As Islamism is increasingly conflated with Jihadism, it is more important than ever for us to develop an articulate platform of just what exactly Political Islam means, and what it doesn’t mean. That is not to say that we have to compromise in any way on religious or political principles, but we do have to distinguish ourselves from the radical fringes of the movement; from the delusional, politically ignorant, ideologues. And we need to define what we actually mean, and what we actually want.
Even though a Jihadi may become a Mujahid, the two things are not the same. A Mujahid may well be a reasonable, moderate Believer with a sound ‘Aqeedah and nuanced political understanding. Generally, the same cannot be said for a Jihadi. They tend to have one single approach (violence) regardless of its effectiveness or wisdom, and they are pursuing an abstract, Utopian vision that has little or no connection with reality. For the most part, their sincere concern for the Ummah, and their zeal and eagerness to be active, is manipulated and misdirected.
But we have a very serious problem in that we have no realistic, defined political or economic program to offer. It is no longer enough to simply say “we want Qur’an and Sunnah; we want Shari’ah; we want Khilafah”, because the overwhelming majority of us have no idea what any of that even means. We are not scholars of Islamic Law and we do not consult scholars of Islamic Law. Basically, we just want things to be better, more just, and fairer. We want our societies to be more righteous and moral. But very few people can suggest a list of policies that can be taken from the Shari’ah to achieve that.
The problems that we face, the hardships we are suffering, are not going to be solved by the sudden enactment of the Hudood; especially when we have not developed a system of due process. Look at the rebel-held territories in Syria where “Shari’ah” is imposed on the weak by “judges” who possess only a rudimentary understanding of the law. No; the absence of Hudood is the least of our problems, yet, for most people, “Shari’ah” means little more than the cutting off of the hands of thieves and the stoning of adulterers. As if street theft and adultery are the paramount issues in our community.
We are poor, hungry, unemployed, sick, inadequately educated, with no prospects for the future. We are dominated, our resources are being plundered, our economies are enslaved by debt, and we have no control over our destinies. Our politicians and civil servants are corrupt, our schools do not equip us for success, our infrastructures are crumbling, the gap between our rich and our poor is expanding every day. We desperately need realistic, practical, real-world policy solutions.
And yes, we need to be able to present this political platform to save Islamism from being by default equated with extremism and terrorism.