The Islamic nation needs scholars who can unleash their imagination to discover what reality offers in terms of opportunities for building strength and anticipating the future; media outlets often provide a reading of reality that breeds despair, frustration, depression, and hopelessness; this is a superficial reading because anyone can describe the darkness, injustice, and neglect that Muslims are living in. The world is now witnessing the massacres committed by the occupying army in Gaza; yet no one dares to speak out due to fear, weakness, submission, and compliance; is there room for a different perspective on this grim reality?!
Historical Context of Massacres
Muslims have faced numerous massacres during dark periods in history without anyone knowing; there were no media outlets to convey the facts or describe the tragedies. However, today we know and witness; the anger and outrage of the free people are growing against this injustice, and it is certain that this anger will soon erupt. No power, regardless of its tyranny, oppression, or cruelty, will be able to stop the explosion from which sparks will fly to burn the oppressors and create a new reality.
Evidence of Change and Sacrifice
Are there any evidences to support this conclusion? It is easy to see the weakness of the nation and its inability to express its anger, but scholars can discover through insight the fires of fury, and that the nation has no choice but to defend its existence and make sacrifices for its right to life, freedom, and independence. The blood of the martyrs in Gaza illuminates the path for the free to build the future. The nation now realizes it will pay a high price for freedom and will make many sacrifices. The greatest blessing of God upon us is that He chose us to defend Islam, Jerusalem, freedom, and independence. This is the honor and glory in this world and the path to pleasing God and winning His paradise.
A Historical Opportunity for the Islamic Nation
Please think with me and unleash your imagination to discover that the lack of understanding by America, its agent, the occupying "Israeli" state, and the entire West regarding what I am saying and the conclusion I have reached forms a historical opportunity for the Islamic nation. Consider with me this verse: (By your life, they are wandering in their intoxication) (Al-Hijr: 72); where God swears by the life of His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to honor and respect him that the people have been struck by the arrogance of power and the lust for revenge, blinding them to wisdom; they have become deluded, unable to see the truth or to perceive the signs of danger; this is a moment of civilizational collapse.
Lessons from History
This moment has recurred in history for many nations, such as the Roman Empire, which collapsed at the height of its power and when it controlled most of the earth. It is a state of drunkenness that signifies a loss of reason, sight, insight, conscience, values, and ethics; Netanyahu has been intoxicated by the arrogance of power after Trump won the presidency in America; he has gone forth to oppress the children and women of Gaza, which is a shame for America, Europe, and the entire world.
A Call to Study the West
In this historical moment, the Islamic nation needs to study the West, just as Europe studied the reality of the Islamic nation during the Orientalist movement to discover its weaknesses and exploit them; Orientalism was one of the most important tools of colonial domination. Today, we can discover many truths that will allow the Islamic nation to realize its historical role and civilizational mission in saving humanity, providing knowledge to it, and rescuing it from the state of intoxication driven by material power and desires.
The West’s Civilizational Intoxication
The truth that scientists can perceive with clarity is that America’s arrogance regarding its power conceals weakness, racism, and crises, and that it is heading down a path of collapse, with the occupation state of "Israel" pushing it to proceed down that path faster than we expect. When power is mixed with lust, tyranny, and injustice, it leads to civilizational downfall. The West is in a state of civilizational intoxication; it has managed over the past two centuries to achieve power and material prosperity, but it is now on its way to disintegration and collapse, with the Soviet Union model still fresh in minds.
A Civilizational Alternative
The challenges compel us to invent new and bold ideas, among the most important of which is that we can save humanity from the disaster resulting from injustice, tyranny, and cruelty, and restore humanity to the world by presenting it with a civilizational alternative that achieves freedom, justice, and human dignity, and protects human rights in life. Certainly, Islam alone is the civilizational alternative.
Opportunities in the Communication Revolution
The communication revolution offers us many opportunities to present Islamic knowledge to every person, open up avenues for them to awaken their conscience and regain their awareness and insight, pull them out of the stupor that capitalism seeks to drown them in, and restore their ability to discover the meaning of life, freeing them from servitude to anyone but God. When I studied in the West, I discovered that the majority of people live in the darkness of ignorance, despite their excellence in their scientific fields; for a Westerner knows nothing outside his area of specialization, which he uses to earn an income sufficient for his material needs, yet he does not understand why he lives or what the purpose of his life is.
Restoring the Meaning of Life
How can we restore to humanity the meaning of life? Now, our historical opportunity has come to revive Islamic civilization in a world hastening toward collapse, saving humanity from the intoxication of desires, the frenzy of material consumption, the arrogance of power, and modern slavery. We Muslims love every human being on the face of the earth; therefore, we want to offer them the most beautiful, great, and best we have: Islam, the final message of God to humanity, and restore to them dignity, humanity, and the meaning of life. Islam represents an intellectual and civilizational wealth that illuminates minds and souls, unleashing the human capacity for thinking and shaping life goals.
Building Soft Power Through Knowledge
The Islamic nation can now invest its human wealth as millions of university graduates launch to convey Islamic knowledge through digital communication means, winning the minds and hearts of people with messages crafted in ways that satisfy their needs for knowledge. This electronic digital uprising contributes to restoring Islamic civilization to the world, providing people with knowledge about Islam, and building the soft power of the Islamic nation.
The Role of Every Muslim
Every Muslim can be an active participant in the age of the communication revolution when he spreads Islamic knowledge and fulfills his civilizational role. However, before you start, your heart must be filled with pride in belonging to the best nation ever brought forth for mankind, regaining consciousness of your identity and civilizational mission, and realizing that you are a servant of God alone, trusting that victory is in His hands alone. This way, you can enter the virtual world with strength to lead a change in reality through Islamic knowledge, principles, and morals. This awareness will enhance your ability to craft messages that attract people; they are impressed by those who defend their principles vigorously, sacrifice for them, and can articulate their vision.
Preparing a Generation for Digital Leadership
Can we prepare a generation to manage Islamic presence on the internet and social media, providing Islamic knowledge to all people as a foundation for restoring Islamic civilization to the world? I believe we can, and that the communication revolution offers us many historical opportunities.