Islamic Pluralism as a Basis for Muslim Living

Islamic Pluralism as a Basis for Muslim Livin

Sufism: An insight into the spiritual essence of Islam

A Presentation Paper prepared by Yusuf Morales
For the I-Faith Forum on Mysticism In Islam and Christianity

Bismillah Hirahman Niraheem

Alhamdullilahi Ladhi Alamal Bil Qalam

Allamal Insana ma lam Ya'lam

(In the Name of God Most Merciful and Compassionate

Praise be to Him who has created Qalam (speech/pen/Knowledge)

And created Man And what he does not know)

Wa salatu wa salamau alal Khatamul anbiya wal Mursalin, Sayidna Habibina wa Mawlatina Muhammad, Salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi, wa Ahlil Bayt Tahirin (alahyimus Salam), wa Ashabi Muntajirin (Radialahhu anhum)

My friends, allow me to greet you the universal Islamic Greeting of Peace:

Assalamu alaikum

The Slides I have prepared, actually does not coincide with my paper,as its aim is to provide a simplified presentation accordingly to western persepective. It was taken from a presentation prepared by one of my elders, Dr. Mirza Ahmad of the Naqshabandiya foundation.

However, I believe that it would prove to be helpful in the event of the open forum in the aim of simplifying answers.

This talk is dedicated to the Spiritual chains of our tradition both in the Ikhwanu-Safa and the Sadiliah Branch of Naqhabandiyah Order.

Indeed it is said that in every object, there lies its essence, its heart, its embodiment. And like the great Sage Hermes known as the prophet Khaidr has said, the essence lies in the heart of an object.

Sufism, as the masters say is the heart and essence of Islam. It is the crystalization of all known knowledge; as Imam Ali, karamallahu wajhah said, it is the key to knowing oneself, and knowing God.

Basically, what do we refer as Tasawuff?

As a practitioner of this discipline, it is not that easy to elaborate on this vast expanse of knowledge. But I will try in my own humble way to crystalize what I have received from My Masters and share with you what little I know of Sufism.

Sufism stands for the mystical Islamic science and practice in which the faithful seeks to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.

It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of man and God and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom in the world.

Islamic mysticism is called tasawwuf (literally, “to dress in wool”) in Arabic, but it has been called Sufism in Western languages since the early 19th century. An abstract word, Sufism derives from the Arabic term for a mystic, Sufi, which is in turn derived from suf, “wool,” plausibly a reference to the woollen garment of early Islamic ascetics. The Sufis are also generally known as “the poor,” fuqara', plural of the Arabic faqir, in Persian darvish, whence the English words fakir and dervish.

By educating the masses and deepening the spiritual concerns of the Muslims, Sufism has played an important role in the formation of Muslim society. Opposed to the dry casuistry of the lawyer-divines, the mystics nevertheless scrupulously observed the commands of the divine law (Shari'a). The Sufis have been further responsible for a large-scale proliferation activity (nashr) all over the world, which still continues. Sufis have elaborated the image of the prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) and have thus largely influenced Muslim piety by their Mohammedian mysticism.

Without the Sufi vocabulary, Arabic, Persian and other literatures related to it, such as Turkish would lack their special charms. Through the poetry of these literatures mystical ideas spread widely among the Muslims.

Sufism had several stages of growth, including (1) the appearance of early asceticism (zuhd), (2) the development of a classical mysticism of divine love (mahabba laduniya), and (3) the rise and proliferation of fraternal orders of mystics (turuq). Despite these general stages, however, the history of Sufism is largely a history of individual mystic experience. The first stage of Sufism appeared in pious circles as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad period (76-661/164-749). From their practice of constantly meditating on the Quranic words about Doomsday, the ascetics became known as “those who always weep” and those who considered this world “a hut of sorrows.” They were distinguished by their scrupulous fulfilment of the injunctions of the Quran and tradition, by many acts of piety, and especially by a predilection for night prayers.

The introduction of the element of love, which changed asceticism into mysticism, is ascribed to Sayyida Rabi'a al-'Adawiya (d. 216/801), a woman from Basra who first formulated the Sufi ideal of a love of God that was disinterested, without hope for paradise and without fear of hell. In the decades after Sayyida Rabi'a, mystical trends grew everywhere in the Islamic world. A number of mystics in the early generations had concentrated their efforts upon tawakkul, absolute trust in God, which became a central concept of Sufism. An Iraqi school of mysticism became noted for its strict self-control and esoteric insight. The Iraqi school was initiated by Sidi al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi's (d. 243/828), who believed that purging the soul in preparation for companionship with God was the only value of asceticism. His teachings of classical sobriety and wisdom were perfected by Sidi Abul Qacem al-Junaid of Baghdad (d. 297/882), to whom all later chains of the transmission of doctrine and legitimacy go back.

In an Egyptian school of Sufism, the mystic Sidi Dhu an-Nun (d. 274/859) reputedly introduced the technical term ma'rifa (gnosis), as contrasted to learnedness; in his hymnical prayers he joined all nature in the praise of God. In the Iranian school, Sidi Abu Yazid Bastami (d. 261/846) is usually considered to have been representative of the important doctrine of annihilation of the self, fana' (extinction); the symbolism of his sayings prefigures part of the terminology of later mystical poets. At the same time the concept of divine love became more central, especially among the Iraqi Sufis. Its main representative is Sidi Abul Hassan an-Nuri (d. 295/880), who offered his life for his brothers.

The first of the theosophical speculations based on mystical insights about the nature of man and the essence of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) were produced by Sidi Sahl Tustari (d. 311/896) and Sidi al-Hakim at-Tirmidhi (d. 313 898). Sidi Sahl Tustari was the master of Sidi Hussein ibn Mansur al-Hallaj (d. 309/894), who has become famous for his phrase ana al-haqq, “I am the Creative Truth” (often rendered “I am God”), which was later interpreted in a pantheistic sense but is, in fact, only a condensation of his theory of huwa huwa (“He He”): God loved himself in his essence, and created Adam “in his image.” Sidi Hallaj was executed in 407/922 in Baghdad as a result of his teachings; he is, for later mystics and poets, the “martyr of Love” par excellence, the enthusiast killed by the theologians. His few poems are of exquisite beauty; his prose, which contains an outspoken Mohammedian mysticism is as beautiful.

Sufi doctrine was in these early centuries transmitted in small circles. Some of the Shaykhs, Sufi mystical leaders or guides of such circles, were also artisans. In the fourth/tenth century, it was deemed necessary to write handbooks about the tenets of Sufism in order to ease the growing suspicions of the orthodox; the compendiums composed in Arabic by Sidi Abu Talib al-Makki (d. 386/971), Sidi Sarraj, and Sidi Kalabadhi in the late fourth/tenth century, and by Sidi Abul Qacem al-Qushayri (d. 467/1052) and, in Persian, by Sidi Hujviri in the fifth/eleventh century reveal how these authors tried to defend Sufism and to prove its orthodox character. It should be noted that the mystics belonged to all schools of Islamic law and theology of the times.

The last great figure in the line of classical Sufism is Sidi Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 526/1111), who wrote, among numerous other works, the Ihya' 'ulum ad-din (“The Revival of the Religious Sciences”), a comprehensive work that established moderate mysticism against the growing theosophical trends and thus shaped the thought of millions of Muslims. His younger brother, Ahmad al-Ghazali, wrote one of the subtlest treatises (Sawanih; “Occurrences” [i.e. stray thoughts]) on mystical love, a subject that then became the main subject of Persian poetry.

Slightly later, turuq, mystical orders (fraternal groups centring around the teachings of a shaykh-founder) began to crystallize. The seventh/thirteenth century, though politically overshadowed by the invasion of the Mongols into the Eastern lands of Islam and the end of the 'Abbasid caliphate, was also the golden age of Sufism: the Andalusian Sidi Muhyiddin ibn Arabi ("Shaykh al-Akbar," d. 636/1221) created a comprehensive theosophical system (concerning the relation of God and the world) that was to become the cornerstone for a doctrine of “Unity of Being.” According to this doctrine all existence is one, a manifestation of the underlying divine reality. His Egyptian contemporary Sidi Ibn al-Farid (d. 650/1235) wrote the finest mystical poems in Arabic. Two other important mystics, who died 635/1220, were a Persian poet, Sidi Farid ad-Din 'Attar, one of the most fertile writers on mystical topics, and a Central Asian master, Sidi Najmuddin Kubra, who presented elaborate discussions of the psychological experiences through which the mystic adept has to pass.

The greatest mystical poet in the Persian language, Sidi Jalaluddin ar-Rumi (d. 688/1273), was moved by mystical love to compose his lyrical poetry that he attributed to his mystical beloved, Shamsuddin of Tabriz, as a symbol of their union. Sidi Jalaluddin ar-Rumi's didactic poem Mathnawi in about 26,000 couplets—a work that is for the Persian-reading mystics second in importance only to the Quran—is an encyclopaedia of mystical thought in which everyone can find his own spiritual meaning. Sidi Jalaluddin ar-Rumi inspired the organization of the whirling dervishes—who sought ecstasy through an elaborate dancing ritual, accompanied by superb music. His younger contemporary Sidi Yunus Emre inaugurated Turkish mystical poetry with his charming verses that were transmitted by the Bektashiya order of dervishes and are still admired in modern Turkey.

At that time, the basic ideals of Sufism permeated the whole world of Islam; and at its borders as, for example, in India, Sufis largely contributed to shaping Islamic society. Later some of the Sufis in India were brought closer to other models of mysticism by an overemphasis on the idea of divine unity which became almost monism—a religio-philosophic perspective according to which there is only one basic reality, and the distinction between God and the world (and man) tends to disappear. The syncretistic attempts of the Mughal emperor Akbar (d. 1020/1605) to combine different forms of belief and practice, and the religious discussions of the crown prince Dara Shukoh (executed for heresy, 1074/1659) were objectionable to the orthodox (Ahl Sunna).

Typically, the countermovement was again undertaken by a mystical order, the Naqshbandiya, a Central Asian fraternity founded in the eight/fourteenth century. Contrary to the creed of the school of wahdat al-wujud (“existential unity of being”), the later Naqshbandiya defended the wahdat ash-shuhud (“unity of vision”), a subjective experience of unity, occurring only in the mind of the believer, and not as an objective experience. Sidi Ahmed Sirhindi (d. 1039/1624) was the major character of this order in India. His stands of sanctity were surprisingly daring: he considered himself the divinely invested master of the universe. His refusal to concede the possibility of union between man and God (characterized as “servant” and “Lord”) and his sober law-bound attitude gained him and his followers many disciples, even at the Mughal court and as far away as Turkey. In the eleventh/eighteenth century, Shah Sidi Wali'Allah of Delhi was connected with an attempt to reach a compromise between the two inimical schools of mysticism; he was also politically active and translated the Quran into Persian, the official language of Mughal India. Other Indian mystics of the same century, such as Sidi Mir Dard, played a decisive role in forming the newly developing Urdu poetry.

In This context, the idea of Mystical Islam can be best described by words, fast keywords that may immediately describe Ideas, concepts and realizations. Let us then define sufism accordingly to these words:

• “Islamic Spirituality”
• “Islamic Mysticism”
• “Esotericism”

• Tazkiyatun Nafs wa Qalb (Purification of the heart)
• Ihsan (sincerity)
• Thrust towards Perfection and excellence
• Sufism aims in effect to bring man to Yaqeen or what laymen say as the point of Certainty which is divided into several levels:

• Ilm-al-Yaqin (Knowledge of Certainty)

• Ain-al-Yaqin (Vision of Certainty)

• Haqq-al-Yaqin (Essence of Certainty)

To a sufi, to be able to cross the path, he must pass through four portals of disciplines which we may call

• Shari'ah which is understanding the basic and basis of Islamic law so he may be guided instrinsically by what is legally acceptable and what is not legally acceptable. Allow me to share what Sheik Ahmad Sirhindi has said about this:

Shariah consists of 3 parts, a.Knowledge(ilm),b. Deeds(amal)& c.Sincerity(ikhlas)Until all 3 are realized,Shariah cannot be fulflled. When Shariah is fulfilled,the pleasure of God Almighty results&this is superior to all forms of happiness.The Shariah is gaurantor of all happiness both in this world&hereafter.Tariqah is servant of Shariah&perfects the Sincereity(Ikhlas). Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624)‏

• Tariqah , Initiation into the way (tariq) into which a journeyer is led into the unveiling of himself so that he may prepare himself into the experience of understanding and knowing himself

• Maarifah, this is the stage where on already discovers and knows(ma'araf) himself, the stage which prepares himself for Yaqeen

• Haqiqah, this is the stage where in the language of other Masters, one attains fana (elimnation) when he reaches the point of discovering truth (al-Haqq)

In the eyes of a sufi, Sharia'h is his Qawli, Tariqat is his Fi'li and Haqiqat Ahwali (interior garment)

Indeed as one may say Sufism is the path to discovering Spiritual life through the path of elimination (haya min tarikhul fana), and as such, they say those who has reached the level of haqiqah is said to have died in the embrace of Wisdom.

Most Sufi poets declare this as the embrace of truth.

Why do Sufi's go all the way just to attain these things?

The simple answer is that Sufis aim to :

• “Acquire attributes of God” (Takhhaluque bi akhlaquillah)

• “Die before your death” (Mootoo qabla unta Mootoo)

• “The faithful is the mirror of the faithful” (Al-mumin mirat al-mumin)

• To acquire nearness of God (Qurb)‏

• Practice Ihsan

• To achieve contented self (Nafs-ul-Mutmainna)‏

• To cultivate God awareness (Taqwa)‏

• To transform self (Tazkiya-e-Nafs )‏

• Removing the bad habits and acquiring the good manners

Of course many people have a hundred and one ways of defining Sufism. The previous definitions were culled from my own personal intellectual and spiritual experiences.

This is the tradition of sufism; engaging the traveller to a personal experience in knowing oneself as it leads one to knowing God.

It is also important that there are five other things that define a Sufi:

1. he loves all creation, being one in creation

2. he respects all men since all men descended from banu Adam

3. He respects all religion because they all originated from one source

4. he views all in the light of Allah's Pleasure

5. Truth and light does not contradict, as light is a manifestation of truth

And this sums up my simple talk on Sufism.

Wa ma tawfiq illa bi Allah

Wa salatu wa salamu alal Sayiddna Muhammad,wa alal alihi tahirin wa ashabi muntajirin, wa ummati wasiyin

Wa salamun alal Mursalin wal hamdullillah Hirabbil alamin

Quezon City Philippines

7 October 2008

Dedicated to My Sufi Guide (Hafidhu Allah) and the Shuyukh of His Chain

Lailatul Qadr : The Night of Power

Lailatul Qadr - The Night of Power

Lailatul Qadr falls on the one of the last Nights of Ramadan (some hadiths say its in the 19th, others 21st, others say 23rd) and this is significant event in Muslim history as not only did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) receive his first revelation that culminated in the Holy Quran, but this day marks the anniversary of his Prophethood on earth. Muslims all over the world spend this night in prayers as it holds special Barakah for those in prayer.

"In the name of God, the Beneficent the Merciful ". "Indeed We sent it [the Holy Quran] down on the Night of Power. What will convey to you what the Night of Power is? Better is the Night of Power than a thousand months. In that Night the angels and the Spirit descend by the permission of their Lord for every errand. Peace it is, until the break of dawn."
- Quran, Chapter 97 Al-Qadr

Many interpreters of this verse in the Holy Quran state that thousand months is Allah's way of defining eternal time as it cannot be described in worldy time. A single moment of enlightenment of the Noor of Allah is better than a thousand months and such a moment of recognition converts the night into a period of Spiritual glory and majesty, and every one of us should try to work towards this.

When the night of spiritual darkness is removed by the Noor of Allah, a wonderful peace and sense of security arises in the soul which lasts until this physical life ends and the glorious day of the spiritual world dawns, when everything will be on a different plane and the nights and days of this world will seem less than a dream. This is the meaning of "until the rise of dawn" and not the literal interpretation as many may construe or understand it. Surely, Allah's realm/time span is larger.

Allah has says in the Quran: Rise to pray in the night except a little (73:1)

Allah ordered Prophet Muhammad (salwaat) to spend most of the night in worship in order that his Lord may lift him to a higher elevation. His Family (salwaat) and Wives and Companions (RA) would join him for the nightly meditation (Baitul Khayal) and would be rising up in station and spirituality: Surely We will make to descend on you a weighty Word. Surely the rising by night is the firmest way to tread and the best corrective of speech. (73, 1-5)

Listen to Sura Qadr Audio File in MP3 Format

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, said: "Whosoever offers voluntary prayers during the Night of Power out of belief and charging Allah with its recompense will have his past sins forgiven." - Hadith, compiled by Bukhari and Muslim

Dai Nasir-i Khusraw explains the significance of this night saying: " You illuminate the mosques on the Night of Qadr and make it as bright as the day, while your hearts are as dark as the darkest night. Know that illuminations are not enough. When you light the lamps, remind yourselves that your dark hearts, without inner purifications, will not become enlightened by the lamps".

The Glory and Majesty of this night cannot be explained in any human terms. This Night is an opportunity to open out our hearts unto Him Who revealed the Holy Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad, who kept Allah's message everliving and appointed his heirs, the Imams, as the carriers of the Divine mission.

This night is therefore, not only the Anniversary Night of the Holy Quran, but it is also the Anniversary of Hazrat Nabi Muhammad's Prophethood.

For You what then is the significance of Lailatul Qadr?

O Allah treat me as one of those who are free from Hell, in the name of this Holy Book sent by Thee, whatever there be in the Book. Including Ism-e-A'azam and Asmaa-e-Husnaa and the things to be dreaded, the things that may be expected and desired, like blessings of Jannat. Do forgive through the grace of this book

"Alaahumma inni asaloka be kitaabekal munzale Wa maa feeh, wa feehismokal akbaro wa asmaakal husnaa, wa maa yokhaafo Wa yurjaa an taj-alani min otaqaaeka minan-Naar",

Pakistan's mystical Islam thrives

By Asim Butt, Karachi

The Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine is a magnet for devotees

The mystical form of Islam espoused by Sufi saints for hundreds of years continues to thrive in Pakistan despite opposition from religious hardliners and the authorities.

As the sun sets on a Thursday evening, hundreds of working class people descend on a shrine to the eighth-century mystic, Abdullah Shah Ghazi, in Karachi.

The shrine is located on a hill in the upmarket Clifton district of Pakistan's financial capital, flanked by swanky shopping malls and the posh residential area of Defence.

In the grounds below the shrine gather electricians, plumbers, construction workers, vagabonds, transvestites, prostitutes. Encircled by a cheering crowd, men take turns in a weightlifting competition.

Another circle dances to the drumbeat of the shrine's dhol players.

Devotional singing, or "qawali", emanates from an enclosure adjacent to the open grounds, yet another crowd swaying under its spell.

Holy nights

The men, for this public space is overwhelmingly male-dominated, belong to all the ethnicities and sects that make up Pakistan, mixing freely in a city rife with divisions.

Many homeless people are drawn to the shrine's grounds

Food stalls, bonfires, stereo-players, huddles of ganja-smoking men, smaller ones of heroin users, others swigging local brews, make up this multi-ethnic weekly party that rocks into the early hours of the morning.

Although Thursdays are traditionally holy nights when devotees pray at Sufi shrines, the revelry at Shah Ghazi seems to have little to do with prayer.

Music, dance and drugs, though proscribed by orthodox Islam, are the traditional vehicles of devotion here - as they are at most shrines in Pakistan.

Sufism has historically provided Islam with an alternative to orthodoxy and has won it most of its converts.

Sufi saints created mass appeal through their merging with pre-existing faiths of the region and their ability to align themselves with popular interests.

The mass appeal of saints like Shah Ghazi and others persists in spite of 200 years of opposition from puritanical reformers and the state.

From the late 19th century on, reformers sought to purify Islam by rejecting elements they believe had crept in through Sufism.

Exiled

Under the colonial regime, although landed Sufis were used as intermediaries between government and subjects, ascetics were seen as a threat and criminalised.

The shrine is also a centre of entertainment

Similarly, while ancient Sufis were viewed as genuine agents of spirituality, living mystics were dismissed as frauds.

The 19th Century Sufi, Mewa Shah, also buried in Karachi, was jailed and eventually exiled by the British.

According to legend, Mewa Shah alighted the ship taking him into exile, said his prayers on the waves of the Arabian Sea and mounted a large fish which took him back to the shores of Karachi.

Post-colonial Pakistan has had a schizophrenic policy towards Sufi shrines.

By subsuming them under the Auqaf department, the state has sought to weaken the powers of the spiritual heirs of the saints.

Established under Ayub Khan in 1959, the Auqaf department received its charter from Javed Iqbal, the son of Pakistan's founding visionary poet, Mohammad Iqbal, who actually bemoaned the superstitions of Indian Muslims.

Karachi's dispossessed come for free food

The pamphlets published by the department expunged the miraculous from the legends, repainting the lives of Sufi saints in a modernist light.

The powers of the department were expanded further under the pseudo-socialist government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1976 and have persisted through Zia ul-Haq's Islamist dictatorship and Pervez Musharraf's rule of "enlightened moderation".

Meanwhile, state functionaries and politicians have continued to seek legitimacy from the shrines by turning prayer visits into public appearances and photo opportunities.

Although tributes paid by devotees are siphoned through the Auqaf department, alms are also received by the dozen or so kitchens that run along the front of the shrine.

The money is used to provide two daily meals to anyone in need. The most destitute thus encamp outside the shrine, among them glue-sniffing runaway children, heroin addicts and other homeless men and women.

The Sufi shrines offer the underclass spiritual sustenance, a social valve of entertainment, and a safety net of free rations.

It is a bond that has not been loosened by militant Islam.

The Era of Imam Mahdi vis a vis the new global order as espoused by the West : An understanding and analysis vis a vis dialectics of the the West .

The Era of Imam Mahdi vis a vis the new global order as espoused by the West :
An understanding and analysis vis a vis dialectics of the the West .

A concept paper by Roque Yusuf Morales

1. Introduction:

In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Most Compassionate.

As the collapse of the cold war, we have seen that a new world order has unfolded in the eyes
of the West, however, as this world ored unfolds, the West has been in a dilemma on how to
define the parameters of this order. Indeed, numerous theories and political analysis has
been proposed by the so called "enlightened scholars " of the West. But the Question now
arises: how does Islam and us, the global Ummah look at this world aroder and how do
we also define our parameters today? An How do we, believers and adherents
of Hazrat Baqiyatullah (May Allah hasten his return) prepare in this context?

We as members of the Global Muslim Ummah, may have to look at different angles as well as from different perspectives if we may arrive at a conclusion. This may not be conclusive for all times, it is our humble effort, so that we may be able to move forward in todays age and leave a legacy for other Muslims to come.

As one looks at the different theories expressed and espoused today, I cannot but help but remember the ideals left by those who have come before us, like Imam Khomeini (rahmatullahi alayhi) when he wrote the then president Mikhail Gorbachev and predicted the demise of theSoviet Union, saying; that the lac of a spiritual and moral ascendancy of socialism, being materialistic in nature will ultimately lead to the collapse of the socialist world order. And as one American Scholar has said, as the current trend of Modernization proceeds, the fundamental human value from the worship of God and the virtues of Tqwa, Imaan and Ihsan are replaced by values like vice, vanity, personal interests over the others, self over others, there appears a ever and more stronger need for us Muslims to propose the need also for the West to study the high, lofty and ethical values of Islam.

In the traditions of the late Ali Shariati's Ruhshanfekr being today's enlightened individuals , we will attempt to dissect the theories of the new global world order proposed by the West and their worldview and how we must propose to interact with the world in a move to propose also our own concept of a just and humane society baed on Tawheed and Adalah.

In a way, as we, the adherents of our beloved prophet Muhammad (SAWA) anxiously await his honored desecendant, how do we view the global events and act towards preparation of a state of Imam Mahdi's (ATFS) return to us.

II. How the West views todays Global order


After the demise of the Soviet Union as predicted by Imam Khomeini (rahmatullahi alyh), the West has seen that the eternal archenemy of Capitalism and Democracy, i.e. Socialism as represented by the Soviet Union has collapsed; corollary to this the collapse of the Iron Curtain in Germany, the concept of collectivism and state owned enterprises as espoused by communism has eventually became a thing of the past, and even the Sleeping Giant China, has awakened from its slumber to partake in the eventual Capitalization of the world.

As there appeared a clear and present need to define a new global order, a prominent think tank from the West, Samuel Huntington in a response to this need defined a new context, civilizational fault lines... in short, where cultures clash, civilizations and nations would clash. This was the eventual definition of this paper, "clash of civilizations and the rise of a new order".However, another known Western scholar Edward Said views that the presentation of Huntington preposterous in the sense paranoic.

This is the ineventual problem of the causality of Huntingtons concepts..... from a clash of civilizations, it is surmised that such a clash occurs whenever ignorance takes place. instead of understanding what causes cultures and civilizations to clash, why not also try to look at the parallel sum of things like universal human values that are treasured in every culture and civilization.The same can be said of looking the the paralellism of anarchistic and terrrorist groups lingering in the different cultures like the Branch dravidian, Aum Shinyo or the Baader Meinhof gangs that are much alike the terrroristic manifestations of al-Qaeda or other groups like the Tamil Tigers and the Sin Fein in Ireland.

And as Said says, “But we are all swimming in those waters, Westerners and Muslims and others alike.
And since the waters are part of the ocean of history, trying to plow or divide them with barriers is futile.
These are tense times, but it is better to think in terms of powerful and powerless communities, the
secular politics of reason and ignorance, and universal principles of justice and injustice, than to wander
 off in search of vast abstractions that may give momentary satisfaction but little self-knowledge or informed analysis.
 "The Clash of Civilizations" thesis is a gimmick like "The War of the Worlds," better for reinforcing defensive self-pride
 than for critical understanding of the bewildering interdependence of our time. “

What is needed for civilizations to understand each other is dialogue, pluralist persepective and an openness to the other.

As the West aims also in defining order, it also aims to define states that in its opinion are threats to the stability of the new global order, unconsciously defining these states as "rogue states" at the root of this definition is "viciousness,lack of principle and propensity to engage in unilateral action (Herman, 2006). it is clear that within that context, it is apparent that those that apparently falls out of context of the Western definition of universal Human values appears to be part of the target of Western Imperialist Hegemony. it then appears that even states that are merely guarding their legitimate interests and protecting their citizens is seen as rogue and therefore in the eyes of the West are viewed as axis of evil.

As the West aims also in defining order, it also aims to define states that in its opinion are threats to the stability of the new global order, unconsciously defining these states as "rogue states" at the root of this definition is "viciousness,lack of principle and propensity to engage in unilateral action (Herman, 2006). it is clear that within that context, it is apparent that those that apparently falls out of context of the Western definition of universal Human values appears to be part of the target of Western Imperialist Hegemony. it then appears that even states that are merely guarding their legitimate interests and protecting their citizens is seen as rogue and therefore in the eyes of the West are viewed as axis of evil.


What pushes the West to aggressively pursue this Global World Order at the expense of other smaller sovereign states? The answer lies in the fact that Neoliberalism and Globalization also has played a significant role in the pursuance and aggressive implementation of this policy.

In the total sum of things, the world new order that the west (in the view that is pushed by the United states)
proposes is the Globalization of Markets, where nations are forced to co-opt their national sovereignty in
 the face of tariffs and trade quotas always in the name of the Balance of Trade (BOT), however, this Balance
 of Trade always shifts in favor of first world countries, Transnational Corporations (TNC) that operate their
businesses internationally and exploit the cheap labor cost , cheap mineral resources in the Third world at
a tremendous profit with no moral conscience of returning even a small portion of their accumulated wealth,
taking it abroad.

In short this is best manifested by decreasing of government subsidies and privatization of government and
owned and controlled corporations, free unrestricted trade by the lifting of tarriffs and barriers (giving rise to
 the entry of Multinational and transnational corporations ), and the non-intervention of Government in many
policies to allow MNC and TNC's to operate as they wish. Neoliberalism also influences first world countries
to focus on absolute gains over other nation states. This puts minor states like for example the Philippines,
Sierra Leonne, Tunisia or even Egypt   at a major trade disadvantage with Trade relations with the West. This
normally would put out Muslims states who are currently at Economic hardships at the mercy of the West. This
 is coupled by Globalization which is the international economic manifestation of neoliberalism.

This in a nutshell, causes First world countries dominance over us Muslims, thereby using all available political,
 diplomatic tools available to them to achieve their pursuit.

What then happens if this fails to materialize or they see a potential area to extend their influence? Perhaps
recent events in the Muslim world from Afghanistan, to Iraq, to Sudan are enough evidence to prove that good
intentions are clearly driven by the need to fuel their capitalist economies.

We have been always been reminding our brethren to hold to the rope of Allah and to unite to strengthen the Ummah
 again in the face of adversity.

Now however, despite this behemoth order that the West Wishes to impose upon us, it itself is in the brink of decay
 as it is largely dependent as  in the words of Norman Angel another Neocon proponent, saying: "We cannot ensure
the stability of the present system by the political or military preponderance of our nation or alliance by imposing its
 will on a rival.( Norman Angell, The Great Illusion, (1909) cited from 1933 ed. (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons),p. 137.)
It only goes to say that in order for their global world order to survive, Global Bullying has become legitimized in the
 guide of protecting a nations vested interest. Never the less, Muslim states also possess the right to protect their
collective interests as part of the Global Ummah as well as humanity.

At the head  of this Global Order, is the United States, being today ruled by the NeoConservatives, this ideology has
 its ramifications to both US domestic and Foreign policies.


III. What do we intend to do with this current context?

What appears here is a complex web of complex concepts intertwined with each other which we may call the Four microcosms of the west.The current Global World Order as seen by the west is best dissected by what we can say as the Four Microcosms of the West. these are the ideological tools that they use to look at the world and interact with it.

After seeing that a new world order has arisen, the west as a policy has adopted what we may call as a POST WAR HEGEMONY STRATEGY in dealing with the world. within this context they have underlined a four--set in which they deal with the world which is as follows:

1. They define who are and can be their allies

2. They identify potential threats and enemies and define them as rogue states

3. they apply sanctions to countries which refuse to be bullied under their new world order

   1. creation of economic sanctions by:

      1. primary boycott of countries allied to the West of any economic transactions with the Country targetted

      2. secondary boycotts by threatening Multinational corporations/Transnational Companies from transacting business with so-called Rogue States.

   2. application of Political Sanctions by outmaneuvering international organizations like the United Nations Security Council

   3. pressuring states allied with the West to apply pressure or expelling diplomats from rogue states.

4. they create scenarios of which they seek to manipulate the events to their own benefits

   1. Political scenarios wherein they aim to create political turmoil by fermenting dissension in rogue states

   2. International Diplomatic isolation by trying to either neutralize or pressure diplomats from the so-called rogue states for participating in international diplomatic and political actions by either exclusion/expulsion from membership or pressuring other states to actively support actions against these states.

By looking at this unipolar behemoth movement, we can ascertain that we can apply a new and novel approch of countering this unipolar hegemony. This we may now call a multi-polar approach.

As we all know that the New global world order as espoused in the West and articulated by the United states is that it is to globalized, consumer oriented and prone to machinations of the West who may attempt to influence smaller countries and economies through coercion and pressure .

We must understand that indeed in order to usher in a new global order of Peace, unity, development, social justice....INDEED IT IS INDEED HAZRAT MUNTAZAR must come, but how can we push over an era wherein the appearance of Imam Zaman (ATFS) would come to pass.

For such a circumstance to take place we as well must also take part in awakening the global Ummah as well as the non-Muslim world towards the accomplishment of these goals.

We as a natural result, will also apply a series of steps aimed to push for the following:

1. Creation and strengthening of a new non-aligned movement which will advocate the interests of smaller states.this may also lead the way for the strengthening of pre-existing regional forums where focus will be aimed at strengthening of local regions and states as well as political and economic cooperation among them.

2. Creation of "Centres of Dialogue and Understanding" that aims to popularize the dialogue of civilizations as a response to the Theory of "clash of civilizations".These centres of dialogues may be schools, academic organizations Non-government organizations shall be distributed regionally among strategic areas. they shall also be tasked to undertake researches and conferences in the aim of further propagating these concepts. special focus and emphasis shall be given to East-East and East-West Dialogue of civilizations.

3. Creation of fora that aims to include other non-aligned states on a regional basis paving the way for the creation multipolar spheres of influences as well as alignments to ensure that smaller states be not coerced by the west into concessions and that these regional states interests be pursued and protected.

4. Commissioning of regional researches involving an exhaustive study on Islamic pluralism and concepts of dialogue from a localized persepective that may equip Muslim scholars and laymen with the proper knowledge, tools and methodology of dialogue and proper interaction with other cultures.

5. Open an International Research Organization for the study on how the Concept of Mahdiism can fully assist in the development of both the Global Muslim Ummah and the whole world in general.

No plan is perfect except with the Guidance of Allah, and insha Allah,. with proper guidance and leadership of the warasatul al-anbiya'a. We shall be successful in the implementation of these projects.

references:

• Imam Khomeini's (Quddisah Sirruh) letter to President Gorbachev.

• Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org

• Beyond American Hegemony . By Michael Lind, New America Foundation The National Interest | May/June 2007

• The clash of Civilizations. by Samuel P. Huntington .Foreign Affairs Summer 1993

• The Clash of Ignorance. By Edward Said.,The Nation, October 2001 issue

• U.S. Policy on Rogue States :The concept "rogue state" is highly nuanced. The U.S. does not fall into the category despite its terrorist attacks against Cuba for close to 40 years.

  By NoamChomsky.,http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/articles/z9804-rogue.html../

• Neocon 101. The Christian Science Monitor (source: http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/neocon101.html)

• Beyond American Hegemony .By Michael Lind, New America Foundation .The National Interest | May/June 2007

• AL-IMAM AL-MAHDI:THE JUST LEADER OF HUMANITY.By:Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini.Translated by.Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina

• Discussions Concerning al-Mahdi (May Allah hasten his return)by Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj ash-Shaykh Lutfullah as-Safi al-Gulpaygani Translated by Sayyid Sulayman Ali Hasan First Edition 2000.Published by:Islamic Humanitarian Service/Fath al-Mubin Publications.153 Frederick Street, Suite101

• The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam(A Historical Background) by Jassim M. Hussain Published by: The Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain & Northern Ireland In co-operation with The Zahra Trust, P.O Box 29926 San Antonio TX 78229 USA

9/11 Rumors that Harden into Conventional Wisdom

The Preceeding article was taken from the International Herald Tribune, The writer tries to dissect the results of a research of Arabs opinions, beliefs on the incidents regarding 9-11.

The article however does not represent the blogger's personal opinion, the blogger appears to agree with the respondents opinions, reading the article may provide insights to how western Media distorts facts.

I posted so that our readers may see the other end of peoples viewpoints.

9/11 rumors that harden into conventional wisdom

By Michael Slackman

Published: September 9, 2008
International herald Tribune

CAIRO: Seven years later, it remains conventional wisdom here that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda could not have been solely responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that the United States and Israel had to have been involved in their planning, if not their execution, too.

This is not the conclusion of a scientific survey, but it is what routinely comes up in conversations around the region — in a shopping mall in Dubai, in a park in Algiers, in a café in Riyadh and all over Cairo.

"Look, I don't believe what your governments and press say. It just can't be true," said Ahmed Issab, 26, a Syrian engineer who lives and works in the United Arab Emirates. "Why would they tell the truth? I think the U.S. organized this so that they had an excuse to invade Iraq for the oil."

It is easy for Americans to dismiss such thinking as bizarre. But that would miss a point that people in this part of the world think Western leaders, especially in Washington, need to understand: That such ideas persist represents the first failure in the fight against terrorism — the inability to convince people here that the United States is, indeed, waging a campaign against terrorism, not a crusade against Muslims.

"The United States should be concerned because in order to tell people that there is a real evil, they too have to believe it in order to help you," said Mushairy al-Thaidy, a columnist in the Saudi-owned regional newspaper Asharq al Awsat. "Otherwise, it will diminish your ability to fight terrorism. It is not the kind of battle you can fight on your own; it is a collective battle."

There were many reasons people here said they believed that the attacks of 9/11 were part of a conspiracy against Muslims. Some had nothing to do with Western actions, and some had everything to do with Western policies.

Again and again, people said they simply did not believe that a group of Arabs — like themselves — could possibly have waged such a successful operation against a superpower like the United States. But they also said that Washington's post-9/11 foreign policy proved that the United States and Israel were behind the attacks, especially with the invasion of Iraq.

"Maybe people who executed the operation were Arabs, but the brains? No way," said Mohammed Ibrahim, 36, a clothing-store owner in the Bulaq neighborhood of Cairo. "It was organized by other people, the United States or the Israelis."

The rumors that spread shortly after 9/11 have been passed on so often that people no longer know where or when they first heard them. At this point, they have heard them so often, even on television, that they think they must be true.

First among these is that Jews did not go to work at the World Trade Center on that day. Asked how Jews might have been notified to stay home, or how they kept it a secret from co-workers, people here wave off the questions because they clash with their bedrock conviction that Jews are behind many of their troubles and that Western Jews will go to any length to protect Israel.

"Why is it that on 9/11, the Jews didn't go to work in the building," said Ahmed Saied, 25, who works in Cairo as a driver for a lawyer. "Everybody knows this. I saw it on TV, and a lot of people talk about this."

Zein al-Abdin, 42, an electrician, who was drinking tea and chain-smoking cheap Cleopatra cigarettes in Al Shahat, a café in Bulaq, grew more and more animated as he laid out his thinking about what happened on Sept. 11.

"What matters is we think it was an attack against Arabs," he said of the passenger planes crashing into American targets. "Why is it that they never caught him, Mr. bin Laden? How can they not know where he is when they know everything? They don't catch him because he hasn't done it. What happened in Iraq confirms that it has nothing to do with bin Laden or Qaeda. They went against Arabs and against Islam to serve Israel, that's why."

There is a reason so many people here talk with casual certainty — and no embarrassment — about the United States attacking itself to have a reason to go after Arabs and help Israel. It is a reflection of how they view government leaders, not just in Washington, but here in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. They do not believe them. The state-owned media are also distrusted. Therefore, they think that if the government is insisting that bin Laden was behind it, he must not have been.

"Mubarak says whatever the Americans want him to say, and he's lying for them, of course," Ibrahim said of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president.

Americans might better understand the region, experts here said, if they simply listen to what people are saying — and try to understand why — rather than taking offense. The broad view here is that even before Sept. 11, the United States was not a fair broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and that it then capitalized on the attacks to buttress Israel and undermine the Muslim Arab world.

The single greatest proof, in most people's eyes, was the invasion of Iraq. Trying to convince people here that it was not a quest for oil or a war on Muslims is like convincing many Americans that it was, and that the 9/11 attacks were the first step.

"It is the result of widespread mistrust, and the belief among Arabs and Muslims that the United States has a prejudice against them," said Wahid Abdel Meguid, deputy director of the government-financed Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, the nation's premier research center. "So they never think the United States is well intentioned, and they always feel that whatever it does has something behind it."

Hisham Abbas, 22, studies tourism at Cairo University and hopes one day to work with foreigners for a living. But he does not give it a second thought when asked about Sept. 11. He said it made no sense at all that bin Laden could have carried out such an attack from Afghanistan. And like everyone else interviewed, he saw the events of the last seven years as proof positive that it was all a United States plan to go after Muslims.

"There are Arabs who hate America, a lot of them, but this is too much," Abbas said as he fidgeted with his cellphone. "And look at what happened after this — the Americans invaded two Muslim countries. They used 9/11 as an excuse and went to Iraq. They killed Saddam, tortured people. How can you trust them?"

Nadim Audi contributed reporting.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/09/africa/09cairo.php