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T. Hamad: The True Heart and Message of Islam
Written by TAJ HAMAD, Planning Committee Chair, Summit of World Muslim Leaders
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Delivered at the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace World Summit of Muslim Leaders, December 20-23, 2001
The September 11, 2001 attack on New York and Washington awoke the world as never before to the need for an understanding among people of different faiths. Many in America and other Western nations, shocked into a new consciousness by the terrible death and destruction that descended on them from the skies, for the first time began to wonder about the religion of the young men who killed themselves in what seemed like inexplicable suicides. Wisely, American leaders from President George W. Bush on down, almost at once publicly made a distinction between Islam and the suicidal murders committed by the attackers.
But, what have the newly curious learned about Islam in the few months since the attack? When they look at the world of Islam they see it driven by conflicts, from the Middle East and Africa, to Central Asia and Indonesia. They see governments that wrap themselves in the trappings of Islam, that write Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest) on their flags, persecuting ordinary citizens, denying them the globally accepted rights of free speech and assembly, of personal belief and freedom of movement; and they see Muslim nations attacking weaker Muslim brothers. They hear voices of Muslim leaders calling for calm, for understanding, for peace, but all too often these voices are drowned out by those trying to rally the masses to Jihad, to war, to murder, often in the name of revolution or resistance to a secular government, and often with the slimmest of pretexts and ungodly justifications killing innocent men, women, and children.
Is this Islam? Is this the massage the Prophet brought to humanity? This is indeed a critical moment for Muslim leaders to consider the role of their faith in the world today. Surely, the question that we must answer is: How can Islam contribute to a world of peace, justice and goodness in this new century and millennium? The answer to this question is the message that true Muslims have received from their prophet, from their Koran and from their religion. And it is this message that must be given to the world, must be shared with those who know nothing of Islam and perhaps only now are interested for the first time.
I would like us to consider what the core of our faith is, what the heart of Islam is all about. Surely the center of our faith is our personal connection to Almighty God as He is revealed to us through our scriptures and Hadith (Teachings of Muhammad). Surely the core of our belief is submission to His will, in our personal lives, in our relations with others, in our morality and ethics, in our families, in our communities, in our nations and in our world. Our real, daily Jihad is to achieve these internal goals, to conquer our fallen nature, not to conquer others.
And surely the message of all wise Muslim leaders to the world is that good men and good women, who live in obedience to the One God, will build good families, communities and nations, and live at peace with all others. Islam has much to offer the world. We can see the social breakdown that has afflicted the too-secular nations—the problems of broken families, drugs, crime and degenerate living. Most Islamic societies are thankfully still free of these diseases. And the support of extended Muslim families is of enormous importance to the spiritual and physical health of individuals.
I think, too, of all the good deeds done in the name of Islam. Of the hours of devotion a sufi (mystic) and other devout believers will offer in the practice of their worship and in their sacrifice for others; of the many charitable works done by Muslim associations; of the sacrificial efforts of Muslim women for their families and societies.
The vast majority in the world are good people. It is up to the leaders to guide them righteously, to mobilize their goodness to build good, just and equitable societies free from corruption and abuse, enriched by the innate creativity and productivity of humankind. Islam can and should be a light in the world of this new century and millennium. It is up to Muslim leaders to guide the faithful in the fulfillment of this goal.