Liberalism is Islam’s real enemy
Abu Ameen, The Malaysian Insider
Hafiz Ahmad wrote (see Corruption, not liberalism, is Malays’ real enemy) that some Malays are probably out of their mind being concerned about something that is not affecting their daily life.
He said corruption, not liberalism, is Malays’ real enemy.
I assume that when he said Malays, he was also referring to Muslims, as most Malays in Malaysia’s context are Muslims.
I will, thus, attempt to approach this from an Islamic perspective and remind him that our real enemy doesn’t need to show up in broad daylight.
Our enemy could come in many forms and in most cases – the silent enemy is deadlier than the obvious ones.
When Amr bin Lahiyy brought the first idol to Mecca, there was hardly any resistance and no one in Mecca at that time would have thought that the pure monotheistic belief as thought by the Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail would gradually be discarded.
He probably thought it was an innovation at that time. He broke with tradition, altered the religion and spread idolatry. The falsehood grew as people installed more idols around Mecca.
As time progressed, social ills in the Mecca society became a norm. Only hundreds of years later, Prophet Muhammad removed these idols and the social ills were brought to a halt.
Islam was re-established again in Mecca and throughout the world, generations by generations benefited from this Islamic civilisation.
I agree that liberalism has been used loosely and can refer to a wide range of ideological positions. Liberalism has evolved over time and constantly adapted itself into different branches.
It has moved from classical liberalism that extols the virtues of laissez-faire capitalism to social liberalism that favours welfare reforms and state intervention.
At the end of the Cold War, democratic liberalism finally stood triumphant against all other ideologies.
As like any other human ideologies or secular religions in the Western world in the 17th and 18th centuries, democratic liberalism provided rules and norms on every aspect of human life – individual, economic, political, military, moral and philosophy. One opponent, however, remained standing and it is not secular by any means. It is Islam.
Islam is unlike any other religion. It presents itself as an alternative way of life that permeates every aspect of life and culture.
In the words of Hassan al-Banna:
“Islam is a comprehensive system which deals with all spheres of life.
It is a country and homeland or a government and a nation.
It is conduct and power or mercy and justice.
It is a culture and a law or knowledge and jurisprudence.
It is material and wealth or gain and prosperity.
It is jihad and a call (dakwah) or army and a cause (fikrah).
And finally, it is a true belief and the correct worship.”
I leave it to the liberalism’s supporters to debate among themselves what constitutes liberalism.
My focus here is the liberalism threat that comes under the disguise of progressive Islam or Islamic revivalism.
As these two incompatible value systems (that is, liberalism and Islam) battle for the hearts and minds, four kinds of Muslims emerge (SyeikhYasir Qadhi categorised them into three, but I prefer to add the last one as shown below).
• A Muslim who totally embraces the Western way of life and rejects Islam as a whole;
• A Muslim who attempts to strike a balance by redefining Islam in order to adapt to the “progressive” way of life as defined through Western culture;
• A Muslim who strives to return to the traditional Islamic belief without abandoning the Quran and As-Sunnah; and,
• A Muslim who literally follows the As-Sunnah without adapting to the current situation.
The first and the last category of people are probably easy to identify.
The third Insya-Allah is what we aspire to be.
However, those in the second category, the so-called “liberal Muslims” are probably the most dangerous of them all.
