Response to "DIspatches" Program
Bismillah.
“O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah 
, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to Piety: and fear Allah . For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.”
(Surat Al-Maidah 5:8)
Last week, Channel 4 in the UK showed a serial program called “Dispatches” which did a piece of undercover investigative “journalism” on radical Imams preaching “hatred” in a show entitled “Undercover Mosque.” [View Here]
Here my thoughts on the matter:
Firstly, a lot of what was said in the video was actually taken out of context by the media or was phrased very inappropriately by the speakers. Nothing I gathered from the speeches condoned terrorism. Theres a huge difference between questioning the ethical foundations of liberal democratic capitalism and espousing the violent overthrow of a government. One is a philosophical inquiry whereas the other is a political action.
Secondly, as Muslims, we need to liberate ourselves from this type of discourse. It is not about Salafis versus Sufis or about Saudis versus Western Muslims. The discourse about “Moderate†versus “extremist†Islam is very heavily influenced by the political establishment. The terms “moderate†and “extremist†are defined by the Shari’ah, not by the likes of Fox News and what not. The fact of the matter is that the West has no comprehension of Islam. Islam will not fit into its simplistic ideological manichean worldview. The attempt to portray Salafis (bad guys) and Sufis (good guys) is a very weak argument. What we as a Muslim community need to do is really break ourselves free from these false dichotomies.
Thirdly, what these speakers said wasn’t false; it was true. They were at times overzealous and exhibited bad adhab, but the substance of their speech was in conformity to the Shari’ah.
Specifically speaking, the following points that were made are not controversial topics at all:
- Such as Jihad (the media portrayed the topic of jihad as synonymous with terrorism)
- The desire to have an Islamic government
- The ruling on apostacy (which is clear according to ijmaa)
- The ruling on beating children for not praying salah
- The ruling on hijab for young women (this is the fatwa of the Shafi’i madhab)
- The hadeeth of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) regarding women being deficient in intellect.
These concepts are not restricted to the Salafi manhaj but exist within the Traditionalist paradigm as well. Not a single non-Salafi Traditionalist faqih rejects jihad, Islamic government, the ruling on hijab, imposing salah for young children, or the hadeeth regarding women being deficient in intellect. In fact those that hadeeth is contained in Sahih books. Its not contained in the “Salafi†versions of these Sahih books, but versions that even Traditionalists would rely upon. Furthermore, Traditional ‘Ulema such as Imam Ghazzali have been very harsh towards women as well. One need only persue through what Imam Ghazzali wrote in the “Ihya Uloom al Deen†in the Book of Marriage. You should also read what the Hanafi madhab says with regards to the status of the marriage of a woman who gets touched with desire by her male relatives.
To further elaborate on these points, open up the works of hardcore “Sufi†scholars such as Shaykh Nuh’s translation of “The Reliance of the Traveller” or “Beheshti Zewar” by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi. Clearly this is not a “Sufi” v. “Salafi” issue, this is something else entirely. The simple fact of the matter is that we as an Ummah cannot afford to allow the Western media to define who “Good Muslims†are and who “Bad Muslims†are.
The problem was that the points above, which have been shown to be legitimate concepts in traditonal Islam, got thrown in with the stuff about how the 7/7 terrorists were martyrs or how people want to establish Shari’ah in the West. Obviously, there’s a world of a difference between supporting terrorism and supporting jihad. Jihad is not terrorism any more than democracy is fascism. Jihad is warfare that is restricted by a certain set of ethical obligations which terrorism rejects. In Jihad, one cannot harm women, children, or the elderly nor destroy property.
Fourthly, we must ask what should we do about this? Nothing at all. The media thrives on controversy. They want Muslims to get outraged, to support these scholars or to lambast them. If we don’t do anything at all, we wont’ get stuck in this hegemonic discourse (i’m borrowing this term from Dr. Umar Abdallah). Let these fools babble about our deen as much as they went. Historically speaking, people have always invented lies against Islam or have attempted to subvert the spread of its message.
Fifthly, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) commands the believers to be just, even against someone who we hate. In the interest of justice, I cannot sit here and tolerate the misrepresentation of my brothers in Islam especially when the demonization is predicated upon rulings and statements that are entirely legitimate according to the Traditionalist paradigm as well.
Lastly, I’m actually shocked that people are so blinded by sectarianism to openly support the demonization of their fellow Muslims without looking first to see if these rumors are true. This was not the sunnah of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) or his companions (radhi allahu anhum). Whenever a person brings a report, the first thing they would do would be to investigate its veracity and the veracity of the narrator before confirming it or spreading it. This is a news media outlet, we as Muslims should’ve matured to the point by now where we recognize the brazen hostility that the Western media has towards Islam. Instead of pausing for a moment and seeing if this report was an accurate portrayal of Salafism, we jump on the “Bash Wahhabism†bandwagon.
And don’t let me get started on this so-called “Sufi Muslim Council.†I didnt see anyone with any beards or wearing hijab in that so-called council. These people are not Sufis, they are modernists masquerading as traditionalists in order to acquire legitimacy for their deviant beliefs and actions.
Please, please, please do not be blinded by sectarian differences into ignoring the true opponents of our deen.
Sphere: Related ContentPublished January 20, 2007 . Filed under: Muslim Unity
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Assalaamu alaikum,
This was an excellent blog entry. Realistic, to-the-point, Islamically sound…
January 23, 2007 @ 3:59 am
Assalamu alaikum, OK now I’m curious. So I don’t have to go out and buy all of the books you have cited, what did they indeed say about women? Also, the “women are deficient in intellect” hadith, OK, maybe I got the wrong translation or interpretation, but I thought that had more to do with things in a woman’s nature which may, OK, how do I say this (talk about being deficient in intellect”. It’s not so much that men are smarter than women, or that women are just dumb boxes of rocks. However, it was explained to me once that the “women deficient in intellect” haddith had to do with things in a woman’s physiology which may impact her mentally. For example, I’ve heard many pregnant women talk about how pregnancy ahs made them more forgetful. Or, during certain times of a woman’s menstrual cycel, she can be more irritable, or more moody than usual, etc.
Not sure if that amkes any sense or not, but I’ve also been told that the “deficiency in intelligence” haddith was also translated badly, and the “deficiency” has more to do with differences between how men’s and woemn’s brasn function? Hmmm, lol, I’m really laughign at myself, because although I used to,a nd soemtiems still do, get defensive about that hadith, as a woman, I find as I’m writing this, that I’m having trouble explaining myself. Subhanallah!
Anyway, any scholars who put down women, and treat them as less than men, I don’t care if they are “sufi”, Salafi”, or wahtever, it still bothers me! Because from what you’re saying, it’s like women are just stupid, not to be trusted, etc., but I thought men and women are equal as beleivers inthe sight of Allah
, so I don’t know.
Perhaps you could elaborate further. What do you, yourself, think about women? Because sometimes I get the feeling that most men think of women as just grown-up children, who need to be scolded, ordered around (and for somen men beaten), because they don’t have the “intellect” to know any better. And I just can’t think that our Beleoved Prophet Muhmmad (peace and blessings be upon him), would teach as that, especially given that Aisha (may Allah
reward her), taught people and transmitted hadith,etc. Anyway, I guess the claws have come out, so to speak, and as a woman, perhaps my mind works different than a man’s, but I’m not some “petualnt child woman”, etc., who needs to be “mastered over” by some man! And perhaps my reaction just demonstrated the peole of the scholars that you were quoting from, I know, but I really just had a strong reaction, perhaps wrongly, to the whole thing, and I’d just like some elaboration / clarification.
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February 2, 2007 @ 10:34 pm