EDITORIAL

Approach to redress the image of Islam

There is a growing conviction that the image of Islam taken by the West, at the present juncture, does not reflect the truth of this righteous religion, nor express its principles of tolerance and distinctive values.

The reasons behind the distortion incurred by the image of Islam among Western societies, whether at official, popular, media or academic levels, are manifold. Perhaps, the most prominent causes bear on specific local factors. Indeed, historical leftovers have been piling up to form a thick shroud of fog enveiling the sun of Islam and denying Western mind access to the bright truth of Islam, in the largest enterprise of falsification ever witnessed by human history. The result was a comprehensive distortion of the concepts and notions of Islam as a religion, a culture, a history and a nation. This, in turn, gave rise to impassable obstacles thwarting any attempt to explore the Islamic civilization and culture.

Although the Western mind has fought hard to rid itself of uncountable impediments that prevented its take-off and enveiled the lights of science and knowledge, it remained, nonetheless, in the captivity of the sequel of dark middle ages Europe, when the Muslim world was in its heyday, strong as it was with a flourishing civilization, an aggressive mind and unparalleled innovative powers.

With the passing of time and the advent of imperial colonialism of the Muslim world in the first civilizational clash ever witnessed by the Ummah since the Mongolian invasion of the Middle Eastern Islamic World in mid-seventh century of the Hegira, a number of factors intertwined to widen the cultural gap separating the West from the Muslim world. They were also instrumental in the rise of unprecedented Islamophobia fuelling hatred and  hostility to Islam and Muslims, in a premeditated plot to besmirch the image of Islam and harm its interests, putting into play the same devices of distortion, falsification, infringement and intoxication.

An in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of Islamophobia pervading the West at large, and a glimpse into the root causes of hatred and hostility to Islam and Muslims, would inevitably lead to the conclusion that the conditions of the Muslim world in their complexity and ramifications are also to be blamed. The restoration of the image of Islam in the West should evolve in the Muslim world itself. Efforts should be exerted to improve the general conditions and living standards of the Muslims, to secure proper development of the individual and society and maintain an adequate level of progress and advancement to shore up the Islamic edifice and consolidate the sturdy foundations of our towering civilization, this being a joint objective shared by all Muslim individuals and communities.

To be fair and honest with ourselves, we should stress the fact that the image of Islam in the West will remain blurred as long as Muslims did not redress their own image within the Muslim world by means of promoting their conditions at all levels, in line with the sublime values and tolerant teachings of Islam, and keeping pace with world developments. They also must build on the Islamic solidarity and capitalize on the mutual bonds of brotherhood, intercomplementarity and cooperation in all fields, thereby cutting the way before misunderstanding and conflict which only conduce to further dislocation and disruption, and open the door wide to foreign infiltration and conquest. Decision-makers in every part of the Muslim world should, each in his position, expend every effort to give fresh impetus to the development process and gear it to the right direction to uproot the causes of deficiency and weakness of the Muslim society and expurgate all alien elements that may disturb normal pursuit of life as commanded by Islam, the religion which was revealed to bring peace and mercy on all mankind.

From this perspective, the restoration of the image of Islam is a complex, interlinking process joining action at the local, regional and international levels, which shall proceed in full harmony and consonance to achieve the lofty objective consisting in the elimination of all causes of denigration and distortion of the image of Islam, the ultimate purpose being to foil all attempts to tarnish the image of Islam or harm the supreme interests of the Muslim world in any way or by any means.

The responsibility to be shouldered by the cultural, scientific and intellectual community is incessantly growing at this critical juncture through which the Muslim world is wading. Indeed, the concepts and notions are mixed up, the  truth is distorted and the waves of hatred and aggression are on the rise, rendering the sole means of salvation is to stick to the genuine, righteous Islamic approach and apply any efficient tools and methods at hand.