The Future of Islam
PARTICIPANTS AT A RECENT ISLAMIC CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON EMPHASIZED THE PEACEFUL, HARMONIOUS QUALITIES OF THEIR RELIGION. BUT MANY WERE ALSO CRITICAL OF WESTERN TENDENCIES THEY CONSIDER HARMFUL TO ISLAM.LET US START BY BANNING HOLLYWOOD. THAT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION OF SHEIK NADIR KHACHILAEV, CHAIRMAN OF THE UNION OF MUSLIMS OF RUSSIA.
IN A SPEECH TO A RECENT ISLAMIC CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, HE DEPLORED THE PORTRAYAL OF MUSLIMS IN HOLLYWOOD FILMS. HE SAID THEY CREATE INACCURATE STEREOTYPES THAT EVEN SOME MUSLIMS COME TO BELIEVE.
SHEIK KHACHILAEV OFFERED PROFOUND THANKS TO THE UNITED STATES FOR HELPING TO BRING DOWN THE SOVIET EMPIRE, BUT HE SAID THE AMERICAN MEDIA SHOULD NOT MAKE ANOTHER ENEMY OF ISLAM. AS AN EXAMPLE OF PRESS BIAS, HE ASKED WHY PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR BOMB IS CALLED THE "ISLAMIC BOMB" WHILE THE BOMB THAT DESTROYED HIROSHIMA IS NOT CALLED A "CHRISTIAN BOMB."
DATO HISHAMMUDIN HUSSEIN, DEPUTY MINISTER OF THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES OF MALAYSIA, WAS SCATHING IN HIS CONDEMNATION OF WESTERN CURRENCY TRADERS FOR WRECKING HIS COUNTRY'S ECONOMY IN PURSUIT OF THEIR OWN PROFIT. TO HIS MIND, THEY DEMONSTRATE THE SERIOUS FLAWS IN LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM:
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, CHINESE OFFICIALS WERE PLACED IN THE SAME PREDICAMENT WHEN BATTLING AGAINST THE BRITISH OPIUM TRADERS WHO WERE BENT ON SECURING PROFITS EVEN IF IT CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION OF CHINESE SOCIETY. MY QUESTION TO YOU IS WHAT DIFFERENCE, IF ANY, IS THERE BETWEEN THE OPIUM TRADERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND THE CURRENCY TRADERS OF TODAY?
MINISTER HUSSEIN SAID THE GREAT CAPRICIOUS SHIFTS OF SHORT TERM CAPITAL CAN DESTROY ANY SMALL NATION'S ECONOMY. MALAYSIA'S CURRENCY DEVALUATION HAS HALVED ITS PER CAPITA INCOME AND SET THIS ONETIME ASIAN TIGER BACK SOME TWENTY YEARS.
BUT A MALAYSIAN BUSINESSMAN AT THE CONFERENCE, TAN SRI OTHMAN MOHD YEOP ABDULLAH, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF MALAYSIA'S MULTIMEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, PREDICTED HIS COUNTRY'S ECONOMY WOULD RECOVER, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF ITS RELIGIOUS SYSTEM.
HE EXPRESSED THE BELIEF THAT ISLAM IN MALAYSIA CAN SERVE AS A MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD:
AS A NATION, WHAT ARE THOSE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE MALAYSIA MOST SUSCEPTIBLE AS A MUSLIM COUNTRY? FIRST, IT IS ADHERENCE TO THE PRINCIPLE OF TOLERANCE AND MODERATION. POLICIES AND PRACTICES MANIFESTING THIS ATTRIBUTE DO NOT SEEM TO DILUTE OUR FAITH IN ISLAM. TODAY MALAYSIA IS A DEMOCRACY THAT IS STABLE AND PEACEFUL.
MR. ABDULLAH SAID MALAYSIA'S TOLERANCE WOULD PROPEL IT INTO THE INFORMATION AGE.
AMID ALL THE CONFERENCE SPEECHES, PEOPLE CHATTED AMIABLY AND CHILDREN SCAMPERED AROUND THE HALLS, THEIR LAUGHTER SOMETIMES PUNCTUATING THE SPEECHES.
THIS ATMOSPHERE WAS CONVEYED BY SALEE AMINA MOHAMMED, AN AMERICAN BUSINESSWOMAN, WHO SAID ISLAM IS PARTLY STRUGGLE AND MOSTLY LOVE, AS SHE HAD DISCOVERED IN HER MANY TRAVELS TO MUSLIM LANDS:
I LOVE ABU DHABI. I LOVED LIVING THERE. THAT WAS A HOME TO ME. I LOVED LIVING IN KUWAIT. I LOVED BEING IN SAUDI. I LOVED BEING IN SYRIA. I LOVED BEING IN JORDAN. I LOVED BEING IN AFRICA. I LOVED BEING IN EUROPE. I LOVE THIS WORLD, AND I LOVE THE PEOPLE IN IT. AND WE ARE ALL TRUE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. WE REALLY ARE. IT IS NOT JUST WORDS.
TO MANY IN ATTENDANCE, SUCH WORDS ACCOUNT FOR ISLAM'S CONTINUING GROWTH.
Source: Voice of America
DATE=8/12/98Return to: Religious Articles Archives