Knowledge: Central to the Struggle for Islamic Revival

GRADE 03: Islamic Economics: the Polar Opposite of Capitalist Economics
Lecture 2: Knowledge: the Central Battleground.
Download THESE slides from: bit.ly/IE2024L2

ٗ‫ه‬َ‫ع‬‫ا‬َ‫ب‬ِّ‫ت‬‫ا‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ن‬ْ‫ق‬ُ‫ز‬ْ‫ار‬ َّ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ًّ‫ق‬َ‫ح‬ َّ‫ق‬َ‫ح‬ْ‫ال‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ن‬ِ‫ر‬َ‫ا‬ َّ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ّٰ‫لل‬َ‫ا‬
ٗ‫ه‬َ‫ب‬‫ا‬َ‫ن‬ِ‫ت‬ْ‫ج‬‫ا‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ن‬ْ‫ق‬ُ‫ز‬ْ‫ار‬ َّ‫و‬ ‫اًل‬ِ‫ط‬‫ا‬َ‫ب‬ َ‫ل‬ِ‫ط‬‫ا‬َ‫ب‬ْ‫ال‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ن‬ِ‫ر‬َ‫ا‬ َ‫و‬

Knowledge: The Central Battleground
Session #:2
The Polar Opposite of
Capitalism
with Asad Zaman
Islamic Economics:
GRADE COURSE
17 Aug - 5 Oct 2024
Every Saturday

Knowledge: The Central
Battleground
In previous lecture, we argued that the core problem facing the Ummah is the definition
of knowledge. Who gets the authority define what “knowledge” is, which kind is useful,
and which is useless? This lecture explores, in greater depth, this central battleground
of knowledge

•Epistemology (noun)ə-ˌpis-tə-ˈmä-lə-jē
•Definition: The branch of philosophy
concerned with the theory of knowledge,
especially with regard to its methods, validity,
and scope. Epistemology deals with the nature
of knowledge, the rationality of belief, and
justification.
•Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
"epistemology," accessed August 2024,
https://www.merriam-webster.com.

The Book of
Knowledge
1. Importance of Knowledge
2. Classification of Knowledge
• Religious Knowledge
• Worldly Knowledge
• Praiseworthy Knowledge
• Blameworthy Knowledge
3. The Virtue of Scholars
4. The Ethics of Learning and Teaching
5. The Danger of Knowledge without Action

‫الخيل‬ ‫وركوب‬ ‫والرماية‬ ‫السباحة‬ ‫االودكم‬ ‫علموا‬
) (
‫عنه‬ ‫الله‬ ‫رضي‬ ‫الخطاب‬ ‫بن‬ ‫عمر‬ ‫سيدنا‬
"ٌ‫ن‬‫ا‬َ‫ي‬ْ‫ن‬ُ‫ب‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬َّ‫ن‬‫َأ‬َ‫ك‬ ‫ًّا‬‫ف‬َ‫ص‬ ِ‫ه‬ِ‫ل‬‫ي‬ِ‫ب‬َ‫س‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫ف‬ َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ل‬ِ‫َات‬‫ق‬ُ‫ي‬ َ‫ين‬ِ‫ذ‬َّ‫ال‬ ُّ‫ب‬ِ‫ح‬ُ‫ي‬ َ‫ه‬َّ‫الل‬ َّ‫ن‬‫ِإ‬
ٌ‫ص‬‫و‬ُ‫ص‬ْ‫ر‬َ‫م‬“
"Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in
rows as though they are a solid structure.
Implementation of the orders of Allah varies
according to local context and conditions

Current Historical
Situation is UNIQUE
• For 12 Centuries, Muslims were NEVER globally
defeated, and colonized. (Although the Tatari’s
came close).
• Global defeat and colonization of minds has
led to a unique situation in Islamic History.
• Searching through the books of Fiqh for
solutions to our present problems is not likely
to be fruitful, if done without deep knowledge
of current situation.
• Knowledge of current historical context is
necessary to update our bow, arrows, and
horses, to modern weaponry and warfare.

Recap: Central Problem is
Epistemology
• We have been taught to believe in
Western theories of knowledge
• We never learned the theories of
knowledge available in the Islamic
intellectual tradition, derived from the
Quran and Sunnah
• But these theories need to be updated
and adapted to modern times. We cannot
fight modern wars with bows and arrows.

Conquest =>
Colonization of Minds
• Our ways of thinking are deeply influenced by
the streams of history we live in.
• Learning HOW our thoughts have been
shaped leads to self-awareness and self-
knowledge.
• It also creates the possibility of self-liberation –
rising above the shaping created by our
environment, and recognizing the potentials
for excellence given to us by God.
• Every human life is equal (potentially) to the
entire humanity!

Two Strategies for Decolonization of
Minds
• Stand outside the streams of history, and watch the
sequence of events unfold.
• Learn the perspectives of the vanquished and the colonized.
Both strategies provide a coherent picture of history very
different from the colonized history we have educated to
believe.
We need a counter-narrative to Eurocentric History:
An Islamic Worldview: An Essential Component of an Islamic
Education – http://bit.ly/iwv4az

Narratives of
Vanquished:
Subaltern
History

Bury My Heart At
Wounded Knee
Systematic Annihilation: The brutal destruction of American Indian
tribes across the western frontier, exposed in graphic detail.
Betrayal and Massacre: Chronicling relentless betrayals, violent
battles, and horrific massacres that decimated Native communities.
Iconic Chiefs' Struggle: Stories of resistance from legendary chiefs
like Geronimo, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse as they
fought to save their people and culture.
Cultural Genocide: The deliberate erasure of Native American
traditions, languages, and ways of life by the expanding American
frontier.
Awakening a Generation: Dee Brown's searing account inspired
widespread outrage and a reexamination of the myth of the "Wild
West.“
Historical Reclamation: A meticulously researched narrative that
reclaimed Native American history from the shadows of Western
triumphalism..

The Slave Ship: A
Human History
Rediker provides a harrowing account
of the transatlantic slave trade,
focusing on the human suffering
aboard the slave ships. He vividly
describes the conditions enslaved
Africans endured during their forced
transport across the Atlantic.

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of
Greed, Terror, and Heroism in
Colonial Africa
In the Congo Free State, King Leopold II of Belgium
unleashed a brutal regime that claimed millions of lives.
• The rubber trade was especially horrific: villagers who
failed to meet quotas were whipped, mutilated, or killed.
• Entire communities were massacred; severed hands
became the gruesome currency of punishment.
• Forced labor, starvation, and disease ravaged the
population, reducing it by up to ten million people.
• This genocide was hidden by dense jungle and Leopold’s
relentless propaganda.
The cries of the Congolese echoed through the forests as
they were worked to death under the weight of a king’s
greed.

Britain's Gulag: The Brutal
End of Empire in Kenya
Only a few years after Britain's participation
in the victory over fascism came the Mau Mau
uprising in Kenya - a mass armed rebellion by
the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of
their land and freedom. The draconian
response of Britain's colonial government
was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu
population of 1.5 million and to portray them
as sub-human savages. Detainees in their
thousands - possibly a hundred thousand or
more - died from exhaustion, disease,
starvation and systemic physical brutality. For
decades these events remained untold.

Modernity and the Holocaust:
Zygmunt Bauman's Perspective
The Holocaust was not an aberration but a
product of modernity itself. Bauman argues
that the Holocaust was made possible by
modern civilization's emphasis on bureaucracy,
technological advancement, and the pursuit of
order. The horrors of the Holocaust, including
systematic genocide, were deeply intertwined
with the rational and bureaucratic structures of
modern society. Thus, the Holocaust should be
seen as a natural consequence of modernity's
darker potential, challenging the notion that it
was an exceptional event
.

Genghis Khan built a Mountains of Skulls at
Nishapur, after massacre of 1.7 Million
Inhabitants. He was an infant, compared to the
West!
• David Stannard ("American Holocaust," 1992): 90 million
Indigenous people in the Americas died due to colonization.
• Estimates suggest that the total impact of the transatlantic
slave trade on the African population could have been as high
as 30 to 40 million people over the course of slaver centuries.
• Estimates suggest that 50 to 60 million people may have died
in Asia due to the direct and indirect effects of European
colonization from the 18th to the early 20th century.
• When combining the high-side estimates for both World Wars,
the total number of deaths, both direct and indirect, could
range from 155 to 200 million.This staggering figure reflects
not only the devastation of combat but also the far-reaching
impacts of war, including disease, famine, and the targeting of
civilian populations.

Stories of the Victims of
Western Civilization
• Understanding the extremes of violence inflicted
upon the planet, that led to the tremendous wealth
of the West.
• Understanding this as a story of extreme moral
decline, not amazing progress, of the West.
• Is the West “developed”? Are the Rest “under-
developed”?
• Do Massacres & Genocides, and Grand-Theft on
Global Scale Make you Developed? Is this the
example of “Civilization” that we should follow?
• The “Clash of Civilizations” narrative: Deeply
embedded in European Thought! Law of the Jungle!

Amazing Insights from Islam
• How should we react to this information?
• How should we feel, think, act?
Example:
Feel: Sad at the massive tragedies, and Angry at the
perpetrators?
Think: This world is full of injustice. The evil win and
the good lose.
Act: Realism: Accept this, and side with the winners. Or
adopt strategies which will minimize damage to
myself, maximize personal benefits.
Idealism: Side with the GOOD, regardless of
consequences.

Why message of the Quran is
Incomparable!
• How to think: This world is the place of trials,
NOT of justice.
• Perfect Justice will be done on Day of
Judgement. The goat without horns butted by
one with horns, will be given horns and revenge!
• But what about all the tragedy and suffering? All
sufferings of all humans combined will not
compare to a few moments of suffering in
hellfire.
• All the happiness and pleasures of all humans
combined will not compare to the pleasure of a
few moments of Paradise.

How to feel? Angry
& Vengeful?
Taubah (9:70) Has there not reached them the news of those before
them - the people of Noah, 'Aad, Thamud, the people of Abraham, the
companions of Madyan and the towns overturned? Their messengers
came to them with clear proofs. And Allah would never have wronged
them, but they were wronging themselves.
Kahf (18:6) Perhaps you would kill yourself (O Muhammad) in grief
over their footsteps (for their turning away), because they do not
believe in this message.
Justice WILL be done. Those who have done ZULM
have wronged themselves. Our job is to RESCUE
them from their ignorance. If we fail to do so, they
will suffer far worse than what they have caused!

How to Act:
• We must fight against injustice, without hating the adversary.
• We must fight to protect the weak and oppressed, with all
our courage and strength. We must feel compassion & love
for them.
• We are the best of the Ummah’s (because) we have been
created for the welfare of all of mankind – not to Lord it over
them.
• Contrast with the distorted concept of “Chosen People” of the
Jews, which says that the Gentiles are like animals with no
rights.
• Under certain conditions – Jihad – is a religious obligation; an
act of worship. It must be carried out following very strict
rules!

Jihad:Act of Worship
vs. War:Law of Jungle
Noah Feldman’s After Jihad highlights the contrast
between the Western idea of "all is fair in love and war"
and the strict ethical rules governing jihad in Islamic
law.Jihad, as an act of worship in Islam, is bound by
rigorous laws that protect noncombatants, including
women, children, and the elderly, and safeguard the
environment.Feldman argues that these rules reflect
Islam's broader commitment to justice and the sanctity
of life, challenging misconceptions about jihad as a
license for unrestricted violence.

Islamic attitude to
horrors of history:
• Dunya was designed for trials, tribulations, & tests. It is only
for a day. Full justice will be done in the Akhira
• We do not hate the perpetrators, and do not think of them
as evil.
• Rather, we failed in our duties to convey the message. We
thank God from protecting us from the darkness of their
deeds.
• We recognize them as fellow human beings – every one is
capable of being highest of the high, and also lowest of low.
• When we see extreme evil, we realize that we are also
capable of that and WORSE. We thank God for not putting
us in such situations

Islam teaches us
how to LIVE
• This is the most important teaching, and the West has
gone from the (dim) light of Christianity to the darkness
of atheism.
• Modern economics rejects God, and teaches explicitly
that life is about deriving maximum pleasure from
consumption of goods.
• This is a COMPLETELY wrong lesson about life. Easterlin
Paradox proves that increased consumption provides
short run happiness
• Long Run Happiness depends on certain character traits:
Sabr and Shukr are critical. It also depends on social
relationships. Hadeeth: the Mo’min loves and is loved!

Unravelling the
Enlightenment Narrative
The purpose of this section is to
show that the self-glorifying
narrative of the Enlightenment
as the triumph of reason in
Europe is wrong. Actually, the
Enlightenment was a desperate
search for peace in a Europe
torn apart by religious wars.

Until the Lions get
their own
historians, tales of
the hunt will always
glorify the hunter –
African proverb

The Enlightenment Narrative
• The world was enveloped in darkness. No civilization
had any significant achievements in any area.
• The sun of reason rose in Europe in 17th
Century. For
the first time in history, human beings learned how
to reason.
• In the light of reason, Europeans made tremendous
progress in all fields of knowledge and practice,
unparalleled in history.
• They have created the most advanced civilization,
reaching the moon, while others have been left
behind in the dust.
• Today, there is only one path to progress: following
the path blazed by the Europeans.

The Counter-
Narrative
Dr. Recep Şentürk Lectures on Ibn Khaldun: bit.ly/RSIbnKhaldun
Rise and Fall of Civilizations: Youth, Maturity, Senility
Genius of Ibn Khaldun: Tracing Long Run Factors Shaping History.
As civilizations mature, they fall into luxuries, and lose war abilities
Barbarians living on frontiers are emboldened, and make
increasingly successful attacks, looting their treasures.
Eventually, civilizations collapse. Barbarians conquer, and cycle
starts all over again.

Dark Ages of Europe: 4th
– 13th
Century AD
4th
Century: Trinitarian Christianity imposed on
Roman Empire. All forms of knowledge different from
Bible, BANNED. Darkness Falls.
711 – 1492 Rise and Fall of Al-Andalus: Islamic Spain.
Reconquest of Spain (12th
to 15th
Century): Barbarian
incursions acquire treasure of knowledge from
Islamic Civilization.
Toledo School of Translators: 12th
– 13th
Centuries:
Translate millions of books from Islamic libraries.
Light pours into Europe.

Renaissance of Europe:
14th
– 17th
Century
Catholic Domination of Europe based on keeping
everyone ignorant. Knowledge available ONLY to those
training to be Priests!
Influx of Knowledge strongly resisted by Church.
Censorship, Torture, Inquisition – all against inflow of
heretical knowledge.
Efforts to Ban influx of knowledge fail, but lead to split of
Church. The Reformation 1517 creates Protestant Faction.
16th
and 17th
Century of Europe are battles over
knowledge; the effort to assimilate incoming new
knowledge. Translated Textbooks of Medicine, Law,
Mathematics, are taught all over Europe.

Religious Wars of Europe:
16th
& 17th
Century
• Thirty Years' War (1618–1648): Holy Roman Empire,
suffered immense devastation. German states'
population dropped from 18 million to 12 million due
to battle deaths, famine, and disease.
• Wars of Religion in France (1562–1598): Culminated in
the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), where
thousands of Huguenots were slaughtered.
• Eighty Years' War (1568–1648): Conflict between Spain
and the Netherlands, leading to widespread
destruction and the independence of the Dutch
Republic.
Widespread Ruin: Fields lay fallow, cities in ruins, and a
generation traumatized by religious fanaticism and war.

The Enlightenment: A
Desperate Search for Peace
Centuries of devastating religious wars led to the
Enlightenment project.
The goal was to find theoretical foundations for a
secular society, built without reference to religion.
Historical and personal experiences showed religion as
a source of conflict, persecution, and wars.
Secular scholars rejected religion as a basis for a
peaceful society.
They sought to develop theories of knowledge and
society based on reason and observation.
The aim was to create a foundation that would
command agreement among all rational thinkers.

The Idea of Progress: Nisbet
Progress as Ideological Construct: Progress is not an
empirical reality but an ideological framework.
Western Enlightenment Roots: Emerged during the
Enlightenment, justifying social, political, and economic
developments.
Secular Replacement for Religion: Provided a secular vision
of a utopian future, replacing religious faith.
Flawed Assumptions: Based on questionable premises,
such as Western superiority and the value of technological
growth.
20th Century Disillusionment: Wars, economic depression,
and social upheaval exposed the limits of the idea of
progress.

Epistemology: Central
Battleground of the Enlightenment
• The Enlightenment was marked by a profound
epistemological shift, focusing on redefining the
nature and source of knowledge.
• Enlightenment thinkers sought to establish
knowledge on the basis of reason and experience,
moving away from religious doctrines.
• The central conflict was with religious scholars and
scholastics who defined knowledge through the lens
of religious authority and biblical teachings.
• This intellectual battle was crucial as it laid the
foundations for modern secular thought, emphasizing
empirical evidence and rational inquiry over religious
certainties.

Why Do We Need to
Study European History?
• The Central Battle is over Epistemology:
What is Knowledge?
• We cannot understand Enlightenment
Epistemology without understanding the
historical context which led to these (VERY
STRANGE) views about knowledge.
• Enlightenment Epistemology is taught – by
demonstration – all over the globe.
Everyone is influenced by it, without
knowing.
• To liberate ourselves from this influence,
we need to be aware of what this influence
is, and the causes and origins of this way of
thinking about the world

Four
Fundamental
Flaws of
Enlightenme
nt
Epistemology
All four stem from a flawed
analysis of the reasons for
religious wars, and flawed
solutions flowing from this
analysis.

1: Religious
Differences
Lead to Wars
Religious wars in Europe were
caused by differences of
opinion. By building
knowledge on sound
foundations of reason and
observation, we can achieve
consensus, and eliminate wars.

2: We can create
knowledge, with
ZERO
background
assumptions
Epistemic Arrogance: We can
reject all tradition, authority,
lessons from collective
experience of the entire human
race. We can start from ZERO,
and rebuild the entire body of
human knowledge using only
observations and reason.

3: We can arrive
at ABSOLUTE
TRUTH, using
observations &
Logic
Epistemic Arrogance: Starting
from ZERO, using only facts of
observation and reasoning, we
can arrive at ABSOLUTE truth.
Such truths are equally binding
on all rational human beings,
regardless of their religious
background.

4: Learning the
Laws Which Govern
External Reality is
Sufficient to
Produce ALL
knowledge.
Knowledge of external reality
and Reason is sufficient as a
guide to life. There is no need
to explore the inner realities of
human existence – the soul,
the heart, and other facets of
our subjective experience.

All four flaws are obvious, even
childish, mistakes. Shock and
Awe of Western Achievements,
and Colonized Minds, Prevent
us from Recognizing the
Naked Emperor
Couplet of Allama Iqbal:
My eyes were not dazzled by the brilliance of Western Knowledge,
they were protected by the dust of Madina and Najaf.

A Requiem for the Enlightenment Dream
Four Centuries ago, European Enlightenment thinkers launched a project to build a brave new world, on the foundations of
a new form of knowledge. Over the centuries, all of their hopes and dreams have turned into nightmares.

Time to Launch the REAL Enlightenment Project:
Spread the Noor of Guidance of Quran
• Four centuries ago, visionary European thinkers
embarked on an audacious quest: to reconstruct the
entire edifice of human knowledge upon the gleaming
pillars of facts and logic.
• This grand endeavor has profoundly shaped our world,
casting long shadows over generations that followed.
• Yet, this ambitious project has faltered and failed; the
ships of reason and empiricism have been lost to the
tempest of reality.
• Today, we stand at a crossroads: It is time to honor
these pioneers and courageously undertake the task
they could not complete—to rebuild the entire corpus
of human knowledge upon the eternal foundations of
Islamic wisdom.

The Four Flaws are
Weapons for Intellectual
Battle
The Fundamental Battleground is
“Knowledge”. Deeper, it is the battle to DEFINE
what knowledge is!
West: Knowledge is ONLY of the external world.
Islam: Knowledge teaches us how to lead lives of
excellence.
1. Our lives are brief and infinitely precious.
2. Every moment counts, and every
moment matters enormously.
3. Learning how to use these moments in
the best possible way is most valuable
knowledge.

Western Knowledge of
External Reality:
• Critical Question is: HOW should we use this
knowledge?
• Western answer: World is a jungle governed by
survival of the fittest. There is no God, Afterlife,
Judgement. Use this knowledge for pursuit of power,
pleasure, profits!
• Islamic answer: Power is given to us to help protect
the weak and powerless. Wealth is given to us to give
to those who are needy.
• Every human being has infinite potential for
excellence. The most valuable kind of knowledge
helps to transform individuals, by enabling them to
achieve and realize this potential.

Two Aspects of the real
Enlightenment Project
• Destruction: Explain the flaws of current
body of knowledge being taught in
Western universities.
• Reconstruction: Rebuild these bodies of
knowledge on the foundations provided by
the Islamic Intellectual heritage.
Rooted Revival: Both critique and
reconstruction should be based on Islamic
intellectual heritage.
However, a core aspect of knowledge is
rhetoric: the art of persuasion. For this
purpose, the message has to be adapted to
the audience. This is also a central Islamic
principle.

Critical Goal for Successful
Implementation
• Creating an educational process FAR MORE
EFFICIENT than modern Western education.
• I believe this is EASILY possible, and I have
carried it out myself.
• With the right methodology, graduates of
our 2nd
and 3rd
tier Islamic universities can
perform better than top ranked graduates
from within Pakistan as well as
internationally.
• Thus, we can defeat all challengers on the
battleground for knowledge – regardless of
whether it is secular knowledge,
mathematics and physics, social sciences,
or philosophy of life.

How we can use the four flaws to
deconstruct Western Knowledge
claims.
1. Religious Conflicts Lead to War: Build a
secular society
2. We can achieved consensus by building
knowledge from scratch on objective
foundations of facts and logic.
3. Secular knowledge will be free from
errors and subjectivity, and represent
absolute truth, equally binding on all
religions.
4. “Knowledge” is objective knowledge of
external reality (empiricism and
rationalism). Everything else is NOT
knowledge.

Murdering the Masses:
Hidden Architects of
Conflicts
'Merchants of Death' (1934) exposed how
arms manufacturers profit from war, revealing
the financial incentives that drive the conflict.
bit.ly/MerchDeath
'War is a Racket' (1935) by Smedley Butler
highlighted how wars are fought for corporate
interests, not national defense, emphasizing
the exploitation involved. bit.ly/ButlerWar
Today, corporate profits remain a key driver of
global conflicts, illustrating that the motives
behind warfare have shifted from ideology to
financial gain. See: War is Still A Racket.
https://www.americanagora.org/single-post/w
ar-is-still-a-racket

The Enlightenment’s Greatest Mistake: Religion
Causes Wars
• Centuries of religious wars devastated Europe, deeply
affecting Enlightenment thinkers.
• The natural conclusion drawn was that religion causes
war, leading to the construction of secular societies.
• In reality, secularization did not end wars; World Wars 1 &
2 were fought on secular grounds.
Key Insights into the Enlightenment's
Missteps

The Philosophers' Strategy
Plato's Republic
and Philosopher
Kings
• Plato proposed the concept of
Philosopher Kings who govern based on
wisdom and knowledge.
• These rulers manipulate ideologies,
including religion, to maintain their
power over the masses.
• The use of ideologies is essential for
controlling public perception and
justifying governance.
Machiavelli's
Political
Realism
• Machiavelli advocated for the strategic
crafting of beliefs to serve state interests.
• He justified wars under false pretenses,
emphasizing the need for rulers to
maintain control.
• This approach highlights the pragmatic
use of ideology in political strategy.

Religion as a Pretext for Power
European **Religious
Wars** were often
political battles, masked
by religious rhetoric to
mobilize the masses.
These conflicts
illustrate how religion
was utilized as a tool
for power rather than a
genuine driver of war.
The **Crusades** were
less about faith and
more about the Pope's
political strategy to
maintain power.

The True Motive Behind Modern Wars
Profit Motives
Modern wars are driven by profit motives rather than
ideology or religion. Masses are motivated to fight and die
for manufactured ideologies like nationalism, democracy,
or other noble slogans.
Merchants of Death
'Merchants of Death' (1934) exposed how arms
manufacturers profit from war, revealing the financial
incentives that drive the conflict.
bit.ly/MerchDeath
War is a Racket
'War is a Racket' (1935) by Smedley Butler highlighted how
wars are fought for corporate interests, not national
defense, emphasizing the exploitation involved.
https://ia802605.us.archive.org/29/items/WarIsARacket/
WarIsARacket.pdf
Ongoing Corporate Profits
Today, corporate profits remain a key driver of global
conflicts, illustrating that the motives behind warfare have
shifted from ideology to financial gain. See: War is Still A
Racket.
https://www.americanagora.org/single-post/war-is-still-a-
racket

Enlightenment was a
desperate search for peace,
in war-torn Europe
• It mis-diagnosed the problem as
religious differences.
• It build secular societies as the solution.
• However, we still live in a war-torn world.
• Western society still do not have a clue
as to how to build a peaceful world.
• The secular knowledge produced by
West has exacerbated the problem:
Machiavellian politics and Social
Darwinism.

How can Islam
provide deeper
insights?
Central Cause of Wars was feeling of
superiority over others:
Hatred, Contempt, Intolerance.
Religion, Racism, Nationalism.
Islam is strongly against intolerance
due to any of the three factors.
This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life
the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where for more than seven centuries Muslims,
Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and where literature,
science, and the arts flourished.

Islam offers
unique levels of
tolerance.
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion.
Kafiroon: You do not (will not) believe my religion, and I
do not (will not) believe your religion. To you, your religion,
and to me mine. {God will judge between us on
the day of judgement}
"Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or
Christians or Sabeans - those [among them] who believed in
Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness - will have
their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be
concerning them, nor will they grieve.“
Among four mazahib, and multiple
Tareeqa’s, with substantial differences – all
agree that any one of them can be followed!
The noor of Islam dissolves the ice
of hatred which divides humanity.

Strong Prohibition
on Racism
"O mankind, We have created you from male and
female and made you peoples and tribes that you may
know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in
the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.
Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.“Surah
Al-Hujurat, Ayah 13.
"O people, your Lord is one and your
father is one. There is no superiority of an
Arab over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over
an Arab; neither of a white over a black,
nor a black over a white; except by piety
(taqwa)."Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22978

Strong
Prohibitions on
Nationalism
• "He is not one of us who calls for
‘asabiyyah (tribalism/nationalism),
or who fights for ‘asabiyyah, or who
dies for ‘asabiyyah."— Sunan Abu
Dawood, Hadith 5121
• "Do not hate each other, do not envy
each other, do not turn your backs
on each other, but be servants of
Allah as brothers."— Sahih Muslim,
Hadith 2559

Jihad as an
act of worship
• The Conquest of Mecca: Role
Model for leaders of Islamic
armies throughout history.
• Do not hurt women,
children, elderly, non-
combatants, anyone who
puts down their weapons.
• Do not hurt the
environment.

"Islam offers UNIQUE
SOLUTIONS, unknown to the
West, for creating a peaceful
world. Despite centuries of effort,
Western civilization has been
unable to solve this enduring
problem. Islam's wisdom
provides a path to true peace that
the West has yet to discover."

(2) Starting from ZERO, can we create
knowledge, using only observations and reason?
• Enlightenment Answer YES.
• Ghazali’s Answer: NO.
Enlightenment Answer is wrong. Any knowledge
created – apparently from ZERO – MUST be built
on HIDDEN assumptions.
Observations and logic – by themselves – are
NEVER sufficient to produce knowledge.
Application to Statistics and Econometrics:
Assumptions MUST be added to data, to produce
results. Present methodology is faulty, because it
adds arbitrary assumptions, often wrong.

(3) Can we arrive at ABSOLUTE truths,
using our reason and observations?
Enlightenment: YES
Islamic Answer: All of our cognitive equipment
have specified domains of operation. Our senses
can provide good information about certain
domains of knowledge, but are not equipped to
handle questions about God, Judgement, Afterlife,
and the origins and purpose of human life. Even in
the domain of operation, our senses and reason
are subject to errors, and cannot give us ABSOLUTE
truths – there is always possibility of errors.
Kuhn: Structure of Scientific Revolutions is a
landmark book for this purpose.

(4) Knowledge of External
Reality is sufficient to provide
us with ALL knowledge
• This leads to the marginalization of man.
• Western knowledge is like Dajjal – very sharp eyes
on external reality, and completely blind to the
inner nature of man.
• Best knowledge of man is provided by the Creator
of man. Islamic Psychology provides a radical
alternative to Western discipline.
• Man is the building block of human society.
Without understanding man, it is impossible to
build social sciences.
• Armed with a radical understanding of human
nature, and with a thousand year old Fiqh tradition,
we can create Islamic theories and models of how
to build a society – not how to live in a jungle.

Concluding Remarks
• Physical Sciences require modifications – intention to serve, and
recognizing the signs of God in the external reality.
• Social Sciences: Lessons of the West in building a secular society. How
to live in a jungle of greed, competition, hedonism? Must be rejected
totally.
• See: Rebuilding Social Sciences on Islamic Foundation: Part 1:
http://bit.ly/AZrss1 and Part 2: http://bit.ly/AZrss2
• Decolonization of Education: An Islamic Perspective
http://tinyurl.com/AZdeco
Download THESE slides from: http://bit.ly/IE2024L2

‫ا‬ً‫م‬ْ‫ل‬ِ‫ع‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫ن‬ْ‫د‬ِ‫ز‬ ِّ‫ب‬َّ‫ر‬
،‫المقربين‬ ‫المالئكة‬ ‫و‬ ،‫المرسلين‬ ‫حفظ‬ ‫و‬ ،‫النبيين‬ ‫فهم‬ ‫أسألك‬ ‫إني‬ ‫اللهم‬
‫عامرة‬ ‫ألسنتنا‬ ‫اجعل‬ ‫اللهم‬
،‫قدير‬ ‫شيء‬ ‫كل‬ ‫على‬ ‫إنك‬ ،‫بطاعتك‬ ‫أسرارنا‬ ‫و‬ ،‫بخشيتك‬ ‫قلوبنا‬ ‫و‬ ،‫بذكرك‬
‫الوكيل‬ ‫نعم‬ ‫و‬ ‫الله‬ ‫حسبنا‬
O Allah! I ask You for the understanding of the prophets and
the memory of the messengers, and those nearest to You.
O Allah! Make our tongue full of Your remembrance, and our
heart full of your consciousness, our secrets full of your
obedience
(Oh Allah!) You do whatever You wish, and You are my Availer
and best of aid. Protector and the best of aid.

Knowledge: Central to the Struggle for Islamic Revival

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