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The Muslim Ummah today is suffering many calamities. In fact, the
entire world, Muslim and non-Muslim, is experiencing many problems.
In the midst of trying to understand the roots of these problems, a
convenient explanation that is given is that such problems are a
result of a ''conspiracy.'' The idea of a conspiracy is
unfortunately misused and even overused. As a result of this misuse,
suggesting a conspiracy as an explanation to certain events is often
discredited as ''conspiracy theory,'' even if the facts show that
indeed a real conspiracy exists.
In order to put things in proper perspective, it is necessary to
understand two points. First, conspiracies are a part of this world,
and more specifically, a part of international politics. As long as
there is such a thing as politics and nations with competing
interests, there will be competition. This competition may either
assume an overt dimension such as economic, cultural, diplomatic,
and material conflict, or it may assume a covert and more
inconspicuous form in the shape of conspiracies. Therefore,
conspiracies are born out of the same conflict of interest that
fuels competition between different nations. Secondly, what makes a
conspiracy succeed are two factors: Whether the conspiracy is
well-planned and executed, and whether the conditions are ripe for
such a conspiracy to yield the fruits of success.
The question that comes is: How should Muslims handle conspiracies
against them and against Islam? First and foremost, we should
differentiate between conspiracies as actual events that are proven
to exist based upon serious study of the events, and between the
''conspiracy theory'' mentality. The ''conspiracy theory'' mentality
is one that establishes a PRE-SET CONCLUSION of a conspiracy,
without any scrutiny of the events or any concrete evidence, and
events are twisted and interpreted to conveniently accommodate this
pre-set conclusion of a conspiracy. This is a very twisted type of
thinking, and not surprisingly, the conspiracy theory mentality
predominates in an atmosphere of emotional and superficial thinking.
Proving that a conspiracy exists should be done in the same manner
as proving any other phenomenon: THROUGH INTELLECTUAL AND PROFOUND
STUDY OF THE EVENTS AND ISSUES. If, after a careful examination of
the events, the evidences and proofs lead to the conclusion that a
conspiracy exists, then this conclusion should be adopted, unless
there exists a stronger evidence and proof that suggests otherwise.
Secondly, given that there exists a conspiracy (or conspiracies)
against Islam and Muslims, we as Muslims should know how to deal
with them effectively. We cannot root out the source of conspiracies
for two reasons: First, as mentioned above, conspiracies are borne
out of conflicting interest between nations. The Muslim Ummah is a
distinct nation (not in the nation-state sense but in the
ideological sense) that carries unique ideas and interests, and
these ideas and interests will undoubtedly clash with other ideas
and interests carried by other nations. As a result, it is expected
for other nations and interests to formulate conspiracies against
Islam and the Muslims, just as they would hatch out conspiracies
against one another. Secondly, people have different intentions and
aspirations, and we cannot expect to live in a world where everyone
loves everybody. There will always be individuals who intend to
forge conspiracies and hatch them to fulfill their interests, and we
cannot control the intentions of people.
However, what we CAN control is the outcome of a conspiracy and
whether or not it succeeds, and truly the best defense against a
conspiracy is a thinking society that possesses a high level of
awareness and is built around clear ideas, which also possesses a
high degree of political awareness and is presided over by a sincere
and aware leadership. Thus, the solution to handling a conspiracy is
the same solution to reviving the Muslim Ummah, which is to build
our thinking in the correct manner, understand Islam in the correct
way, and to cultivate a high level of political awareness amongst
ourselves. We cannot control the decision of others who elect to
conspire against us; they have their reasons, and whether or not
they choose to disclose their reasons, they can explain their
reasoning to Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgment. What we can and
should do is take the initiative to prepare ourselves in order to
minimize or eliminate any potential negative effects that a
conspiracy may have.
In conclusion, our position should be very clear regarding
conspiracies. We as Muslims should refrain from the ''conspiracy
theory'' mentality, as such an outlook smacks of superficial and
emotions thinking, which are detrimental to the revival and will
only render us victims of our own imagination. Rather, we should
understand the events and issues as they are, based upon a profound
intellectual analysis. And whether or not a conspiracy exists, the
focus of our attention should be directed towards reviving ourselves
internally, which would in turn safeguard against the potential
effects of a conspiracy. If a conspiracy against Islam or the Muslim
Ummah succeeds, the very first question we should ask ourselves is:
What went wrong with US to enable such a conspiracy to succeed.
Unfortunately, many Muslims busy themselves by directing their
attention outward and compete with one another to afford the most
elaborate explanation of conspiracies against Islam and Muslims.
They fail to realize that such an endeavour amounts to wasted energy
because conspiracies exist due to the nature of this world and the
nature of Islam as an ideology distinct from other ideologies, and
we do not require a tremendous expenditure of resources to prove
this point. For one thing, Allah (swt) mentions this point clearly;
Never will the Jews and Christians be
pleased with you till you follow their religion. [ Al-Baqarah:
120]
and secondly, the existence of conspiracies against Islam and
Muslims are a known fact, something that even non-Muslim
intellectuals and scholars will not shy away from admitting.
Conspiracies against Islam and Muslims existed even during the time
of the Prophet (saaws), but neither the Prophet (saaws) nor the
Sahabah busied themselves in providing long oratories and lectures
detailing the conspiracies formulated by other nations and
organizations with competing interests. Rather, the focus of the
Prophet (saaws) and the Sahabah was in building the thinking of the
society and in maintaining the level of understanding of Islam and
of the events at a high level, which by itself provided the best
immunity against any conspiracies. For this reason, many
conspiracies that were hatched out against the Muslims either failed
totally or were contained without doing much damage. With time, the
level of thinking and sharp political awareness began to wane, which
rendered the Muslim Ummah vulnerable to conspiracies and their
damaging effects. This was culminated by the intellectual and
cultural invasion perpetrated by the West to dismantle Islam and
open the Muslim lands for subsequent occupation and colonization.
The way forward for the Muslims is not to look outward and
continuously point fingers at the West, for this is futile. What is
done is done, and to this day, the Western powers continue to hatch
out conspiracies - either against other Western powers for political
purposes to achieve economic or political interests, or against the
Muslim Ummah as a continuation of the ideological and cultural
campaign to prevent Islam from reemerging and maintaining the
prevalence of Western culture and thinking among the Muslims. And
pointing fingers is not going to change the hearts of those who
choose to conspire against Islam or the Muslims; such individuals
have a set agenda, which will not likely change. Yes it is true that
we should understand what is events, and if there does exist a
conspiracy, this must be exposed and presented to the Muslims.
However, belaboring the point beyond this by regurgitating this fact
will defeat the purpose. Our focus as Muslims should be to look
INWARD at our situation and understand what were the INTERNAL
factors that made us susceptible to such conspiracies and their
effects, and to regenerate the preventive measures that will guard
us against the effects of conspiracies, regardless of where they
originate. And this can only be achieved by building our thinking,
and by reviving our understanding of Islam and our political
awareness.
Comments
Muslims nowadays exaggerate many things, and one of the
manifestations of a declined level of thinking is when the people
begin attributing all of their problems to imaginary conspiracy
theories that often make no sense or have no verifiability to them
(this is not denying that certain efforts DO exist that are working
to suppress Islam and contain the Muslims). In fact, this is one of
the many means by which the existing regimes stay in power. If the Muslims were left to themselves,
then a sincere intellectual movement would have the potential to
arise, which would direct the Muslims towards the real cause of
their problems, which is the absence of Islam as a system and the
distorted thinking of the Muslims. And this realization would
automatically lead to the removal of all of these regimes. However,
one convenient tool used by the regimes is to feed to the Muslims
this notion that, for example, all their problems are caused by the
''Jews,'' and not surprisingly, the idea of a Jewish Conspiracy is
something that is frequently propagated by many of these regimes. If
the Muslims possessed the correct thinking, then they would realize
that the real cause of their problems is the absence of Islam as a
reference and a comprehensive system of life, and as a result the
Muslim Ummah is in a very weak position. The Jews are simply taking
advantage of this weak position, but they are not necessarily the
cause of it. In fact, the entire world is taking advantage of the
weakened position of the Muslims.
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