Americans seem unsure about how to view the Arab Spring. Whereas a clear majority sympathized with the protests in Egypt, the public is deeply divided on the dynamics in Libya. As the Obama administration works to explain the goals and strategy of the coalition intervention in the North African country, there may be something else making some Americans uneasy: the perceived role of religion in the Middle East's uprising.
So how should we interpret rows of Libyan rebels praying or loud unison chants of "God is Greater" in Syria? The simple answer is that faith has animated the fight for freedom around the world, including in our own civil rights struggle, and Arabs are no different.
Spirituality is the region's dominant social currency. According to Gallup research, more than 90 percent of Arabs say religion is an important part of their daily lives. In any society where people are seeking to mobilize their community toward action, they tap into their collective social and psychological capital for strength. In the Middle East, many consider the values of their faith to be their society's greatest asset and the key to its progress.
Moreover, Islam contains rich resources for liberation philosophy. Its most central theological principle is that of God's absolute oneness, meaning that only He is worthy of unquestioning obedience and submission, and only He should be truly feared. This focus on God's glory minimizes the supposed supremacy of tyrants, making them seem miniscule and powerless. When protesters declare "God is greater," they are saying that the Devine dominates the dictator.
In what seems like an exact description of peaceful protest, the Prophet taught, "the greatest jihad is speaking a word of truth to a tyrant."
Religious themes can also give people a common and hopeful narrative even when circumstances seem dim. In the midst of their uncertainty, Egyptian revolutionaries often likened their struggle against Hosni Mubarak to that of Moses against Pharaoh and his army.
Aside from powerful imagery, prayer provides people with a reminder that the skirmishes we are witnessing are on a much larger stage than we can see. A woman who protested in Tahrir Square told me about the collective devastation the group felt when Mubarak was expected to announce his resignation but instead declared his intention to hang on to power. She said that after his speech someone on a loudspeaker called for the hundreds of thousands standing in the square to pray for deliverance. It came the next day.
Faith in this higher power can mitigate the conflict caused by ego and recognition seeking that often undermine well-intended reform movements. I am told that upon hearing the news that Mubarak had resigned, many who had stood in Tahrir for weeks, braving the threat of arrest, torture or death, spontaneously and joyfully announced, "God alone defeated the regime."
Whatever the future holds for the many and diverse movements for change unfolding across the Middle East, one thing is fairly certain: Sacred reason will continue to inspire many to seek their secular rights. Those who love freedom would do well to recognize liberation's many forms.
Follow Dalia Mogahed on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dmogahed
Michelle Chen: Do Western Strikes in Libya Betray Peaceful Revolt Everywhere?
After the Arab Spring - Steven A. Cook - International - The Atlantic
Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests ...
Rabah Ghezali: Why Has the Arab Spring Not Spread to Algeria?
Arab Spring's Youth Movement Spreads, Then Hits Wall - NYTimes.com
There is a wrong idea prevalent in the West that in some special way Islam is related to violence.
The word islam itself means peace and that the history of Islam has certainly not been witness to any more violence than one finds in other civilizations, particularly that of West.
The Islamic concept of justice itself is related to equilibrium, the word for justice (al-'adl) in Arabic
As for the meaning of violence as 'rough or injurious physical force or action', Islamic Law opposes all uses of force.
Even if force is to be used, it must be on the basis of moderation.
It must be emphasized that since Islam embraces the whole of life and does not distinguish between the sacred and the secular, it concerns itself with force and power which characterize this world as such.
But Islam, in controlling the use of force in the direction of creating equilibrium and harmony, limits it and opposes violence as aggression to the rights of both God and His creatures.
The goal of Islam is the attainment of peace but this peace can only be experienced through that exertion (jihad) and the use of force which begins with the disciplining of ourselves
Islam seeks to enable man to live according to his basic good nature and not to violate that nature. Islam condones the use of force only to the extent of opposing that natural tendency which turns man against what he is in his inner reality.
Really? Please elaborate on this statement.
Monotheism produces the highest degree of self-respect and self-esteem in people.
Monotheists know that only God has true power, can benefit or harm them, fulfil their needs, cause them to die, or wield authority and influence. This conviction makes them indifferent to and independent and fearless of all powers other than those of God. They never bow in homage to any of God’s creatures.
Monotheists know that the only way to success and salvation is to acquire a pure soul and righteous behaviour.
In this uncompromising monotheism, with its simple, enthusiastic faith in the supreme rule of a transcendental being, lies the chief strength of Islam.
Its adherents enjoy a consciousness of contentment and resignation unknown among followers of most creeds.
Monotheism inspires bravery, for it defeats the two factors that make people cowards: fear of death and love of safety,
The second idea is defeated when people realize that no weapon, person, or power can kill them, for only God has this power. No one can die before his or her appointed time, even if all of the world’s forces combined to do so.
Nothing can bring death forward or push it backward even one instant. This firm belief in One God and dependence upon Him makes monotheists the bravest of people.
Carrying all these weapons of faith and ready to become Shuhada, a thousand Mubaruks are indifferent to them
glad that someone could write something with clues, rather than some other authors whom simply put an opinion about a religion without in-depth clues.
the problems arise when one realizes that this writer advocates a theocratic state: "Its most central theological principle is that of God's absolute oneness, meaning that only He is worthy of unquestioning obedience and submission, and only He should be truly feared."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FU3X08agyg
if you think otherwise, you don't anything to backup your claim.
These are the Shariah, the nation and the leaders chosen by the people. By virtue of these three factors, the Islamic order is superior to others because it safeguards the principles of morality and the foundations of public justice, human equality and brotherhood.
It predicts rights and duties upon principles of universality and eternity commanded by the Almighty and it therefore blocks the way to personal preferences and passions, fanaticism and partisanship.
No nation, king, head of state or laymen can repudiate human rights and duties on the pretext that the national political leaders are free in the exercise of its full sovereignty.
The expression of sovereignty may not be exercised by a single will as, for example in the name of the people represented by a majority party.
The Quran says “Lo God enjoins justice and kindness and (given) to others” Quran 16:90 and
“Let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably. Be just that is nearer to piety and observance of duty” Quran 5:8.
A Muslim nation can work out its own constitution based on the above principles. There is no international law that every nation should copy the provisions of Western nations' laws and constitution in making up their mind on the sort of democracy that their people want to follow.
This need not bother the followers of other faiths as long as the UNO charter is followed by nations.
To God be the Glory! A time of prayer is a time well spent in Good Company.We just have to walk in obedience with the magnificent Divine mandate,carry ourselves well , repent of our sins ,help the poor .Remember , sin wasn't meant to be part of our life .Let us try to be good and respect and love one another.Peace is beautiful ! Again ,let us give glory to the Almighty,the Compassionate and Merciful.This is a time for every men and women to look within and search themselves to see if there is anything that displeases God in their hearts and lifestyle ,time to cast it away .Remember what He said:"Return unto Me and I will return unto You" ,"Rend your hearts and not your garments".
Peace and Love .
[2:29] He is the One who created for you everything on earth, then turned to the sky and perfected seven universes therein,
[7:54] Your Lord is the one GOD, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then assumed all authority. The night overtakes the day, as it pursues it persistently, and the sun, the moon, and the stars are committed to serve by His command. Absolutely, He controls all creation
[10:3] Your only Lord is GOD; the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days. There is no intercessor, except in accordance with His will. Such is GOD your Lord. You shall worship Him.
[14:33] He has committed the sun and the moon in your service, continuously. He has committed the night and the day to serve you
[21:30] Do the unbelievers not realize that the heaven and the earth used to be one solid mass that we exploded into existence? And from water we made all living things. Would they believe?
[21:31] And we placed on earth stabilizers, lest it tumbles with them.
[21:32] And we rendered the sky a guarded ceiling. Yet, they are totally oblivious to all the portents therein.
[21:33] And He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; each floating in its own orbit.
Simply beautiful
Some would suggest that this fettering of faith as the governing body of society is precisely the reason that Islamic societies have not experience progress to their potential.
The reason for the lack of development is internal conflict (which has an external component), the constant warfare (due to sharing of immense wealth and resources) and nearly 100 years of colonialism (divide and conquer)
Again: no where in Quran, Hadith or Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) you can see anything against knowledge, education, progress...
Furthermore, the achievements of Islamic civilization are pretty modest given its 1300 year history when compared to Western, Hindu, or Confucian civilizations. Many Islamic achievements were in fact the result of non-Muslims living within the Islamic Empire or of recent converts to Islam. One of the greatest Islamic thinkers, Averroes, ran afoul of Islamic orthodoxy through his study of non-Islamic (Greek) philosophy and his preference for Western modes of thought. Once the dhimmi populations of the Empire dwindled toward the middle of the second millennium AD, Islam began its social and cultural "decline."
Moderate Islam, if there is such a thing, needs to stand up and publicly condemn these and all other acts of inhumanity that are committed in its name. Why not? Afraid of the radicals? OK, now you understand.
If I were a Christian, Druze, woman or a member of a Muslim minority sect in this region (Jews no longer residing in these countries), I'd be very afraid of where religious inspiration and zeal might take my country.
Iran:
At the time of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, there were approximately 140,000–150,000 Jews living in Iran, the historical center of Persian Jewry. Over 85% have since migrated to either Israel or the United States, with the migration accelerating after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the population dropped from 100,000 to about 40,000.[24] On March 16, 1979, Habib Elghanian, the honorary leader of the Jewish community, was arrested on charges of "corruption", "contacts with Israel and Zionism", "friendship with the enemies of God", "warring with God and his emissaries", and "economic imperialism". He was tried by an Islamic revolutionary tribunal, sentenced to death, and executed on May 8,[21][25] one of 17 Iranian Jews executed as spies since the revolution.[26]
Estimates of the Jewish population in Iran vary...estimated at less than 40,000 nowadays..
Opinion over the condition of Jews in Iran is divided...Privately many Jews complain to foreign reporters of "discrimination, much of it of a social or bureaucratic nature." The Islamic government..requires that [Jewish] schools must open on Saturdays..Criticism of this policy was the downfall of the last remaining newspaper of the Iranian Jewish community which was closed in 1991 after it criticized government control of Jewish schools.[28]
Morocco:
In 1948, approximately 265,000 Jews lived in Morocco. Around 2,500 live there now.
"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans..." -- Qur'an 5:82
"Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures." -- Qur'an 98:6
The beheading of the 700 Banu-Quraythah’s Jewish tribe. In 680, the head of Hussein bin ‘Ali was cut-off, put on a silver platter, and sent to Damascus, including the heads of all of Hussein’s family.
"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans..." -- Qur'an 5:82 Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews. (Sahih Muslim 6985)