CRITICAL CONCERNS FROM EAST TO WEST
It is certainly not the Noble Quran, the fundamental source of guidance for the Muslim. Neither is it derived from the Sunnah, the way of the Prophet Muhammad. Is it possible that extremist tendencies began with the Kharijites in the latter part of the seventh century who referred to themselves as “the People of Heaven” and condemned the rest as the “People of Hell?” Whatever its origin, extremist thinking, as we have hinted, has never captured the imagination of the majority of Muslims. Nonetheless, such thinking appears to have a constituency of sorts today. What explains this? A pervasive concern with protecting and preserving what is perceived as an “Islamic identity” in the face of external challenges is part of the explanation. It was undoubtedly colonial subjugation which pierced the heart of Islamic civilization that compelled Muslim societies everywhere to revitalize and re-assert their identity. In the post-colonial era, the dispossession of the Palestinians and later the conquest of Afghanistan and the invasion and occupation of Iraq have also forced Muslims to define themselves, often in exclusive terms, in relation to the dominant other. Indeed, the perpetual attempt by the United States and the West to ensure their global hegemony to the detriment of Muslims and others has increased their sense of siege. For Muslims in particular, since hegemony embodies an overwhelmingly powerful cultural dimension, they are more conscious than others of its challenge to what they perceive as their Islamic way of life. In some instances, this challenge comes in the form of Muslim governments themselves which are perceived as “secular” or as governments that have failed to adhere to the laws of Allah. If corruption or oppression or economic and social disparities are also widespread in the societies they lead, they provide grist to the mill of those who are determined to replace these governments
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