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By Dr Abdullah Robin
Managing Editor: New Civilisation
abdullah.robin@newcivilisation.com | |
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The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, was widely criticised for his critical comments about Islam during an address given at the Gregorian University, Rome, on the 25th of March 2004. One of his claims was that: "very few Muslims understand reality and they do not understand that coming to terms with globalisation is one of the greatest challenges facing them".We beg to differ, and anyone wishing to see a Muslim understanding of globalisation should read the article on the subject in this edition by Farooq Khan. As for the main thrust of Dr Carey's speech, regarding Islam's "opposition to practically every other world religion" and its "association with terrorism and death", the reader is directed to the open letter of rebuttal by Dr Abdullah Robin, an edited version of which is printed here.
Dear Dr George Carey,
Thank you for your interest in bringing about greater harmony and reconciliation between Muslims and Christians and for sharing your thoughts about Islam and Muslim countries. Though on a number of points I beg to differ with you, I am not of those who view censure through a lens of political correctness that demands an unreasonable indifference to difference. Unlike others who have responded to you in the media I do not oppose you just because you voiced disapproval. It is good that you did not obfuscate before a community inexpedient these days to criticise nor wash your hands of responsibility for the truth as you see it. In keeping with your high standing in the Church of England you did not follow the ignominious example of the one who cynically asked, “what is truth?” before abandoning truth in front of an easily offended crowd.
That being said, we can on some points agree. You have correctly pointed out some of the terrible problems that characterise Muslim countries today. You spoke about the backwardness of these countries and you spoke about the tyrannical dictatorships in the Middle East that oppress their own people and what you have said here is indeed the truth even though I wish it were not.
I believe that the cause of the current backwardness remains the general degradation in the understanding of Islamic thought, the closure of the juristic process of ijtihad and the Western world’s addiction to colonialism. It is widely recognised, however, that prior to this the Muslim world was the leading civilization in all the major sciences over a period of many centuries. If you had connected our past with the lamentable present you would have realised that Islam’s former ‘golden age’ was delivered under the shade of the Islamic Khilafah, a comprehensive political Islamic entity that did not detach religion from life, yet whose progress in material matters shone throughout the world. While recognising this technological and intellectual advancement, many Western commentators still compare such a State to the 7th Century medieval theocracy that stifled progress during their own peculiar history. It would, of course, be nothing short of a miracle if a major scientific or technological discovery came today from a Muslim country because for one thing the material wealth, that would fund state of the art laboratories, is being shipped out of these countries so that Americans can enjoy cheap fuel for their cars. PhD holders in Muslim capitals are more likely to be serving coffee in a restaurant than building new technologies for humanity.
That brings us to the corrupt regimes. We find that Muslims in Uzbekistan are boiled alive for insisting upon their five daily prayers while in Egypt and other places Muslims are pursued and targeted by their unaccountable rulers. A point worth noting for future dialogue is that accountable government was not invented by Montesquieu or Thomas Jefferson and it is in fact one of the cornerstones of Islam’s Khilafah system. The West does of course continue to support many of today’s corrupt regimes and thankfully you were candid about the double standards of the West that have understandably fuelled anger amongst Muslims.
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