Global Intifada

I was thinking of this concept of ‘Islamic Revolution” the other day.

A revolution, by definition, is not only the complete deconstruction of one ideological system and its replacement with another, but it is a return to the general conception of Good itself. In other words, all revolutions share essential characteristics; perhaps a concern with social justice or equality or some other vague concept.

Islam is no different. Within Islam itself is the concept of ‘tajdid’ (t: ‘renewal’ or ‘revival’) which is a return to the basic understanding of the Islamic texts through the various sciences. The fundamentalist movements cannot necessarily be considered movements of revival in this sense because although they claim to have a desire to return to the Qur’an and Sunnah, they are actually undermining both by resorting to innovated understandings of them. This may seem intuitively sound at first, however, it is important to note that what we know of the Qur’an and Sunnah cannot necessarily be reduced to self-evident propositions. Rather, the most necessary component in understanding the Quran and Sunnah, in addition to the texts themselves, is the tools that were developed in order to understand them. Without the traditional sciences, the texts can be reconstructed in seemingly infinite lights. This is why we see such contrasting applications of those who reject traditionalism. On the one extreme, the Islamic texts have been re-interpreted to allow women to lead prayers and have construed Islam to be inherently democratic whereas on the other extreme is the practice of takfeer which has become quite common place. Without the traditional sciences, the texts cannot be properly understood. This is why it has been repeatedly stated that any Islamic movement, if it seeks success in this life and in the akhirah, must be firmly rooted not only in the Qur’an and Sunnah, but the understandings which have been transmitted to us throughout the ages. It doesn’t make sense to utilize the works of tafsir, hadeeth, usool al fiqh, kalam, arabic language, without utilizing the understanding that has been transmitted along with them.

This leads me to the second point: an islamic revolution is not a revolution of the masses, but a revolution that is lead by the ‘Ulema. This can be established simply from history. If we examine our long history, we’ll note that the most successful resistance movements and islamic revivals occurred through the direct or indirect leadership of the ‘Ulema. The colonial age is but the most recent example. A revolution through the masses is bound the fail. The average Muslim today isn’t proficient in the basics of religion. An Islamic Revolution seeks to establish Islam as the basis of a civilization and only those who understand how to do so can suffice. Individuals with little or no knowledge of the deen can never adequately apply Islam in the political, economic, social, legal, or military arenas.

However, this raises a very serious problem given the present crisis in Islamic scholarship. We have a shortage of ‘Ulema and the average person looks down on the ones who are qualified. The only remedy to this is through the long term development of educational institutions that produce ‘Ulema that are raised in not only the traditional sciences, but also on how to deal on contemporary issues.

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