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The unity of the Ummah: a state of mind above all else
Perspectives by Iqbal Siddiqui
The unity of the Muslim Ummah is a reality proclaimed in the Qur’an, in the ayah “Verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah…” (21:92) and numerous others. It is one of the key strengths of the Ummah at many levels, from the cultural to the political. It is the unity of the Ummah, the common understanding that all Muslims are brothers and sisters in faith, that makes Muslims feel at home wherever they may go in the Muslim world. However, translating this principle of unity into practical unity at a more functional level has always proved problematic; from the earliest days of Muslim history there have been differences and conflict within the Ummah, as Muslims have disagreed on fundamental issues of politics and fiqh.
In recent times, there has been a sustained campaign to promote sectarianism in the Ummah in order to isolate Islamic Iran and minimise its influence over the rest of the Ummah. One of the immediate results of the revolution was a massive outpouring of sectarian, anti-Shi‘i literature in the Sunni world, mainly funded by the Saudis and the Islamic institutions linked to them. The impact of this campaign has been immense, with many Sunnis, even those who have no truck with the Saudis, harbouring sectarian hostility towards Shi‘is, to the extent of explicitly or implicitly questioning whether they are even Muslims. Such attitudes are based entirely on ignorance and misunderstanding, albeit deliberately promoted, but are immensely damaging nonetheless. The sectarian violence seen in Iraq in recent years, in which both Sunnis and Shi‘is have been both perpetrators and victims of appalling atrocities, is a tragic example of the dangers of this approach. Even our Western enemies have recognised the potential for damage to the Ummah by emphasising sectarian issues; from the outset the Islamic Revolution was described and discussed as a Shi‘i phenomanon rather than an Islamic one.
We should recognise, however, that these campaigns were successful only because they appealed to receptive minds. There has unfortunately been a tendency to sectarianism in the Ummah for a long time; there have always been ‘ulama and political leaders, Sunni and Shi‘i alike, who have preferred to emphasise differences between Muslims instead of what they have in common. This has been the case even among those whom Sunnis and Shi‘is recognise as Muslims of different schools of thought, rather than being outside the Ummah. It is the effect of this sort of attitude, reflected in ingrained cultural and social behaviour on both sides, that has, over decades and centuries, laid the ground for the sort of extreme sectarianism that has been deliberately cultivated in the last few decades. It is important to note, moreover, that this is not only a Sunni problem, although — because of the success of the Islamic Revolution — it has been whipped up among Sunnis in particular. There have been plenty of Shi‘i ‘ulama who have responded to the Saudi-financed campaign by choosing to emphasise their Shi‘ism and attacking Sunnis, which attitudes have played into the hands of Sunni sectarians, and have also laid the ground for the Shi‘i extremism in Iraq today. A sectarian sense of Shi‘i exceptionalism has also contributed to the fact that Islamic Iran has failed to reach out to the rest of the Ummah as effectively as it should have done.
Yet throughout Muslim history there have been voices in the Ummah that have sought to minimise differences and focus on what Muslims have in common, rather than focussing on differences and areas of disagreement. In recent years, Crescent has regularly reported on the work of the Majma‘ al-Taqrib bayn al-Madhahib Islami (Organisation for Proximity between Schools of Thought in Islam).
This was created after the Islamic Revolution, but is part of a long tradition of dialogue and cooperation that includes the Dar al-Taqrib al-Madhahib created as a result of the cooperation between senior ‘ulama at Al-Azhar in Cairo and Qum in Iran in the 1940s. This cooperation led to Mahmoud Shaltut, rector of al-Azhar, introducing the teaching of Shi‘i theology at al-Azhar in 1959. Muslims regularly show their instinctive understanding of the unity of the Ummah by supporting Hizbullah, a predominantly Shi‘i movement, and indeed the Islamic State of Iran. The relations between Hizbullah, Iran, and the Hamas resistance movement in Palestine, which is an off-shoot of the Ikhwan, is an example of unity in practice.
Unity is, first and foremost, a state of mind; we must make a conscious effort to realise the unity of the Ummah proclaimed by Allah (Â) by focussing on what we have in common rather than on our differences. At this crucial time in the struggle of the Islamic movement, it is essential that all Muslims, in all parts of the world, and of all schools of thought, rise above sectarian issues to stand united against the enemies of Islam.
pull quote:
Unity is, first and foremost, a state of mind; we must make a conscious effort to realise the unity of the Ummah proclaimed by Allah (Â), by focussing on what we have in common rather than on our differences.
Perspectives by Iqbal Siddiqui
The unity of the Muslim Ummah is a reality proclaimed in the Qur’an, in the ayah “Verily this Ummah of yours is one Ummah…” (21:92) and numerous others. It is one of the key strengths of the Ummah at many levels, from the cultural to the political. It is the unity of the Ummah, the common understanding that all Muslims are brothers and sisters in faith, that makes Muslims feel at home wherever they may go in the Muslim world. However, translating this principle of unity into practical unity at a more functional level has always proved problematic; from the earliest days of Muslim history there have been differences and conflict within the Ummah, as Muslims have disagreed on fundamental issues of politics and fiqh.
In recent times, there has been a sustained campaign to promote sectarianism in the Ummah in order to isolate Islamic Iran and minimise its influence over the rest of the Ummah. One of the immediate results of the revolution was a massive outpouring of sectarian, anti-Shi‘i literature in the Sunni world, mainly funded by the Saudis and the Islamic institutions linked to them. The impact of this campaign has been immense, with many Sunnis, even those who have no truck with the Saudis, harbouring sectarian hostility towards Shi‘is, to the extent of explicitly or implicitly questioning whether they are even Muslims. Such attitudes are based entirely on ignorance and misunderstanding, albeit deliberately promoted, but are immensely damaging nonetheless. The sectarian violence seen in Iraq in recent years, in which both Sunnis and Shi‘is have been both perpetrators and victims of appalling atrocities, is a tragic example of the dangers of this approach. Even our Western enemies have recognised the potential for damage to the Ummah by emphasising sectarian issues; from the outset the Islamic Revolution was described and discussed as a Shi‘i phenomanon rather than an Islamic one.
We should recognise, however, that these campaigns were successful only because they appealed to receptive minds. There has unfortunately been a tendency to sectarianism in the Ummah for a long time; there have always been ‘ulama and political leaders, Sunni and Shi‘i alike, who have preferred to emphasise differences between Muslims instead of what they have in common. This has been the case even among those whom Sunnis and Shi‘is recognise as Muslims of different schools of thought, rather than being outside the Ummah. It is the effect of this sort of attitude, reflected in ingrained cultural and social behaviour on both sides, that has, over decades and centuries, laid the ground for the sort of extreme sectarianism that has been deliberately cultivated in the last few decades. It is important to note, moreover, that this is not only a Sunni problem, although — because of the success of the Islamic Revolution — it has been whipped up among Sunnis in particular. There have been plenty of Shi‘i ‘ulama who have responded to the Saudi-financed campaign by choosing to emphasise their Shi‘ism and attacking Sunnis, which attitudes have played into the hands of Sunni sectarians, and have also laid the ground for the Shi‘i extremism in Iraq today. A sectarian sense of Shi‘i exceptionalism has also contributed to the fact that Islamic Iran has failed to reach out to the rest of the Ummah as effectively as it should have done.
Yet throughout Muslim history there have been voices in the Ummah that have sought to minimise differences and focus on what Muslims have in common, rather than focussing on differences and areas of disagreement. In recent years, Crescent has regularly reported on the work of the Majma‘ al-Taqrib bayn al-Madhahib Islami (Organisation for Proximity between Schools of Thought in Islam).
This was created after the Islamic Revolution, but is part of a long tradition of dialogue and cooperation that includes the Dar al-Taqrib al-Madhahib created as a result of the cooperation between senior ‘ulama at Al-Azhar in Cairo and Qum in Iran in the 1940s. This cooperation led to Mahmoud Shaltut, rector of al-Azhar, introducing the teaching of Shi‘i theology at al-Azhar in 1959. Muslims regularly show their instinctive understanding of the unity of the Ummah by supporting Hizbullah, a predominantly Shi‘i movement, and indeed the Islamic State of Iran. The relations between Hizbullah, Iran, and the Hamas resistance movement in Palestine, which is an off-shoot of the Ikhwan, is an example of unity in practice.
Unity is, first and foremost, a state of mind; we must make a conscious effort to realise the unity of the Ummah proclaimed by Allah (Â) by focussing on what we have in common rather than on our differences. At this crucial time in the struggle of the Islamic movement, it is essential that all Muslims, in all parts of the world, and of all schools of thought, rise above sectarian issues to stand united against the enemies of Islam.
pull quote:
Unity is, first and foremost, a state of mind; we must make a conscious effort to realise the unity of the Ummah proclaimed by Allah (Â), by focussing on what we have in common rather than on our differences.
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