Ways

You know,

here's a question:

Does Islam not offer humanity

a society that brings peace and harmony to those who live within it,

that brings happiness and well-being to those who live within it,

that cares for its poor and disadvantaged,

a society that offers a sense of justice

and equality before the law,

and a sense of freedom of action

and participation in the system that governs them?

Does an Islamic society not offer all its members

the opportunity for personal growth

through searching out new ways to understand their world

through exploration and education?

Does it not offer them freedom

as to how they choose to understand the world about them,

whether they wish to be muslim or not,

to believe or not,

or to worship in any other form they choose?

What a wondrous place to be.

So where exactly in the world can we look to find this magical place?

More specific

and even more relevant,

where can we look to find these things in the muslim world?

And if a society doesn't offer humanity these things,

why would anyone want to be in it?

And if a society doesn't offer these things

can it really claim to be Islamic?

Where is the example of this wonderful Islamic social system?

What happens if we look at what we mean by an Islamic social system

and try to see where it has gone?

It's a big question,

but I expect that as ever in the muslim world

there are lots of people prepared to give it a simple answer that involves

little thought and less action on their part,

don't you?

For instance,

some like to reduce the whole idea of

a social system in the muslim world

down to one tiny aspect of it,

preferably the responsibility of someone else?

Is it really possible to discard systems of government,

politics, economics, education, and the law

from our understanding of an Islamic social system,

as suggested by Hizb-ut-Tahrir,

reducing our social system simply to the laws governing the way people meet?

And are same sex meetings really somehow intrinsically problem free,

as they suggest,

in order to reduce the social system even further,

simply to regulations governing

meetings between men and women?

And why does it somehow feel inevitable

when these regulations mostly end up

placing restrictions on the behaviour of women

rather than men?

Does this seem fair?

Does the scope of the life of a woman

seem equal to the scope of the life of a man?

Because if it doesn't then it is unjust,

and if it is unjust surely it can't be Islamic,

can it?

Is this narrow view of society all that Islam has to offer to the world?

It would seem that for many muslims it is.

But surely we need to give more than lip service to equality

when we are dealing with the God given rights of half the world?

Should we not look at our Islam as a complete social system

that enhances and enables all our lives?

A social system in which every member of society

agrees to the same ideas of good and bad

and freely agrees to act in the right way

and avoid the wrong way,

each person taking responsibility

for both their own actions and the actions of their society?

Is our Deen not centered around tolerance,

patience, perseverance, modesty, trust and honesty?

And what about compassion,

love, sibling equality, diligence,

good manners and politeness?

Or mercy, or forgiveness,

or the right to search for knowledge,

to acquire education?

are these not the things that shape our lives

and shape our societies into an Islamic Deen?

And I guess that if we don't see such a social system around us

to take part in,

then we'll just have to do our best to try to bring one about,

don't you?

So what else do you think we should consider as part of the system?

Why would we want to change the way our banks and trading systems work?

What does the politics of then and there have to do with the politics of here and now?

How did Islam spread so quickly around the world?

How can we measure muslim history by the moon?