Mahathir spells out reasons for Challenges to Ummah
Pakistan Times Staff Report

KARACHI: Malaysia's ex-Prime Minister of Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad has said the Muslim Ummah confronts challenges because it has strayed from the basic and true teachings of Islam.

"It is our fault and not the fault of our religion, it is for us to correct these faults," he remarked while delivering a keynote address at an international conference on "Muslim Ummah in the Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities" at a local hotel on Friday.

The three-day moot is being held under the auspices of the Shura Hamdard Pakistan and sponsored by Hamdard Foundation Pakistan.

The Challenges

Mahathir was of the view that the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah at this stage of modern civilization are too numerous to list. "They will probably depress us because there are so many and so seemingly insoluble."

They all have but one single origin. And that is in our confusion over the different interpretations of the one single Islamic religion that was brought by the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), he added.

Mahathir pointed out that today we see the Sunnis and the Shias both vehemently maintaining that they are Muslims, but they fight and kill each other because each accuse the other of not being Muslims. Yet the world, the non-Muslims consider both sects as Muslims and do not differentiate between them, condemning both for being guilty of terrorism.

He said "we know that our religion tells us that it is a sin for a Muslim to kill another Muslim but we justify our action by claiming that the person or people we kill are not Muslim, not true Muslims according to our own interpretations."

"We pass judgement on their faith even though they bear witness to the oneness of Allah and to The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)."

Injunctions of Islam

"In the meantime we neglect the other injunctions of Islam. No religion has stressed the need to acquire knowledge as Islam does. The first message of Allah to Muhammad (Peace  Be Upon Him) was `Iqra'," the former Malaysian premier added.

He said that the early Muslims were learned not just about religion but about other fields of knowledge as well.

They did not question where the knowledge came from, whether it was from heathens or Christians of Jewish sources. They did not question the nationality of the scholars who pioneered the studies. They learnt the languages of these scholars, acquired the knowledge, translated them into Arabic, researched and added to the body of knowledge that they had acquired.

Mahatir pointed out that the Muslims were string in their defence capabilities. And this too is in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran that Muslims must be capable of defending themselves and instilling fear in the enemy. But later came the new interpretations of Islam who condemned learning and acquisition of knowledge other than those about the religion.

The former Malaysian Premier said that Islam is a way of life, and politics, social affairs and economic affairs cannot be separated from religious affairs. The separation of state from religion is not possible in Islam. The state must obey the injunctions of the religion but not necessarily ruled only by those well-versed in religion.

Furthermore, it is not the form of government that is important but rather than the Muslim government should be led by competent administrators, should be strong, should be just, should have the capability to cope with the changing times.

There is nothing to say that Muslim societies and Muslim countries should recreate the life and the environment that existed at the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) before it can be considered as Islamic or before it can survive or prosper. Islam is for all times.

Of the Deviations

Dr. Mahathir said that because of the deviations from the teachings of Islam, because of the differing interpretations and confusion they cause the Muslims have become backward, weak and unable to deal with the multitude of challenges, they now face. Muslims are being oppressed and massacred by their enemies and even more by fellow Muslims.

He said that the true challenge facing the Muslim Ummah in the modern world is to speak the truth, to admit that they have strayed from the original and fundamental teachings of Islam.

A Powerful Force

The former premier said that the religion is a powerful force in Islam and many want to avail themselves of this force for their own ends. "But despite this we must not weaken the influence of religion on the way of life that we life lead.

Instead we must use this powerful force. But we must use it according to those basic teachings of Islam over which we do not differ."

He stated that it cannot be that Islam is the cause of our failures and misfortunes. "It must be because we have deviated from true teachings of Islam."

Earthly Ambitions

Dr. Mahathir said "surely if we discard the earthly ambitions of our sects and our sectarian leaders and reunite as Muslims, if we go back to the fundamental teaching of Islam as preached by the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as found in Hold Quran and the verified Hadiths, and we practice these teachings, surely if we acquire all the knowledge there is in this world, whatever may be the source, we hone our skills to Islamic moral values in the applications of these knowledge to strengthen ourselves, to build the capacity to defend the Ummah and our religion, we develop our countries with the wealth that Allah has showered on us, we practise charity not only towards the Muslims but also the non-Muslims, we govern and rule ourselves and our people with justice foremost in our  minds as enjoined by Islam.

"Surely if we set aside the esoteric interpretations which divide us then we must be able to overcome most of the challenges facing us in this modern world," Mahathir added.

He said "we shall all be well-equipped with the knowledge and the skills to administer and develop our countries, to strengthen them with the defence capability that we are enjoined by our religion to have and to dedicate ourselves to the service of Islam and the Ummah. We should find common grounds between our different sects and disregard or tolerate the differences so that we could be united again and strong."

Ms Sadia Rashid

Earlier, the President of Hamdard Foundation Pakistan Ms. Sadia Rashid presented the welcome address. Maj. Gen. (Retd) Ghulam Umar spoke about the aims and objectives of the conference.●