The greatest tragedy for Muslims in the last two and a half centuries is that their intellectual leadership has been thinking under the hatred or intimidation of the West. They have no point of view, worldview, or perspective.
Muslim civilization has ruled the world for thousands of years so that no one in the civilized world, from Africa to Central Asia and from Europe to Southeast Asia, could have imagined its equivalence and equality. Not only in politics, but no one was ahead of it in civilization, knowledge, art, language, society, and trade. However, then the greatest revolution in human history took place in Europe, and one by one, the declining Muslim societies were shackled into European slavery.
This experience of total defeat after enjoying full authority, the Muslim intellectual leadership born in slavery get deprived of the balance that is necessary to guide nations. For some, blind adherence to Western civilization was considered an honour, and for others, hatred of the West became their lifeblood.
The deprivation of power by the Muslims was part of the universal law of rising and fall under which Allah Almighty is running this world. When Muslims became morally weak, they had to face the tragedy of the destruction of Baghdad and their expulsion from Spain. Although the political power of the Muslims remained in the form of the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Sultans, and the Mughal Empire, they continued to decline in knowledge. Meanwhile, a scientific revolution took place in Europe, which eventually emerged as the greatest reality of the nineteenth century in their global domination.
This rise and fall of the two civilizations was the result of God’s law, but unfortunately, the intellectual leadership of the Muslims made it a subject of oppression and conspiracy. They trained the whole nation on the principle that the European nations had conspired and defeated the Muslims with the help of some traitors. A more superficial interpretation of the rise and fall of the two civilizations was not possible than that. However, sadly, this interpretation became the most popular among the people. As a result, the most profound hatred of the West permeated the veins of our intellectual classes.
When European nations left Muslim countries, the power came to those who had modern education and were imbued with the colour of Western civilization. The hatred of the West has now turned into hatred against those people. Hence, on the one hand, the Cold War between Russia and the United States was going on worldwide. While on the other hand, there was constant conflict between Muslim elites and religious intellectuals in Muslim countries. After the 9/11 attacks, the ruling Muslim elite sided with the United States in invading Afghanistan and Iraq. So the lava of hatred erupted once again. Muslims around the world fell victim to the hatred of America.
Unfortunately, in this game of hatred, nations forget that, who are inferior in knowledge and morals, regardless of how much they hate, will be doomed to humiliation, disgrace, and defeat. No matter how much their journalists, intellectuals, scholars, and preachers ignite the fire of hostility, this fire will eventually burn their own house.
If it is to be seen in a historical fact, it can be observed in the form of the Crusades that lasted for two hundred years. A thousand years ago, Pope Urban II ignited a fire of hatred against Muslims and united the swarm of the European army to invade Palestine. That was the era of the Muslims’ declination, but they were still ahead of Europe in technology. So the handful of Muslims finally humiliated and drove out the united force of the European nations. However, Europe was fortunate to learn a lesson after two centuries of beating. After that, their intellectual leadership became more engaged in reforming their societies than in hating Muslims.
It is unfortunate that despite two centuries of successive defeats and ruin, Muslims have not yet learned the lesson that nothing happens in God’s world with hatred. National and cultural domination requires constructive thinking and a corrective mind. Instead of blaming others and finding their conspiracies, it is a matter of finding one’s faults and removing the inferiority in knowledge and morals.
However, for the first time in modern history, the situation has been changing. For the first time in the intellectual leadership of Muslims, a new element has emerged which is rising above the feelings of intimidation or hatred and pointing out the true causes of decline. Which is establishing the practice of forming opinions on the basis of knowledge and research, instead of emotions. Which believes in promoting positive thinking instead of negative thinking. Which believes in the power of peace and invitation instead of terror and disorder. Although hate speech is appreciated the most nowadays, it will not be long before this new voice becomes the most effective. This day will be the first day of the rise of Muslims.