Below is the text of an article by
Islamic Party Deputy Leader Dr. Hany
Nasr in
Common Sense issue 28 (Spring/Summer 1999) on the topic of:
10 years of changes on the
political scene
During the summer
of 1989 a group of ordinary Muslims met in Sheffield
concerned by the way the media was portraying Islam
in Britain. At that time, the blasphemous book by Salman
Rushdie was causing distress to many Muslims through a direct attack on the
core of Islam, and the media defended the insult on the grounds
of freedom of speech and condemned and ridiculed protesting Muslims.
On the world
scene, the Afghan war against Russia, aided by the West, led to a
defeat of communism which would eventually lead to the demise of the
whole of the communist block, but at the time there was still a
bipolar world order with the USA and the USSR as the opposing super
powers. In Palestine the Intifada, the people's revolution against
Israeli oppression, was in full swing. Israeli attempts at ethnic
cleansing, property confiscation and illegal occupation by force as
well as the undermining of the status of Jerusalem continued against
the lack of a united Arabic and Islamic front with long-term
strategic objectives.
The majority of
Muslims in Britain was made up of migrants from the Indian
subcontinent. Their first generation had been brought in during the
first half of the twentieth century at the height of the British
Empire to help boost the economy, and they came intent to improve
their standard of living. Whilst they were mainly what is now called
"economic migrants" they had an adherence to the rituals of their
religion and to the dress code of their country of origin. Local
mosques and halal meat shops were established, but the local host
population was largely unaware of what Islam or Muslim stood for,
because these Muslims were not interested in mixing with
"non-believers" and had totally different social habits, although
this situation changed with the subsequent generation.
Ironically,
there was at the same time a great proliferation of Islamic
organisations, predominantly one-man-bands trying to shape the
society around them according to the model of their country of
origin. The fact that there were over 4000 such organisations in
total was an obvious representation of Muslim disunity as a
political entity.
With the
publication of Salman Rushdi's book and constant attacks upon
Muslims who were called terrorists and book burners etc., Muslims
were forced to participate in public life, and the dominating
question shifted from whether to participate or not to how to
participate. The younger generation of Muslims were keen on Dawah.
The first
initiative of Muslims trying to play a part in the political life of
Britain was the announcement of the Islamic Party of Britain. Others
followed by announcing similar political organisations. Our main aim
remains to convey what the message of Islam stands for, as ignorance
is a fertile ground for fear and hostility between communities.
Islam features a peaceful nature, environmental responsibility,
healthy lifestyle, equality between people whoever they are, and
benevolence in dealing with them. Clarifying all these points and
translating the Islamic alternative, and particularly the Islamic
opposition to usury, into a political manifesto was a challenge
which, by the grace of Allah, was accomplished without much delay.
The official announcement was made on 13 September 1989 at London's
Central Mosque. It generated a reasonable amount of public interest
for a short period of time, both nationally and internationally. Our
participation in a first bye-election in Bradford and in the general
elections of 1992 was a useful experience for all those who took
part. This participation re-affirmed the democratic competitiveness
of Islam and presented Islamic policies in a contemporary language
understandable to the ordinary British public, Muslims and
non-Muslims alike. Funding of the campaigns was an obvious
limitation, as the party relied exclusively on members'
subscriptions and donations.
Another serious
limitation was the division and lack of experience of many Muslims
sporting most immature political views. Traditionally, people do not
trust politicians, as they view them as opportunistic, ambitious
people with no real interest in their community. Muslim
self-centredness, therefore, also caused a problem in the process of
establishing credibility.
Although the
most important aim of the party was, and still is, to promote
inter-community understanding, there was a problem in getting the
message across. Muslims viewed the Islamic Party of Britain as an
imitation of the other political parties and considered it as a game
played by others without being of concern to them: a British game
played by British rules. The British population, on the other hand,
viewed the party as an alien attempt to represent a mere 2 million
people minority. By contrast, people from Muslim countries who heard
of the Islamic Party of Britain were most curious as to how the
British government and the British secret police could allow such a
party to exist, a reflection of the sad fact that democracy in most
Muslim countries is still a far cry. But as a result the relevance
of announcing a British Islamic Party was greater outside Britain
than inside.
In spite of the
party's efforts to assure the British population that Islam is a
godly message with tangible benefits for them, and that a peaceful
relationship between the Muslim minorities and the host community is
essential for the strength of the country as a whole, the Islamic
Party of Britain was viewed with great suspicion by some security
forces in some Muslim countries leading to rather unpleasant
encounters with some leaders and members of the party, especially in
the climate of the 1990's, where Islam was regularly linked to
terrorism, as exemplified by the reaction to the Oklahoma bombing in
the USA. The blame was immediately laid at the door of "Islamic
terrorism"; when the culprits were later found to be American right
wing extremists, no apologies were offered to Muslims. At the end of
the decade Muslims became increasingly identified as victims of
terrorism and ethnic cleansing as in Bosnia, Kosovo, Palestine,
Burma. Those living in Muslim countries continue being denied basic
human rights and political democracy.
What does the
future hold? We are assured of the future of Islam, as Allah
preserves his final message to mankind. The future of present day
Muslims depends on them: If unity and common understanding and a
real interest in resolving problems prevails, their future should be
assured, but if factionism and opinionated infighting prevails,
Allah will replace them with better people.
My call is to
all level-headed people, Muslims and non-Muslims, to try and grasp
the basic spirit of Islam and try to convey the message as widely as
possible by all available means so as to aid the harmony between
communities in our country.
Author: Dr. Hany
Nasr |
Date Published:
Spring/Summer
1998 |
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