WINTER 2008 3

Winter 2 0 0 8 • V o l u m e 8 8 • I s s u e 4

Features

10 Education in AmericaContrasting private v. public and religious v. secular

12 A Muslim’s Journey into Politics

15 Religion and PoliticsA delicate balance for an Islamic State

18 Health Care in IslamResponsibilities of the State

20 Economic Stability in IslamFundamental economic principles

23 Religion in EducationAre we going too far?

25 Taxation in Islam

27 Fundamentals of Leadership

29 Democracy in Islam

32 Khilafat’s Message to ParliamentAn historic address in the UK

34 Muslims in a non-Muslim State

In This Issue

News, Views and Reviews

37 ViewpointsAhmadi struggle against terror & the economic crisis

38 Press PublicationsObama and the election

39 From the ArchivesWhat is Islam? Muslim Sunrise, 1939

40 Film ReviewObsession - Radical Islam’s war against the West

Departments

5 Opening Commentary

6 Editorial

7 Friday SermonAllah is Razzaq - The Provider

29 Q & ASpirtuality or organized religion?

31 Poetry Corner“To Whom it May Concern...”

45 Perspective“Hail to the Chief...”

4 MuslimSunrise

From the Holy Qur'anChapter 2:279-2822:279-2822:279-2822:279-2822:279-282

O ye who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains of interest, ifyou are truly believers. But if you do it not, then beware of war from

Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have yourprincipal; thus you shall not wrong nor shall you be wronged. And ifthe debtor be in straitened circumstances, then grant him respite till atime of ease. And that you remit it as charity shall be better for you, ifyou only knew. And guard yourselves against the day when you shallbe made to return to Allah; then shall every soul be paid in full what

it has earned; and they shall not be wronged.

WINTER 2008 5

From the writings of the Promised Messiah

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908)

Gog & Magog

Y ajuj [Gog] and Majuj[Magog] are two peopleswho have been mentioned

in earlier scriptures. The reason whythey are so called is that they makeextensive use of Ajij [fire], andwould reign supreme on earth anddominate every height. At the sametime, a great change will be or-dained from heaven and will usherin days of peace and amity. [Lecture

Sialkot, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, p. 211]

I have also proved that it is ofGog and Magog. Since Ajij, fromwhich the words Gog and Magogare derived, means ‘fire’, God Al-mighty has disclosed to me that Gogand Magog are a people who aregreater experts in the use of fire thanany other people. Their very namesindicate that their ships, trains andmachines will be run by fire. They willfight their battles with fire. They willexcel all other people in harnessingfire to their service. This is why theywill be called Gog and Magog. Theseare the people of the West, as theyare unique in their expertise in the useof fire. In Jewish scriptures too it wasthe people of Europe who were de-scribed as Gog and Magog. Even thename of Moscow, which is the an-cient capital of Russia, is mentioned.Thus it was preordained that thePromised Messiah would appear in

the time of Gog and Magog. [Ayyam-us-Sulh, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 14, pp. 424-425]

On the one hand, it is proved fromthe Bible that the Christians of Eu-rope are Gog and Magog, and on theother, the Holy Qur’an has men-tioned specific signs concerning Gogand Magog which can only be ap-plied to European powers, as for in-stance, it is written that they will scaleevery height, i.e., they will overcomeall other powers and be supreme inall worldly matters. Similarly, it is alsomentioned in the Ahadith that nocountry will be able to stand up tothem. Thus it is conclusively estab-lished that these powers are Gog andMagog. To deny this is sheer obsti-nacy and opposition to God’s Word.Who can deny that in accordance

with the Word of God Almighty andthe explanation of the HolyProphetsaw, these are the peoplewho, in their worldly power, aresuperior to every other people.They have no equal in the art ofwar and statecraft. Their inven-tions and machines have estab-lished new patterns, both in warand in worldly comforts and luxu-ries. They have brought about anamazing revolution in the culture ofmankind and have displayed suchmastery in statecraft and in pro-viding equipment for war and

peace, as has no parallel since thecreation of the world.

Thus, centuries after the prophecyof the Holy Prophetsaw, the rise of Eu-ropean powers is the event in accor-dance with the sign specified in hisprophecy. As God has disclosed themeaning of Gog and Magog andevents have proven that a certainpeople fit the signs that have beenmentioned, refusal to acknowledgethis would be denial of an establishedverity. No one can stop a personfrom persisting in his denial, but ev-ery just-minded one who is a seekerafter truth would, on being informedof all these particulars, testify with fullconfidence that these people are Gogand Magog. [Chashma-e-Ma’rifat, Ruhani

Khaza’in, vol. 23, pp. 83-88]

6 MuslimSunrise

Editorial

November 4, 2008 wasan historical day forAmerica. United States

voters elected theirPresident in a way thatwas historic in manyways. The President

Elect is the son of an Afri-can Muslim. His name is aMuslim name and the middlename, Hussein, which is rec-ognizable as Muslim even forpeople who have no knowl-edge or interaction with Islam.He was also educated in hisearly years in a Muslim coun-try, Indonesia. He is a Chris-tian, of course, and had toclarify and assure the voters that he defi-nitely has never been and is not currentlya Muslim. In a predominantly Christiannation of the United States where theChristian Right is a powerful politicalforce, electing him certainly is an his-torical event. In our country, where theword Muslim has become synonymouswith the word terrorist, it is a tribute tothe American voters and the system ofdemocracy that is in place.

During the election process, many is-sues were debated and discussed such

as public education, universalhealthcare, national security andwomen’s rights. However, at the end ofthe campaigns, the state of the economybecame the overwhelming issue.

Islam, being a universal and practi-cal religion, offers solutions to all of theissues facing humanity from time to time.

In the current issue, we have attemptedto present the Islamic point of view onmost of these issues facing our nation.

The most concerning issue ofeconomy is a complicated one. In a so-phisticated economic system, there can-not be quick, easy and simple solutions.Islam does offer the basics on which oureconomy can be based to avoid thedeep recessions and inflations. It offersan interest free economic system, a sim-pler way of life and limitations and guid-ance on how we spend our money.

Regardless of the band-aid solutions

that are and would be suggested by theleaders, we need to get back to the ba-sic principles of life. Over-indulgence,overspending, living beyond our means,and greed based trade are all parts ofthe causes of the economic problems weface. Social problems such as high num-ber of divorces, single parents and sepa-rated family units result in increased num-

ber of households andput additional economicrequirements on the so-ciety. The social issuesnot only affect the moralfabric of our society butalso have deep devas-tating effects on theeconomy.

Our newly electedpresident has promised“change.” Let us praythat it does not justmean a change of the

political party running our government.Let us hope and pray that the “change”we seek is in the fundamentals of howwe live our lives: simpler way of life, liv-ing within our means, helping and shar-ing with the poor and the needy. It wouldbe a real “change” if our politicianswould work with their focus on servingthe citizens and not go astray on the pathdictated by the desire to be re-elected.

If we can adopt these fundamentalprinciples, that would be a “change” thatwould really make history.

WINTER 2008 7

Summary of Friday Sermon

Delivered by Hadhrat MirzaMasroor Ahmad aba, the Head of

the Ahmadiyya Muslim CommunityOctober 31 st, 2008

NOTE: Alislam Team takes fullresponsibility for any errors or

miscommunication in this Synopsis of theFriday Sermon

“Have they not seen that Allahenlarges the provision for whomso-ever He pleases, and straitens it forwhomsoever He pleases? In thatare Signs for a people who believe.So give to the kinsman his due, andto the needy and to the wayfarer.That is best for those who seek thefavour of Allah, and it is they whowill prosper. Whatever you pay asinterest that it may increase thewealth of the people, it does notincrease in the sight of Allah; butwhatever you give in Zakat seekingthe favor of Allah-it is these who willincrease their wealth manifold. Itis Allah Who has created you, andthen He has provided for you; thenHe will cause you to die, and thenHe will bring you to life. Is there anyof your ‘partners’ who can do thesethings? Glorified be He and exaltedabove that which they associatewith Him.” (30:38 - 41)

Huzoor (aba) recited these verses af-ter Surah Al Fatihah and opened today’ssermon by reminding us that Allah isRazzaq i.e. The Provider. He it is Whocauses wealth to increase or to decrease.A true believer is never troubled by theseups and downs; in fact it is a source ofprogress in his faith when God manifeststhis attribute by His grace.

The financial crisis has enveloped the entireworld these days. All nations of the world, thedeveloped and the underdeveloped countriesalike, are trapped in this tangled web. Some coun-tries that previously enjoyed strong economicconditions, so much so that they believed theycould rule the world because they possessedthe most advanced technologies (science, food,weapons, medicine) and other nations would

“Have they not seenthat Allah enlarges

the provision forwhomsoever He

pleases, and straitensit for whomsoever He

pleases?”

Allah is Razzaq(The Provider)

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba

8 MuslimSunrise

forever be dependent on them for their ownexistence, are seeing their economy breakdown before their eyes. The truth of the mat-ter is that these economies were based on frailpolicies which have collapsed, resulting in aglobal economic crisis. The true controller in-deed is God, but these superpower nationsfail to acknowledge this fact. The solutionsthey are now coming up with to save theireconomy are again not long-lasting, nor reli-able. The real solution lies only in gainingnearness to God and following His teachings.Unfortunately, the Muslims nations are alsoinvolved in similar practices instead of follow-ing the guidelines laid out in the Holy Quranand these nations have no sense of guilt orshame. The heads of these countries are ex-tremely selfish and are interested in filling theirpersonal bank accounts. Middle Eastern coun-tries (oil-rich nations) managed to build themost modern infrastructure for themselves, butthey did not use their resources as God hascommanded i.e. to help the poorer Muslim na-tions. Instead, they have been investing theirprofits and excess wealth in Western coun-tries so that they may accumulate interest ontheir deposits. On the other hand, they devel-oped a system of Islamic banking for displaypurposes in their own countries, which in factis just a sugar-coated label given to the samesystem of interest and usury and does notfollow the true Quranic teachings.

Allah, The Provider, admonishes thebelievers to spend on their relatives, on thepoor and on the wayfarer, in order to gain thepleasure of Allah and to prosper spirituallyand materially as well. A true believer is notone who merely utters empty words from hismouth, but he is one who has firm faith inGod, Who provides for all his needs, and heout of his earnings spends according to thewill of God. In light of this, we must rememberthat a Muslim is a brother of another Muslim.Similarly, Muslim nations are duty-bound thatthey should help other underprivileged Mus-lim nations and not regard this help as charity,but as a fulfillment of their religious responsi-bility. Had the wealthy Muslim nations ful-filled this responsibility instead of investingin western countries to earn interest, theywould have earned the pleasure of God, butthey failed to do so and are now suffering theadverse affects of the global economic crisis.

Huzoor (aba) then explained in simplewords the root cause of this economic crisis,pointing to the fact that the lending institu-tions in the western countries actually usefunds deposited by their wealthy clients and

forward this money as loans to those wishingto buy homes and other personal items. Themoney is scarcely loaned out for productiveprojects, which would actually render theeconomy stronger by creating more resources.These loans are handed out on easy terms(such as low down payments, and in somecases, 0% deposits). The borrower does notpay attention to the amount of money he willbe paying in interest during the term of thecontract. Since his income is limited, and hehas to run the household along with repayingthe loan, he finds himself sinking deeper intothe abyss of debt, making it impossible forhim to repay the loans in certain cases. Whenthe repayments from such clients stopped,banks stopped lending money because fundswere no longer readily available. The result isa global economic crisis. Any country thatclaims they are unaffected by this crisis (suchas some Middle Eastern countries haveclaimed) are making false statements, firstlybecause their foreign investments have dimin-ished in value and secondly because the worthof the natural resource they are so reliant uponi.e. oil has also diminished greatly. A recenteditorial entitled “Sea of debt” stated that theUS economy has plunged to such depths thatan easy recovery is impossible. In fact, theentire world is facing a similar situation. In the

US, the excessive use of credit card had spoiltthe individuals to the extent that they wereinvolved in reckless spending. Now that fundsare not so readily available and there are morerestrictions from credit card companies, theseindividuals are refraining themselves fromspending. Car sales have plummeted to arecord low and air travel is on the decline. Thishas resulted in decreased consumption of fuelwhich has caused the oil prices to fall. In addi-tion, individuals are spending less on all thatcomes under the umbrella of personal enter-tainment, which again will result in the rise ofdepression (i.e. mental health will be compro-mised).

Therefore, Allah says that thosewho use interest as a form of income are simi-lar to those who are smitten with insanity bySatan (2:276). At another place, Allah has de-clared interest to be “haram” (unlawful). Useof interest causes one to fall into a viciouscycle, making it extremely difficult to breakoneself away from it. Huzoor (aba) quoted ajoke at this point: “If my neighbor loses hisjob, it is recession. If I lose my job, it is de-pression.” This joke only points to the presentdetrimental global situation, where thousandsupon thousands of jobs have been lost.Huzoor (aba) cautioned the world in strongwords, saying that if there is an iota of senseleft in you, abandon the use of interest. In-stead, invest in trades that are Islamically vi-able, suggesting that Muslim nations shouldtake lead in this. Huzoor (aba) then gave theexample of countries such as Pakistan andother African nations, where the heads of thecountries have become extremely corrupt anddisloyal to their countries, adding fuel to fire.Such nations have been surviving on loansfrom wealthier countries, but have no clue asto how these loans are to be repaid. Thesecountries are blessed with natural resources,but it has become their shameless practice tobeg for funds time and time again. The truthof the matter is that they have forgotten theteachings of God Almighty and will incur agreater wrath of God. Huzoor (aba) said thatthe system of interest/usury creates an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor,but the Islamic system i.e. the system of Zakatcreates harmony among all members of a soci-ety. Huzoor (aba) advised that everyone, andmore specifically the Muslims should stoptaking loans; this will prevent from such eco-nomic crises to recur every few years.

In the verses recited at the beginning ofthe sermon, Huzoor (aba) reminded that Allahdid not only create us but promised to pro-

Allah says that thosewho use interest as aform of income aresimilar to those who

are smitten withinsanity by Satan

(2:276)

WINTER 2008 9

vide for His creation, on the condition that wefollow His commandments. The instability andfrustration and the sense of imminent war thatexists in the world today is a result of the wealthof the world revolving only among the privi-leged few, whereas the underprivileged canview them only from a distance, never secur-ing a share for themselves. Another reasonfor the destruction of world peace also stemsfrom the fact that the richer nations have beeneyeing the natural resources of the underde-veloped countries to be used for their ownbenefit. Islamic traditions strongly condemnthis. Huzoor (aba) said that the world mustunderstand the following golden rules to puta stop to such economic crises:

1. Learn to stay within your means, at apersonal and a national level. Be content withwhat you can easily afford and do not bedazzled with bigger houses and bigger carsforcing yourselves into the system of debt.

2. Refrain from interest/usury.

3. Wealthy nations should abstain fromtrying to gain control over natural resourcesof other countries. The underprivileged coun-tries should have the confidence that theirresources will be used for the benefit of theircountry only even when there is internationalintervention.

4. Heads of nation should be loyal andpatriotic to their country.

5. The rights and obligations of poor mustbe fulfilled.

These ru les are based o nIslamic teachings, therefore it is Islamthat presents the most sound solutionto the crises the world faces today.Huzoor (aba) said that Taqwa is a mustif you wish to prosper. There is nosalvation if we do not pay heed to theWord of God and believe in the Imam ofthe day. Huzoor (aba) read out from thewritings of the Promised Messiah (as)where he has reminded us tha t weshould be grateful to Allah Almightythat He has blessed us by revealing thespiritual light that we so desperatelyneed for our salvation in this day andage. Huzoor (aba) prayed that may Allahguide the world to the right path ande n a b l e t h e m t o p r a c t i c e t h e t r u eteachings of Islam, Ameen.

Sayings of the Holy Prophet MuhammadSubject: Good Behavior

Good behavior is half the faith.

There is no greater wisdom than foresight, nogreater piety than abstention from evil and no greatergoodness than good behavior.

One who has been given a portion of kindlinesshas been given a portion of that which is best in thisworld and in the Hereafter. Strengthening the ties ofkinship, good behavior and good neighborliness makestowns flourish and lengthen the days of the people.

Allah has revealed to me that you should conductyourselves with humility towards one another so that noone transgresses against another, nor boasts of anysuperiority over another.

Virtue is good behavior and sin is that whichtroubles your mind and you would not like it to be gen-erally known.

Be courteous and consort with the poor andhumble. This will exalt you in the sight of Allah and willguard you against pride and arrogance.

When a person who is honored among hispeople visits you, receive him with honor.

Two things savor of disbelief: ridiculing aperson’s descent and bewailing the dead.

10 MuslimSunrise

“Education inAmerica:”emphasis/importance in society; publicv private schools; religiouseducation in schools

By Mansoura Sirajee

Epictetus was right when he asserted,“Only the educated are free.” Indeed,according to the CIA World Factbook,

the United States – a country that prides itselfon being a nation of freedom—has a literacyrate of 99%. Worldwide the number is fairlysizeable as well—the world literacy rate is 82%.

Undoubtedly, education has had an im-mense impact on society. Muslims in particu-lar have made significant contributions to theworld of learning (Algebra, for example, comesfrom the Arabic word Al Jabr which means“reunion”). The Holy Prophet Muhammad(may peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim) urged his followers to “seek knowledgefrom the cradle to the grave.” Acquiring knowl-edge and then implementing that knowledgeare crucial obligations of a Muslim becausetrue faith comes with understanding why webelieve what we believe. Interestingly enough,the first word revealed of the Qur’an was Iqrawhich means read!

Our capacity and determination to learnpropels much of our daily existence. For thisreason, education in any great society is oneof the greatest passions and concerns. It wouldbe safe to say that the content and extent ofour education truly marks us as a community.

Education in the United States can be ac-quired in three ways: public, private, andhomeschooling. In recent years, the debateabout which type of schooling is best (mostlybetween private vs. public) has intensified aseach side highlight their merits.

The common assumption is that privateschools will be able to provide a superior edu-cation. However, a study by the National Cen-ter for Education Statistics released in 2006 thattook into account students’ backgrounds tolda different story. Public school students infourth and eighth grade scored almost as wellor better in reading and math, except that pri-vate school students excelled in eighth-gradereading.

A Harvard University study challenged theresults, using the same data but different meth-ods. Researchers found that private schools

came out ahead in 11 of 12 comparisons ofstudents.

Obviously, the debate over which schoolsdo a better job is far from settled.

One fundamental difference between pub-lic and private schools that is important to noteare the curriculums. Public schools must fol-low all federal, state and local laws in educat-ing children. Private schools, on the otherhand, are not subject to as many state andfederal regulations as public schools. Sinceprivate schools are funded independently, theyare not subject to the limitations of state edu-cation budgets and have more freedom in de-signing curriculum and instruction (this ex-plains why—according to a study from theUniversity of Minnesota— in private highschools, most students were taught both cre-ationism and evolution versus in publicschools, most students were only taught evo-lution).

Here the question of the extent of freedomof religion in public versus private schoolsarises. The First Amendment contains two ele-ments regarding religion and government. Theestablishment clause states that “Congressshall make no law respecting an establishmentof religion” (ie, Great Britain has an establishedchurch that is officially supported by the gov-ernment. This is unconstitutional in the UnitedStates). The free exercise clause prohibits theabridgement of citizens’ freedom to worship –or not worship—as they please. Sometimesthese freedoms conflict.

Debate is especially intense over aid tochurch-affiliated schools and prayer in publicschools. The Supreme Court has allowed reli-giously affiliated colleges and universities touse public funds to build buildings and pro-vide students with textbooks and computers.Public funds cannot, however, be used to payteacher salaries or field trip transportation.

School prayer is perhaps the most contro-versial religious issue. Of course, it is not un-constitutional to pray in public schools. Stu-dents may pray individually as they wish. Whatthe Constitution does forbid is the encourage-ment of prayer by public school authorities.For example, school-sponsored prayer at apublic school graduation violates the consti-tutional separation of church and state.

Many people, nonetheless, mistakenlybelieve that religion has no place in the publicschool curriculum. This is not true. Accordingto the Supreme Court, religion can be taught,as long as the teaching is presented “objec-tively as part of a secular program of educa-tion.” In essence, educators cannot teach reli-gion, but they can teach about religion.

In truth, seeking knowledge is not a con-temporary objective. The Holy Prophet of Is-lam (may peace and blessings of Allah beupon him) is reported to have said, “He whotravels in the search of knowledge, to himGod shows the way of Paradise.” May Allahgive us the strength to constantly seek knowl-edge. Rabbi zidnee illma (O Lord, increaseme in knowledge).

WINTER 2008 11

The Hajj:Pilgrimageto Mecca

The fifth act of Islamicworship is theperforming of the Hajj orthe pilgrimage toMecca. A Muslim mustperform this pilgrimage

at least once in his lifetime if economic andpolitical conditions are favorable. The focalpoint of this pilgrimage is the Ka’aba, whichwas rebuilt by Prophet Abraham some 4,000years ago. Today, the Ka’aba stands in themiddle of a large courtyard of Masjid alHaram or the Sacred Mosque. Thecourtyard of Masjid al Haram contains,besides Ka’aba, the Maqam a Ibrahim andthe fountain of Zamzam.

The Hajj is performed during the Mus-lim month of Dhul Hijjah, which comes twomonths after the festival of Eidul Fitr. Thevarious ceremonies of the Hajj include:

1. Entering into the state of ihram bywearing only two seamless white sheets.This is done by the pilgrims when they reachcertain designated places close to Mecca.

2. Saying of talbiyah starting at theplace where the ihram is worn. Talbiyah con-sists of saying aloud the following:

Here we come, O God,here we come No partnerhave You, here we come.

Indeed, praise and blessingsare Yours, and the Kingdom

too No partner have You,here we come

3. On entering Mecca, the pilgrims per-form the first tawaf, which consists of go-ing around the Ka’aba seven times in ananticlockwise direction.

4. After completing the tawaf, the pil-grims perform the sa' yy which consists ofrunning between the two little hills of Safa

and Marwa located near the Ka’aba. Theseare the two hills where Hajirah (wife of prophetAbraham) ran in search of water when he hadto leave her there on Divine command.

5. After performing the sa' yy, the pilgrimsmove to Mina, a plain located about four mileseast of Mecca, and spend the night there.

6. Next morning, the pilgrims leave for thePlain of Arafat located nine miles southeast ofMecca. They arrive there in the early after-noon, say the combined Zuhr and Asr Prayersand listen to a sermon given by the Imam. Thepilgrims stay in the Plain of Arafat only tillsunset. This is the same plain where theProphet Muhammad delivered his farewellsermon.

7. After sunset the pilgrims leave Arafatand come to a place called Muzdalifah. In theHoly Quran, this place is referred to as alMash'ar al Haram, the Sacred Monument. Onreaching Muzdalifah, the pilgrims say theircombined Maghrib and Isha Prayers andspend the night there. In the morning, aftersaying the Fajr Prayer, the pilgrims return toMina once again.

8. The pilgrims reach Mina on the tenthday of Dhul Hijjah. This is the busiest day ofthe pilgrimage. The first ceremony that is per-formed at Mina is the throwing of small stonesor ramy al jimar. In this ceremony the pilgrimsthrow stones at three pillars in a symbolic actof striking the devil.

9. The tenth day of Dhul Hijjah is also theday when pilgrims sacrifice their animals. Thisday is also celebrated all over the Muslimworld as the festive day of Eid al Adha.

10. After performing the sacrifice the pil-grims have their heads shaved or their hairclipped. After this they emerge from thestate of ihram by wearing their everydayclothes.

11. Clad in their everyday clothes thepilgrims perform another tawaf of theKa'aba. This tawaf is called tawaf e ziarat.

12. Before the tenth day of Dhul Hijjahends, the pilgrims perform another sa' yybetween the hills of Safa and Marwa.

13. After this the pilgrims return onceagain to Mina where they stay until thetwelfth or thirteenth day of Dhul Hijjah.During these two or three days the pilgrimscontinue to perform the ceremony of ramyal jimar or throwing of stones.

14. On the afternoon of the twelfthDhul Hijjah (or of the thirteenth) the pil-grims return to Mecca for the last cer-emony of the pilgrimage. This ceremonyconsists of the farewell tawaf of the Ka'abaafter which the entire pilgrimage is com-pleted and the pilgrims are free to go wher-ever they wish.

Although not part of the prescribedpilgrimage, many pilgrims carry on toMedina and visit Masjid al Nabvi or theProphet's Mosque. It was in the compoundof this Mosque that Prophet Muhammadwas buried.

While the Hajj may only be performedduring the prescribed dates of the monthof Dhul Hijjah, a Lesser Pilgrimage calledUmrah may be made individually at any timeduring the year.

12 MuslimSunrise

My 1998 political runfor the Maryland Houseof Delegates was aneffort to better serve mycommunity. As an im-migrant who had cometo the United States 10years earlier with hardlyany roots in the com-munity, this was anexhilarating learningexperience. I had cometo this country with theAmerican Dream, seek-ing opportunities ineducation and financialsecurity.

IIIIIn 1991, just after 3 years of mymigration, I served as the President of the Ahmadiyya YouthAssociation. This opportunityto serve the youth group of menbetween the ages of 7 to 40 was a

turning point in my life. My primary responsi-bility was to ensure the moral and spiritualwell-being of the membership through vari-ous activities. Also, the youth group wasfairly active in the Washington DC area incommunity service and social projects. Weplayed a key role in administering a winterhomeless shelter for about a week with a group

of churches in Laurel, Maryland. In 1994, ouryouth group was apparently the only localMuslim group who assisted Bosnian refugeeswho fled the civil war in Bosnia. We teamedup with the Lutheran Social Services and be-gan helping about 40 refugees with transpor-tation to jobs, identifying job opportunities,running their errands, fundraising and provid-ing basic needs like bedding, desks, chairs,electronics, food and medicine. We did thisfor about 18 months and our youth group wasinstrumental in making a big difference in thelives of those refugees. During this time, wealso established excellent contacts with otherchurches and also the Muslim CommunityCenter of Silver Spring, Maryland.

In 1994, the Ahmadi Muslim communitywas severely persecuted in Pakistan and welaunched a vigorous campaign to reach out toour elected officials in an effort led by ourImam Mubasher Ahmed. As a youth leader, Iplayed a key role in letter writing campaignsand contacting several elected officials in theWashington area.

The experiences of our community’s per-secution and the displacement of Bosnianshad an immense impact on me. At that time Iwas pursuing my Master’s Degree in Informa-tion Systems. About 14 years ago, there werenot many Muslims who were active in politicsand we did not have any elected officials.Every immigrant was opting to be an Engineeror Physician and there were few who weremoving towards Law. I wanted to do some-thing different which could have a positive

impact and I discovered it in Politics. Politicsappealed to me as an opportunity to serveand become a voice for my community andcommunities who were voiceless. I tried toget into Law School but my LSAT scores werenot high enough. I was able to get into aMaster’s program in Public Policy at Ameri-can University. This is how I entered politicsand the doors it opened to serve and do some-thing different that no one in my communityhad done before.

Now, in 2008, we have several electedMuslim officials including Congressman KeithEllison of Minnesota and Congressman AndreCarson of Indiana. We also have an electedofficial in the House of Delegates from Mary-land, who was elected in 2006.

In my view, seeking a public office is ademonstration of your commitment to serveyour fellow citizens. These positions requireyou to work long hours away from the familyto attend events in the evenings and are nothighly paid. Most public servants drive animmense satisfaction by making a huge differ-ence to their constituents.

How does one get started in Politics/Pub-lic Service?

First of all, public service is not really aprofession or career. It does not provide thesecurity of job and continuous compensationto take care of your basic needs. Individualswho seek elected office do have regular jobsas teachers, insurance agents, lawyers, doc-tors, businessmen, drivers or accountants. Alot of elected positions are part-time and many

AMuslim’sjourneyintoAmericanPolitics

By Abdul Shukoor

WINTER 2008 13

of them are paid only transportation allow-ances etc. (e.g., if you are a councilmember ofa smaller town).

These are the essential attributes of enter-ing public service:

Desire to help peopleWillingness by your spouse/familyto devote time and effortsWillingness to learn and understandissues which impact constituents/citizensWillingness to raise money and campaignNot Afraid to lose

How can you serve in a non-elected position?

There are several positions in smallertowns, school boards, counties and stateswhich are called committees, commissions,task forces and citizen advisory groups. Anyindividual can contact their respective juris-diction and ask for the list of these groupsand vacancies. They are all volunteers andthis would be a good way to learn, networkand resume build before seeking an electiveoffice.

As a resident of the city of Bowie, PrinceGeorges County and state of Maryland, I havethe following opportunities:

City of Bowie(20 Boards/Committees with about 7 mem-

bers each)

http: / /www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/26excom/html/00list.html

Prince Georges County(55 Boards/Committees with about 12

members each)

h t t p : / /www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Govern-m e n t / B o a r d s C o m m i s s i o n s /index.asp?nivel=subfoldmenu(0,0)

State of Maryland(300 Boards/Committees with about 12

members each)

http: / /www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/26excom/html/00list.html

What elected office one canseek?

One can get started from a local town/citycouncilmember and gradually move up. Thiswould be the best way as this helps one tolearn/understand from the ground up. If youare a resident of Falls Church, Fairfax countyand Virginia, you can seek any of the follow-ing offices:

City Councilmember of Falls ChurchMayor of Falls ChurchSchool Board of Fairfax CountyCounty Commissioner of Fairfax CountyCounty Supervisor or County Executive

of Fairfax CountyState Attorney for Fairfax CountyHouse of Delegates (State of Virginia)State Senate (State of Virginia)

Attorney General (State of Virginia)Lt. Governor (State of Virginia)Governor (State of Virginia)House of Representative (US)Senator (US)President

Road Map to Elective Office

In order to get elected in a two way race, acandidate needs 50% plus 1 vote. In a 3-wayor 4-way race, all you need is the highest votes.In some states, counties and cities one is re-quired to have 50% plus 1 one vote. In thissituation, a run-off takes place between thetop two candidates with the highest votes.

The road to an elective office dependsfrom race to race. Presidential campaigns,gubernatorial campaigns (for Governors) andlocal campaigns are run differently from oneanother.

One needs to be extremely focusedand creative in order to getattention of constituents.

14 MuslimSunrise

How to get elected to City Council:

One needs to be extremely focused andcreative in order to get attention of constitu-ents. These are some simple steps:

Determine when city council elec-tions are in your city. Understand issues inyour city by reading the newspaper and at-tend open-forum city council meetings.

Join a sub-committee on your citycouncil, such as a neighborhood associationor small business association. Work on get-ting your voice heard at council meetings.Network yourself to city government officialsto get your views and opinions heard.

Research who is on the city councilat the current moment and what their platformissues are. Learn from popular city councilmembers and what they do to keep gettingelected.

Pull together a small campaign team:primarily a campaign manager and a treasurerto keep the details of your campaign funds.Acquire a voter file and identify supporters ifpossible.

Section off parts of your city thatcontain a large population of the voters.

Identify likely voters - not every reg-istered voter votes in an election.

Visit door to door to introduce your-self with good information about you and theyour views on the issues.

Send a thank you note within 24hours after you meet them at their door.

Out communicate your opponent.Have best operations on election

day covering all polling places and good sup-porters.

Have community leaders campaign-ing for you on precincts so that they couldsway the undecided in your favor.

Three Important aspects of campaigns:

Money: It takes money to get the mes-sage out.

Time: It requires a lot of time to meet hun-dreds and thousands of people.

Commitment: It requires a change in yourroutine and how badly you want to get elected.

In 2000, Vice PresidentAl Gore raised $95.5million and GovernorBush raised $48.1 million

in primaries and publicfinancing was restrictedto $67.56 million in thegeneral election.

In 1996, President Clinton raised $42.5 mil-lion and Senator Dole (R) raised $44.6 millionin primaries and public financing was restrictedto $61.82 million.

An average US Senate candidateneeds to raise a minimum of $1.9 million to becompetitive.

An average US House of Represen-tative candidate needs to raise a minimum of$498,000 to be competitive.

An average State Senate candidateneeds to raise $250,000 to be competitive.

An average House of Delegates can-didate needs to raise $100,000 to be competi-tive.

About 80% of the money in campaigns isspent on Media (e.g., TV/Radio/Internet/Print).

Faith, Issues & Party Affiliation

We have the following parties in theUnited States which are recognized by Statesand in federal elections:

DemocratRepublicanLibertarianGreenConstitutional

You could also run as an independent.However, as an independent candidate, youare required to get signatures while filing yourcandidacy. Most of the candidates align them-selves with either the Democratic Party orRepublican party. One needs to align himself/herself in that column which makes it easier tocontest.

One of the greatest challenges for a per-son of faith is his/her faith and its teachings/injunctions with the ideals of his/her party. Itwas fairly simple for me to separate my faithand the role of a public official or a candidateseeking to represent 99.5% of the people whodo not share my faith. For example, as a Demo-crat, I strongly and unequivocally sup-

port Roe V. Wade and a women’s right tochoose a safe and legal abortion, regard-less of ability to pay and oppose any andall efforts to weaken or undermine thisright as a public policy for the greatergood of my constituents who do not sharemy faith. Similarly, a lot of elected offi-cials particularly Catholics are conflictedon the issue or abortion, death penaltyand the lottery.

As a practicing Muslim and a candi-date I presented the best of my faith anddid not impose those injunctions/prin-ciples which may not be accepted in ademocratic society so that you could es-tablish a good will and govern withoutbeing heavy handed.

In western countries, particularly inthe United States and Canada, there ishardly any barrier for anyone to enterinto politics. We have seen in recentyears, we had Mitt Romney (FormerGovernor of Massachusetts) ran for thePresident. Senator Hillary Clinton camevery close to getting the nomination ofthe Democratic Party. Governor SarahPalin, being a woman, did not have anyproblem being a vice-presidential can-didate from representing the Republi-can ticket. Now, we have the first Afri-can American President Elect BarackObama in 2008.

I believe in 2012 we will have our firstAsian Indian American (Governor BobbyJindal of Louisiana) to contend for theRepublican Party nomination. I dreamtof being the first Muslim state legislatorin Maryland. We already have one nowand there are several others who are con-sidering running in 2010. I am pretty surethat those of us who are in our early 30’sand 40’s will see a Muslim candidate seek-ing the highest office of the presidencyin our lifetime.

Shukoor Ahmed ran for MarylandHouse of Delegates in 1998 and2006. He played a key role in the2000, 2004 and 2006 PresidentialCampaigns. He currently serves ontwo state commissions. He is anentrepreneur and currently servesas the CEO of V-Empower, Inc. Hehas assisted and/or mentored over20 candidates in the last 10 years.He can be contacted atShukoor62@yahoo.com

WINTER 2008 15

By Sardar Anees Ahmad

P resident James Madison’s penbreathed life into a notion as unappreciated as it is weighty. The

words nurtured a new nation and etched per-haps the most fundamental law out of whichthe American story unfolds: “Congress shallmake no law respecting an establishment ofreligion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof.” This portion of the First Amendmentof America’s Constitution has to a great ex-tent, as Jon Meacham remarked, shaped ratherthan strangled America.1 Madison may havebeen surprised to know that he was revivingthe Islamic ideals recorded eleven centuriesearlier by the Holy Prophet Muhammad.SAW

To President James Madison and his mosttalented countryman President ThomasJefferson, we owe enormous gratitude. Thanksare due because a secular legal code is inde-pendent of, not anti, religion – keeping religionout of government and government out of reli-gion. Secularism’s European cousin, laicism, hasalso attempted to create a political arena free ofreligious influence. Laicism has in certain ar-eas, however, manifested anti-religious over-tones, preventing individual religious expres-sion in the name of preserving a secular whole.This is not to say that America’s version ofsecularism has no weaknesses, but the hostil-ity towards religion is not as prevalent.

Thanks are also due because secularismprotects and promotes an array of ideologies,thereby fostering the growth of a tolerant so-ciety. Because of its appeal to universal prin-ciples, secularism is a transcendent, and con-sequently progressive, political philosophy.It is perhaps the most crucial ingredient inAmerica’s growth, the most ethnically andculturally dynamic nation in history.

Historically, however, the separation ofchurch and state is not a solely American ideal.It may surprise the reader that I do not refer toMartin Luther or John Locke, but to ProphetMuhammadSAW. While Islam and America werefounded more than eleven centuries apart,

Prophet MuhammadSAW and the FoundingFathers shared the same vision of a tolerantand pluralistic nation.

That the Bill of Rights guarantees freedomof religious expression and its simultaneousdebarment from the political arena, we alreadyknow. What legal code, however, can be bothsecular and Islamic? The answer lies in boththe Qur’an, and the Charter of Medina.

Secularism in Islam

Before explaining why secularism is Is-lamic, we must understand why theocracy isnot. Firstly, a relationship between man andGod, based upon trust and love, can never beimposed upon anyone. Second, with morethan seventy-three different Islamic sects ex-tant today, which interpretation of Islam dothe clergy suggest we impose upon ourselves,let alone the non-Muslims? Perhaps, as someclergy argue, Shariah Law should at the veryleast be implemented in a nation with a major-ity Muslim populace. Perhaps, then, Americacan impose Canon Law on its citizens. Ulti-mately, the clergy’s unlettered approach wouldhave us employ “Godly” principles to create aGodless society.

Of America, Prof. John Esposito writes,“America’s separation of church and state wasto assure that no specific religious denomina-tion be given special preference and that bothbelief and unbelief have equal protection andspace.”2 In contrast to today’s “Islamic” na-

tions, Prophet MuhammadSAW undertook astrikingly similar approach during his rule ofMedina, and later the whole of Arabia.

While much is said of the supposedly hor-rid living conditions of dhimmis (i.e. protectednon-Muslims), their living standards were atpar, and oftentimes better than that of theMuslims. The Charter of Medina, often citedas the world’s first true constitution, recog-nized all of Medina’s citizens, irrespective ofreligious bent, to form “one community.”3 Re-ligious freedom was granted to all non-Mus-lims, in particular the Jews: “The Jews … areone community with the believers (the Jewshave their religion and the Muslims havetheirs), their freedmen and their persons ex-cept those who behave unjustly and sinfully,for they hurt but themselves and their fami-lies.”4 This blind tolerance of religion is drawndirectly from the Qur’an, “Say, ‘O ye disbe-lievers! I worship not as you worship, nor doyou worship as I worship. Nor do I worshipthose that you worship, nor do you worshipHim Whom I worship. For you your religion,and for me my religion’” (109:2-7).

Yes, the Charter of Medina twice refers toProphet MuhammadSAW as “the prophet ofGod.” This proves that under Islamic law andgovernance, citizens were granted religious free-dom as a fundamental right.

The Qur’an repeatedly states5 that the Mus-lims, including Prophet MuhammadSAW, can onlyadmonish non-Muslims regarding religious mat-ters: “Admonish, therefore, for thou art but an

Religionandpolitics inIslam

16 MuslimSunrise

admonisher; Thou art not appointed a keeperover them” (88:22-23). The Qur’an mentions dis-belief more than 150 times, yet in every instancethe authority to punish the disbeliever rests withGod Alone. Again, the Qur’an further reiteratesreligious freedom: “There is no compulsion inreligion; Surely, the right way has become dis-tinct from error” (2:257).

Furthermore, the Qur’an is replete withverses6 that forbid any human from punishingan individual from accepting, and later recant-ing, his faith – regardless of the number of timesthey do so. For example, the Qur’an states,“Those who believe, then disbelieve, then againbelieve, then disbelieve and then increase indisbelief, Allah will never forgive them nor willHe guide them to the right way” (4:138).

As a practical example, once a desert Arabonce took the pledge of Islam at ProphetMuhammad’sSAW hand. Later, he twice re-quested to have his pledge voided, ProphetMuhammadSAW denying his request on both in-stances. The Arab then left Medina on his ownaccord unharmed, upon which ProphetMuhammadSAW remarked, “Medina is like a fur-nace which destroys the dross and purifies therest.”7

Of blasphemy, the Qur’an condemns thisdivisive act six times,8 but forbids man from pun-ishing the blasphemer. In fact, the Qur’an in-structs man to quietly disassociate from thecompany of blasphemers until they change theirbehavior.9 Being a crime against Allah Alone,man has been given no authority to punish theblasphemer.

As an illustration, once a notable citizen ofMedina, Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, con-spired in spreading a most horrid and cruel lie ofadultery against Hadhrat Ayesha, the wife ofProphet Muhammad.SAW10 On another occasion,Abdullah bin Ubayy insulted ProphetMuhammadSAW in an attempt to create discordamongst the Muslims of Medina.11 On both ofthese occasions, he received no punishment.Moreover, on his passing, ProphetMuhammadSAW led his funeral prayer.12

On yet another occasion, a group of Jewsgreeted the Prophet MuhammadSAW with a playon words, As-Saamu Alaikum (Death be uponyou) instead of As-Salaamu Alaikum (Peace beupon you). In reply, Prophet MuhammadSAW sim-ply stated Wa-Alaikum (And upon you) andwalked on even though his wife was enraged atthe insult.13 If dhimmis did not possess free-dom of speech, how would they dare utter suchprovocative speech towards the person mostcapable of ordering their execution?

Punishment, even death, is not only war-

ranted, but mandated for any individual, Mus-lim or non-Muslim, if they threaten national se-curity. It is upon this premise alone that blas-phemers, apostates, et al were punished underProphet Muhammad’sSAW governance. Threatto the sanctity of the state and its citizens, notthe utterance of blasphemy or act of apostasy,earned them this punishment. It is on thispremise that the Supreme Court of America alsohas banned the utterance of inflammatoryspeech.14 To insist that the execution of onewho seeks to create discord in society was dueto his being a blasphemer or apostate is akin tobelieving that drunk drivers are punished sim-ply because of their owning a car.

Dhimmis also enjoyed all the economic rightsguaranteed to Muslims, even exploiting theMuslims’ fairness to gain a higher profit. Forexample, on settling in Medina the Muslims werein dire need of water and a Jew owned the onlywell in Medina, known as Bir Rumah. Seeing agolden opportunity, the Jew demanded an exor-bitant 20,000 dirhams for its purchase, whichHadhrat UthmaanRA, Prophet Muhammad’sSAW

3rd Caliph, readily paid.15 As with the issue ofspeech, if Islam trumped the dhimmis’ economicrights, why did the Muslims not simply forcethe Jew to hand over the well? Muslims cer-tainly had the power to do so.

Objection is also raised against the Jizya(i.e. poll tax levied against dhimmis). Firstly, itwas not as if the Muslims had no tax to pay.Indeed, the Zakaat tax was a mandatory tax forthe Muslims alone.16 Moreover, the Jizya, whichensured the dhimmis’ protection, absolved allDhimmis of military service. If the Muslimscould not protect dhimmis, the tax was re-turned.17 In contrast, today’s nations tax theircitizens and still leave everyone eligible for mili-tary service.

Remember, Prophet MuhammadSAW did in-deed consider Islam to be the only completeand perfected code of life.18 Still, ProphetMuhammadSAW fashioned a successful state onIslamic principles that meets all the criteria ofbeing named a secular state. Regarding the pub-lic sphere then, certain aspects of Islamic laware indeed secular.

It is no wonder then that Michael Hart wrote,“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of theworld’s most influential persons may surprisesome readers and may be questioned by oth-ers, but he was the only man in history who wassupremely successful on both the religious andsecular levels.”19

Fortunately, Prophet Muhammad’sSAW time-less example did not die with his passing. For

example, Christian historians acknowledge theremarkable sensitivity with which HadhratUmarRA, Prophet Muhammad’sSAW 2nd Caliph,treated non-Islamic religious traditions. FamedOrientalist Sir William Muir writes of HadhratUmar’sRA visit to Jerusalem, “Omar accompa-nied the Patriarch over the city visited the vari-ous places of pilgrimage and graciously inquiredinto their history. At the appointed hour thePatriarch bade the Caliph perform his orisons inthe church of the Resurrection where theychanced to be. But he declined to pray eitherthere or in the church of Constantine where acarpet had been spread for him saying kindlythat if he did so his followers would take pos-session of the church for ever as a place whereMoslem prayer had once been offered up.”20

Hadhrat UmarRA further accepted everyChristian request, except one – he would notpermit the Jews to remain banned from Jerusa-lem as had been the case during the period ofChristian rule.21 Similar accounts of strict ad-herence to justice are found during the Caliph-ate of Hadhrat Abu BakrRA, Hadhrat UthmaanRA,and Hadhrat AliRA, during the era of MoorishSpain, and the Jerusalem of Salah-ud-Din al-Ayyubi.

History, then, bears witness to the accom-modating and just political nature of Islam. Inthe name of religion Prophet MuhammadSAW,and thereafter his devoted followers, establisheda state guaranteeing, as President ThomasJefferson envisioned, “freedom for religion, butalso freedom from religion”.22 We owe a debt ofgratitude to our Founding Fathers for revivingthese Islamic ideals and proving their timelessvalue.

(Footnotes)1 (Meacham, Jon, American Gospel, p. 5)2 (The Washington Post “On Faith” 1/29/2008)3 (Guillaume, Alfred The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq’s

Sirat Rasul Allah, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1955; pp. 231)4(Ibid, pp. 232-233)5 (Qur’an 4:64; 6:70-71; 11:47; 50:46)6 (Qur’an 2:218; 3:73, 91; 5:55; 16:107; 63:4)7 (Fathul Bari, Vol. XXIII, p.173)8 (Qur’an 4:141, 157; 6:69, 109; 18:6; 60:3; 63:9)9 (Qur’an 4:141)10 (Sahih Jami’ Bukhari, Vol. III, Book 48 #829)11 (Ibn Hisham, Kitab Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 995)12 (Sahih Jami’ Muslim, Book 38 #6680)13 (Sahih Jami’ Bukhari, Vol. IV, Book 52, #186)14 (Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942))15 (Khalid, Muhammad Khalid Men Around the Messenger, p. 25;History of Islam, p. 380)16 (Qur’an 2:111); (Sahih Jami’ Bukhari, Vol. I, Book 2, #7)17 (Esposito, John L., The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, p. 161)18 (Qur’an 5:4; 9:33; 48:29; 61:10)19 (Hart, Michael, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Personsin History, p. 3)20 (Muir, Sir William, The Caliphate, p. 145)21 (Armstrong, Karen, Jerusalem)22 (Edwin S. Gaustad, Faith of Our Fathers: Religion and the NewNation, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987, p. 38)

WINTER 2008 17

WWhen HadhratUmar binAbdul Azizra

became Ca-liph of the Islamic empire

in 717 C.E., he appeared to be worried. Whenasked why, he replied: "Is this not a thing toworry about? I have been entrusted with thewelfare of such a vast empire and I would befailing in my duty if I did not rush to the helpof a needy person."1 Herein lies the burden ofresponsibility that a ruler of a state has toshoulder. For centuries Muslim rulers, espe-cially of the early Islamic empire, had fulfilledtheir duties towards their people not for theeconomic prosperity of their state, but becauseof a religious duty given to them by God. Theywere to make sure that everyone under theircare was benefiting from their governance.Stable employment, decent lodging, good edu-cation, as well as medical help, were alwaysconsidered to be universal rights of the citi-zen. And as for the underprivileged who couldnot afford these basic rights, they were in luck!One of the Five Fundamental Pillars of Islamis zaka'at, or almsgiving, and through this fun-damental pillar every Muslim becomes obli-gated to provide for the sick and poor in soci-ety. The Holy Prophetsa has said: "Each oneof you is a shepherd, and each one of you willbe asked about your flock. A ruler also is ashepherd and will be asked about his flock"(Sahih Bukhari).

In tending to his flock, the shepherd makessure that it gets food, shelter and that it alsostays healthy. Hence, the well-being of hissubjects is amongst the ruler's foremost re-sponsibilities. If everyone is sound andhealthy, then, the economic cycle works welltoo. People are able to concentrate on a bettereducation and are able to provide for their fami-lies. Prosperity and progress comes only withprayer and good health. It is just like what theHoly Prophetsa has said: "Whoever wakes upsecure amongst his people, healthy and hasfood for his day, it is as if the whole world hadbeen gathered for him!" ( Tirmidhi).

But a glance at America reveals a vastlydifferent picture. About 47 million peopledon't have medical coverage today, and thisin an industrialized country that spent $2.3trillion on health care in 2007 alone and ev-erybody still doesn't get it!2 It is believed that70% to 80% of all the health care resourcesare utilized by people subject to the highlypreventable causes of obesity and/or smok-ing. Most health hazards stem from these twoills and so raise health care costs. The rest ofthe population that also needs medical help

doesn't get a share in it because it's alreadybeing drained by these diseases.3 And thesearen't the only problems. Alcoholism and pro-miscuity have caused a huge strain on thesystem as well. To make matters worse, thefreedom practiced by private insurance com-panies in charting their own policies hasproven disastrous. Their policies deny cov-erage to the already sick and sometimes, footthe monstrous bills to unsuspecting clientswho find it impossible to pay. Furthermore,economists hold that the high cost of health

Health Care in Islam, a religious dutyIt is estimated that in America more than 47 million people don't have medical coverage today,and this in an industrialized country that spent $2.3 trillion on health care in 2007 alone andeverybody still doesn't get it!2 It is believed that 70% to 80% of all the health care resources areutilized by people subject to the highly preventable causes of obesity and/or smoking.

"Verily Allah enjoins justice, and thedoing of good to others, and givinglike kindred" - The Holy Qur'an (16:91)

By Maham Khan

18 MuslimSunrise

coverage has led to a drop in the number ofinsured.

A majority of Americans now think thatthe health care system needs to be completelyrevamped, and two-thirds favor a rather so-cialist view; they want universal health cov-erage: something that presidential candidateTheodore Roosevelt promised in 1912, to de-liver to his country for the first time. Andthey are still waiting, with the health caresystem now in shambles. But perhaps, Islamcould give them the relief they have beenwaiting for.

"And the true believers spend in Ourcause of whatsoever we Ourselves have be-stowed upon them." 5 Here in the Holy Qur'an,it is advised that all that is required is that youshould spend something of that which Godhas given you.6 Throughout the Islamic em-pire, the wealthy class including the rulers,would make generous bequests to the gov-ernment, which would finance all the runningcosts as well as the services of the hospitals.These bequests were called 'waqfs' and theywould come from the revenue earned fromproperty donated by the owner to the gov-ernment.7 An example is the complex of SultanQalawun in Cairo, built in 1285 C.E. and stillstands today. It consists of a hospital, as wellas a school and mausoleum. It was financedwith endowments that the Sultan assignedfrom the waqf fund, in Egypt and other coun-tries and he also contributed an annual sti-pend of 1,000,000 dirhams.8 By the end of the9th century, many hospitals were foundedthrough the waqf institution.

While Europe was stuck in the dark agesand even still considered witchcraft as theroot of many life-taking diseases, medical sci-ences were flourishing in the Muslim world.Owing to their religious duty to care for theunfortunate, caliphs and kings immensely en-couraged physicians and their research. Andthe great achievement, during the Golden ageof the Islamic empire, was the establishmentof the 'bimaristan', Persian for 'hospital'. Thefirst hospital (although exclusively for lepers)was built in the 8th century under theUmmayyad Caliph Walid I, in Damascus, whereproper care, free food and medicine were given.Some hospitals also gave money to the out-going patient, knowing that he missed out onearning the days he was sick. At the Nuri hos-pital in Damascus, a young man pretended tobe sick so that he could take advantage of theexcellent services and take the money; uponexamination, the doctor realized his intentions

but allowed him to stay and be served for threedays, after which he said to him, "Arab hospi-tality lasts for three days; please go homenow."9

Such was the standard of health caredelivery for centuries, in many hospitals allover the Muslim lands, including the Ahmad-ibn-Tulun hospital in Cairo built in 872 C.E,the al-Muqtadiri hospital of Baghdad built byCaliph al-Muqtadir in 918 C.E, and the Granadahospital in Spain built in 1366, to name only afew. Free medicine was also provided throughmobile hospitals throughout the empire. Thevizier Ali bin Isa had ordered that such dis-pensaries be spread over the land, especiallythe countryside where people may not haveaccess to medical help. These mobile hospi-tals would stay in a town for a few days andthen move on to another one.

The success of the Islamic health care sys-tem lay in its holistic approach to medicineand health care. According to the Holy Qur'an,the purpose of the creation of mankind is toworship God, and so he is forever mindful ofhis eventual return to Him. His health wouldcome into account as it is directly linked tothe life that he leads in this world. Islam means'submission'; it teaches worship and prayeras the mode of submission. And worship canonly be fully concentrated upon with a soundbody and mind. Hence, in this spirit, it alsoinculcates a lifestyle that helps man stayhealthy physically, as well as mentally. This

concept of wellness directly shapes what Is-lam promotes as preventive medicine. To-gether, the Islamic lifestyle and diet, if ob-served in the life of a good Muslim, shows therelationship between good health and a cleanlife. Many health professionals advocate pre-ventive measures similar to what Islam pre-scribes and believe that by adopting healthylifestyles, people would require less medicalcare and health care costs would certainlydecrease.

Muslims are advised to eat in smallamounts and to control their hunger, so as toavoid gluttony and obesity; such habits aredeveloped by fasting the whole month of Ra-madhan. Breast feeding, which is encouragedin Islam has been shown to reduce the risk ofbreast cancer in women, not to mention theimmunologic benefits to the newborn. Theonslaught of sexually transmitted diseases,such as HIV and syphilis, is prevented if sexualethics are practiced. The tradition of circumci-sion protects both man and woman againstcertain forms of cancer and infection. Habitssuch as smoking are disowned in Islam asanything which corrupts the body also cor-rupts the soul. Similarly, recreational consump-tion of alcohol is altogether forbidden. Ritualcleanliness protects the body from collectinggerms and promotes mental wellness. All ofthese Islamic instructions and many more, helpto prevent diseases that Americans are suf-fering from today and can avoid, simply bychanging their bad habits.

The Islamic system of health care can beeasily adopted here in the US as well. Ameri-cans would need to realize their moral obliga-tions towards the underprivileged and makesome sacrifices to attain universal health care.And a healthy lifestyle would certainly dothem good!

Notes:

1. The Hundred Great Muslims, by Jamil Ahmad

2. Poisal, J.A., et al, Health Spending Projections Through 2016:Modest Changes Obscure Part D’s Impact. Health Affairs (21 February2007): W242-253.

3. www.askwebdoctor.com

4. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Uninsured: A Primer,Key Facts About Americans without Health Insurance. 2004. 10 Novem-ber 2004 http://www.kff.org/uninsured/

5. Holy Qur'an, Chapter 2 verse 4

6. Islam's Response To Contemporary Issues, by Mirza Tahir Ah-mad

7. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_12.html

8. www.islamonline.net.

9. Medical Care During the Middle Ages, by Dr. Nurdeen Deuraseh

WINTER 2008 19

Economicstabilityin Islam

An economy is the realizedsocial system of production,exchange, distribution, andconsumption of goods and

services of a country or otherarea. A given economy is theend result of a process thatinvolves its technological

evolution, civilization’s his-tory and social organization,

as well as its geography,resource endowment, and

ecology, among other factors.These factors give context,

content, and set the conditionsand parameters in which an

economy functions.

In any group of people, theireconomy is tied to their politicaland social system and is reflective of their culture and ideology. Once different countrieshad their own economic sys-

tems but now all the world seems to be tied upin the clutches of capitalism. The recent world-wide credit crunch and collapse of marketshas exposed the fickleness of capitalism. It isa system that is based on interest, which isbound to lead to a global crisis. History hasshown that capitalism always led to a univer-sal financial crisis which resulted in a globalwar. It has always played havoc with peace,security, industry, and commerce.

In today's situation, one naturally looksfor an economic system which would be freeof periods of recession and ever rising infla-tion. After testing communism, socialism, capi-talism, the need for another system, that will

for time indefinite, put the economy on a stableground, where no financial trouble will occur,is naturally rising.

Fortunately, Islam presents a model foreconomy that will always remain stable andwhen followed in its entirety, makes a countryprosper and free of all maladies. The Islamicsystem was fully promulgated in the begin-ning of the Islamic era and proved to be func-tional without any sort of economic depres-sion. It is unique in many respects.

The first and foremost foundation of theIslamic economic system is the belief inGod;not only that a God exists, but that, He isalso the Ultimate Master of the whole universeand all the governments and kingdoms be-long to Him. This belief in God leads to beliefin goodness and to the importance of moral-ity. It gives way to a concept of trust laid uponmankind to be used within the given guide-lines. Since Allah is the Ultimate Master, what-ever is in this world, belongs to all of mankindequally and, is not the property of one personor nation. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, "Heit is Who created for you all that is in the earth."

Thus whosoever possesses a resource,should share it with others.

Further, the Islamic concept of economyis based on two principles. First, the divisionof wealth and opportunity among mankindshould be done on the basis of individual ef-fort. It will not only better the condition of theworld but he would also collect something forhis life hereafter. Second, since everythingbelongs to Allah and is for all of mankind, ifany aspect is overlooked, there should besome law to take care of it. Usually, there areindividual based economies such as capital-ism and as well as community based or gov-ernment controlled economies such as com-munism. Islam believes in taking the middleway. It gives more individual freedom becauseit believes in the life hereafter where everyonewill reap the fruit of his works in this world. Ifhis every action is controlled and dictated,then he cannot be penalized for his actions.Thus Islamic economy is an amalgam of indi-vidual enterprise and government control. Itgives room to the individual to prosper, but atthe same time ensures that no injustice is doneto the people. That is why governments aregiven control over the economy.

The root cause of all problems is the greedfor more and more money. Hence, Islam givesmeasures to discourage this trend. Followingare the basic features of an Islamic economy:

Islam prohibits all such tendenciesand motivations that lead one to the

greed for more and more wealth.All absurd expenses and frivolities

are controlled.It prohibits all such ways through

which wealth can be stockpiled.The system of zaka'at is followed.Even if one is able to collect money, it is

taken care of through inheritance laws. If aperson made one million dollars in his life time,after his death, it would be divided among hisprogeny and every one will get a small por-tion out of it.

The government is responsible for ful-filling the basic needs of the people and, fortaking care of the weaker sections of society.

The injunction that wealth belongs to allpeople is emphasized in the Islamic economy.Thus, Islam prohibits and discourages suchtendencies as might give way to a race foraccumulating wealth. It clearly highlights themotivation of acquiring more wealth:

"Know that the life of this world is onlya sport and a pastime, and an adornment,and a source of boasting among yourselves,and of rivalry in multiplying riches and chil-dren. This life is like the rain the vegetationproduced whereby rejoices the tillers. Thenit dries up and thou see it turn yellow; thenit becomes broken pieces of straw. And inthe Hereafter there is severe punishment,and also forgiveness from Allah, and Hispleasure. And the life of this world is noth-ing but temporary enjoyment of deceitfulthings."

All such pursuits are discouragedwhich may lead one to a path to greed. Is-lam preaches a simple life and discouragesfrivolous spending of wealth. There mightbe some weak people who may succumb tothe glitter of gold and adopt the wrongpath. Hence, Islam has provided preventivemeasures, to save a person from falling intothe ditch of unending pursuit of wealth.

First of all, Islam rules out usury, whichis the main culprit behind all this havoc.Usury affects the economy in many ways.It coaxes a wealthy person to borrow moneyand convert his money into billions or tril-lions. Here it should be made clear that Is-lam does not discourage an individual frommaking more money, but definitely discour-ages any effort made at the expense of oth-ers. By the use of interest, only a few peoplegather wealth and the masses are left lurch-ing for basic needs. The rich turn theirwealth into monopolies and trusts and be-come a hindrance in the path of nationalprogress of the country. Secondly, masses

By Fareeha Haroon

20 MuslimSunrise

are encouraged to deposit money in thebanks with a promise for a return. They areled to the notion that money increases if itis left to sit idle. By the time they earn thepromised return, the money has lost itsvalue. Moreover, they are encouraged toborrow and are given the impression thatthey are borrowing from banks, when actu-ally, they are borrowing from their future asthey are spending what they have notearned yet. In addition, the loan multipliesand they end up paying much more thanthey had borrowed ear-lier. Since everyonehas money, so theirbuying power has in-creased, they spendfrivolously whichmakes banks earnmore and it creates anotion that theeconomy is flourishingand there seems to bea boom. Then a satu-ration point comes,when everyone has topay back and thebanks have little or nomoney left to lend. Ev-erything comes to astand still and theboom converts into abang! The developedcountries play thesame game in foreignmarkets and lead themto the same disaster.This interest basedsystem, thus furtherimpoverishes theweaker nations. The IMF and World Banklend money to poor nations and charge highinterests, which never let them become self-sufficient. If it had been a fair trade as Islampreaches, both parties would have sharedtheir capabilities and had participatedgreatly. This is what was practiced in theearly centuries of Islam which resulted in astrong economy. Thus the Islamic govern-ment became a role model for the rest ofworld where no one would sleep on anempty stomach and people were happy andprosperous.

Furthermore interest controls inflationalso and any fluctuation in its rate affectsprices greatly.

Besides usury, cartel systems andstocking are forbidden. Islam is in favor ofgiving autonomy to markets, but govern-

ments are asked to keep a watchful eye onthe market so that no one should drop orprop prices that adversely affect the nation.Otherwise, the government cannot interferewith the market and fix prices. It might hurtthe chain of supply and demand. The prior-ity is to protect the masses and to makesure that no one has forcefully taken con-trol of the market to make a profit, at theexpense of others.

A measure taken by Islam to preventthe accumulation of wealth, is zaka'at. This

is a tax which a person pays when he hasmoney or valuables, for more than one year.It is not income tax, but capital tax. Islambelieves that whatever wealth a rich manhas, is a direct or indirect result of hard workof the poor and they have a share in it too.Thus any capital sitting idle has to be taxedat the end of the year. Otherwise it will re-turn to the people through zaka'at. Thereare also, certain sources of wealth that ex-ist all the time e.g. oil, mines etc. For them,khumus is promulgated. So whatever istaken out of the mines, one fifth goes to thegovernment and if the owners of those re-sources accumulate wealth for more thanone year, they will pay zaka'at too. Zaka'atis the alternative to interest, to move thewheel of economy. One will have to usemoney within a year to avoid the tax and

thus will benefit the whole society. The Islamic laws of inheritance pro-

vide the same advantage to the deceased'sfamily. No one can give all his wealth toone of his inheritors. He has to abide bythe Islamic laws that divide the inheritanceamong each member of a family. Thus notonly is the wealth divided, but it is notcollected by one person. In the west, any-one can be excluded or included in the in-heritance.

With such a system, Islam takes careof the problem right at the root. Itsays that wealth belongs to Allahand His prophet.

"Whatever Allah has given toHis Messenger as spoils from thepeople of the town is for Allah andfor the Messenger and for the nearof the kin and the orphans and theneedy and the wayfarer, that it maynot circulate only among those ofyou who are rich."

This verse sheds light on thebasics of an Islamic economy.Whatever wealth there is, is for thepeople and under the control of thegovernment. It is done in order tomake sure that the wealth and re-sources are not concentrated in asmall group. Islam further declaresthat it is the responsibility of thegovernment to take care of the ba-sic needs of the people. It is a com-mand that was first revealed toProphet Adamas. It again took intoeffect when Islam surged andreached its peak during the era of

Hadhrat Omarra. He developed a completesystem in which lists of the people weremaintained and the government was re-sponsible for their basic needs.

Therefore, if the economy were to bebased on Islamic principles,there is nodoubt that the economy would stabilize.The economic cycle would not fall into arecession and we would have a peacefuland prosperous society.

Bibliography

Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmadra Islam Ka Iqtasadi Nizam.

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrat Universal Moral Values, Politics andWorld Peace.

Ask Islam. (n.d.). Retrieved from www,askislam.org

WINTER 2008 21

In a 1989 article entitledSchools Must Teach Religion,Edward Lear the televisionproducer stated, “It is unac-ceptable for the schools toadopt a narrow sectarianism,so also it is unacceptable forthem to embrace an absolutesecularism….education de-mands ethical literacy—andthat requires a full discussionof the moral and spiritualvalues.”

Last week, my daughterJavar ia , who a t tendsgrade three in PowderSpr ings , Georgia ,complained that one ofthe boys in her

classroom was making fun of her. As ateacher, I assumed it was a normal part ofeducation to ignore boys who make funof her, until I asked her what he said.

“Pig, pig, pig!” he chanted.

I wondered how he could call her apig when we abstain from eating all pigs?There is no logic, I concluded. Maybe hehad hurt feelings? I really couldn’t tellfrom my sink at home. But, I knew that itwas the second year of this behavior. Thenegative comments had started the yearbefore when the supply teacher let eachstudent explain some aspect of his or herreligion. When Javaria’s turn came, heand a few other children laughed at heropenly.

Javaria reported the new incident toher teacher, who told her that she in-tended to move the boy, but she wasbusy.

A week went by. Finally, the boy wasmoved and the other two adherents thathe’d won over disappeared with him. Thechorus of negativity had been squashed,yet I still felt dissatisfied.

On parent-teacher night, I spoke tothe new principal of the school for thefirst time. I explained the problem and he

Religion inEducation:

What’s all thefuss about?

Religion inEducation:

What’s all thefuss about?

“I wanted to create a little more interest bytaking a prayer rug to show the little childrenhow we pray. He told me, very firmly, not tocome back until Javaria was in grade five“and don’t bring the prayer rug” he said

nervously, “because you’re not allowed todemonstrate how to pray.”

I felt confused and offended. My religion isvery important to me.”

By Allison Knight-KhanBy Allison Knight-KhanBy Allison Knight-KhanBy Allison Knight-KhanBy Allison Knight-Khan

22 MuslimSunrise

promised that he would speak to the boy.“It’s all about respect,” he said, as heushered us out of his office.

I waited another week to find out ifthe principal had interviewed the boy.

“Why did you complain about me?”the boy finally complained to Javaria.

Javaria, who is a Waqf-e-nau (i.e.children dedicated to serve the faith),didn’t answer him back because shedidn’t want to create more trouble, butshe reported it to me. I felt some relief.

The problem was solved. Or was it?Since kindergarten, my oldest child,Javaria has felt isolated in the schoolsystem because she is the only Muslimin her class. Our neighbors in Atlanta arepredominant ly Bapt i s t Chr is t ians ,whether they are Caucasian or AfricanAmerican.

Feeling sympathy for her, because shewas the only one in school at the time, Iasked the previous principal if I couldspeak about Islam in the classroom tointroduce her differences—or what madeher special—I thought. Since I think likea teacher, I explained that I wanted to cre-ate a little more interest by taking aprayer rug to show the little children howwe pray. He told me, very firmly, not tocome back until Javaria was in grade five“and don’t bring the prayer rug” he saidnervously, “because you’re not allowedto demonstrate how to pray.”

I felt confused and offended. My reli-gion is very important to me. I thought Ihad explained our faith very nicely, sowhy was I still getting rejected?

He spoke the truth. The matter wasout of his hands.

To add to the confusion, Javaria’sgrade one teacher sent me a note tellingme that I couldn’t visit the class becauseit wasn’t constitutional. When she saidconstitutional, I felt like someone wasaiming an old red cannon at me! The pre-vious principal explained that Javaria’sgrade one teacher was mistaken. He ad-mitted that the definition of the religiouslimits comes from the First Amendment,but because of its limitations, I couldn’tteach anyone how to pray—not even ingrade five.

So I am relieved to find out that I amnot the only one who has been confusedby the American education system re-garding religion. It’s nice to know I’m not

alone. In fact, I think there are enoughof us to start a club!

In January of 2002, Excelsior Schoolin the Byron Union School District nearOakland, California weathered criticismfor its three week course on Islam. Theseventh graders received Muslim names,read verses from the Holy Qur’an, learnedto write Islamic proverbs in Arabic andorganized a pretend Hajj. (Heritage 3)

In reaction, the 3Rs committee, whoadvised the teachers on how to teach re-ligion, suggested that it “is more respect-ful and educationally sound to view avideo.” (Heritage 3)

As a professional teacher, I feel surethat if the subject had not been Islam,any teacher who had created such an in-teresting and memorable study unit inany school system, should have andwould have been applauded by the staffas brilliant. Clearly, the California 3Rscommittee, which coincidentally repre-sent: Rights, Responsibilities and Re-spect, felt very uncomfortable with thisinteractive unit of study on Islam. Moreto the point, they feared repercussions.They feared repercussions, not from thestudents, but the ‘participation in thepseudo-religious events might “violatethe i r (or the i r parents ’ )conscience.”’(Heritage 3) And sue…?Fortunately for that wonderful, liberal-minded teacher, no one did.

There is a lot of frustration in storefor educators who love their religion too.Take for example, the case of Ms. Wiggin South Dakota. She tried to teach anafter school Evangelical group that onlymeets for one hour a week called TheGood News Club. The school refused tolet her lead it, because she teaches at theschool. She argues that she is “off theclock,” but the school board argues thatshe looks too much like a proselytizingmember of the school board. The onehour class is designed to teach moraldevelopment. To Ms. Wigg, it must seemironic that anyone else in her communitycan teach her students, but not her, atrained teacher. Ms. Webb tried holdingThe Good News Club at another school,but she was stopped. Finally, the boardinformed her that she can develop herstudents’ morals once a week, but not inany of the schools in the area. Ms. Wiggswent so far as to sue her own schoolboard, but the outcome did not look veryhopeful.

What are the boards of educationafraid of? What is all the confusionabout?

Krista Kafer, an Education PolicyAnalyst, says that the defining statementin the First Amendment clause is that“Congress shall make no law respectingan establishment of religion, or prohibit-ing the free exercise thereof.” (Heritage3) It is a rather delicate balance. Teach-ers cannot stop others from praying, butthey are prohibi ted from using theirpos i t ions to in f luence s tudents to -ward any part icular rel igion. Conse-quently, teachers can monitor clubs,but they can’t participate in them. Onthe o the r hand , r e l i g ious s tuden t swho would l ike to observe their dailyprayers, cannot be stopped.

Therefore, i f there are even twoAhmadi Muslims at one school , theyare legally allowed to do their prayersat the proper t ime. The school gov-e r n m e n t c a n n o t s t o p t h e m . T h eschool adminis t ra tors , however, bythe same reversible yardstick, will notadvise them that this is their r ight .

While some teachers might be l ib-eral enough to hold Hajj demonstra-t ions in their schools, other adminis-t r a t i o n a n d s t a f f d o n ’ t e n c o u r a g eM u s l i m s t o o b s e r v e t h e i r d a i l yprayers due to the inconvenience orthe disruption i t might cause to thes c h e d u l e . A n i c e e x p l a n a t i o n a n dgentle insistence may provide a bet-ter example of Is lam than any parentcou ld hope to g ive a whole c lass -room—children praying in f ront oftheir classmates!

A l l a h r e c o r d s i n a c l e a r b o o kwhere we pray. What bet ter recordcould we leave behind than al l ourzuhr prayers to protect the school ,insh-Allah?

Works Cited

Commentary: Lear: Schools Must Teach About Religion. 13 December1989.

http://edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww…

Goldblatt, Jeff. Teacher Fights for Right to Teach Religion After School. 9June

2003.<http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88919,00.html

Kafer, Krista. How to Teach Religion in Public Schools.

<http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed083102.cfm

WINTER 2008 23

The tax debate in the modern state,particularly during election years,tends to become hos tage to

ideology. Any pronouncements about taxhikes or cuts are often painted as a battlebetween “socialist” and “right-wing”forces . Behind the loaded pol i t ica lrhetoric, the debate is simply between thecompeting values of economic growthand economic equity. The liberals believethat the government must raise taxes andredistribute income. The conservatives arguethat tax cuts will create more jobs and therebyminimize the need for income redistribution.What is Islam’s perspective on this debate?This article will briefly explore the history ofIslamic taxes and donation schemes and thendeduce and discuss principles of an Islamictaxation system.

The foundation of an Islamic taxation sys-tem, is the belief that everything in the uni-verse belongs to Allah. The Holy Qur'ansays:“To Allah belongs the kingdom of heav-ens and the earth; and Allah has power overall things," (3:190). Furthermore, the Islamicstate must treat tax funds as a trust and spendaccordingly. The Holy Qur'an offers guidancein this regard: “Whatever Allah has given tohis Messenger as spoils from the people ofthe towns, it is for Allah and the Messengerand for the near of kin and the orphans andthe needy and the wayfarer, in order that itmay not circulate only among those of youwho are rich…"(59:8). Even though “to Allahbelongs the Kingdom of heaven and theearth”, Islam does recognize the right of pri-vate property and individual ownership. ButAllah wants “that individual owner shouldtreat his property as a sort of trust and sub-jects the institution of private property to lim-its and correctiveness which tend to reducethe power and influence of the wealthier sec-tions of the community.

The ultimate purpose of an Islamic taxa-tion system is, therefore, to “reduce the powerand influence of…wealthier sections of thecommunity” and to improve the well being of

every individual living under its imposition. Itis worth noting, that Islam advocates the dis-tribution of wealth but, it does not preventthe creation of wealth through fair means aslong as it is spread around.

Islamic Taxes & DonationSchemes

Here, it is important to clarify that in anIslamic state, the authority to collect fundswould reside both with the state and the nizam-e-jama’at. An Islamic state will tax those indi-viduals and businesses that reside in its juris-diction. The nizam-e-jama’at, however, willcollect the funds from the whole Muslimummah, under the system of wasiyyat, zaka'atand chanda. The funds will be used by thecaliph for the propagation of Islam and theeradication of poverty across the globe. Inthe early Islamic state, the caliph was also thehead of state, hence, donations and taxes wereboth collected by the state.

Zaka’at

The first and the only compulsory tax inIslam is zaka'at. The Holy Prophet said:“Zaka'at is a levy imposed upon the well-to-do which is returned to the poorer sections ofthe people.” The proceeds of zaka’at are ear-marked for the overall betterment of human-ity.

Jizya

In some periods of history, Muslims col-lected jizya from non-Muslims. Jizya was notan additional tax levied on non-Muslims; itwas a substitute of zaka’at. This made senseas non-Muslims would have been, most likely,reluctant to pay an Islamic tax.

Ushoor & Khiraj

Besides jizya, ushoor and khiraj were othermajor taxes collected by Islamic jurisdictionsin the early history of Islam. Khiraj was a landtax while ushoor was a duty on import and

export. When Islamic governments conquerednew territories, they inherited these taxes fromprevious governments and continued to levythese taxes but with lower rates to lighten thetax burdens of peasants and traders.

Al-Wasiyyat

In modern times, Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, Khalifa-tul-Masih II,acknowledges that industrialization, commer-cial competition, and international struggleover resources, have made the system ofzaka'at and voluntary contributions inad-equate. However, he emphasizes that:“…thisdoes not detract from the excellence of theIslamic teaching on the subject. At that timethe object of this teaching could be fulfilledby means of zaka’at and voluntary contribu-tions…”

In this regard, Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Dinra says:“The Promised Messiahas has in-terpreted the Islamic teachings according tothe needs of the present age. If the Islamicstate has to provide food, clothing, shelter,medical relief, and means of education to ev-erybody, it must have at its disposal very muchlarger resources than would have sufficed inthe early days of Islam.” That is why he con-cludes, that the Promised Messiah, HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmadas introduced the sys-tem of Al-Wasiyyat. Muslims who join thissystem are required to volunteer from 1/10thto 1/3rd of their properties and belongings.The funds collected through this system, havebeen earmarked for the strengthening and

The foundation and historyof taxation in Islam The ultimate purpose of

an Islamic taxationsystem is, therefore, to

“reduce the power andinfluence of…wealthier

sections of thecommunity” and to

improve the well beingof every individual

living under itsimposition.

By Atif Mir

24 MuslimSunrise

propagation of Islam and welfare of those whodo not possess adequate means of suste-nance.

Modern Islamic State & Prin-ciples of Taxation System

As discussed above, in the modern setup, funds collected through zaka'at, wasiyyatand other donation schemes, would land inthe coffers of Bait-ul-Ma’al (treasury housecontrolled by the nizam-e-jama'at). An Islamicstate would have to levy its own taxes to meetits needs and manage its responsibilities.What should the tax designed by an Islamicstate be like? In this regard, zaka'at, providessome guidance. Funds collected under zaka'atshould be spent to improve economic equi-ties but at the same time the system of zaka'atencourages entrepreneurs to invest their capi-tal instead of letting it sit idle. Hence it may beargued that the primary principles of Islamictaxation should be, economic equity and thecirculation of wealth.

Economic Equity is one of the most de-sired ideals in Islam. To realize this ideal, thetax system can play a key role. To begin with,the tax legislation and audit system of thestate should discover and plug loopholes toprevent evasion and avoidance of taxes. Thestrong audit system helps to ensure that theburden of taxation is shared fairly and as in-tended by the tax system. Should an Islamicstate impose a progressive tax rate structureto promote economic equity? Under this struc-ture, a tax rate increases if the amount of in-come to which it applies, increases. Again,guidance should be sought from the systemof zaka'at and wasiyyat. About zaka'at, HadhratMirza Tahir Ahmadra says:“Although muchhas been said about the rate or percentage ofthis tax (zaka'at), we find no reference to anyfixed percentage in the Holy Qur'an…I believethat the question of percentage remains flex-ible and should be determined according tothe state of the economy in a particular coun-try.” Hence, the rate of zaka'at, arguably, isnot fixed and flat. It can be levied according tothe needs of the economy. As for wasiyyat,Muslims who join this system are required tovolunteer a certain percentage of their prop-erties and belongings, as mentioned above,making the system of wasiyyat progressiveby choice.

As discussed, the proper tax design goesa long way in realizing the goal of economicequity. The responsible spending of tax fundsis no less important. The Holy Prophetsaw hassaid:"Each of you is like a shepherd to whom

the sheep do not belong. He is entrusted withthe responsibility of tending the sheep. Youwill be held answerable." In the light of thishadith, the tax funds are like a sheep that thestate must spend responsibly. As discussed,the state’s first responsibility is towards thepoor and a genuine effort should be made notto waste tax funds. One of the recent examplesof questionable spending of tax dollars in theUSA, was the $700 billion bail out package formajor financial institutions. This package,which is intended to inject capital into thestrained financial system, used the taxpayer’smoney to subsidize a financial disaster thatresulted from the greed of Wall Street and thelack of proper government regulations. Whenall is said and done, the bail out package trans-ferred $700 billion from the pockets of taxpay-ers to big financial institutions. The govern-ment should have prevented this crisis by put-ting in place proper regulations. With this bailout package, the deficit of the US governmenthas worsened. Most likely, taxes will be raised,

sooner or later, to deal with the ballooningdeficit and taxpayers will pay twice for thegreed of Wall Street and the negligence of thegovernment.

Islam advocates economic equity but itdoes not impose rules that might hamper indi-vidual entrepreneurship in the economic arena.Economic prosperity is not discouraged aslong as the created wealth is shared. Zaka'atproves that if a tax is properly designed, thewhole economy benefits from the circulationof money which in turn promotes economicgrowth. However, if an investor has an optionto earn interest on his/her idle capital, he/shemight be more comfortable to earn 5% risk-free money on deposits sitting idle in the bankrather than invest in a venture. With this deci-sion, the investor short-circuits the circula-tion-of-money process and adversely impactsthe economic equity. Therefore, when design-ing the tax, the effects of tax to economicgrowth should be considered. Properly de-signed, taxes should not hurt the prosperityof a society.

An objection that is often raised againstwelfare states, is that its higher taxes hurt busi-ness spending. Since an Islamic state, by defi-nition, is a welfare state, this objection needsto be responded to. In this regard, Swedencan be cited as an example. Paul Krugman, a2008 Nobel laureate, said, “Since 1993 theeconomy (of Sweden) has grownvigorously…most predictions are forgrowth….Unemployment has fallen steadily,with many predicting that it will drop below 5per cent next year….last year Sweden col-lected an awesome 63 percent of GDP in taxes.”In simple words, despite high taxes, theeconomy of Sweden has grown and unem-ployment rates have fallen.

In the modern times, unfortunately, thetax debate has become ideological. The Islamictaxation system does not present an ideologi-cal tax system, rather flexible and practicalprinciples to design a tax system to suit theeconomic circumstances of the time. Gener-ally, the developed countries have introducedIslam-like tax systems in the later half of 20thcentury that tries to balance the competingobjectives of equity and economic growth.However, what still makes the Islamic taxationsystem special, is that two principles of Is-lamic taxation, equity and economic progress,are guided by the principle of righteousnesswhich rejects greed and encourages circula-tion and distribution of wealth, to seek thepleasure of Allah. This principle of righteous-ness, ultimately, continues to be the true hallmark of the Islamic taxation system.

One of the recent examplesof questionable spendingof tax dollars in the USA,was the $700 billion bail

out package for majorfinancial institutions. Thispackage, which is intended

to inject capital into thestrained financial system,used the taxpayer’s money

to subsidize a financialdisaster that resulted from

the greed of Wall Street andthe lack of proper

government regulations.When all is said and done,

the bail out packagetransferred $700 billion

from the pockets oftaxpayers to big financial

institutions.

WINTER 2008 25

TThe world has always beena place of organized chaos.Through the ages, thedegrees of chaos havefluctuated wildly, withperiods of relative calm

sandwiched between years of global unrestand uncertainty. Our world today is noexception. Due to advancements in technology,ours is a smaller world, more tightly connected.With a few keystrokes, we have the ability tosit at home and communicate with people fromall over the globe. Though the world hasbecome smaller, it seems like our trove ofproblems continues to grow larger. It is in thesetimes that society hunts for true leaders toguide them through the turbulent times intopeace and prosperity. But has society trulychosen the right leaders for the times? Someof these so-called leaders are synonymouswith dictators and tyrants. However, trueleadership is for the advancement of societyand for the betterment of the common people.It is not about control and rigidity and cruelty.

A true leader should possess certain at-tributes that enable him or her to bring abouta positive effect to the lives of others. Amongthese are truthfulness, humility, discipline, re-ceptiveness, steadfastness, strength of char-acter and kindness. In Islam, and in fact, forthe world, there can be no more perfect anexample of this than the Holy Prophetsaw. Hewas a perfect leader in both peacetime andwartime, possessing these and many moresuch qualities of true leadership. It is to himthat we should look when choosing a leader,for he is the perfect guide. Islam is the onlyreligion that allows for equal rights for women,in society as well as in positions of power. Butleadership is not about power. It carries with itgreat responsibility and must not be takenlightly.

In his influential book, Leadership for the21st Century, Joseph Rost offers a founda-tional definition. According to Rost, leader-ship is “an influence relationship among lead-ers and followers who intend real changes thatreflect their mutual purposes.” 1 In essence,leaders and their followers are in a symbioticrelationship, where both parties are strivingtoward the same purpose.

There are many different types and cat-egories of leaders. Among them, there are twotypes that are mentioned by another author-ity in leadership studies, James MacGregorBurns. In his book Leadership, Burns dis-cusses transactional leadership versus trans-formational leadership.2 Transactional leader-ship is where the leader is in charge of a groupof followers who work toward a pre-determinedgoal in exchange for something else. In thistype of setup, the leader has the power to re-ward or punish as he sees fit. It is often ap-plied in task management and attaining short-term goals. Transformational, on the otherhand, is true leadership. A transformationalleader has an infectious enthusiasm that hasthe power to influence, inspire, motivate, andtransform. The agenda is for the good of thecommon people, and in order to achieve that,the leader must pay attention to his followers’needs.

In Islam, it is the transformational type ofleadership that is significant. In a hadith nar-rated by Abu Maryam al-Azdi, the HolyProphetsaw said, “If Allah puts anyone in theposition of authority over the Muslims’ af-fairs and he secludes himself (from them), not

Fundamentals of LeadershipBy Aisha Husain Ahmad

26 MuslimSunrise

fulfilling their needs, wants, and poverty, Al-lah will keep Himself away from him, not ful-filling his need, want, and poverty” (SunanAbu Dawud). Thus, a true leader should notfocus on his own personal needs; he needsto keep in mind the needs of his followers.In his book Revelation, Rationality, Knowl-edge and Truth, Hadhrat Mirza TahirAhmadra writes, “Whenever a social, racial,economic or political order evolves, it alwaysevolves around an unwritten understandingof give and take between the society andthe individuals which collectively make thesociety. No individual will ever readily sur-render his freedom but only on the under-standing that in the bargain he gains morethan what he has lost.”3 Being a true leaderinvolves making sacrifices in the face ofgreat adversity. All of Allah’s prophets, in-cluding the Holy Prophetsaw, were belovedby Allah, yet they faced innumerable trialsand tribulations. But because they wereblessed by Allah and were true leaders witha clear vision to better the lives of their fol-lowers, they made impacts that changed thecourse of history. Though they all faced mor-tal danger, they believed in the truth of theirmessage, as did their followers.

A leader, in whatever setting, must havecertain attributes to make his leadership ef-fective. As stated before, the Holy Prophetsaw

is a most virtuous example to all Muslimsregarding leadership. In Chapter 68, verse 5of the Holy Qur’an, it is stated, “And thoudost, surely, possess sublime moralexcellences.” To see what a true leader islike, one need look no further than the HolyProphetsaw. His enemies absurdly accusedhim of being a madman, but Allah dictatedthat the true madmen would be soon re-vealed. Actions of madmen always come tothe destruction of themselves, yet the HolyProphetsaw was victorious in every way.Steadfastness is one such important at-tribute. Without it, the early disintegrationof the common goal is imminent. In Chapter3, verse 140, the Holy Qur’an states, “Slackennot, nor grieve; and you shall certainly havethe upper hand, if you are true believers.”This verse was geared specifically towardthe nations of the time, to not weaken nordespair, but to stay strong for the uncertainfuture.

Humility and kindness are extremely im-portant as well. More and more it seems thathuman nature has an increased propensityfor evil toward his fellow man. Hadhrat MirzaTahir Ahmadra states, “It is humans alone

who can willfully ignore their responsibili-ties and usurp the rights of other membersof society knowing it to be wrong. So theindividual freedom in relation to the collec-tive responsibility man owes to any institu-tion is undermined and sabotaged by hispropensity to break laws, commit frauds andact wrongfully, yet hoping to run away withwhatever he can.”3 A true leader shies awayfrom defrauding his followers and other lead-ers, be it leaders of an organization or a na-tion. Hadhrat Ibn UmarRA narrates a hadith,“When the leaders of a people you visit,show them due respect” (Ibn Majah). In thesame way, a leader should show kindness tohis enemies as well as his followers. In Chap-ter 3, verse 160, the Holy Qur’an states:

“And it is by the great mercy of Allahthat thou art kind towards them, and

if thou hadst been rough and hard-hearted, they would surely have dispersedfrom around thee. So pardon them and askforgiveness of them, and

consult with them in matters of adminis-tration; and when thou art resolved, thenput thy trust in Allah. Surely Allah lovesthose who put their trust in Him.”

This verse was revealed after the Battleof Uhud. It is a matter of record that the HolyProphetsaw forgave his enemies and his fol-lowers who had deserted him on the battle-field. He took no action against them andeven consulted them on state matters.

Clearly Islam contains a precise set ofrequirements and guidelines that can appliedto the role of leadership. But is leadershiplimited to only men? Many people would an-swer in the affirmative, saying that perhapswomen are too weak to be in positions ofleadership. This view does not necessarilyhave to do exclusively with how the worldviews Islam. There are many people whobelieve that women in general are not fit tobe leaders. However, Islam views women asequals to men. It states in the Holy Qur’anin chapter 2, verse 229, “And they (thewomen) have rights similar to those (of men)over them in equity; but men have a degreeof advantage above them. And Allah isMighty and Wise.” The degree of advan-tage mentioned in the preceding verse is themale responsibility to take care of womenand protect them. Many people take this tomean that women are still subordinate to men.However, Islam stands out as the only reli-gion that grants abundant legal rights towomen. For example, in the political realm,

there are several Muslim countries that haveor have had women in the highest positionsof power. Indonesia, the world’s most popu-lous Muslim-majority country, had a femalepresident, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Pakistan,another Muslim country elected BenazirBhutto. Of course, women leaders are still along ways from being in the forefront of theglobal political platform, but there are manyrungs to the ladder of leadership. Womencan be leaders in industry, science, educa-tion, and in the home. Unfortunately, in theWest we sometimes overlook one of the mostdemanding positions of leadership: Moth-erhood.

Leadership, whether it be of a country orof an institution, is very important to regu-late the natural state of chaos that exists inthe world. Leadership is not about the theleader; it is about the people being led. Thefocus should always be on them and theirneeds. In Islam’s Response to Contempo-rary Issues, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadra

states, “In a true Islamic government, it isthe responsibility of the government to bewatchful so that people do not have to re-sort to strikes, industrial strife, demonstra-tion, sabotage, or cause for complaint, to gettheir rights.”4 He even explains why peopleallow themselves to be governed, saying,“Primarily, it is individual security which hebargains for at the cost of some personalfreedom. On the one hand he surrenderssome of his rights to whatever institution hebecomes a member of and, on the other, hegains some guaranteed protection and suchassistance as would make his individual ex-istence easier and more comfortable.”3 Ba-sically, to protect oneself, a person submitsto authority. But this authority should be tomaintain the civility of society and to pro-tect the common people and to improve theirquality of life. In today’s world, true leader-ship seems to be a rare gem. May Allah guideus all on the right path to unearth it and shineits light upon a world in need.

End Notes

1. Joseph Rost, Leadership for the 21st Century, (Westport, CT:Praeger Press, 1993)

2. James MacGregor Burns, Leadership, (New York: Harper &Row, 1978)

3. Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Revelation, Rationality, Knowl-edge, and Truth, (Tilford, UK: Islam International Publications Limited,1998)

4. Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Islam’s Response to Contempo-

rary Issues, (Tilford, UK: Islam International Publications Limited, 1992)

WINTER 2008 27

PPeople belonging tovarious world religionshave gone throughand lived by manyforms of governments– such as kingship,

feudalism, dictatorship and theocracy. Like allother religions, Islam has continued to bepreached and practiced under various formsof governments. There have been Muslimcaliphs, kings, sultans, dictators, presidents,tribal chiefs, and Ameers.

The crucial question for us here is toconsider whether Islamic religious beliefsand values are compatible with the basicprinciples of any democratic form ofgovernment or not. And if the answer isin the affirmative, which it certainly is,then the next question would be: How farthe principles of the religion of Islam canpractically influence the present Muslimpopulations to adopt democracy as a formof government?

1. The most fundamental teaching of Is-lam is Tawheed, that is, to have faith in theUnity of God called Allah. The Muslims be-lieve in Him to be the Creator and Sustainerof the universe, including all the people.The Qur’an starts with the declaration thatAllah Alone is the Creator and Sustainer ofthe worlds, Lord of all mankind. The lastchapter of the Qur’an is entitled – Al-Nas –‘The People.’ It declares unambiguouslythat Allah Alone is the Creator-Sustainer ofthe people, the Sovereign of the people, andthe Lord of the people. Thus the repeatedreference to the people, to entire mankind,certainly establishes the fact that the peoplehave to remain central concern in any Is-lamic state!

2. The significance of the people isalso re-emphasized by the Qur’an whenit declares that there is not a single na-tion that God did not send His guidancethrough His messengers, the prophets ofGod (35:24), (2:214). The Qur’an declaresthat Muhammad (may peace and bless-ings of Allah be on him), the Prophet ofIslam, was sent as a Messenger of God

to all mankind with a universal message(4:80), (21:108). “Inasmuch as God’s sov-ereignty extends over the whole uni-verse, the ultimate ideal of a state in Is-lam is a universal federation, or confed-eration, of autonomous states, associatedtogether for upholding freedom of con-science and for the maintenance of peaceand co-operation in promoting human

What about democracy in Islam?Democracy is a political system – a form of government in which people vote for representatives togovern the state on their behalf. Democracy is not specifically attached to any one faith tradition; it isa political phenomenon, with a history of its own, and is still in progress. It is a complex process withmany challenges in various parts of the world. Like other world religions, such as Christianity, Hinduism,Buddhism, Shinto and Judaism, Islam essentially deals with matters of faith, worship, morality andspirituality in individual and collective lives of people.

“Inasmuch as God’s sovereignty extends over thewhole universe, the ultimate ideal of a state in

Islam is a universal federation, or confederation, ofautonomous states, associated together for

upholding freedom of conscience and for themaintenance of peace and co-operation in

promoting human welfare throughout the world.”Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

By Mubasher Ahmad

28 MuslimSunrise

welfare throughout the world.” [Islam: ItsMeaning for Modern Man, by Muham-mad Zafrulla Khan, p. 158.]

3. The Qur’an instructs us to estab-lish unity among mankind by declaringthat all the people in the world are oneextended family – namely, the childrenof Adam and Eve. Therefore, disorderand lawlessness, chaotic and anarchicconditions are strongly condemned inIslam. Establishment of peace and se-curity are the goals of Islam. While aim-ing at the unity, peace, love and secu-rity among the people, Islam does notdeny the diversity among the individu-als, families, ethnic groups, races andtribes. God in the Qur’an declares: “Omankind, We have created you from amale and a female; and we have madeyou races and t r ibes , that you mayknow one another. Verily the most hon-orable among you, in the sight of Al-lah, is he who is the most righteousamong you” (49:13). This verse of theQur’an eliminates the false sense of su-periority or inferiority based on race,color or ethnicity of any individual orgroup. All humans are declared equalin the sight of God.

4. Political office is a trust given toa leader by the people, and accordingto the teachings of Islam it needs to begiven only to those who are capable ofdischarging this duty with the utmostintegrity. Its use or misuse affects thegeneral well being of the people and thestate. In turn the people have a duty toexercise wisely their right to entrustsomeone with the authority. The Qur’ansays: “Verily Allah commands you togive over the trusts to those who arebest fitted to discharge it” (4:59). Here,it is manifestly made clear that the au-thority or power to rule is a “trust” oft h e p e o p l e , a n d i t b e l o n g s t o t h epeople, and it is not the birth-right ofany individual or any family. The rulershave to be elected instead of inheritingthe political power by right of birth. Inelecting the government officials astrustees of political power; Muslims areinstructed to elect the one best fittedfor the office.

5. Those entrusted with poli t icalpower are required to discharge their du-

ties most diligently and with full integ-rity and justice. The Qur’an states: “Andif one of you entrusts another with some-thing, then let him who is entrusted sur-render and return his trust, and let himfear Allah, his Lord” (2:284). For theMuslim, the Qur’an gives clear instruc-tions in the following words: “O ye whobelieve! Prove not false to Allah and themessenger, nor betray your trusts know-ingly” (8:28). As a matter of fact, to bewatchful of the trusts and to keep thepromises made to others are fundamen-tal requirements to be a Muslim (70:33).The Prophet of Islam said: “Every oneof you is a shepherd, and is responsibleand accountable for that which is com-mitted to his care, and the ruler is re-sponsible for and answerable to hispeople…” It is, therefore, the responsi-bility of an Islamic state to safeguardits people against disorder and oppres-sion, to look after their national secu-rity, and to make provisions for all theirmaterial and intellectual needs.

6. To uphold absolute justice is anessential requirement for an Islamic ad-ministration. The Qur’an commands: “Oye who believe! Be strict in observingjustice, and be witness for Allah, eventhough it is against you or against yourparents or kindred, whether he is rich orpoor” (4:136). “When you judge betweenpeople (or use your authority), you mustdo so equitably and with justice” (4:59).The Qur’an commands to remain justeven to the enemies: “O ye who believe!Be steadfast in the cause of Allah, andbear witness in justice (and equity); andlet not a people’s enmity incite you toact unjustly. Be always just , that isnearer to righteousness” (5:9).

Once the Muslim Caliph, Umar theGreat was summoned to court to answera civil charge leveled against him. Whenhe appeared in the court , the judgestood up as a mark of respect for thecaliph. Umar observed that he had comeinto the court not in his capacity as thecaliph, but as a private citizen, and thatit was utterly wrong and inconsistentwith the judge’s position to extend anycourtesy to the caliph which was notextended to all other citizens when ap-pearing in court. He held that the judge,by his action, had failed in his duty to

remain impartial towards the parties indispute, and he was not fit to exercisejustice.

7. Another essential democratic prin-ciple is to run a government by mutualconsultation. The Qur’an is explicitlyclear on this point. The Prophet of Islamwas commanded by God to run the af-fairs dealing with administration througha consu l ta t ive process – known as“Shura” in Arabic (3:160), and the Mus-lims are required to decide important mat-ters by mutual consultation among com-pe ten t members o f the communi ty(42:39). Therefore, the government mustdecide questions of policy and all majoradministrative issues after full discus-sion among the chosen representativesof the people.

8. In addition to mutual consulta-tion, Islam endorses independent judg-ment (I j t ihad), and also encouragesbuilding consensus (Ijma) among thepeople. The Qur’an repeatedly invitesand encourages the use of human in-tellectual faculties, promoting scien-tific inquiry and advancing social sci-ences. This includes open discussionon political thought and how to run agovernment.

9. Lastly, Islam upholds the prin-ciple that freedom of conscience andreligious belief is a basic human right,and no force should be applied in reli-gious matters, and no one should becoerced to change one’s faith againsthis or her own conscience. The Qur’anclearly declares, “There is no compul-sion in religion” (2:257). Faith is a per-sonal choice, therefore, instead of co-ercion or oppression, mutual discus-sions, interfaith dialogues, wisdom andk i n d p e r s u a s i o n a r e t h e m e t h o d sclearly defined by the Qur’an (16:126).

To conclude, Islam as a religion al-lows enough ground for the Muslimsto select democracy as a form of gov-e r n m e n t , a n d t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s o fdemocratic governance are part of theIslamic value system. Islam and democ-racy are not mutually exclusive. How-ever, democracy in Islamic countriesneeds no t be an exac t copy of theWestern form of democracies.

WINTER 2008 29

The following responses were written asa blog on US News earlier this year, byShazia Sohail.

I believe that monotheisticfaiths and polytheisticfaiths are just winds

blowing in different directions.Don’t you think mankind hasoutgrown the ‘thou shalt not’approach?

I don't think polytheism is assimple as the wind blowing indifferent directions. My mainissue with believing in multiple

gods is that it brings about a split in hu-manity. Belief in One God means He cre-ated everyone, so we are all children ofthe same God. It is the basis of equalityand complete lack of racism. With mul-tiple gods you get into the discussion of'who is your god and who is my god'which inevitably leads to 'my god is bet-ter than your god', leading to 'I am betterthan you.' This is what happened in Hin-duism. Spiritual practices aside, their so-cial practices viz. a viz. lower castes andother religions are horrific. This was themain reason behind the split of the In-dian sub-continent.

I agree that at an individual level spiri-tual practices can lead to the same out-come - some kind of harmony with na-ture. But at a social and collective levelwe need a set of teachings that can guar-antee order and harmony in society. Weneed a system of justice based on wis-dom; we need a matrix of rights and obli-gations of various players in society; andwe need to somehow support and pro-tect the weak, and the disenfranchised.

I also agree with your contention thatmankind has outgrown the 'thou shall not'approach. To put it simply, we startedfrom the level of 'an eye for an eye,' pro-gressed to 'turn the other cheek' andevolved to 'use your judgment and se-lect the course of action calculated to

bring about reformation, but if you arenot sure what to do then it is better to erron the side of forgiveness.'

But I believe that the realm ofgovernance should be secular.

Again, I agree with you that therealm of governance has to besecular. The fact is that any sys-tem that is based on justice is in

accord with Islam. The problem comes inwhen distance from God leads to corrup-tion of politicians, which leads to break-down of the best of systems. At thatpoint, religion can inform personal con-duct. That should be the extent of reli-gion in politics. Let me give you an ex-ample that illustrates my point.

Islam only informs humans on whereone can go wrong in matters of gover-nance and to guard against them. It doesnot prescribe a specific system, thoughdemocratic values have clearly been sug-gested. Nations are free to adopt anysystem of rule that suits them providedit is accepted by the people as the tradi-tional heritage of their society. However,the Holy Qur’an unambiguously advisesMuslims to have a democratic system ofgovernment, though not necessarily onthe pattern of Western style democracy.It only deals with principles of vital sig-nif icance and leaves the rest to thepeople.

“Those who hearken to their Lord, andobserve prayer, and whose affairs aredecided by mutual consultation, and whospend out of what We have provided forthem (42:39).”

The words ‘whose affairs are admin-istered by mutual consultation’ relate tothe political life of the Muslim societywhere its decisions are made throughmutual consultation, reminiscent of gov-ernment of the people, where the com-mon will of the people becomes the rul-ing will of the people.

The Qur’an states, “Verily, Allah com-mands you to give over the trusts tothose entitled to them, and that, whenyou judge between (or rule over) indi-viduals, you judge (or rule) with justice

(4:59).” This verse characterizes the rightto rule as a trust to be bestowed by peopleonly on those who are well suited to dis-charge it, thus evoking government bythe people. The words "when you judgebetween individuals, you judge with jus-tice", admonish that when choosing aleader from among several individuals,justice, also defined as ‘balance’ or‘middle path’, should be one’s yardstick.In other words, although it is the right ofthe people to choose their leaders, it isalso the responsibility of the people tochoose their leaders with extreme care,choosing well-balanced individuals whoare prone to act with moderation and de-liberation in the affairs of the state.

Keeping justice in mind also appliesto politicians who, when choosing aleader for their party, need to be mindfulof the trust people have bestowed onthem and vote for the person they knowwill be best for the people. Since justiceis preferred to self-interest in the Qur’anas something to be dispensed “eventhough it be against your own selves oryour kindred (4:136),” one would con-clude that when nominating a candidate,a Muslim would shun self-interest andkeep the interests of the entire nation insight. Notable in this context is the omis-sion of any reference to the religion ofthe person elected as ruler. The only cri-terion prescribed for an office is thoseentitled to them, meaning those who aresuitably qualified. That the Islamic gov-ernment is for the people, is evident fromnumerous traditions like: “If a person isin charge of the affairs of the people anddoes not strive diligently to promote theirwelfare, he will not enter Paradise withthem.”

We find similar words of advice relatedto the legislative process, justice system,due process, social welfare, economy,freedom of religion, pre-eminence of therule of law, and foreign policy. This ad-vice is meant for every individual to betaken personally through private perusalof the Qur'an, since we are all rulers inone sphere or another.

Why do we need Islam, or anyorganized religion, whenspirituality is personal and

Q&A

Q

A

Q

Q

A

30 MuslimSunrise

can be developed through exerciseslike Yoga and Tai Chi?

Islam actually is all about one’srelationship with God. The vari-ous situations that we find our-selves in are a means of choos-

ing or rejecting God, several times a day.Through exercise of reason we makechoices to please God. Most of thesechoices relate to our actions towards otherindividuals. For example, when we are hon-est in paying taxes, although the benefi-ciary appears to be the society, we are ac-tually improving our own relationship with

Which is the true word of God?WHO HAS SEEN GOD? AS RELATED BY JOHN OR BY: ABRAHAM, HAGAR, JACOB, MOSES, JOB, AND ISAIAH.

JOHN: “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom ofthe Father, hath declared him.”

JOHN 1.18

ABRAHAM: ”And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abramand said unto him, I am the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou perfect.” GENESIS

17.1

“And the lord appeared unto Abram on the plains of Mamre and he sat in the tent door inthe heat of the day.” GENESIS 18.1

HAGAR: “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me.”GENESIS 16.13

JACOB: “I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved.” GENESIS 32.30

MOSES: ”The Lord God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacobappeared unto me.” EXODUS 3.16

“And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” EXODUS33.11

JOB: ”I have heard thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eyes seest thee.”JOB 42.5

ISAIAH: ”I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up and his train filledthe temple.”

ISAIAH 6.1

God (spirituality). This is how exercise ofmorality leads to strengthening of spiritu-ality. In Islam, you just cannot divorce spiri-tuality from morality. It is just not possibleto please God if we are hurting His creationin any way. But it is not enough to nothurt. If we are bypassing opportunities tohelp our fellow men, then too we are beingnegligent of our duty.

Many moral qualities do not come intoplay unless we are actively engaged in work-ing with other people. For example, howcan we forgive if we do not first get hurt?How can we suppress anger if we do notinteract with others? How can one be agood husband or father without getting

married? My point is that spiritualitypracticed in isolation is of no good tosociety if it is not used to actively ben-efit others.

Thus, if the purpose of yoga is to en-able one to exercise high moral qualities,then I am all for it. If tai chi helps createstillness of mind that leads to a cheerfuland helpful disposition then I am all forit. But spirituality can lead to God onlyafter it has been used to enhance moral-ity. I do not see that in Tao culture.

It saddens me that I can only tell youwhat is right and what is wrong accord-ing to Islam, and not be able to point youto a particular country as an example.

A

WINTER 2008 31

To whom it may concern

You know who you are

You say God has left you alone

With a perfect ring of scars

To whom it may concern

The prayers of the naïve

Are haunting you now because

Of the lies you once believed

To whom it may concern

You see the world in despair

You keep asking the question

“God, is this fair?”

To whom is may concern

Society adds another bullet in the gun

But now I can give you the truth

From which you cannot run

To whom it may concern

I have the answer for you

It’s in a perfect book

Full of light, strong and true

To whom it may concern

His one Prophet showed the light

He spread Allah’s loving message

To whom it may concern...

He alone conquered the fight

To whom it may concern

His message reached all

This religion of peace

Will stop your trembling fall

To whom it may concern

He will guide you to the right path

He protects and loves His believers

Never sending them into darkened wrath

To whom it may concern

Your first step forward is what you’re giving

Toward Allah’s love and protection

For that is life worth living

To whom it may concern

You must look deep inside

The truth is in your heart

Now it is you who must realize

The truth and beauty are all here

For God’s love your heart yearns

I write this poem to you

To whom it may concern

Maria Andleeb Ahmed

32 MuslimSunrise

Khilafat Centenary celebrations continue as UK Member of Parliamenthosts celebratory event at

Westminster.In an historic event at the Houses of Par-

liament, the Head of the Ahmadiyya MuslimJamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad wasyesterday invited to address a number of se-nior members of Government, Parliamentariansand Ambassadors as Justine Greening MP,hosted a reception in celebration of theKhilafat Centenary, which is the system ofspiritual leadership that unites Ahmadi Mus-lims around the world.

The event was attended by over 30 MPsincluding Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretaryof State for Communities & Local Government;Dominic Grieve MP, the Shadow Home Secre-tary; Simon Hughes MP, the President of theLiberal Democrats; Gillian Merron MP, the For-eign Office Minister and Lord Eric Aveburywho gave the vote of thanks. The event wassponsored by Justine Greening MP, in whose

constituency the first Ahmadi Mosque builtin the UK, the ‘Fazl Mosque’, is based.

During her welcome address, JustineGreening MP, spoke of how the Fazl Mosquehad played a key and vital role in the localcommunity ever since it was built back in 1924.She said that it was indeed a privilege for herthat the Headquarters of the Jamaat was basedin her constituency. Her comments were ech-oed by Gillian Merron MP, the newly ap-pointed Foreign Office Minister. She said itwas a great honour to meet with the Head ofthe Jamaat and to be able to mark the Cente-nary of Khilafat. She said that the work of the

Jamaat was crucial because it ‘gave a voiceto those who are marginalised’.

Commenting upon the continued perse-cution of Ahmadi Muslims in various coun-tries she singled out Pakistan and Indonesiaas countries where the situation appeared tobe worsening. She said that the Foreign Of-fice was committed to effecting the safeguard-ing of Human Rights in all countries.

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Headof the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, used hisaddress to speak about a number of contem-porary issues that were affecting the peace ofsociety both in the UK and the world at large.He also spoke about the role of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat which he said was as the ‘stan-dard bearer and true representative of Islam’.He said members of the Jamaat who lived inthe UK were all completely loyal to the coun-try because this was the teaching of theFounder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muham-mad (peace be upon him).

His Holiness began his address by speak-ing of the great conflict that divided the worldtoday. Wars were being fought in differentparts of the world. He worried of even greaterproblems. He said:

“It is my fear that in view of the directionin which things are moving today, the politi-cal and economic dynamics of the countriesof the world may lead to world war… There-fore, it is the duty of the superpowers to sit

A Khilafat CentennialMessage to Parliament

WINTER 2008 33

down and find a solution to save humanityfrom the brink of disaster.”

He said that the only way to avert furtherhostilities and disputes was for all Govern-ments to act justly with their own people andin their dealings with other countries. He con-gratulated the British Government for havingshown such qualities of fairness in its recenthistory. He cited its rule of pre-partition Indiaas an example of its quality of fairness. Only ifsimilar policies were adopted throughout theworld could catastrophe be averted.

Turning towards ‘terrorism’ he said thatno form of terror or violence was sanctionedin Islam and thus those who justified theirheinous acts in its name were causing for theworld to be distrustful and even hateful of thereligion of Islam. As a consequence of thishate, certain non-Muslim groups or individu-als had taken it upon themselves to attack Is-lam by defaming the character of the HolyProphet Muhammad (peace be upon him) andthe Holy Qur’an. Such acts he stated couldnever be right and that a mutual respect for allreligions and beliefs was necessary for truepeace to emerge.

His Holiness then discussed crime in so-ciety. He said Islam’s true teachings were totry and reform those who had done wrong.Revenge and retribution ought never to enterinto the equation when debating the punish-ment of criminals or prisoners of war. Crimealso had to be fought at its root cause whichwas the development of an unjust society.Thus countries had to be free to develop andcultivate their own natural resources withoutthe fear of other more powerful nations ex-

ploiting them and this was just as true at anindividual level. This was the way forward.He said:

“Those countries that have been endowedwith mineral resources should be allowed todevelop and trade at fair prices and under openskies and one country should benefit from theresources of the other country. So, this wouldbe the right way, the way that is preferred byGod Almighty.”

Finally, His Holiness spoke of the cur-rent economic crisis that engulfed the en-tire world. He said the ‘credit crunch’ oughtto be taken as a warning that the westernsystem of interest based capitalism waswholly incompatible with a fair and justsociety. He said that though interest couldappear to increase a person’s capital, in thelong term this was never true.

Following the keynote address of HisHoliness various other MPs took to thestage. Hazel Blears MP spoke of how shehad greatly admired the keynote addresswhich she had found to be ‘pertinent, con-temporary and challenging’.

She said that the speech that had justbeen delivered was the type of speech thatwas rarely delivered by politicians becauseit was so cogent and clear to the point. TheJamaat’s message of ‘Love for All, Hatredfor None’ was as important as it was simplebecause it was a message that led to unityrather than division. She further mentionedhow she brought with her the best wishesof the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown whohad personally sent her to attend the event.

A regular at events hosted by the Ah-

madiyya Muslim Jamaat, Dominic GrieveMP, said he took great pleasure at finallybeing able to host the Jamaat. He praisedthe Jamaat for its ‘wonderful contribu-tion in all aspects of life’ which he saidwas due to its policy of integration ratherthan exclusion. He too said that he tookgreat pride in the fact that the Headquar-ters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaatwere in London. Simon Hughes MP saidthat the plight of the Jamaat in variouscountries illustrated the point that reli-gious freedom had not yet been achievedand that the Government had to work to-wards bringing about such freedoms inall countries.

The event was concluded by a vote ofthanks given by Lord Eric Avebury whospoke of how the keynote address had‘underlined the moral dimension that wemust all follow’. This His Holiness haddone by speaking of both conflict pre-vent ion and confl ic t solut ion. LordAvebury then spoke of the continuedpersecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan andsaid that organisations such as Khatme-Nabuwat perpetrated hatred againstAhmadis in such a way that people herein the UK could never understand. Heconcluded by thanking His Holiness forhis ‘wise words of wisdom’.

Following the event Hadhrat MirzaMasroor Ahmad was given a guided tourof the Houses of Parliament and held pri-vate audiences with Nick Clegg MP, theLeader of the Liberal Democrats and LordBishop Nazir Ali.

In an historic event at the British Houses of Parliament, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad wasinvited to address a number of senior members of Government, Parliamentarians and Ambassadors at a reception in celebration of theKhilafat Centenary, which is the system of spiritual leadership that unites Ahmadi Muslims around the world.

34 MuslimSunrise

Responsibilitiesof Muslimcitizens in anon-MuslimGovernment

WINTER 2008 35

By Saba Ahmad Naseem

Islam- the wordmeans peace,security,wholesome,and submissionto God, which

not only describes theteachings of the Muslimreligion, but incorporates whothey are in all aspects of theirlife. A Muslim has tworesponsibilities- the firstbeing his service to God andthe second being his serviceto Mankind.

To understand the responsibilities of Mus-lims to mankind, they should emulate the ex-amples of the Holy Prophet and the PromisedMessiah. This responsibility includes under-standing their duty to the country in whichthey reside. During the time of the PromisedMessiah many Muslims were violently op-posed to the British Government. The Prom-ised Messiah taught Muslims to be upstand-ing citizens of the empire under which theywere given the freedom to practice their reli-gion. The Promised Messiah encouraged ser-vice and amiable relations with the govern-ment of the British monarchy. Islam, however,does not endorse any specific political sys-tem outright, although it seems that a demo-cratic government is preferred in the HolyQur’an. The Holy Qur’an states, “Verily, Allahcommands you to give over the trust to thoseentitled to them, and that when you judgebetween men, you judge with justice. Andsurely excellent is what Allah admonishes youwith! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.” (Chap-ter 4 Verse 59) From this quote, one can de-duce two pillars under the Islamic concept ofdemocracy: the democratic process of elec-tions must be based on trust and integrity andgovernments must function on the principleof absolute justice.

The concept to understand from this verseis that Muslim’s should exercise their right tovote. It’s a matter of personal integrity andGod commands Muslims to participate in thecivic duty of electing a deserving leader. Is-

lam gives precedence to civic duty over indi-viduality as God expects man do to service tomankind and not to himself. In his book, Islam’sResponse to Contemporary Issues, Mirza TahirAhmadRA, Khalifatul Masih IV says, “Everyvoter must participate fully in exercising hisvote during the elections unless he is unableto do so. Otherwise, he will have failed in thedischarge of his own trust. The concept ofabstention or refraining from exercising thevote, as happens in the USA where report-edly almost half the electorate actually both-ers to vote, has no room in the Islamic con-cept of democracy.”

With this commandment from Allah comesthe responsibility to place the trust where itrightfully belongs. God is always watchingover and therefore everyone will be held re-sponsible for their decisions. The decisionmust be based on the principle of absolutejustice- no partisan interest or political con-sideration should be permitted to influencethe process of decision making. If a politicalparty has nominated a candidate, who an in-dividual member considers will fail to dischargehis national trust, that member should quit theparty rather than vote for someone who doesnot deserve the trust. (Ahmad 233)

By handing over one’s trust, one is delib-erately sacrificing some personal freedoms sothat the entitled leaders can lay a frameworkfor society to function. In other words, everyindividual is giving the leaders the responsi-bility to enact laws for the people of that land.Therefore, a Muslim is obliged to act on thelaws given to them by the leaders to whomthey gave the responsibility to lay down thelaws in the first place. In the Holy Qur’an, Al-lah says, “O ye who believe! Obey Allah, andobey His Messenger and those who are inauthority among you. Then if you differ inanything refer it to Allah and His Messengerif you are believers in Allah and the Last Day.”(Chapter 4 Verse 60) This verse explains thateven if a Muslim does not agree with all thelaws of the land, respect and obedience shouldnever be disregarded. If the government al-lows Muslims to practice their religion in peace,then it is incumbent on Muslims to live aswell-wishers in that country.

There are instances where the law of theland is looser then Islamic injunction, some-times it is stricter, and at other times it is con-tradictory. If the law is looser, then each indi-vidual has the freedom to practice IslamicShariah. In the case of a stricter law; for ex-ample, in Islam having up to four wives is per-mitted. In the United States, however, po-lygamy is prohibited. So if a Muslim is living

in the United States, he must live monoga-mously because Allah does not command aMuslim to have more than one wife and there-fore the law does not contradict IslamicShariah. In the case of a law that contradictsthe Islamic injunction one can refer to the ex-ample (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet. Sincethe early Muslims were not allowed to prac-tice their religion in Mecca, they first tried toconvince the authority that they should begiven the right. When that did not work, theypracticed in privacy, and when that failed, theMuslims emigrated. Even then persecutioncontinued, only then did Muslims stand up tofight for the freedom of religion.

As mentioned before, the second respon-sibility of a Muslim is service to mankindwhich begins at the community level. Theyshould first start with their neighbors- helpthem, respect them, and regard them as if theirown blood relatives. They should be activemembers of the community- participate in elec-tions, help the homeless, support the army,and give allegiance to their country. In hisinaugural address on April 17, 2008 at JalsaSalana Ghana, Mirza Masroor Ahmad,Khalifatul Masih V said “Ahmadis should re-member that if an Ahmadi is not rendering hisdues to the country he is not fulfilling thepurpose of his bai’at (ten conditions for be-ing a member of the Ahmadiyya Movement inIslam)....you should also excel others in work-ing for the progress of the country. Keep awayfrom disorder and remain loyal to thegovernment....love for ones country is part ofour faith. All the citizens of a country...arebrothers; and helping brothers is obligatory.”(English translation)

Once again, we see how the word Islamdescribes every aspect of the state- physicaland spiritual- of being Muslim. We have tolive up to the name of Islam and spread itamong us. No matter what government Mus-lims are living under and whose rule, theyshould always live by the morals taught byIslam which includes obedience to the laws ofthe land. In this way, they will be contributingto a safer and more peaceful society, an Is-lamic society.

“...love for one’s country ispart of our faith. All thecitizens of a country...are

brothers; and helpingbrothers is obligatory.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V

36 MuslimSunrise

opportunities should be given to theAhmadiyya Muslim Community to directlyprovide its actual beliefs. Conversely, thehate-filled Mullah of Pakistan should becensored from further calls to murder, as nosane nation would accept such acts asconstituting free speech. Furthermore, thelaws of Pakistan instituted to promoteintolerance against Ahmadis or any otherreligious minority should be repealed. It isneither the job of media, mullah, norgovernment to play God.

Finally, the lessons of 9/11 are that as a globalcommunity and as Americans there is a greaterneed to understand one another. Our tragediesof recent and past demand that we consultour sources directly. For this reason, I invitereaders to visit any of the Ahmadiyya MuslimMosques in North America or to log ontowww.alislam.org, its official website, to knowthe superlative love that Ahmadis hold fortheir Master Prophet Muhammad, peace andblessings of Allah be upon him, and thepeaceful Islam that he taught. The responsefrom the Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, on9/12 is most telling. He cited the Holy Quran’smessage (2:154-157) of patience,perseverance, and prayer, especially duringthis holy month of Ramadan, against themurderous calls and deeds of the Mullah. Itis hopeful that most Pakistanis, who are fair-minded, would subscribe to the same messageof peace. Perhaps this is what the Mullahsfear most.

Within two days of the ‘fatwa,’ maskedassailants murdered two prominent Ahmadisin the Sindh province. Both were heads oftheir local Ahmadiyya Community chapters.The first, Dr. Abdul Mannan Siddiqi, age 46years, was an American citizen, a physicianwho was trained in cardiology in Philadelphia.He returned to his land of birth in Mirpurkas,Sindh when his father called him back withthe express purpose of serving the poor andneedy of the area. To this end, he operated ahospital in Mirpurkas as well as free clinics inremote areas of Tharparker. As a physicianwho has served in similar regions, I cannotbut fathom the loss of service to humanitywith Dr. Siddiqi’s murder. Ironically, he wasshot while finishing medical rounds at hishospital. The second Ahmadi victim, Mr. SateMuhammad Yusuf, age 70 years, was localCommunity head of Nawabshah, Sindh. Hisassailants targeted an elderly man who couldhardly ascend a flight of stairs. Both murdersoccurred shortly after the ‘fatwa’ of death toAhmadis issued by the Mullahs on ‘AalimOnline.’

So what are the issues here? First, GeoTVwas irresponsible in airing an incitement toviolence. Even if the assailants had notexpeditiously carried out the Mullah’s order,as they did, the urging of viewers to kill is abasic breach of ethical principles and, frankly,the laws of most countries. In the wake of themurders, this point has been highlighted byseveral agencies including the InternationalFederation of Journalists and Asia HumanRights Commission. But second, and perhapsmost disturbing about the state of affairs inPakistan, is that while the world mourned lostlives from 9/11, GeoTV’s ‘Aalim Online’ airedits special program in celebration of the 34thanniversary of the Pakistani government’sconstitutional amendment declaring Ahmadisto be ‘non-Muslims.’ Notably, host Dr.Hussain is a former Pakistani Minister forReligious Affairs.

Thus the real war on terror demands a rebukeof elements in Pakistan’s media, clergy, andits discriminatory laws. GeoTV shouldapologize, retract its incitement to violence,and remove its fiery anchor from ‘AalimOnline.’ Further, to promote free speech,

VIEWPOINT

“GEO TV’s

Aalim Online Abets Terror inPakistan”

Originally published in the PakistanChristian Post, September 22, 2008

By Dr. Sohail Husain, AssistantProfessor of Medicine, Yale

University

As we in the UScommemorated the tragedy of9/11, there were calls to endworld terror. But it isdisturbing to know that thesituation in Pakistan is notany better. On September 7th,GeoTV, a leading Pakistanitelevision channel that hasalso wide viewership via cablenetworks in North America,aired a special program on‘Aalim Online,’ a religiousbroadcast hosted by anchorDr. Aamir Liaquat Hussain.Mullahs from various sectswere invited to malign thenon-violent Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity. Repeatedly, Dr.Hussain and his fellowMullahs stated that Ahmadiswere ‘worthy of death’ (‘wajb-ul-qatl’) and that all of theirreligious activities in Pakistanshould be terminated.

News, Views and Reviews Viewpoints

WINTER 2008 37

News, Views and Reviews Viewpoints

“Vaulting ambition, whicho’erleaps itself and falls on

the other” ~ Macbeth

By Sardar Anees Ahmad

TT oday, pundits and politicians aredebating the causes of a globaleconomic crisis whose severity has

not been seen since the 1930’s. In truth, it isnot capitalism, socialism, or any other ‘ism’which is to blame. Never the ‘ism’, it is thegreed of man which has brought on todaysgrave, and potentially lengthy, global crisis.

The subprime mortgage crisis is a primeexample. American banks indulgence in preda-tory lending allowed the original lenders toavoid all risk, while dumping the entire eco-nomic burden on the loanee and other bank-ing institutions. In 2007 alone, Americans made$950 billion in mortgage equity withdrawals.These loans borrowed mortgage capital to fi-nance superfluous purchases, making no posi-tive contribution to the larger economy. Whenclients could not repay the loan, a creditcrunch ensued making it harder to procure aloan. This very dilemma drove the investmentbanking giant Lehman Brothers, whose rev-enue in 2007 alone was $59 billion, to its knees.Even more shocking, Joseph Stiglitz, 2001Nobel Laureate in Economics, notes that Eu-rope suffered more than America as a result ofthe crisis.

In a globalized economy, what affectsAmerica affects the entire world. Today, in-dividual greed has transformed into a uni-versal epidemic. “If you steal from another,”warned Immanuel Kant, “you steal from your-self.” Consequently, nations’ foreign invest-ments have lost value and demand for natu-ral resources has plummeted. Individuals arealso spending less on leisure, depression be-

coming contagious. As said earlier, whenbanks hesitated to offer loans the marketsgridlocked. The credit system froze,government’s purchasing power fell as im-ports far exceed exports, and stagnation andunemployment followed. According toStiglitz, “America’s financial institutions ...didn’t manage risk, they created risk.” Withthe mortgage crisis, then, the very instrumentemployed to encourage growth, i.e. low in-terest rates, generated a recession. World-renown intellectual Prof. Noam Chomskywarns that the housing crisis is not even theworst of our troubles: “There’s a major crisiscoming along which is going to dwarf thisone, and that’s the growth in medical costs... [a] highly inefficient medical system is go-ing to swamp the federal budget.” Noting thecrisis’ far-reaching effects, Stiglitz adds, “Wehave a social calamity on our hands, not justan economic calamity.”

Why was the problem not checked earlyon? The problem is that unwarranted risk isan integral part of the global financial system.Even well managed investment banks ignoresystemic risk, the risk the entire system is sub-ject to, in favor of individual interests. WhenPresident Richard Nixon dismantled the post-WWII international economic order (theBretton Woods system) it was predicted thatthe resulting financial liberalization, and theensuing excessive borrowing, would bring onmore frequent and more severe financial cri-

ses. Incidentally, an International MonetaryFund working paper recently noted that 124systemic banking crises occurred from 1970–2007.

Man must therefore learn to live within hismeans, and be ever conscience of his fellowman’s well-being. It is because of the tendencyto borrow from one’s future, to indulge in ex-cessive borrowing, to succumb to transientwishes, and to encourage detrimental socio-economic effects that the Qur’an (2:280) de-clares those who indulge in usury are at warwith Allah.

Islam argues that an economic systemrooted in social welfare and which, throughfinancial instruments, does not promote ex-travagant living can thrive in any political en-vironment. In this regard, Islam has instituteda charitable flat-tax on idle capital known asZakaat. Known as one of the ‘Five Pillars ofIslam’, Zakaat is a 2.5% tax that, unlike usury,punishes the hoarding of money, ensuring thatsome level of capital is always circulating inthe economy. That is not to say that Zakaatalone can run a global economy. Rather, thatbecause this tax specifically aims to increaseof net social welfare, it lessens the problemsassociated with asymmetric information andsystemic risk.

It is our humble submission, then, that theonly cure from the self-serving crises of to-day is to adapt the service-oriented socio-economic philosophy of Islam.

Economiccrisis isjust plaingreed

38 MuslimSunrise

News, Views and Reviews Press Publications

Originally printed in the 11/09/08edition of Boston Globe

“Grateful Citizen”By Sardar Anees Ahmad,

Waterloo, New York

To our President-Elect:

I wish to convey my sincerest thanks:

Thank you for demonstrating that the un-derdog has a chance.Thank you for making itcool to be intelligent and accomplished.

Thank you for proving that credentials,not color, win the public’s heart.

Thank you for confirming that politics andpublic service are compatible.

Thank you for embodying an alternativeto an apparent clash of civilizations.

Thank you for beginning the restorationof America’s global image.

Thank you for restoring faith in the Ameri-can idea back into America.

Thank you, President Barack Obama.

Published 9/17/08 edition ofBaltimore Examiner

“Doctor Killed by Fatwa Martyrfor Tolerance”

By Faheem Younus Qureshi,Baltimore, Maryland

Being a staff physician at the same hospi-tal, I feel like in some ways that Dr. [AbdulMannan] Siddiqi was the Daniel Pearl ofFranklin Square Hospital. It was the same un-shaken belief in the service of humanity thatconvinced him to pack up from Baltimore andfollow a calling to serve the underprivilegedin Pakistan. For 16 years he organized free clin-ics for thousands only to be the victim of afatwa (religious decree) issued by a popularTV program that members of Ahmadiyya Mus-lim Community are “worthy of death.” A daylater, masked assailants killed him in the nameof religion.

Originally printed in the 9/9/08edition of Record-Journal

Meriden (Connecticut)

“Insulted”By Dr. Sohail Husain, Meriden,

Connecticut

At the Republican National Convention,former New York Republican Mayor RudolphGiuliani exclaimed: “The Democrats wereafraid to use the words ‘Islamic Terrorism’ . . .Please tell me who are they insulting? Theyare insulting terrorists.”

Well, the comment was insulting to me andmillions of U.S. Muslims, who are peace-lov-ing, law-abiding citizens and many of whomserved proudly in uniform. National politicalconventions should bring a nation together,rather than dividing a nation by bigotry. Iinvite Mr. Giuliani to my local mosque inMeriden, especially now during the month ofRamadhan, to see for himself what Islam re-ally is.

Published The Doves of ZionNewsletter, 11/5/08

“The People Have Spoken”By Hasan Hakeem, Zion, IL

The people have spoken and have selectedSenator Barack Hussein Obama as the Presi-dent-Elect of these United States ofAmerica. We congratulate him for a well runcampaign that overcame the last bastion ofthe desperate – fear.

Obama weathered attacks on hissupposed Muslim faith, citizenshipstatus, charges of infanticide, ties with shad-owy characters, and an alleged lack ofpatriotism. Opponents tried to connect thedots of controversial issues like same-sexmarriage, homosexuals in the military, pornog-raphy and gun restrictions to Obama, but heretoo they failed.

A word about fear...it is a good, short-termmotivator. Fearful people can be compelled

to go to the polls and vote against someone. Within fear, however, reside the seeds of itsown demise. When fear takes root, it bearsthe poisoned fruit of defeat anddespair. Republican fear could not overcomeDemocratic hope.

The world should also pay attention tohow Americans are able to hold democraticelections withthout the exclusions of minori-ties, as is the case in many third world coun-tries.

As an African American, who is a memberof the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I amproud to be a citizen in a nation that has fi-nally elected an African-American to the high-est office of the land. It is my prayer that thiswill be the beginning of a deeper healing tothe deepest wound in our nation’s history.

And Mr. President-Elect Obama is in myprayers. May that ”righteous wind” stay athis back as he begins to build his governingteam. May he, with God’s help, protect ournation for many future generations to come.

Now, we must include President-ElectObama, his wife and family in our prayers. Weas Ahmadi Muslims must also do whateverwe can do to help this nation grow and pros-per in the future as One nation, under God,indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

As an African American,who is a member of the

Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity, I am proud tobe a citizen in a nation that

has finally elected anAfrican-American to the

highest office of the land. Itis my prayer that this will

be the beginning of adeeper healing to thedeepest wound in our

nation’s history.

WINTER 2008 39

What is Islam?Islam is the religion, which iswrongly calledMohammedanism.

1. Islam means:

PeaceResignationThe significance of the nameIslam is the attainment of a lifeof perfect peace, and eternalhappiness through completeresignation to the Will of God.

2. Absolutely uncompromisingmonotheism is the central teachingof Islam. “La-Ilaha, IllallahMuhammadur-Rasululla.” “There isnone worthy of worship but oneand the only God (Allah), whopossesses all excellences, andMuhammad is His prophet.” This isthe most important doctrine of Islam.Furthermore, Islam helps us toestablish a permanent relationshipwith God and to realize Him duringour earthly life as our Helper in allour affairs and undertakings.

3. Islam requires belief in all theprophets and spiritual guides includ-ing Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna,Buddha and Confucius. Islam repre-sents the completion of the mission ofall the prophets from the earliestdawn of history: that in fact all theprophets of God came with one andthe same mission. Thus Islam estab-lishes peace between all religions.

4. Quran, the Moslem Scripture---theword of God was revealed to theMaster-prophet Muhammad overthirteen hundred years ago and hasbeen preserved intact without theslightest change. There are millions andmillions of Moslems who know thewhole Book by heart. It is an inex-haustible mine of the spiritual truthswhich satisfy the needs of all peoples ofall countries.

5. The establishment of true democ-racy and universal brotherhood withoutany discrimination of caste, creed,color or country is the unique andunrivalled distinction of Islam. Islam hasnot only propounded but fulfilled andrealized the splendid principles ofdemocracy in the actual life and actionof human society.

6. Following are a fewof the specific peculiari-ties of Islam:

Liberation of women byestablishing the equality ofboth sexes, safeguardingtheir rights and liberties andraising their status.

Absolute veto on all in-toxicants.

Solution of economicproblems.

The furnishing of human-ity with the noblest practi-cal ethics.

The promotion of scienceand education.

7. Following are someof the obligatory dutiesof Islam:

Daily prayers.Fasting in the month of Ramadan. Fixed almsgiving and charity.Pilgrimage once in one’s lifetime, provided

circumstances allow.

8. According to Islam life after deathis the continuation of life on earth.Heaven and Hell begin right fromhere. Heaven is eternal and everlast-ing, while Hell is only temporary.Hell is a hospital treatment for thehuman soul, which as soon as itcured, goes to to Heaven. Heaven isthe attainment of a life of everlastingprogress and complete joy andhappiness through union with Godand by the development of the finespiritual qualities and the unlimitedcapacities that have been implantedin man.

Muslim Sunrise Archives January 1939

40 MuslimSunrise

Maulana Mubasher Ahmad

The documentary film “OBSESSION:Radical Islam’s War against theWest” presents dreadful and graphicscenes taken from the Arab TVshowing radical Mulls all over theworld preaching hatred and excitingviolence and Jihad against the Westand the United States of America. It isa propaganda film prepared to scarethe Christians and to get sympathyfor Jews and Israel. The followingresponse to the documentary filmwas presented on June 9, 2007 at theAnnual Meeting of the NorthernIllinois Conference EvangelicalAssociation held at St. Charles,Illinois. After listening to theresponse, many Christian clergymencriticized the film and said that it wasprepared with wrong motives.

In the name of God, the Gracious,the Merciful.

O Lord, our God, help us to have ourhearts united in nourishing and servingLife, and grant us wisdom and strength tocounter the evil of those who preach vio-lence and promote death!

O our Loving God, let the compassion,mercy, and forgiveness — as preached andpracticed by Prophet Muhammad (peaceand blessings of Allh be on him) againsthis bitterest of enemies — replace anger,revenge, violence and oppression!

O Lord, our God, let the unconditionallove — as taught by Jesus Christ — pre-vail over hatred and animosity that over-shadow our times!

O our Merciful God! Let the light ofJustice and Peace dispel the pitch dark-ness of war and injustice! Enable us —the Children of Abraham —Christians,Muslims and Jews — to stand together inunity to help those who are victims oftransgression in any form at any place!Amen.

Religious Extremism in Islam

First, we should be honest in self-criti-cism, and try truthfully to identify the causesof the war waged by radical Muslims against

the West, particularly the United States ofAmerica.

We should acknowledge the fact that formillions of Muslims all over the world, the im-age of America is troublesome: To them itseems as if the USA is determined to invade,

News, Views and Reviews Film Review

Obsession, Radical Islam’s War against the West:A Response From the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

WINTER 2008 41

occupy or dominate the oil-rich Muslimcountries for economical gains. Americacalls for freedom and democracy, but atthe same time it has supported world’sworst authoritarian dictators and oppres-sive governments in the past, such as theShah of Iran and Pakistani army dictatorGeneral Zia-ul-Haq. The Muslim publicfeels that the U.S.A.’s attitude towardsIsrael is different as compared with theMuslim countries. Israel’s illegal occu-pation of Palestinian land, establishingillegal settlements, and use of force is notcondemned by America. But any Pales-tinian resistance to Israeli illegal occu-pation is denounced as “terrorism” andis responded by Israel with overwhelm-ing armed attacks. This causes furtherradicalization of resistance factions inPalestine and elsewhere in the Muslimworld.

America is known as providing finan-cial help in support of the mil i tarystrength of Israel to maintain its illegaloccupation of Palestinian lands. The radi-cal Muslims resent the fact that Israel isgetting $3 to $6 billion of American tax-payers’ money every year. It equals to 15million dollars each day. This financial aidis perceived as being used against theMuslims. They see the atrocities commit-ted against their children, women and ci-vilians conducted by means of the Ameri-can money are convinced that the stateof Israel also possesses weapons of massdestruction.

In addition, we should also under-stand that America’s close connectionwith the oil-rich Saudi Arabia is seen withsuspicion by the Muslim radicals. Theholy cities of Mecca and Medina are lo-cated in Saudi Arabia. The US armedforces’ presence in Saudi Arabia to pro-tect the Saudi monarchy and its oil fieldsprovides fuel to the fire to the radicalMuslim agitators. The fact which is notwell known to most of the Americans isthat the Saudis profess a radical form ofIslam known as Wahhabism, and theSaudi Kingdom most generously fundsthe theologica l schools known asmadrasas all over the world. We shouldknow that these madrasas are the breed-ing incubators of radicalism in Islam. Inthese madrasas, orphan and poor boysare admitted and trained to becomeMujahideen. They are trained to make ex-plosives and other weapons, and how touse them. Also, the students are brain-

washed to become suicidal bombers. TheWahhabi Saudis also provide training tothe imams (religious leaders) from allover the world—including the UnitedStates. These imams, trained in SaudiArabia, come to the Western countriesand lead Muslim congregations teachingand preaching radicalism to the youngMuslims attending their mosques.

The documentary “OBSESSION” wasreleased in 2006, but it fails to show theresponse of the West against radicalMuslims. It is completely silent to the factthat a global war against terrorism hasbeen leashed out by the West and is stillgoing on with full force.

Within hours of September 11 attacks,Muslim leaders worldwide, including allmajor Islamic organizations in the UnitedStates denounced the attacks as sinfuland illegal acts from Islamic perspective.The majority of Muslims all over theworld believed that the 9/11 attackscould not be acts of Jihad because all thevictims were civilians, including severalMuslim individuals.

In response, the United States imme-diately decided not only to eliminate theperpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, but alsopunish those who harbored them—thesuspect list included Afghanistan, Iraq,Libya, Sudan, and Iran. The War on ter-rorism started with attacks on Afghani-stan—one of the poorest, most remote,and least industrialized countries onearth. The United States and its allies tookmilitary action and toppled the Tallibanwhich had given the leaders of al-Q‘idahsanctuary in Afghanistan; destroyed theterrorist infrastructure, killed or captureda majority of al-Q‘idah’s leadership; cutoff al-Q‘idah’s funding and seized its ef-fects, thus severely damaged the organi-zation led by the suspect terrorist Osamabin Laden. Over 2000 al-Q‘idah and itsallied Sunni militants have been killedso far. More than 3,000 civilians were

killed in Afghanistan as a result of U.S.bombing with number of injured estimatedto be in the tens of thousands.

The al-Q‘idah leader, Osama BinLaden is still alive. We must realize thefact that killing or capturing Bin Ladenwould not end terrorism. On the contrary,new generations of terrorists are alreadycreeping up in various parts of the world.Political turbulence in the Middle Easthas helped a new breed of al-Q‘idah-stylemilitants to gain footholds where theyhad rarely been active on such a scale.Every day a new movement is born. Doz-ens of groups that have declared them-selves as franchises of al-Q‘idah or mod-eled themselves on it have appeared inrecent years in Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Jor-dan, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan andYemen. The alleged plot to attack NewYork’s John F. Kennedy International air-port shows that such groups are nowbreeding in Tr in idad , Tobago andGuyana. Thus the south of the U.S.A. isnot safe. Potential threats of attacks arenow coming from Caribbean and LatinAmerica as well. Therefore, it seems thatso far the war on terrorism is provingcounter-productive.

After Afghanistan, we went after Iraq.The whole world knows well that Iraq hadno role in September 11 attacks and hadno established connection with al-Q‘idah.However, after 9/11 attacks, the U.S. gov-ernment claimed that Iraq was a threat tothe United States on the pretext that Iraqcould begin to use its alleged Weaponsof Mass Destruction to aid terroristgroups.

The Muslims of the world saw this justan excuse to dominate a region that wasrich in oil, and it had nothing to do withthe allegation of having weapons of massdes t ruc t ion . Invas ion of I raq waslaunched on March 20, 2003. Saddam’sregime was quickly toppled, and only 40days after the invasion, on May 1, 2003,

The documentary “OBSESSION” was releasedin 2006, but it fails to show the response ofthe West against radical Muslims. It iscompletely silent to the fact that a global waragainst terrorism has been leashed out by theWest and is still going on with full force.

42 MuslimSunrise

President Bush claimed victory in Iraq.But do we really have a victory in Iraq?The war is still going on.

In Vietnam, the US spent a total of $120billion to fight the war for eight and ahalf years. This year, the Senate has ap-proved $120 billion war-funding only forthe current year! The total cost of IraqWar is in access of $1.2 trillion! Morethan 3,500 U.S. soldiers have been killed,and more than 22,000 U.S. Military per-sonnel have been wounded in action sofar. An estimated 67,000 Insurgents havebeen killed or detained. In addition, morethan 600,000 Iraqi civilians have beenkilled [Washington Post] thus causing atremendous increase in the suffering ofordinary people among the Muslims. Andwe wonder why the radicals among themhate America!! Still we want to know whythe radical Mulls are crying “Death toAmerica!” Millions of Iraqi Muslims—nearly 15% of the population—have fledtheir homes since the invasion in 2003[UNICEF]. Half the refugees are children.

Jihad in Islam

As the term Jihad has been repeatedmany times in the documentary, therefore,please allow me to explain what Jihad inIslam is! It is a great tragedy in the his-tory of Islam that the concept of Jihadwas distorted by over-zealous preachersand radical Muslim scholars. The founderof the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (may peacebe on him) recognized this dangeroustrend that was entirely contrary to theteachings of the Qur’an. More than 100years ago, in his book entitled “The Brit-ish Government and Jihad,” published inAD 1900 in India, he wrote:

“It should be remembered that today’sIslamic scholars (who are called maulvis)completely misunderstand Jihad and mis-represent i t to genera l publ ic . Thepublic’s violent instincts are inflamed asa result and they are stripped of all noblehuman virtues… I know for certain thatthe maulvis who persist in propagatingthese blood-spattered doctrines are infact responsible for murders committedby ignorant, egotistical people… Theyshould remember that their understand-ing of Jihad is not correct, and humansympathy and compassion are its firstcasualties.” (Pp. 8-9)

“May God bring these maulvis backto the right path! They have misled thepopulace into believing that the keys toParadise lie in beliefs that are oppressive,cruel, and completely immoral…

Is it not shameful that a completestranger should be unjustly killed whileoccupied in his daily affairs, thus wid-owing his wife, making his children or-phans, and turning his house into a fu-neral parlor? Which hadith (saying of theProphet) or verse of the Qur’an autho-rizes such behavior? ... Foolish peoplehear the word Jihad, and make it an ex-cuse for fulfillment of their own low de-sires. Or perhaps it is sheer madness thatinclines them towards bloodshed.” (Pp.14-15)

“The tradition prevalent among theMuslims of attacking the people of otherreligions, which they call Jihad, is notJihad of the Divine religious Law (IslamicShariah). Rather, it is a grievous sin and

a violation of the clear instructions of Godand His prophet.” (P. 20)

Thus, he gave a clear verdict that tokill innocent people in the name of Jihadis forbidden in Islam. Anyone who wageswar on false pretext is an enemy of God.Furthermore, he predicted that those whoengage in terrorist acts in the name ofJihad shall be utterly humiliated and de-feated in the end!

Sanctity of Life: The Holy Qur’anteaches sanctity of human life and reaf-firms the Biblical teachings that whoso-ever unjustly kills a single person, it shallbe as if he slaughtered all mankind; andwhosoever saves the life of one, it shallbe as if he had protected the life of allmankind (5:33). “You kill not the lifewhich God has made sacred” (6:152). Kill-ing of the innocent and committing sui-cide both are grievous sins in Islam. TheQuran forbids suicide (4:30), and it is anunforgivable sin in Islam.

This is a scanned image of a Clarion Fund-sponsored newspaperadvertising supplement containing a DVD called "Obsession: RadicalIslam's War Against the West." Newspapers that carried the advertisementand DVD critical of radical Muslims have faced complaints from readersand questions about whether newspapers should offer a platform toeveryone willing to pay for distribution.

WINTER 2008 43

The Qur’an gives comprehensive in-structions against all evil thoughts andplans, all kinds of abusive behavior andevery form of cruelty and inequity. TheQur’an gives injunctions to protect theperson, property, honor or good name ofanother person. The Qur’an declares itin unambiguous words, God does notlove those who create disorder on earth(5:65) and (28:77); He does not love whoare unjust (3:57); and does not love thosewho exceed the limits (2:191) and (5:88).

What is the true meaning of Jihad?Jihad does not mean “Holy War.” It meansstriving, contention and taking actiondedicated to a noble cause: In Arabic lan-guage, Jihad is a verbal noun derived fromthe root jahada, which is defined as ex-erting one’s utmost power, effort, en-deavor, or ability in contending with anobject of disapprobation (An Arabic-En-glish Lexicon, Edward Lane).

As a matter of fact, Jihad in Islam isof different kinds. Various terms havebeen used to make distinction betweenthem, such as: Jihad of the heart, Jihadof the tongue, and Jihad with the pen.The greatest Jihad in Islam is remainingfirm in faith, and to overcome sinful temp-tations of one’s own self.

Jihad in the Bible: For Christians itwould be easy to understand the conceptof Jihad by some examples taken from theBible: In Luke 13:22-24, the Bible saysabout Jesus Chr is t , “And he wentthrough the cities and villages, teaching,and journeying towards Jerusalem. Thensaid one unto him, ‘Lord, are there few tobe saved?’ And he said unto them: Striveto enter in that narrow gate: for many, Isay unto you, will seek to enter in, andshall not be able.” This striving and mak-ing an utmost effort to enter the narrowgate–(that the Holy Qur’an calls it thestraight path) is the highest form of Jihadin Islam.

From the Islamic perspective, St. Paulwas asking the Philippians to engage ina Jihad when he wrote to them,

That ye stand fast in one spirit, withone mind, striving together for the faithof the gospel. (Philippians 1: 27)

In Islam, striving by means of theQura’n is called the Great Striving—Jihadan Kabiran (25:53).

Again, in the First Epistle to Timothy,St. Paul wrote,

This charge I commit onto you … fighta good fight; holding faith, and a goodconscience. (Timothy, 1:18)

In the same Epistle, St. Paul wrote,But they that will be rich fall into

temptation and snare, and into many fool-ish and hurtful lusts, which drown menin destruction and perdition. For the loveof money is the root of all evil which whilesome coveted after, they have erred fromthe faith, and pierced themselves throughwith many sorrows. But you, O man ofGod, flee from these things and followafter righteousness, goodness, faith,love, patience, meekness. Fight the goodfight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,whereunto you are also called, and haveprofessed a good profession beforemany witnesses. (Timothy, 6:9-12)

This fighting the good fight, holding

faith and good conscience, laying holdof eternal life is what we call the real Jihadin Islam. It is entering through the nar-row gate. It is staying on the straightpath.

The next form of Jihad is the struggleto improve the quality of social life byremoving societal evils and establishinggood moral values. This is Jihad againstpoverty, ignorance, disease, hunger, im-morality and crime. Social and moral ref-ormation under the guidance of the Qur’nis ca l led the “J ihadan Kabiran”—a“mighty s t r iv ing”—the Great J ihad(25:53). The last form of Jihad is to repelan armed aggression in self-defense formaintaining religious freedom. As com-pared to other forms of Jihad, fightingagainst an armed and aggressive enemyis called in Islam Jihad an Saghiran—thelesser Jihad.

The Qur’an says, Permission to fightis given to those against whom war ismade because they have been wronged—and Allah indeed has power to helpthem—Those who have been driven outof their homes unjustly only becausethey said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’—And ifAllah did not repel some men by meansof others, there would surely have beenpulled down cloisters and churches and

The Qur’an gives comprehensive instructions against all evil thoughtsand plans, all kinds of abusive behavior and every form of cruelty andinequity. The Qur’an gives injunctions to protect the person, property,honor or good name of another person. The Qur’an declares it inunambiguous words, God does not love those who create disorder onearth (5:65) and (28:77); He does not love who are unjust (3:57); anddoes not love those who exceed the limits (2:191) and (5:88).

We need to wage an information war against thehate-preaching Mullahs and against theirperverted ideology of Jihad. The AhmadiyyaMuslim Community has taken the lead to rebutmodern day radical scholars such as MaulanaMaududi, Hasan Al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and‘Abd al-Salam Faraj. All are invited to readMurder in the Name of Allah (1953) by HadhratMirza Tahir Ahmad – the 4th Spiritual Head ofthe International Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity.

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synagogues and mosques wherein thename of Allah is oft commemorated. AndAllah will surely help one who helpsHim. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty—(22:40-41)

This concept of Jihad is closer to theChristian doctrine of “just war.” But itis not called a “holy war” in Islam.Modern Western thought, strongly in-fluenced by Crusades-era terminologyof “holy war,” tries to portray Jihad asan Islamic war against all the non-Mus-lims. But most clearly, the permissionto f igh t back i s no t to des t roy thechurches, temples or synagogues. Onthe contrary, the Qur’an makes clearthat it is to protect them along with pro-tecting the mosques. In other words, itis to protect religious freedom for allthose who worship God in accordancewith their own faith traditions.

The great spiritual Jihad of stand-ing firm in faith against satanic tempta-tions and social evils is of permanentnature—an ongoing obligation for allthe Musl ims . But the lesser J ihad ,fighting in self-defense is only occa-sional and isolated, and is to be con-ducted only in a crisis situation. Only alegitimate head of state has the author-ity to declare war. Any preacher or so-self-made leader, or scholar has no rightto pronounce an armed struggle againstan aggressor. Moreover, the strict rulesgoverning the conduct of warfare areto be obeyed; for example, non-combat-ants cannot be killed. Women, children,elderly and the clergy or monks cannotbe targeted. Property cannot be de-stroyed. Disfiguring of dead bodies isprohibited. Prisoners of war are to betreated humanely.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Communitybelieves that the doctrine of Jihad hasbeen entirely perverted by the so-called“fundamentalists” and it needs to berescued, and the offenders stopped byall possible means.

What is ahead of us?

Now the question arises, What canwe do together—Muslims and Christiansliving in the United States of America? Ithink it is imperative that we should re-view our Government’s foreign policywith an honest self-criticism, and ask ourelected law-makers and the Administra-

tion to avoid all such actions which arecounterproductive, and instead of re-ducing terrorism are actually helpingmore terrorist groups to emerge amongthe radical Muslims.

Americans should be made aware ofthe miserable condition of PalestinianChristian and Muslim refugees. We needto be more sympathetic to their plightand right to return to their homeland tolive a decent life. Moreover, humanrights of religious minorities need to beprotected. American public in generaland the faith-based communities in par-ticular have to become more vocal andmore effective in safeguarding humanrights of the suffering–be they Muslimsor Christians or any other faith commu-nity. Similarly, humanitarian help needsto be provided to the victims of war inAfghanistan, Iraq and the Muslim andChristian civilians in Palestine.

Churches in America need to workclosely with moderate Muslims. We musttry to guard against judging Islam bydouble standards. We interpret differ-ently the violent texts in the Bible intheir historical contexts, but we pick upverses from the Qur’an to prove as ifIslam teaches perpetual violence. Chris-tian faith leadership, whether Catholicor Protestant, instead of demeaning Is-lam and the Prophet of Islam, shouldcondemn attacks on Islam that are doneregularly through the media, and bysome Christian leaders. Christian attackson Islam or the The Holy Prophet (peacebe upon him) do not help solve the prob-lem. They actually aggravate the presenttense situation. No Muslim ever, eventhe most hateful and radical ones, shallinsult Jesus or Moses. They expresstheir full reverence for them as theprophets and chosen ones of God.

We need to wage an information waragainst the hate-preaching Mullahs andagains t thei r perver ted ideology ofJihad. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity has taken the lead to rebut modernday radical scholars such as MaulanaMaududi, Hasan Al-Banna, Sayyid Qutband ‘Abd al-Salam Faraj. All are invitedto read Murder in the Name of Allah(1953) by Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad –the Fourth Spiritual Head of the Inter-national Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Muslims living in the West needyour support to educate Church mem-bers by circulating anti-radical literature

produced by moderate and peace-lovingMuslims, especially by the Ahmadiyyaleadership. To counter the radical pro-paganda such as “Islam is under attackby the West,” “Islam is in danger;” or“America is leading the West to conquerMuslim lands to destroy Islam,” I sug-gest that we, the Muslims living in theWest, have to show that Islam is not indanger in the West; we are free to prac-tice and promote our faith in America;many mosques are coming up, and thenumber of Muslims is rapidly growing.

There is a need of an ongoing inter-faith dialogue, and the commonalitiesbetween Islam and Christianity need tobe elaborated. The Qur’an stresses thatthe People of the Book—the Muslims,Jews and Christians, should work to-gether on the commonly held values. Wemust promote our shared values of love,mutual respect, tolerance and freedomof worship. We have to improve our un-derstanding of our neighbors’ faith. ForChristians, it will helpful to remove ex-isting misunderstandings about Islam,which is the second largest religion inthe world after Christianity, and is thefastest growing religion, not only outthere somewhere, but also in Europe andin our own country America.

In the past, the Jews, the Christiansand the Muslims have worked togetherin advancement of sciences, medicine,philosophy and many other fields. It istime to create a new culture of co-exist-ence and cooperation. Instead of think-ing of clash of civilizations, let’s thinktogether to create a new Judeo-ChristianIslamic civilization based on mutual re-spect, love, peace and justice!

The task ahead is not easy, but we havehope for the future. We have the will to workhard, with patience and steadfastness. Pleaseallow me to conclude my remarks by readingout a small poem by entitled “Love Can Wait”written by Lon Woodrum, a writer, teacherand Christian minister:

Love Can Wait. Hate movesWith swift impa-tience, Bent to know the fall of pity, And the end offaith, Feverish to see Its banners blow, In darknessover fields of death.

But love is patient Till all time is passed;Love waits on God, Sure in its stand No matterwhat the years May bring, at last All ages gatherTo His command.

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Hail to thechief...

The elephant and the donkeyhave started to look alike.

I ’m not referring to theanatomy of the gentlecreatures.

I am actually talkingabout the Republi-cans and the Demo-crats. In the last 30to 40 years, theyhave cont inual lyshifted their positionsto the point thereisn’t much differencebetween them any-more.

The election resultsof the past few yearssupport my observa-tion. The votes hadbeen split just about inthe middle. This meansvoters perceived onecandidate to be asgood as the other one.On the flip side, itcould also mean they figured one wasas bad as the other. I guess it dependson how the pollsters asked the ques-tion.

The two party system is a subsec-tion of the system of government. In or-der to discuss anything about the partysystem, I must talk about the conceptof having the best kind of government.

In general, the Holy Qur’an does not con-demn any form of government. There havebeen emperors and kings in history and theHoly Qur’an confirms some of them as proph-ets of God. Kings David, Solomon, Talut andmany others are examples of monarchs whowere messengers of God. God has praised theirexercise of justice. So monarchy, in and of it-self, is not evil. However, the Holy Qur’an hasgiven preference to a democratic ideology andsystem as the best form of government.

We are told in Sura Shura that the author-ity must engage in mutual consultations be-

fore reaching decisions. The consultation sys-tem is the democracy it suggests to establish.The system can be in any form. Depending onthe social, economic and educational struc-ture of the society, a suitable system can beestablished. It can be the Parliament, Con-gress, Senate, General Assembly or Shura.Any form would work as long as it representsthe people and is established to deliberatepublic issues.

This brings me to the system of voting toelect the authority and/or the consulting body.

The Holy Qur’an does not consider a vote

to be the right of a citizen. It calls it a trust andas such, it is an obligation not just a right. It isa trust given to a person by God and the indi-vidual must discharge it with integrity. Byvoting for a person, one is not doing the can-didate any favor. The candidate receiving thevote does not owe anything in return. Thevoter discharges his trust by voting for thebest person in his assessment and fulfills hisresponsibility. If he votes for any other rea-son then he is answerable to God. It is God’scommandment that he should discharge histrust in the best manner according to Surah

Al-Nisa.Just imagine an

election like that. Thepoliticians don’t oweanything to the peoplewho voted for them.The voters have no de-mands from the peoplewhom they voted for.The politicians decidethings on the merits ofissues, instead of spe-cial interest consider-ations. Lobbyists losetheir jobs.

Islam also estab-lishes the rule that noone should be given apublic office if he de-sires it. Islam discour-ages the slightest self-ish interests whichmay tempt authorityagainst the interests ofthe masses. Theregoes the option of vot-ing for yourself. Evenrunning for an officegoes against this prin-ciple. The whole pro-cess of candidatesmaking promises dis-appears. People pro-

pose the names of suitable people and en-dorse them to be elected. No filthy campaignscan take place. The only principle behind nega-tive campaigning is that you claim you arebetter than the other person. We can call itwhat we may, but that’s good ol’ fashionedarrogance. This also indicates that the candi-date truly covets the position of authority, sothey’d be disqualified anyway. It is truly asimple and clean system.

By now you should be able to see how theidea of political parties becomes useless. Aperson would vote for someone not because

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he is Republican or Democrat but becausehe or she is the most suitable for the posi-tion. If a Republican knows that the Demo-crat is best for the job, he must vote forhim. Otherwise he is answerable to God fornot discharging his trust properly.

Once the government is established, theHoly Qur’an requires two things from it.

It must take care for the four basic needsof the public. Sura Taha describes: “It isprovided for thee that thou wilt not hungertherein, nor wilt thou be naked. And thouwilt not thirst therein, nor will thou be ex-posed to the sun.”

This basically covers the four necessi-ties of every citizen: food, clothing, waterand shelter. We need the example of HadhratUmar (2nd Caliph of Islam) in history in rela-tion to this responsibility. He would goaround the outskirts of the city to find ifthere was anyone who was going hungry.He even would haul the food bags on hisback to deliver them to the needy. Hail to

the chief who is the servant of the people.Being the monarch, he felt his responsi-

bility to his citizens under the above com-mandment of God. The third world coun-tries have the worst record in this regard.However, the advanced countries, like theUSA, have not taken care of the homelessand hungry either. The focus needs to bechanged to fulfill the commandment of God.

The other principle that God has estab-lished for the government is that it must actwith absolute justice. The Holy Qur’an evensays: “Let not a people’s enmity incite youto act otherwise than with justice.” So evenif we have political parties, the rule of jus-tice must not be ignored.

This answers the question of how tohandle minorities in one’s country. Whetherit is a religious or political minority, it mustbe dealt with absolute justice. The rulingauthority must not impose their faith orviews on others just because they aresmaller in number or strength. This concept

is intimately connected with freedom of re-ligion and speech.

Until we get to the point where principlesrooted in virtue would be established, wemust deal with the system we live in. Wemust pick the elephant or the donkey. Wemust discharge our responsibility of vot-ing and pray.

Pray that the person we haveelected does not waste his energy in anendeavor to get re-elected for the next term.Pray that he would work for the commonfolk. They merely want to raise their fami-lies with dignity, love and respect theirfriends and relatives, and enjoy a peacefulsociety. We don’t need any polls or expertsto figure out this definition of pursuit ofhappiness. Pray that the newly electedwould make decisions rooted in virtuousprinciples so the people would truly, fromthe bottom of their hearts, cry out Hail tothe Chief!

Falahud Din Shams

The other principle that God has established forthe government is that it must act with absolute

justice. The Holy Qur’an even says: “Let not apeople’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than

with justice.” So even if we have political parties,the rule of justice must not be ignored.

The Muslim Sunrise Board and Staff wishesto congratulate President-Elect Barack

Hussein Obama. We pray for our country --One nation, under God, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all.