Rebellion and Civil Disobedience in Islam The Need for a Paradigm ...

(38:45). Verse (57:25) is revealing, “Certainly We sent Our messengers with cleararguments, and sent down with them the Book and the balance that men may conductthemselves with equity; and We have sent down Iron, wherein is mighty power andadvantages to men, and that Allah may know who helps Him and His messengers in thesecret; surely Allah is strong, mighty.” Not only did Allah (swt) send down His guidancebut also Iron to protect justice and preserve “the balance”.Acquiring power and succeeding in the material life have sunan, or a set of laws,that seems to be as strict as the laws of physics. To succeed, you need organizationalcompetence and strategic planning. Culture and morals play a role but not as considerableas many people think. After succeeding people often ascribe their success to culture, butthis is a mere ex post facto explanation. Of course, some cultural aspects help in theprocess of acquiring power but, on the other hand, it is power that stimulates culturalresurgence and confidence. Take the Mongols as an example. Their culture was notdeveloped if compared to the contemporaneous Islamic civilization. A Mongol was like amachine committed to fighting others and decimating them. A Mongol was brilliant in hismilitary planning and performance. Without a solid culture, they invaded almost all theEast wing of the Islamic empire without defeat. In a couple of centuries the Mongolsespoused Islam. This might be one of the few cases where Ibn Khaldoun’s thesis did notwork. The reason is simple. The Mongols did not have an advanced culture, in the firstplace, so that Muslims could become infatuated by it. However, they won because theyimplemented the sunan of winning in a military confrontation.The West did the same. They sought material power and achieved it. And then, theyused it to prevail over the whole world. Their success has little to do with their culturalvalues. Huntington puts succinctly in his ‘Clash of Civilizations,’ “The West won theworld not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiorityin applying organized violence.”The South East Asians, after their economic boom of the late nineties, started talkingboastfully about their culture. They ascribed their miracle to their cultural ideas of order,discipline, hard work, family responsibility, collectivism, and abstemiousness. TheWesterns, as the Asians argued, are declining, because of self-indulgence, crime, inferioreducation, sloth, disrespect for political authorities, individualism, and mentalossification. Of course, Asians became silent after problems stormed them. They alsoignored to talk about nepotism and cronyism deeply rooted in their culture. Again, this isa clear example of how indigenous cultural resurgence is stimulated by increase ofmilitary, political, and economical successes. Yet, it is regarded by the people as causerather than effect.Understanding the keys to material success is a must for Islamic resurgence. ManyMuslims believe that religiosity is sufficient for success. They think that being moral isenough. A supreme virtue is made out of fatalism and a state of complete ignorance. Thistype of thinking does not just go against the course of history, but ignores the Quran andthe Seerah of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw). Didn’t Allah (swt) order Mariamto “shake towards you the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates,”26