Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Speaking Tree | August 21, 2016

All things in the universe are entirely interdependent. Things that are interdependent are related to one another in such a close way that each one needs the other in order to exist. The universal law governing this inter-relatedness is also generally applicable to human society, in the sense that, in the human world, great things can happen when each individual plays his own role without interfering in the sphere of others. At present, we see Muslim militancy almost everywhere. And Muslim countries are no exception.

When Muslim countries have Muslim rule and Muslim administration, why is militancy also in evidence there? It is because Muslims in these countries are not following the above universal principle. To illustrate this, I would like to give an example from the Muslim world: when General Ayub Khan became the president of Pakistan in 1958, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi and his party were active in the name of 'Islamisation of Pakistan'....

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In the Vanguard Of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama'at-i-Islami of Pakistan, Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr writes: "During a trip to Lahore in 1962, he (General Ayub) invited Maududi to the governor's mansion and suggested that he leave politics to the politicians and dedicate himself to religious studies instead. For encouragement, he offered Maududi the post of vice chancellor of Bhawalpur Islamic University. In no mood to be appeased, Maududi rejected both the offer and the counsel." This offer by Ayub Khan was a golden chance for Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. By accepting this offer, he would have been able to organise education throughout the whole of Pakistan and thus prepare the minds of a whole new generation, which in turn would have been greatly helpful to him in reforming Pakistan.However, he turned down the offer and a great opportunity was missed. The grave issue facing the Muslim community today is that they have been left behind in the international race of education.

The responsibility for this backwardness rests entirely on present-day Muslim leaders, who have been unable to recognise the opportunity on offer and have failed to avail of them by wise planning. Why have Muslims become involved in the violent culture of the present age? There is just one reason for this: Muslims' backwardness in the field of modern education. Because of educational backwardness, they have failed to discover the nature of the modern age. The modern age was a supporting factor for Islam, but because of their educational backwardness, Muslims have not come to regard it as inimical to Islam. This is the basic reason why Muslims have failed to engage in peaceful planning for their revival, and have become unwisely enmeshed in the culture of violence. It is only when they fully realise this fact that there can be a new future for Muslims.