Let me be very sincere – I’m bored with listening to Muslims complain about disunity. It pains me significantly to see so many members of my group exude a way of hopelessness and despondency as a consequence of a false perception that the Ummah is split, and thus we’re all “losers”.
I do know this negativity stems primarily from having to bear witness to the violence and injustices being inflicted on our brothers and sisters in religion throughout plenty of Muslim-majority international locations, with perceived impunity, within the context of various geopolitical conflicts.
As Muslims, nevertheless, we’ve got a duty to not despair. Our faith encourages us to have interaction in introspection, and to stick to the Islamic very best of “al-amr bil ma’rouf and al-nahy anil munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil)”. This requires cautious evaluation and – if essential – criticism of the established order. However by no means dejection.
After the lack of the Khilafa with the autumn of the Ottoman empire in 1922, a substantial majority of Muslims focussed all their consideration and vitality on discovering a solution to “reunite” the Ummah. With no Khilafa, they assumed, Muslims of the world would battle to stay on the identical web page on vital points and undergo the implications. This led to seemingly limitless infighting – primarily between those that sought to keep up previous spiritual practices and understandings and people who needed to make foundational reforms to the religion within the identify of reuniting the Ummah. The place did all this bickering and screaming get us? What did all this obtain? It has been a complete century since we had a Khilafa, and many people are nonetheless crying about Muslims being disunited.
Those that turned obsessive about the Ummah’s lack of “unity” within the absence of a shared political construction overlooked issues that proceed to maintain us united – issues that may truly assist our group collectively obtain justice, peace and prosperity.
True unity can’t be discovered within the enforcement of political or cultural uniformity beneath a Utopian empire stretching from Morocco to Malaysia. It’s already current in our collective adherence to Islam’s core ideas, that are inherently common. The Quranic message, delivered by Prophet Muhammad, underscores this universality. Islam’s origins as an oral, lived custom made it uniquely accessible to various societies, from nomadic tribes to superior civilisations. This accessibility created a unity that’s extremely troublesome to interrupt.
At present, regardless of not having a Khilafa or a shared political construction, Muslims of the world are way more united than we ever give ourselves credit score for. We’re united in our ideas, our practices, our values. For us Muslims, recognising this unity, and harnessing its energy, is a theological crucial. Equally importantly, embracing and cherishing this unity, and never giving in to misguided narratives of division, is a political act of resistance towards the enduring legacy of colonial and imperial tyranny.
It is because our ongoing infighting and pessimism over our perceived lack of unity will not be totally of our group’s personal making. The false narrative of “disunity” is pushed on us by outsiders, by tyrannical powers, who’ve been working to subjugate us for a lot of centuries. They need us to imagine that since there isn’t any pan-Islamic political unity, we aren’t united in something. They need us to get misplaced in despair, and turn into really divided, in order that they will preserve dominance over our individuals.
Certainly, the disunity narrative prevalent within the Muslim group right this moment can’t be disentangled from the scars of Western colonialism and imperialism. For greater than two centuries, the Muslim world was subjected to political, financial, and social subjugation beneath Western imperial powers. The substitute borders drawn by colonial directors had been designed to fracture Muslim-majority areas, sowing division amongst our individuals and permitting us to proceed to be managed by them. At present, these imposed boundaries proceed to gasoline conflicts and strife.
But the Ummah’s unity persists in ways in which these “invaders” couldn’t erase. The continuity of Islamic practices – from prayer to pilgrimage – throughout 1,400 years attests to an unbroken metaphysical bond. This unity, rooted in religion, has outlived numerous empires and regimes. Recognising it isn’t about ignoring very actual political challenges, however reframing the narrative to focus on resilience.
A key to understanding this lies in embracing the range of the worldwide Muslim group. The early Muslim group was multicultural, multilingual, and multiracial. Variations in governance and political approaches among the many first 4 caliphs didn’t undermine unity; as an alternative, they showcased the flexibleness and inclusivity of Islamic ideas. Equally, the evolution of a number of Islamic politics throughout continents – from the Abbasids to the Ottomans – demonstrates that political variations don’t equate to disunity.
Within the backdrop of this wealthy historical past, it’s a very dangerous mistake to conflate unity with uniformity, and look at variety as a weak spot and an indication of division. The power to accommodate differing opinions, colleges of thought, and cultural expressions is a energy that has traditionally enriched the Ummah. Variations in prayer practices amongst Islamic colleges of thought, for example, are usually not indicators of division however reflections of a sturdy custom that values variety inside a shared framework.
When our individuals face oppression, violence, and injustice or expertise defeat towards a tyrannic outdoors power – as we’ve got tragically seen many examples of lately – our response should not be decrying “disunity” and falling into despair, however demonstrating resilience and specializing in all of the issues that unite us.
The Indian mutiny of 1857 towards British colonial rule is a poignant instance of displaying resilience within the face of defeat. After the failed rebellion, which resulted within the slaughter of 1000’s of Indian Muslim students, the ulema of Deoband didn’t succumb to despair. Regardless of the devastating psychological impression of the losses skilled, they accepted their failure, owned as much as it, and instantly started work to rise from their ashes. They didn’t panic, or whine in regards to the disunity and weak spot of the Ummah. They didn’t turn into despondent. They determined to maneuver ahead by defending Islamic data in British India, understanding too properly that oppressors can defeat particular person Muslims, however can by no means defeat sacred data that unites us in one thing higher than ourselves.
Their proactive response turned a second of defeat right into a basis for renewal, resulting in the founding of instructional establishments like Darul Uloom Deoband, whose output served and strengthened the Muslims of the complete subcontinent, if not the world. It was a constructive response to failure, a real lesson on the sort of management Muslims ought to crave right this moment.
Certainly, at this juncture in time marked with battle, inequality and widespread injustice, moderately than fixating on narratives of failure, our focus as Muslims ought to be on the achievements and enduring bonds that join the Ummah throughout time and house. The unity of the Muslim world will not be an unattainable very best however a dwelling actuality that requires recognition and celebration.
After all, acknowledging the Ummah’s theological unity mustn’t result in complacency both. The challenges of the fashionable world – from political instability to financial inequities and systemic violations of human rights – demand revolutionary options. These options, nevertheless, should construct on the present basis of unity, not undermine it with pessimistic narratives.
By reframing the narrative and celebrating what unites us, Muslims can transfer ahead with confidence, remodeling unity right into a power for renewal and resistance in a world nonetheless grappling with the remnants of colonialism.
This isn’t the time for despondency. It’s time for us to make use of our perception within the Everlasting powers of Allah and interact in proactive efforts to reform and refine our Muslim endeavors!
The views expressed on this article are the creator’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.