UTILIZATION OF MODERN OPPORTUNITIES
Muslims in the present age suffer from a unique deprivation, one that perhaps no other nation or group shares to the same extent. This deprivation lies in their failure to capitalize on the vast opportunities afforded by the modern era.
One of the most significant opportunities available in contemporary times is what we now call “freedom.” The revolutionary French thinker Rousseau famously began his book The Social Contract with the sentence: “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.” This phrase became the creed of the modern age, evolving into a universally accepted belief that freedom is a birthright of every human being. It is an inalienable right for individuals to act according to their convictions, with the sole condition being that this freedom must not involve aggression and must be exercised peacefully. Two illustrative stories shed light on this principle.
Three hundred years ago, when America gained political independence from Britain, an American citizen took to the streets to celebrate. While walking enthusiastically, he swung his arms vigorously, accidentally hitting a passerby on the nose. Angered, the passerby demanded, “What is this nonsense?” The American citizen replied, “Now that America is free, I can do whatever I want.” The passerby calmly responded, “Indeed, you are free, but your freedom ends where my nose begins.”
This anecdote eloquently encapsulates the modern concept of freedom: individuals are granted complete liberty, provided they do not resort to violence or infringe on the rights of others.
Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi, who learned this principle during his education in the West, applied it effectively in India’s struggle for independence. In 1857, Muslim leaders in India had launched a freedom movement against British colonial rule, basing their efforts on violent struggle. Despite waging a bloody war for over sixty years, their movement failed. However, when Mahatma Gandhi assumed leadership of the independence movement in 1919, he adopted a fundamentally different approach, rooted in peaceful struggle. Consequently, India achieved independence in 1947.
What explains this stark difference? The failure of earlier efforts stemmed from the taqlidi (imitative) mindset of the Muslim leadership, which recognized only armed jihad as a strategy. The classical texts of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) were written in an era when the sword was the predominant symbol of power. These works reflect the worldview of their time, emphasizing violent struggle as the sole method of achieving goals. This is reflected in an old Arabic saying:
“War eliminates war” (al-harb anfa lil-harb). A Persian poet similarly captured this ancient mindset:
“Whoever wields the sword,
The coin bears his name.”
Strikingly, modern Muslims have failed to harness the remarkable opportunities presented by the modern age. Among these, the concept of freedom stands out as a particularly valuable one. Modernity has established that freedom is a universal human right, with the sole condition that it be exercised without aggression and through peaceful means. If today’s Muslims had adopted an ijtihadi (independent reasoning) mindset, rather than remaining confined to the taqlid (imitation) of medieval jurisprudence, they would have recognized that the modern concept of freedom provides a unique opportunity to pursue their objectives through nonviolent methods, aligning with the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.
