Modernism, not Islam needs Reformation: Islam needs to be consulted and applied
Dr. Javed Jamil
The call for the “reform “ of Islam is not new. Time and again, the activists of different modern ideologies for whom “reform” means nothing but vulnerability to exploitation by the economic and political forces ruling the world have been demanding “reformation” of Islam. The demand emanates from their aversion to Islam because of its insistence on religious morality, which threatens the “Commercial Morality” preached by the modern theories.
Defining Economic Fundamentalism, I had written in my book “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”:
“The think-tank of the world of economic fundamentalism has taken innumerable steps to strengthen their hold. They have sacrificed the goddess of justice before the eyes of the Statue of Liberty. They have transformed through political maneuvers the state into their estate. They have incessantly and relentlessly been trying to organize a grand farewell for religion. They have captivated the people’s imagination through the media. They have got the attire of society redesigned so that it looks gorgeous and inviting to their eyes. They have industrialized sex, in which they have discovered the hen that always lays golden eggs. They have relocated the entire educational set-up on the Wall Street. They have monopolized the tree of economy whose fruits and shadows are only theirs; others can only admire its beauty from a safe distance. They have taken science and technology as their mistresses who are always keen to offer their glorious best to them. They have nipped all the challenges in the buds by masterminding popular movements. They have lynched the ‘civilization’, which has been given a new incarnation; and now Bohemians are called civilized. Last but not the least, they have been busy colonizing the good earth in the name of globalization.”
Continuing with the unveiling of these forces of economics, which want “reformation” of Islam to advance their concepts of commercial morality, I wrote the following in my book, “Quranic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” (First Vol: Health)
“The above definitions clearly demonstrate the impact of the economic fundamentalism, which have been stressing the inclusion of “socially and economically productive life” without insisting the adoption of a health protective socio-economic system. Economic fundamentalism relies on the promotion of individualism and the negation of family and society. In their view it is individuals that form society rather than that society comprises individuals. Market forces advocate the importance of absolute individual freedom, and strongly resent any suggestion that the demands of society in general and the demands of family in particular must guide individual choices. It is therefore necessary to restrict the definition of health to an individualistic notion. If “social well being” is talked of, it means how an individual acts within society and not how society protects the individual. This definition is thus a passive proposition where the onus to maintain health falls on the shoulders of individuals themselves; family and society are not largely responsible to protect the health. If society comes into action, it is invariably when a particular program has the blessings of the market forces. If some hue and cry is raised by certain quarters to correct the ecology and environment, these are diplomatically tackled. Some of these demands have in fact the blessings of the big industries in order to fail the small-scale industries. And whatever the force behind these demands, environment to them just means air and water free of pollution; it has nothing to do with social practices and systems that are dangerous for health, unless they have a scope for commercial use at a larger level. We will discuss later how and why only secondary preventive measures are advocated and primary preventive measures ignored.”
The latest weapon in the armoury of the champions of the “Reform” has been Islam’s supposed role in the creation of terrorists. The truth on the other hand is that no part of history has witnessed as much violence as the last Century, and the overwhelming portion of this violence is the direct result of the ideology of Westernism and the Western designs of perpetuating their hegemony over the world.
It is through Commercial Morally that the West first seeks to monopolise economy and then through economy it seeks to monopolise power. The rise of any ideology which threatens their hegemony is unacceptable to them. Islam threatens their concepts of “freedom of choice” and “personal freedom”, which emanate from the desire to industrialize every single human weakness to the hilt. It is therefore necessary for them to call for such “reforms” in Islam which reduce it from a comprehensive system covering every single aspect of individual and organised existence to a set of beliefs and rituals. This alone, they believe, will ensure their sustained hegemony on the earth. In order to advance their plan, they have manufactured new terminologies, which pit “Moderate” Islam against “radical” Islam.
The greatest truth of the modern times is that it is almost the total radicalization of West and Westernism rather than that of Islam which has become the biggest foe of peace in every dimension of individual and organized human existence in recent times.
Radicalisation of West is visible in every single institution, every single practice and every single war or civil war the world has been witnessing in the last century.
Actually both, religion and modernism, need reformation and evolving with times.