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ASHRAF PATEL argues that if a new Islamic renaissance is to be realised there is a need for ijtihad and social justice when organising Quranic events.
This is in light of the visit to South Africa by the Imam and Khateeb of the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Yasser bin Rashid Al-Dosari, which generated heated controversy.
The Imam was the guest of honour at the 14th National Quran Memorisation Competition organised by the South African National Quran Council. It was held on Saturday September14 at Nurul Islam Masjid in Lenasia, Gauteng.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whoever among you sees an evil action, then let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith.’ (Sahih Muslim)
The world today is currently facing major conflicts, occupations and oppressions with the genocide in Palestine being in the forefront. Sadly, many in the Muslim world are being complicit in this grave violation of humanity, and inaction and silence is the default position of nation states.
When contemporary Quranic events are held this context should be acknowledged. And it is with this understanding of the current situation that organisers of Quran competitions have a duty to be true to the fact that the Quran is not ahistorical but rooted in the lived reality of the ummah (the community).
The Quran’s revelation is a miracle and was revealed in the context of the most challenging periods of the life of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). And because the Prophet was indeed a mercy upon mankind, the Quran’s revelation in stages over 23 years in the most challenging periods of the Nabuwwat (Prophetic period) speaks to its contextual dynamism.
Misuse of soft power of states in a fractured genocidal global world order
The current genocide – the worst since the Second World War – against the Palestinians is critically significant in that it will shape a new global order.
Firstly, the role of the United States and Europe – whose liberal international order was predicated on ‘human rights and rule of law’ – has crumbled in the ashes of Gaza. The complicity of Arab states – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and even Turkey – in this most challenging period is a shameful scar on the face of the Muslim world’s leaders, showing up the dire state of a world where 53 nations states in the Muslim world have not made any impact on the Gaza genocide.
Hence the visit by the Imam of Makkah, Yasser Al-Dosari, to our shores over the weekend of September 14 generated controversy.
Imams everywhere – and the Haramain in particular – are in a precarious position as they are largely dependent on the largesse of the state and the monarchy, but they do have agency and a responsibility due to the position they occupy.
Perhaps the most profound example of speaking truth to power is that of Hadrat Bilal (RA).
Would imams take the Bilal (RA) option, whereby he suffered immensely as he refused to yield to the prevailing powers of the day, thus denying himself the material bounties of this world? This form of struggle is the most honourable one and, more importantly, opens up new possibilities for struggle for social reform and progress and emancipation.
In South Africa too, our imams and mu’adh-dhins are often caught between a rock and hard place. The power structure and committees that run mosques have significant power, leaving imams and mu’adh-dhins little space for independent thought. Being co-opted within the status quo is seen as the ‘safest option’.
This is akin to the asymmetrical power relations existing between bosses and workers (capital versus labour). In this case, the imams’ situation is often precarious, but nonetheless they do have agency in terms of their vast knowledge and experience and can – and should – use this ‘social power’ in the context of oppression.
Moreover, the mass of the ummah – the faithful congregation and community members – are a resource and ‘civil society base’ which leaders and religious bodies should acknowledge. Imams can draw upon the mass sentiments of the congregations. And imams need to exercise logic and integrate the key issues of the day – both local community and ummah-wide – and advance the Quranic position which Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the rightly-guided Khulafa did, and they suffered immensely for taking social justice positions. These struggles are universal.
Learning from the experience of contextual theology confronting Apartheid
As an example, during the Apartheid years the state had significant theological backing for its racist ideology from the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK) and affiliates in advancing, and even justifying, Apartheid.
By contrast Christian clerics rooted in liberation theology, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Beyers Naudé and Reverend Allan Boesak, used the Bible to fight for justice and liberation.
In South Africa today, many churches and clerics are in the forefront in the fight for justice for Palestinians and speak to advance the rights of the oppressed in Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, East Timor, Ethiopia and elsewhere, drawing lessons from the Scriptures. This dynamic form of contextual theology is sorely lacking in the Muslim world and is one of the reasons that the vast majority of Muslims live under despotic, authoritarian regimes. This is the reason why Muslim civil society has so little mobilising power and leverage over dictatorships.
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The Haram in Makkah is a central place due to the Kaabah and the revelations and life of the Prophet (pbuh). Yet the monarchy in Saudi Arabia, which has ‘guardianship’ over this Holy Sanctuary, has embarked on multibillion dollar projects – from shopping malls, mega cities in the desert, mega super sport events, mega music concerts, etc.
These are, in reality ‘weapons of mass distraction’ in an age of genocide! Like castles in the sand, they have no foundational values for a vibrant civilisation to take root.
In this context, the Quran and its application and interpretation has been monopolised by religious and political elites as an instrument to advance state ideology. It is not given the freedom of its rightful place in Muslim society – that of liberation, justice and progress. Likewise, the annual Hajj is also a global platform that is often used and abused by the Saudi monarchy to project its global and regional hegemony.
Hence the robust debates in South Africa on the ‘silence of the Quran competition’ on global issues such as Palestine are important. All stakeholders bear some responsibility for ‘active inaction’ and silence in the face of injustice.
So, what can and should be done?
Institutions and communities in South Africa – a nation that has shown the world the power of sovereignty in international affairs by consistently taking Israel to the International Court of Justice – should provide a framework for hosting future Quran competitions.
Towards a new ijtihad and social justice dimension of the Quran
The Quranic competition is a unique and important event. The narrow focus on recitation could and should be expanded to include social commentary. In the current epoch the lived reality of Muslim states is one of despotism, not unlike the regime of the Quraish during the time of the Prophet (pbuh)
Quran competitions can thus improve on their formats to integrate social commentary. The formats can include:
- The actual Quran recital;
- Then social commentary on chapters and sections of the Quran; and
- Linking them to social justice issues of the day, including Palestine, Myanmar, etc.
The Quran is indeed a miracle as its substantive text discusses key and pertinent topics. These include personal and community law, the justice system, economics, taxation, issues of gender, race and class dimension, and even current sustainable development challenges such as climate change and preserving nature and the environment.
It’s important to note that during the golden era of Muslim civilisation literature, arts, medicine and science output was the highest in the world. Today, the Muslim world’s collective output in the sciences, literature and arts – all key markers in civilisation indexes – are paltry. Yet, the Muslim world comprises an increasing majority of humanity.
In fact, the growth of Islam in its golden era, stretching from the 7th to 14th century, was an era of rich commentary where scholars referenced the current societal context of the day and developed new norms, taxation, treaties, regulations, laws, etc. This rich period of interpretive commentary – ijtihaad – witnessed the flourishing and renaissance of Islam and its spread globally from Arabia to Abyssinia, to the heart of Europe and to west and east Asia,
As a host community, and South Africa being a human rights and justice power, we should imbibe these values within future Quran competitions
The organisers thus need to engage in a necessary form of ijtihaad and bring this dimension into to the Quran competition so that new possibilities of justice, peace in the world and among the ummah can be discussed as part of commentary. Contemporary themes on critical issues such as race and environmental justice should be included.
As the West declines and a new world order in a post-Gaza world emerges, there has been a shift of power to the East with China emerging as the new superpower. The Chinese state has harnessed the power of its Confucius civilisation, values and texts and applied them to the modern Chinese state and society; and today China is at the cusp of world superpower status.
The Roman empire came to an end, Apartheid in South Africa was defeated, the Soviet Union collapsed, and now the US empire is in a current decline. So too can despotic regimes in the Muslim world come to an end. The Islamic world too is at a crossroads.
Will our scholars take their rightful place and push the boundaries, and engage in ijtihaad to speak truth to power to open up the latent knowledge into new tributaries, thus ushering a potentially new Islamic renaissance? Or will statism, inertia and co-optation by religious and academic scholars continue to confine the Quran merely to its symbolic value and serve narrow agendas of oppressive nation states?
But that depends on new understandings of the Quran rooted in tried and tested methodologies of ijtihad. It calls for a contextual theology that combines with the social justice ethos of our Nabi (pbuh) and the rightly-guided Khulafa (may Allah be pleased with them).
A new necessary ‘contextual theology’, led by brave scholars supported by a broad spectrum of Islamic society and ordinary citizens in the Muslim world, is required if ever a new Islamic renaissance is to be realised.
May Allah guide us towards truth, justice and progress.
- Ashraf Patel is a multi-disciplinary writer, author and scriptwriter and graduate in public policy, economy. He writes on topics ranging from cities in the Global South to social cohesion, labour and the fourth industrial revolution. His work straddles the digital humanities, tech and social entrepreneurship, innovation and culture and how they coalesce in various narratives and existential realities of Africans in various spaces – gender, race, class, youth and the migrants.
