When the Imaam announced that the weeks Jumuah Sermon would examine the ongoing national "conference" to determine its propriety in lslaam, some in the audience gave a perceptible sigh. One could not fault his decision to confront an issue of enormous implications which had sneaked itself into national consciousness after years of official denial. But we were apprehensive of his probable conclusions; khutbah that comes from our minbar usually aches us rather than provide guidance and direction in the midst of events of this turbulent world. It is not unusual to hear the celebration of people who do not glorify Islaam nor are they honoured by it. And Allaah is our Source of Help and Guidance. With this background, we were enthralled when the Imaam waded through the character and implications of this conference.
A summary: What is political reform without ethical reforms it is just not enough to indulge in a talkfest while the moral fabric of our society rots, shackled by corruption which, as everyone knows, is at the root of our stagnation .. Again, what is political reform without economic reforms; and which, really, should come first? Hunger and privation have become regular companions of the followers hip, but the leadership craft new ways of entrenching themselves. [It speaks volumes that one of the first items that the conferees engaged was the upward review of their own personal allowances (!)]... Finally, how could anyone expect anything good from that gathering when several earlier attempts had merely resulted in "sacrosanct constitutions", each worse than the previous, it becomes more obvious (for those who reflect) that each time we regress from the Shariah, seeking to fashion a substitute, we merely sink deeper in the abyss that we thus dig for ourselves.
Until we learn to embrace the Shariah of Allaah in all its ramifications, accept the glitches in its application as resulting from our own imperfections and improve ourselves to pursue its proper application, so long would we continue to grope in national darkness ... Weighty words indeed. There is very little that one can usefully add, except to note that intricately linked to the question of our attitude to parodies of reason such as the ongoing "confab" is the larger question of our participation in the entire "democratic" experiment. We know as Muslims that by whatever other name called, and for whatever ends, no political or other system is acceptable besides the Shariah.lt makes no difference whether such "alternatives" seek to supplant, supplement or co-exist with it. This is the fundamental kernel of our opposition to such activities.
We know that our energies are better spent in cleansing and purifying the practice of our faith so that we can thereby change the quality of the society we live in, as well as cultivating and educating ourselves so that we do not lose the gains of our efforts. But it is said that if we do not participate, we unwittingly allow an unbelieving minority to impose their own agenda on us. They would do anything possible to thwart our aspiration, it is argued, and so we must use their instruments to fight them. This self-.serving argument would only make sense if we could point to any worthwhile gain of our participation. But, we would soon discover that Muslims who have thus compromised themselves have only aided the entrenchment of man-made laws and processes over the divine decree.
If they achieve anything, they only succeed in thwarting the true aspirations of their so called constituents. Indeed, what other achievement can they point to? Why, with all our participation, are Muslims still in the backwaters of national and international arrangements, our views still ignored, and we have to compromise on every issue of material importance just to get along? Why, with all the high-ranking Muslims in this administration, we can’t even have equal representation in the conference and the entire south-west can boast of only one Muslim delegate (who was nominated by virtue of his being a foremost common-law jurist)? Of course, we would caution Muslims to be on their watch and follow its deliberations closely, whatever else may result from this conference. We should not forget that "most of (the) national conferences" replicated in many parts of Africa within the last decade as the continent emerged from the yoke of totalitarian leaders were "led by men of the cloth and in particular the Catholic Church ... based on a political register ... as well as a religious register", as Abel Kouvouama admitted in Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy, XVI, 1-2 (2002).
The religious register included a public acceptance of fault and a plea for pardon, but the entire process was often shaped by the ideological inspiration of the church. It is not for nothing that the head of our conference is a Christian and that the only fitting man to head its secretariat is a catholic priest. What will the Muslim minority do when that conference recommends the abolition of the watery Shariah systems now in place. Walk out! Without doubt, Muslims must be active in their communities. Without seeking notoriety or political office, we should midwife conducive environments for the practice of our faith and the proper upbringing of our children. We are entitled to be heard, and we are right to make ourselves heard. But, to borrow from the sermon again (the Imaam quoted Quraan 58:9), when we converge, it should be against sin and wrongdoing, and against disobedience to Allaah and his Messenger. Our social strivings should be for righteousness and virtues, whomsoever we may have to confront. We should insist that authority should be exercised with justice, equity and fairness. This way, we are empowered to force serious social engineering; using the perfect principles that our Creator has fashioned. This is our stand.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited