Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Speaking Tree I January 11, 2015
The Italian colonisation of Libya, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, started in 1911 and lasted till 1947. An example of how Muslims reacted to this event can be seen in the lines of an Arabic scholar: “Ayn al-qarar wa qad nakas alamuna bi-Tarabulas.” (How can we live in peace, now that our flags have fallen down in Tripoli?) This event symbolically reflects the case of the entire Muslim world. Muslims today are living with a defeatist mentality and the present negative attitude can be attributed to this psyche. From the past 200 years, the Muslim world has been living with the feeling that its flags have been brought down everywhere. Earlier, western colonisers had brought down Muslim flags in Africa and Asia, and in today’s times, Israel with America’s support has brought down their flag. Consequently, Muslims are living in hatred for the west and consider it to be an enemy of Islam.
I have read a lot about Muslims in different languages. I was born in 1925 and have very long experience of the Muslim community. After my extensive study and experience, I have realised that the Muslim community today is living in hate. The only difference is that some Muslims are involved in active violence, while others may indulge in passive violence.
Understanding this issue requires deep study of the Muslim psyche. Muslim hate, a deep-rooted phenomenon, has to be explained through deeper analysis.
The story begins with the rise of European colonialism in the 18th century. European colonisers dominated a vast area of Asia and Africa. Before this time, Muslims ruled over these areas. When European colonisers established their supremacy in this area, it was akin to establishing supremacy over Muslims. This was also the period when the printing press was introduced to the Muslim world. The print media literally became a vehicle for spreading hate among Muslims. Owing to the negative psyche of that time, the Muslim media reported only negative aspects of European colonialism, totally ignoring its positive aspects. Thus, the print media virtually became hate media for Muslims.
Although European colonialism came to an end by the middle of the 20th century, the problem resurfaced in another garb. Israel, which had the support of America and other western countries, now came to be regarded as an enemy by Muslims. Thus, the hate psychology persisted even after the end of colonialism. In present times, whichever Muslim home or gathering one visits, one is likely to hear them talking against the west.
As a result of this psychology, the entire Muslim world is, as it were, standing atop an explosive, ready to get provoked at the slightest reason. Practically, all Muslims are living like time-bombs, which ignite at the slightest reason. The only difference is that while some Muslims express themselves in hateful speeches and writings, others do so in terms of acts of violence. In the present situation, no condemnation of violence will work. When Muslims are condemned for violence, they immediately retort that what they are doing is out of reaction. They believe that if people’s actions stop, then their reaction too will stop. In such a state of affairs, we have to make Muslims realise that their reaction itself is totally wrong. Whatever happened has happened because of the law of nature based on competition, and not due to the enmity of any nation. We will have to change Muslims’ way of thinking, otherwise it will continue forever.
Muslims need to be told that they have positive news in the form of the peaceful ideology of Islam to present to the world. Then, why are they sending out negative news and distorting the image of their religion?