Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONSmore fundamental aspects such as worship and prayer. This reminds us of theProphet’s statement: “This religion will be undermined, one aspect after another. Thefirst aspect to be undermined is government and the last is prayer.”Once the need for open hostility was over, those atheists and self- proclaimedfollowers of earlier religions, who revive their alliance only when they fight Islam,reverted to their secret ways. They were now even keener to give an Islamicappearance to other regimes which were in reality of the same orientation inopposing Islam as Ataturk’s. They have become so inventive in hiding the reality ofthese regimes which they support politically, economically and culturally. Theirintelligence services, wide-reaching media and other resources are all used to protectsuch regimes. Atheists and religious enemies of Islam alike cooperate in supportingsuch regimes which try to achieve for them the task left unfulfilled by the Crusades,old and new.Some Muslims, including many of those who advocate the need for an Islamicrevival, are deceived by this `Islamic’ appearance which is portrayed by present-dayjāhiliyyah. Hence they are reluctant to unmask these hostile regimes and show themas they truly are. All this impedes an open confrontation with jāhiliyyah. Thus thefalse `Islamic’ appearance exercises a sedative influence on the Islamic revivalistmovements. It creates a barrier that prevents the launching of a determined effort tostand up to contemporary jāhiliyyah which tries to pull out the last remaining roots ofthis faith.In my view, those naïve advocates of Islam present a more serious threat to theIslamic revivalist movement than the sly enemies of Islam who give a false `Islamic’appearance to regimes, set-ups, movements, values, traditions and social trendswhich they manipulate so that they can crush Islam for them.This religion of Islam will always be victorious when its advocates, in anygeneration and any place, achieve a certain degree of awareness of its reality and thereality of the jāhiliyyah trying to suppress it. The real danger to this religion does notcome from strong and skilful open enemies. The real danger is that posed by naïvefriends who allow its enemies to wear an Islamic mask while they mount theirunwavering efforts to uproot it. Indeed the first duty of the advocates of Islam is toremove these masks so that the reality of regimes and set-ups hostile to Islam anddetermined to crush it is laid bare. Indeed the starting point for every truly Islamicmovement is to remove the false attire of jāhiliyyah and expose it for what it is:unbelief and idolatry. It must describe people as they really are. Only then can theIslamic movement go onwards to achieve its goals. Indeed, these people themselveswill only then be aware of their own situation, which is similar to that with which thepeople of earlier revelations ended up, as we are told by the One who is aware of allthings and who knows the reality of all situations. Who knows but such a new119