From Europe News:
Totalitarianism of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s Islamic utopia
EuropeNews 27 January 2012
By Jan Wójcik
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is being portrayed as an embracing democracy, moderate Muslim. However, his views on the ideal state are closer to other political systems. Recently, al-Qaradawi’s name has been appearing in the context of democracy.
It can be in the mainstream media news he supports democracy in Egypt or Tunisia, or in calls for democratic participation directed to European Muslims by leaders of their communities who follow al-Qaradawi’s spiritual leadership.
But the way al-Qaradawi perceives the ideal of society himself is rather different to what an ordinary person would associate with democracy. His views were published in November on onislam.net under the title "Islam and the Society the World Craves” summarizing the last chapter of his book "Islam the Future Civilization”.
http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-islam/living-islam/growing-in-fai...
Al-Qaradawi’s paraphrases of Muslim Brotherhood’s slogan "Islam is the solution” alone should be warning signals for all commentators who consider him democratic. "Islam is the only system which offers humanity a completely balanced and integrated system (…)” – he says.
Further description of al-Qaradawi’s vision of the ideal state explains why professor of political science Bassam Tibi considers Islamist parties to be totalitarian movements: "What is meant by integration is that Islam integrates sciences and faith, truth and power, creed and activity, religion with the state, instruction and legislation, religious scruples and the duties of rulers, material creativity and moral loftiness, and military power and morale.”
Such profound Muslim social utopia, according to al-Qaradawi, must be safeguarded by firm pillars, which probably are well known to most of us, however in a different context:
1. Brotherhood and Love: It is a natural result of faith to unite those upon the firm creed.
2. Sympathy and Mercifulness: These characteristics are especially obligatory regarding the weak, the orphans, the needy, and the wayfarers.
3. Support and Cooperation: It is a must for the believers to cooperate upon righteousness and piety and not to work together for vice and hostility.
4. Solidarity and Mutuality: It must be a society in which the rich support the poor, and the strong come to the aid of the oppressed.
5. Mutual Consultation and Advice: No one in this society is above the law or above being corrected if they do not adhere to God’s commands
6. Purification and Advancement: The Muslim society is a hygienic one that educates its individuals in purification, decency, chastity, and prohibits every kind of abomination whether hidden or open.
7. Justice: It includes economic and social justice as well as just treatment (not necessary equal – authors comment) by the law.
8. Progressiveness: This is perhaps the most important characteristic of Muslim society—it is progressive and not underdeveloped! However the definition of this progress is based upon the collective goal of humanity which is to perfect the worship of God, to fulfill the vicegerency on earth, and to accomplish preservation of the earth.
At the beginning however al-Qaradawi assumes that those pillars can only be achieved "when belief infiltrates the society and enlightens the hearts of its individuals.”
Early researchers of totalitarianism, like Carl Friedrich or Zbigniew Brzezinski, defined characteristic features of that system and among them: the need for creation of the new man, common leading ideology and strong social control of the individual – which in later stage manifests as a system of terror.
Karl Dietrich Bracher added also aspirations to transform society, ideology encompassing all aspects of life and striving for unity of society and the state.
Another scholar, Eric Hoffer, mentioned that both Nazism and communism blamed democratic systems for their decadency. Will it come as a surprise then, that al-Qaradawi starts with such criticism: "Perhaps the most blatantly apparent quality of the 21st century world is that the success of nations is based upon their material advancement with complete disregard for the moral status of its civilization.”
Further, reminding about God’s punishment impending over decadent civilizations and the civilizations already punished for their decadency, al-Qaradawi lists characteristics of degeneration ascribed to the present civilized world. Among them it is worth to notice "rejoicing over scientific knowledge and turning away from the revelations of God” and "insufferable intellectual and material arrogance intermingled with heedlessness of Allah’s severe punishment”. Since this will be corrected, as mentioned above, through integration of faith and sciences.
Al-Qaradawi does not reject western civilization as a whole. Muslims are to learn from it the "scientific and technological application, excellence of administration and management of life’s affairs, giving due consideration to human rights and freedom (although Islam already guarantees these principles (…)”
It is not desired however to confine oneself merely to imitating the West, because "the only way, an Islamic nation could fulfill this goal is to stick firmly to its ‘balanced and integrated civilized project’ and struggle until death to fulfill its identity and mission.”
Total solutions, encompassing the whole of humanity, transforming societies and standing in opposition to Western decadency were the essence of the historical mission of the proletariat, or in another case of "die historische Mission des deutschen Volkes” (the historic mission of the German nation).
Has Europe had not enough yet?
By Jan Wójcik
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is being portrayed as an embracing democracy, moderate Muslim. However, his views on the ideal state are closer to other political systems. Recently, al-Qaradawi’s name has been appearing in the context of democracy.
It can be in the mainstream media news he supports democracy in Egypt or Tunisia, or in calls for democratic participation directed to European Muslims by leaders of their communities who follow al-Qaradawi’s spiritual leadership.
But the way al-Qaradawi perceives the ideal of society himself is rather different to what an ordinary person would associate with democracy. His views were published in November on onislam.net under the title "Islam and the Society the World Craves” summarizing the last chapter of his book "Islam the Future Civilization”.
http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-islam/living-islam/growing-in-fai...
Al-Qaradawi’s paraphrases of Muslim Brotherhood’s slogan "Islam is the solution” alone should be warning signals for all commentators who consider him democratic. "Islam is the only system which offers humanity a completely balanced and integrated system (…)” – he says.
Further description of al-Qaradawi’s vision of the ideal state explains why professor of political science Bassam Tibi considers Islamist parties to be totalitarian movements: "What is meant by integration is that Islam integrates sciences and faith, truth and power, creed and activity, religion with the state, instruction and legislation, religious scruples and the duties of rulers, material creativity and moral loftiness, and military power and morale.”
Such profound Muslim social utopia, according to al-Qaradawi, must be safeguarded by firm pillars, which probably are well known to most of us, however in a different context:
1. Brotherhood and Love: It is a natural result of faith to unite those upon the firm creed.
2. Sympathy and Mercifulness: These characteristics are especially obligatory regarding the weak, the orphans, the needy, and the wayfarers.
3. Support and Cooperation: It is a must for the believers to cooperate upon righteousness and piety and not to work together for vice and hostility.
4. Solidarity and Mutuality: It must be a society in which the rich support the poor, and the strong come to the aid of the oppressed.
5. Mutual Consultation and Advice: No one in this society is above the law or above being corrected if they do not adhere to God’s commands
6. Purification and Advancement: The Muslim society is a hygienic one that educates its individuals in purification, decency, chastity, and prohibits every kind of abomination whether hidden or open.
7. Justice: It includes economic and social justice as well as just treatment (not necessary equal – authors comment) by the law.
8. Progressiveness: This is perhaps the most important characteristic of Muslim society—it is progressive and not underdeveloped! However the definition of this progress is based upon the collective goal of humanity which is to perfect the worship of God, to fulfill the vicegerency on earth, and to accomplish preservation of the earth.
At the beginning however al-Qaradawi assumes that those pillars can only be achieved "when belief infiltrates the society and enlightens the hearts of its individuals.”
Early researchers of totalitarianism, like Carl Friedrich or Zbigniew Brzezinski, defined characteristic features of that system and among them: the need for creation of the new man, common leading ideology and strong social control of the individual – which in later stage manifests as a system of terror.
Karl Dietrich Bracher added also aspirations to transform society, ideology encompassing all aspects of life and striving for unity of society and the state.
Another scholar, Eric Hoffer, mentioned that both Nazism and communism blamed democratic systems for their decadency. Will it come as a surprise then, that al-Qaradawi starts with such criticism: "Perhaps the most blatantly apparent quality of the 21st century world is that the success of nations is based upon their material advancement with complete disregard for the moral status of its civilization.”
Further, reminding about God’s punishment impending over decadent civilizations and the civilizations already punished for their decadency, al-Qaradawi lists characteristics of degeneration ascribed to the present civilized world. Among them it is worth to notice "rejoicing over scientific knowledge and turning away from the revelations of God” and "insufferable intellectual and material arrogance intermingled with heedlessness of Allah’s severe punishment”. Since this will be corrected, as mentioned above, through integration of faith and sciences.
Al-Qaradawi does not reject western civilization as a whole. Muslims are to learn from it the "scientific and technological application, excellence of administration and management of life’s affairs, giving due consideration to human rights and freedom (although Islam already guarantees these principles (…)”
It is not desired however to confine oneself merely to imitating the West, because "the only way, an Islamic nation could fulfill this goal is to stick firmly to its ‘balanced and integrated civilized project’ and struggle until death to fulfill its identity and mission.”
Total solutions, encompassing the whole of humanity, transforming societies and standing in opposition to Western decadency were the essence of the historical mission of the proletariat, or in another case of "die historische Mission des deutschen Volkes” (the historic mission of the German nation).
Has Europe had not enough yet?
Jan Wojcik is editor of euroislam.pl and president of Europe of the Future association. He loves Austria
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