Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Our Stance on:

Secularism, Nationalism, and Socialism

Gamal Al-Banna

Table of Contents

About this book: 3

Foreword 5

Chapter one: Our stance on secularism 7

The confusion in the Islamic reference: 7

The confusion of judging Islam by what had occurred in Christianity: 8

Principles of the Secularism of Islam 13

First: the nature of Islam: 13

Second: the absence of religious institution: 14

Third: Islam acknowledges liberty of thought: 18

Fourth: Islam acknowledges the principle of calling for doing the right deeds and forbidding wrong ones: 26

Fifth: Islam acknowledges pluralism: 27

Six: the principle of the original innocence: 31

Lastly: Islam is a religion and a nation, not a religion and a state: 33

The scope of secularism in Islam: 35

Three aspects to be taken into consideration 37

A) The scope of the purity in European secularism: 37

B) The specific nature of Egypt and the Arab world: 39

C) The results of applying secularism in the Western society: 41

Chapter Two: Our stance on Nationalism 44

The origin of nationalism: 44

Nationalism without Islam: 50

A suspicious start and a disgraceful ending: 58

The stance of Islamic rule on minorities: 62

Chapter Three: Our stance on socialism 68

Elements of difference 70

First: denial of divinity and creation: 70

Second: refusal to suppress the character of the individual: 71

Third: rejection of Leninist socialist state: 75

Elements of agreement: 77

Epilogue: the alternative 82

Notes 84

About this book:

Preachers and newspapers, often quote these concepts of secularism, nationalism, and socialism. Popular views on these concepts tend to vary, as some people regard them as the work of Satan on earth, while others consider them the greatest achievements of our era.

This book presents the judgment on these concepts from an Islamic point of view, or rather the point of view of the Islamic Revival Call, by showing the pros and cons of each concept as the author seeks fairness and the noble aim of verifying the truth.

The author explains in this book that secularism, as it means the separation between religion and authority, i.e. the state or the government, and as long as it does not call for religious ideas, is not distant from the spirit of Islam which centers on the individual and then on the concepts of family, society, and the Islamic nation 'Umma '. The Holy Quran mentions the termUmma in nearly fifty positions in its text, whereas the term' state ' is never mentioned in theQuranic text. The author reaches the same conclusion on the premise that authority spoils ideology, i.e. beliefs and values. This applies to all ideologies like religions and socialism, and this is the notion explained by the author in his book titled ''Islam is a Religion and a Nation, not a Religion and a State ".

The main element in this subject as far as Islam is concerned, and that makes it nearer to secularism, is the absence of the notion of ''religious institutions'', as well as the vehement attack launched in the Holy Quran against clergy who stand between Man and God as mediators. We should remember that the oppressive tyranny of Catholicism was the reason behind the idea of separating religion and government in the European countries.

Yet, this is not to say that secularism is perfect, as there are notions in it that are contrary to the Islamic values, like confining oneself to life in this world, while overlooking life in the Hereafter.

The author sees that states in the IslamicUmma cannot be described assecular , and cannot be described asIslamic as well, but these states can be described ascivil , as the main task of any state is construction, encouraging culture and science, serving its nation…etc.

The author says that he means by nationalism the notion of patriotism as called for by Islam. Yet, the notion of nationalism has developed in the Arab society and it has been closely linked to the idea of finding an alternative to Islam. The author sees that nationalism without Islam resembles an oyster that has lost its pearl, and consequently its value. The author reveals in this book a rare document written by the imam and martyr Hassan Al-Banna , directed to the officials shortly after the formation of the Arab League. This document comprises ideas on the topic of uniting the Arab nations, and this rare, invaluable document does not appear in the writings of the Muslim brotherhood.

Lastly, the author tackles the concept of socialism, and sees that it has been a pre-Marxism stage in Europe as a symbol of justice ignored by the church and the state, and trampled over by theorizing and the capitalist practice. Hence, socialism has been the representative of the European conscience, but at the hands of Karl Marx, it took the quality of the limited theory that claims to be the only 'scientific ' one, utopian Marxism, dismissing other theories as dreams or wishes. When Lenin assumed authority is Russia, he established the worst ruling system ever in the world, as it trampled over liberties and spread terrorism, as the communist party assumed a totalitarian, unilateral rule. This book accepts socialism as an open call for justice, and rejects Marxism in theory and practice.

The author does not leave readers in a state of confusion after criticizing these three concepts; he presents in the epilogue a short chapter titled ''The Alternative ''. This alternative is Islam when understood soundly and directly from the Holy Quran, the noble manner and behavior of Prophet Muhammad, and the civilized values of Islam that has made it a liberation revolution for the sake of freedom and justice.

Readers would find the truth in this book if they are not burdened with preconceived thought that might make their vision narrow, unilateral, and unable to receive new ideas, but it is hoped that this book would inspire readers to reconsider their thought.

Foreword

We have written on the concepts of socialism, nationalism, and secularism in some of my previous books like ''The Contemporary Islamic Calls: its Pros and Cons ", ''The Islamic Program ", and "Islam, Liberty, and Secularism ". We have felt the urge to combine these three concepts in one volume to facilitate the matter for readers who seek to know about these topics without searching for specific information in various books that might not be available, especially that some of them was printed 20 years ago. We have seized this opportunity to revise, modify, and edit these views according to the recent results of our research and the fruition of our thought. We have added many items and a last chapter titled ''The Alternative ".

Some people might have thought that socialism has lost its significance after the demise of the USSR that followed the socialist banner, but eventually surrendered to its archenemy, the USA. In fact, the downfall of the USSR does not mean the collapse of socialism, but the failure of the experiment adopted by the USSR, which was contrary to the essence of and politics of socialism during the period between the decease of Karl Marx and World War I. This right version of socialism was adopted as well by all socialist parties that bore the appellation''the socialist democratic party'' until Lenin came up with the Bolshevist version of socialism, and put an end to democracy in the appellation of the ruling party and as a concept that once existed in the socialist society. This was the reason behind the fall of the USSR. When socialist parties regained the designation ' democratic ' in their appellation, it was considered a mark of return to the original socialist tradition. If capitalism stands alone with its values of opportunism and exploitation, its negative or dark sides might resurface, which propelled the appearance of socialism.

History tells us that the end of any era does not meant its total disappearance, as its remnants would remain, and the dead men of the old systems in their tombs still exert an influence over the living people as people prefer to follow what they are familiar with and was done by their ancestors, even if it was tyranny. The famous Egyptian poet AhmedShawki said:

The one who just left the yoke

Lives for a while lamenting its impact

The number of those who lamented the loss of socialist ideals in the East has surpassed the numbers in the West - even when compared to Russia itself.

Anyway, the role of socialism in the history of modern political thought and in current political experiments cannot be overlooked. Development might allow socialism another round to prove its efficiency, as its existence is 'controversial' concerning capitalism in European societies.

This applies as well to nationalism, as a concept that has appeared in a critical moment in history, as a reaction, not an original veritable action. Nationalism had favorable factors that made it assume its space in the political arena and it had in some cases the major place, even after the collapse of the Nasserite project after the defeat in 1967 war.

The notion of secularism is no less important than the other two concepts, especially when the matter is related to religion. Some people assume that religion and secularism are incompatible, and in a state of conflict, but this might only be true as far as Christianity is concerned. However, this is not the case in Islam, as there are common points between Islam and secularism - as we shall explain- in many aspects, and there are other aspects in which both differ from each other, but secularism retains its significance so as not to let religious devotion be confined to the Afterlife, while ignoring this life on earth.

The ideas mentioned in this volume represent the stance of the Islamic Revival Call on the three concepts: socialism, nationalism, and secularism.

In our endeavor to present our stance on these concepts, we stick to honesty in our demonstration, showing the pros and cons, and we evaluate the three concepts fairly without distorting them. Our evaluation is based on the premise that we believe in the values of liberty, justice, goodness, knowledge, and coping with the necessities of our modern era. These are part of the Islamic values, and they are the essence of the Islamic Revival Call.

Some of our readers have requested that we mitigate the tone of our discourse, avoid points of contention, and focus on common points so as not to provoke the ire and enmity of our opponents. We appreciate this important piece of advice, but we prefer to reveal the whole truth, and to present all dimensions. We seek to show truths, not words of compromise or mitigation, as this is a kind of thought and not politics. The role of the thinker is to convey the whole truth as he sees it, unashamedly and in an unhesitant manner. The Holy Quran and the Bible speak about deniers of the truth in plain, explicit statements that denounce them severely, and these Holy Scriptures show the meaning of wrong and deviation. It is never possible in the process of developing a theory that one might criticize it severely and unfairly just to avoid enmities or to gain friendships. This might occur when theories are within the maze of politics, and the responsibility lies on those who applied the theory in the wrong manner, not on the theory per se, or on its original author.

Gamal Al-Banna

Cairo

1324 A.H.

2003 A.D.