May 20, 2008
Book Review
Chasing a Mirage:
The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State
By Tahir Qazi
Chowk
Islamic State has proved to be an illusion in history for past 1400 years. However, chase continues even to this day. Tarek Fatah has explored the idea of Islamic State in his book titled Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State (John Wiley & Sons).
This book is written with passion of a political activist. Turbulent times like ours, when passions swing high and rhetoric is loud, it is difficult to speak with calm candor of a historian. Fatah has no claim that his book is a history textbook or an encyclopedia on Islam. Fatah, an avowed Muslim and an activist has, indeed, passionately spoken to tweak Muslim thought in his book: Chasing a Mirage. This book will win praise from some intellectuals and garner criticism from a sizable number of Muslims and non-Muslims.
While discussing prevalent conditions in Islamic world with mindset of a political activist, Mr. Fatah heavily banks on history to frame his arguments. In fact, it is history that creates conditions for political activism. And, it is also true that change in social and political conditions can only be brought by actions of those who are either concerned or those who are affected by such historic conditions. Fatah's book is a voice from both sides of this equation. He has painstakingly gone through annals of Islamic history to tersely conclude:
"From Ridda (Apostasy) Wars of Caliph Abu-Bakr to the humiliating defeat of Caliph Mustasim, I have not found a single period that I could in all honesty say I would trade for my 21st-century existence as a Muslim living in a secular democratic society".
It is an undeserved task to compare 21-st century living with any other period in history as Fatah is trying in the above paragraph. It seems his real motive is to challenge fanatics who idealize Muslim history and wish to bring it back at any cost. Fatah's book is about doing away their agenda. Fatah has frequently used the word "Islamists" in his book. However, Fatah has painted "Islamist" with a rather broad brush almost to the point that anyone who does not agree with a certain activist vision may be an Islamist.
In his book, Mr. Fatah portrays himself as a religious Muslim and a leftist but he invariably denigrates leftist intellectuals clamoring as if there is a conspiratorial nexus between Islamists and leftists. The issue of proverbial "Left" and its alignment with Islamism is intriguing and needs some elaboration.
If I understand correctly, left was a terminology with clear meanings in the past century. Lately, contours of this term have become blurred. Historically, leftist analysis used to be materialist conception of history, not ideological. Ideology and its corresponding social relations, according to leftist view, is only superstructure of history. There are some who think of left and liberalism as synonymous and interchangeable. This understanding is questionable.
Curiously in Fatah's book, there are only passing remarks on material forces and their social relations in so-called Islamic world. A generous portion of the book is dedicated to discussion of political history of few Muslim countries and unresolved ideological issues that have plagued Islamic world for centuries. Fatah does recognize that religious ideology is intertwined with culture and politics. He wishes to unwind issues in the Muslim world but does not put forward an approach to resolution of socio political conflicts in the Muslim world based on material justice. Therefore, in my opinion, Fatah's book is not a leftist analysis and as such there is not enough reason to implicate left leaning intellectuals for aiding Islamists.
Broadly, any society is made up of at least three elements: Values, culture and social structure. There are lots of people who think of culture and values as a static entity. For them, social structure is sustained exclusively on the basis of ideology. Fatah's book challenges static perception society based on ideology by some Muslims. Somehow Fatah in his book, has not been able to escape the trap laid out by ideologues and despite his vast knowledge of history and society, he has chosen to limit himself to some provocative issues of culture, like "Hijab". I am not sure if social emancipation across genders can be achieved by doing away with hijab.
Idea of introducing Sharia-Law in Canada gained full support from some Muslims who continue to envisage their future rooted in past experience of "Islamic Golden Age". For Tarek Fatah religious law has no basis in a secular society. During Sharia-Law debate in Canada he came out as a vocal critic of Sharia-Law and by proxy elsewhere too. It was a principled position for an intellectual who believed in principles of secularism and democracy as practiced in Canada.
Fatah reminds us history that Muslims failed for centuries in creating sustainable secular institutions. Secular state is duty bound to guard against religious law taking over society in the guise of reasonable accommodation. However, confusion of nation-state politics based on religious fervor could not have been better illustrated than by presenting case study from Pakistan. Fatah justifiably quotes an exchange from judicial inquiry into religious riots of 1953 in Pakistan (Page 34):
"Q: Will the Khalifa of Pakistan be the Khalifa of all the Muslims of the world?
A: He should be but he cannot be".
The above question and answer bring the dilemma of Islamic State to the fore because there is neither a unified Muslim world nor there was one ever in both material as well as ideological sense. Umma (Oneness of Muslims as a nation), Islamic State and pan-Islamism are only illusionary conceptions. Idea of an Islamic State failed Islamic zealots and intellectuals in the past but it still survives as a dream. However, mindset for creating an Islamic-state does hold potential for anarchy and use of violence to address grievances.
I believe Fatah does not have problem with Islam as a matter of personal choice. What concerns him the most is adopting violent methodology by Muslims. He wants to change this mindset and he is emphatic about it in his book, Chasing a Mirage. It is a good rationale for his book and well said. In this context, this book provides lots of food for thought.
After describing Islamic history, Fatah's book makes reference to various Muslim organizations that are involved in political activism in North America. They have partly emerged as a reaction to ubiquitous crises in the Muslim world. Fundamentalist Muslims are bent upon recreating past. I have previously described their mindset as "Intellectual Nostalgia" because they are comfortable only in the past. And, there are others who wish to integrate with modern world. They propose Islam as a personal value and conceive of sociopolitical relations as a secular conception of the world. This takes us to understanding Muslim identity and its contemporary crisis.
In a secular society, "Muslim" as a group-identity ought to diffuse and merge with the rest of humanity. Contrarily, some leftist intellectuals of Muslim background have clearly moved to religious Muslim identity. Fatah also seems to have taken a nostalgic turn and unwittingly fortifies religious identity for Muslims both in theory as well as in act of his co-founded Muslim organization in Canada called MCC (Muslim Canadian Congress). MCC is one among many Islamic organizations in North America that thrive on Muslim group-identity. However, democratic culture of secular North America has, to my knowledge, only minimally influenced politics of Muslim organizations. In the absence of solid data on this subject it is hard to say how many Muslim organizations have held democratic elections in past 5 years for instance, including Mr. Fatah's MCC. Political behavior of Muslim organizations within secular North America may be a microcosm of Muslim political culture on global scale.
Unfortunately, democracy as social value appears somewhat stooped even among Muslim organizations that enjoy freedoms of secular and democratic societies. Secularism and democracy, in addition to many other factors, is also a mindset. Given our experience with Muslim organizations in North America, it is not a surprise that secularism and democracy in the Muslim world are feeble. This is indeed a malaise with multiple roots. It afflicts many parts of globe and crosses over religious boundaries. There is no easy way to gloss over it.
The book Chasing a Mirage, which heavily draws from North American experience, does not soften Muslim group-identity even though secular culture of North America does not insist on a religious identity. Paradoxically, this book validates religious identity for Muslims on individual and group level. If psychological need for religious identity obtusely fuses with social identity among Muslims, I am afraid Islamism would be only a stone throw distance away from that vantage point. History of religious consciousness is marred with divisiveness. Finding ways for social interaction beyond religious identities is a quest that may hold promise for peaceful future. Nevertheless, Tarek Fatah's book is a good attempt to start dialogue in the ideological world. It is also a dream for a better world that is free of friction among various ideologies.
This book is written with passion of a political activist. Turbulent times like ours, when passions swing high and rhetoric is loud, it is difficult to speak with calm candor of a historian. Fatah has no claim that his book is a history textbook or an encyclopedia on Islam. Fatah, an avowed Muslim and an activist has, indeed, passionately spoken to tweak Muslim thought in his book: Chasing a Mirage. This book will win praise from some intellectuals and garner criticism from a sizable number of Muslims and non-Muslims.
While discussing prevalent conditions in Islamic world with mindset of a political activist, Mr. Fatah heavily banks on history to frame his arguments. In fact, it is history that creates conditions for political activism. And, it is also true that change in social and political conditions can only be brought by actions of those who are either concerned or those who are affected by such historic conditions. Fatah's book is a voice from both sides of this equation. He has painstakingly gone through annals of Islamic history to tersely conclude:
"From Ridda (Apostasy) Wars of Caliph Abu-Bakr to the humiliating defeat of Caliph Mustasim, I have not found a single period that I could in all honesty say I would trade for my 21st-century existence as a Muslim living in a secular democratic society".
It is an undeserved task to compare 21-st century living with any other period in history as Fatah is trying in the above paragraph. It seems his real motive is to challenge fanatics who idealize Muslim history and wish to bring it back at any cost. Fatah's book is about doing away their agenda. Fatah has frequently used the word "Islamists" in his book. However, Fatah has painted "Islamist" with a rather broad brush almost to the point that anyone who does not agree with a certain activist vision may be an Islamist.
In his book, Mr. Fatah portrays himself as a religious Muslim and a leftist but he invariably denigrates leftist intellectuals clamoring as if there is a conspiratorial nexus between Islamists and leftists. The issue of proverbial "Left" and its alignment with Islamism is intriguing and needs some elaboration.
If I understand correctly, left was a terminology with clear meanings in the past century. Lately, contours of this term have become blurred. Historically, leftist analysis used to be materialist conception of history, not ideological. Ideology and its corresponding social relations, according to leftist view, is only superstructure of history. There are some who think of left and liberalism as synonymous and interchangeable. This understanding is questionable.
Curiously in Fatah's book, there are only passing remarks on material forces and their social relations in so-called Islamic world. A generous portion of the book is dedicated to discussion of political history of few Muslim countries and unresolved ideological issues that have plagued Islamic world for centuries. Fatah does recognize that religious ideology is intertwined with culture and politics. He wishes to unwind issues in the Muslim world but does not put forward an approach to resolution of socio political conflicts in the Muslim world based on material justice. Therefore, in my opinion, Fatah's book is not a leftist analysis and as such there is not enough reason to implicate left leaning intellectuals for aiding Islamists.
Broadly, any society is made up of at least three elements: Values, culture and social structure. There are lots of people who think of culture and values as a static entity. For them, social structure is sustained exclusively on the basis of ideology. Fatah's book challenges static perception society based on ideology by some Muslims. Somehow Fatah in his book, has not been able to escape the trap laid out by ideologues and despite his vast knowledge of history and society, he has chosen to limit himself to some provocative issues of culture, like "Hijab". I am not sure if social emancipation across genders can be achieved by doing away with hijab.
Idea of introducing Sharia-Law in Canada gained full support from some Muslims who continue to envisage their future rooted in past experience of "Islamic Golden Age". For Tarek Fatah religious law has no basis in a secular society. During Sharia-Law debate in Canada he came out as a vocal critic of Sharia-Law and by proxy elsewhere too. It was a principled position for an intellectual who believed in principles of secularism and democracy as practiced in Canada.
Fatah reminds us history that Muslims failed for centuries in creating sustainable secular institutions. Secular state is duty bound to guard against religious law taking over society in the guise of reasonable accommodation. However, confusion of nation-state politics based on religious fervor could not have been better illustrated than by presenting case study from Pakistan. Fatah justifiably quotes an exchange from judicial inquiry into religious riots of 1953 in Pakistan (Page 34):
"Q: Will the Khalifa of Pakistan be the Khalifa of all the Muslims of the world?
A: He should be but he cannot be".
The above question and answer bring the dilemma of Islamic State to the fore because there is neither a unified Muslim world nor there was one ever in both material as well as ideological sense. Umma (Oneness of Muslims as a nation), Islamic State and pan-Islamism are only illusionary conceptions. Idea of an Islamic State failed Islamic zealots and intellectuals in the past but it still survives as a dream. However, mindset for creating an Islamic-state does hold potential for anarchy and use of violence to address grievances.
I believe Fatah does not have problem with Islam as a matter of personal choice. What concerns him the most is adopting violent methodology by Muslims. He wants to change this mindset and he is emphatic about it in his book, Chasing a Mirage. It is a good rationale for his book and well said. In this context, this book provides lots of food for thought.
After describing Islamic history, Fatah's book makes reference to various Muslim organizations that are involved in political activism in North America. They have partly emerged as a reaction to ubiquitous crises in the Muslim world. Fundamentalist Muslims are bent upon recreating past. I have previously described their mindset as "Intellectual Nostalgia" because they are comfortable only in the past. And, there are others who wish to integrate with modern world. They propose Islam as a personal value and conceive of sociopolitical relations as a secular conception of the world. This takes us to understanding Muslim identity and its contemporary crisis.
In a secular society, "Muslim" as a group-identity ought to diffuse and merge with the rest of humanity. Contrarily, some leftist intellectuals of Muslim background have clearly moved to religious Muslim identity. Fatah also seems to have taken a nostalgic turn and unwittingly fortifies religious identity for Muslims both in theory as well as in act of his co-founded Muslim organization in Canada called MCC (Muslim Canadian Congress). MCC is one among many Islamic organizations in North America that thrive on Muslim group-identity. However, democratic culture of secular North America has, to my knowledge, only minimally influenced politics of Muslim organizations. In the absence of solid data on this subject it is hard to say how many Muslim organizations have held democratic elections in past 5 years for instance, including Mr. Fatah's MCC. Political behavior of Muslim organizations within secular North America may be a microcosm of Muslim political culture on global scale.
Unfortunately, democracy as social value appears somewhat stooped even among Muslim organizations that enjoy freedoms of secular and democratic societies. Secularism and democracy, in addition to many other factors, is also a mindset. Given our experience with Muslim organizations in North America, it is not a surprise that secularism and democracy in the Muslim world are feeble. This is indeed a malaise with multiple roots. It afflicts many parts of globe and crosses over religious boundaries. There is no easy way to gloss over it.
The book Chasing a Mirage, which heavily draws from North American experience, does not soften Muslim group-identity even though secular culture of North America does not insist on a religious identity. Paradoxically, this book validates religious identity for Muslims on individual and group level. If psychological need for religious identity obtusely fuses with social identity among Muslims, I am afraid Islamism would be only a stone throw distance away from that vantage point. History of religious consciousness is marred with divisiveness. Finding ways for social interaction beyond religious identities is a quest that may hold promise for peaceful future. Nevertheless, Tarek Fatah's book is a good attempt to start dialogue in the ideological world. It is also a dream for a better world that is free of friction among various ideologies.
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http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
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http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
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