on this earth.

The entire body of Islamic belief applies to every aspect of one’s life, and it
has a profound effect on the quality of life of Muslims. Here are some everyday
examples of ways the Islamic prohibition against thinking, knowledge, and
change affects Muslims:

1. In
the Muslim world, the illiteracy rate, depending on your source, is
between 50% and 80%.

2.In
Europe, the number of books per person is ten times greater than the
number of books per person in the Muslim Middle East and Africa
combined.

3.The
number of books translated into Arabic in the last ONE THOUSAND (1000)
years is equal to the number of books translated into Spanish alone in ONE
(1) year.

4. Between
1980 and 1999, the number of patents from Arab countries registered in the
United States
was 370. During that same period, the number of patents from South Korea
alone was 16,328.

 

5. At
Google headquarters in Silicon Valley,
there is a large map with lights that show the number of searches going on
at any particular moment. The whole world is bright, except for the region
stretching from Morocco
to the border of India,
where it is almost dark.

6. In
the Arab world, the number of computers per 1000 people is 18; the number
of computers per person world wide, including poor nations, is 78 per
1000.

7. When
the “outsourcing” of hi-tech jobs were discussed at a meeting in
Davos, Switzerland,
countries as diverse as India,
China, Mexico, and Ireland were mentioned.
Countries in the Arab world are not considered, because they don’t have
the infrastructure or the educational level to support such work.

8. The
Nobel Prize has been awarded, at the time of this writing, to 116
individuals and groups (many of whom have been the hated Jews). Of these,
only 8 have been Muslims, despite their claim that of the approximately
six billion people in the world, Muslims comprise two billion. You do the
math.

9. The
Fields Prize (often called the “Nobel Prize of mathematics”) began to be
awarded in 1936, and is given every four years to outstanding
mathematicians under the age of 40. So far, 48 awards have been given,
representing Australia,
Belgium, China, Finland,
France, (West) Germany, Italy,
Japan, New Zealand, Norway,
Russia/USSR, Sweden,
the UK and the USA. There
is not a single Muslim in the bunch.

In short, Islam, with its pronounced antipathy for change, is the most
profoundly, ferociously, and viciously anti-intellectual, anti-knowledge,
anti-reason philosophy in the world. As a result, the minds of its followers
are in an intellectual high-security prison. They can’t think, ask questions,
or pursue insights, for fear of being declared immoral and punished as such.

Muslims are caught between a rock and a hard place; they can’t accept the
responsibility for their own failure to progress, because to do so would
necessarily call into question what the real reason for their failure is. It
would point the finger of blame straight at Islam and its hatred of change and
the knowledge that drives change. To point that finger is an action fraught
with danger. It is the same danger which prevented Pervez Hoodbhoy to categorically
and explicitly state the real causes leading to the stagnation of all
scientific development in the Muslim World. But we, who consider it our moral
duty as humans to espouse and expose the truths and are not in harms way in
this instance will not hesitate to do exactly that.

Thus I again arrive at the same conclusion, which I keep arriving at not only
in this instance of Scientific Development stagnation, but also in issues of
politics, economy, society and ethics etc. which is that the entire Islamic
dogma will have to be exorcised and reformed in a radical manner in order to
rid humankind from this force of stagnation and morbidity, which as mentioned
above has arrested and locked a Quarter of Humanity in an intellectual
high-security prison which presently represents Mankind’s biggest lost
resource.