EDITORIAL
FROM THE PULPIT n the heat of the battle, Imam Ali found himself straddling his enemy. A skilled and stealthy warrior, the fourth Caliph of Islam was always decisive in battle. Fighting only when the cause was just and necessary, he now held his sword high, ready to deliver the final blow. Then came the great insult. The enemy, seeing his end was near, spit violently into Imam Ali‚s face. The sword came down suddenly,not into the man‚s heart, but back into its sheath. Imam Ali quickly got up and withdrew from the fight. The spared combatant looked relieved and exasperated. Why had the great Ali let him live? I was fighting you for the sake of Allah, in the name of God, Imam Ali declared. When you spit in my face I felt anger rise up within me, he continued, and I realized that I was going to smite you, not in the name of justice, but out of revenge for your insult ˆ that was something that I could not do. Muslims would be wise to embrace Imam Ali‚s convictions.
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Dazed and confused, we have become a reactionary community. Our circumstances are difficult, but it does not help that we often allow our public discourse to be driven by anger and resentment. Within days of 11 September 2001, Q-News sidestepped the conspiracy theorists, the Bin Laden apologists and the blind patriots and took a less popular course. Articulated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and others, we set out on the path of introspection. Along the way we didn‚t forget the massacre at Jenin (in fact, Fuad Nahdi was one of the first journalists inside the devastated camp), Guantanamo Bay, the bombing of Afghanistan or the illegitimate war on Iraq. What we called for was balance. Our faith instructs us to hold ourselves to account, before holding others to account. It was unpopular and at times we stumbled, but we have tried to stay true to the sentiments of Imam Ali. We will not stay silent and let our community be guided by anything but love, mercy and justice. In an exclusive interview with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, we explore the path of introspection once again. It is a clarion call for spiritual excellence in an age that celebrates the ego and elevates the passions. His ongoing dialogues with leading thinkers like Noah Feldman, also featured inside, continue to give the message of Islam relevance and vibrancy. The cover story on, Islam and Democracy‰ has been several months in the making. Polarized between the party of rejection, who equate democracy with unbelief, and the party of accommodation, who are content with photo ops and token representation, we have sought to find a middle ground. We believe that Muslims are capable of intelligent and meaningful participation in society as full citizens and stakeholders in the future of the countries we call home. We have brought together some of today‚s most visionary and exciting voices to challenge the status quo. People like Tariq Ramadan, Salma Yaqoob and Khalida Khan are not just thinkers, but activists. They are ruffling plenty of feathers, but their ideas will impact the direction of the community for years to come. Q-News has for over a decade pushed the envelope of Muslim discourse in Britain and beyond. Our readers have never been passive. They have always willingly jumped outside the box to see the possibilities of our faith. These are debates about your future. You have nothing to lose but your illusions. And all success is from Allah. Fareena Alam
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