Like Islam, Islamic movement too, is highly misunderstood by both the Muslims and the non-Muslims. Many people think it mere a political cry of a few extremist fanatics for capturing power. To them, it is not a core belief of the mainstream Muslim faith, but a doctrine of a few. So they label them as deviants from Islam. Movement itself gives a connotation that it entails educating, training, organising and mobilising people for a political end. They can not think of such a political agenda for Muslims in any Muslim and non-Muslim country. Instead, they have their own prescription for the Muslims.

According to them, Islam has nothing to do with politics, culture, law or economics of a country. These are the worldly domains only to be managed by the secularists or non-religious people. They advice Muslims to restrict the Islamic influence within their individual lives, at best inside mosques. They must note cross that boundary to enter arenas of statecraft. With such conceptual framework they argue, why should Muslim have an Islamic movement? Political and social movement, according to them, is the sole privilege of the secularists whom they consider the right people to run a country. They can not think that a religion should take control of a state. They consider it a gross violation of its boundary. In fact, this is the most dominant view on Islamic movement in Muslim countries, and got its genesis from a secularist perspective. But in Islam, the majority has little role to decide what is Islamic or un-Islamic. It is the sole domain of the Almighty Allah. The Qur’an is the book of Divine prescription. Nor is acceptable the secular suggestion. In most Muslim countries, the practice of interest-based banking has been lawful. Even the sinful practice of the prostitutes gets lawful legal protection. This is the gross violation of Muslims’ life-long mission on earth - promoting good and prohibiting wrong. Instead of prohibiting the sin, they have been a part of it. Such sins can only expedite punishment from the Almighty Allah. Every action gets its origin, incentive and nurture from a mindset. Indeed, every conceptual framework or philosophy defines what is right or wrong. That is true not only with Islam, but also with secularism. Secularisation of Muslim mind has indeed made them not only accommodative to sins, but also in some areas the active promoter. This is why, along with interest-based banking, the sex-tourists from the western countries get warm welcome and enjoy conducible infrastructure to practice sins in most Muslim countries. The majority Muslims pay blind eye or show compliance with such sins. The same secularisation has turned the majority Muslims not only oblivious of their original mission as Allah Subhana wa Ta’la proclaimed in the Qur’an (doing good and prohibiting wrong), but also antagonistic to it. How secularisation has corrupted Muslims’ faith thus gets an overt expression. In such context, Islamic movement can seldom expect receiving a popular acceptance in Muslim countries. For such acceptance, indeed, Islam needs to be revived not mere a collection of prayer rituals, rather as mind-changing powerful revolutionary faith that once changed even the most barbaric mind of the Arabs and raised the finest civilisation on earth. Since Islamic movement is an Islamic issue, the issue must be viewed and judged with an Islamic perspective. It should not be considered as a mere a political struggle for capturing power of a country. Neither is it a mere social and cultural movement to shape only societies or states. Rather it is a never-ending struggle of every Muslim to invest all of his or her abilities to bring overwhelming changes in individual lives, families, societies and states. These changes must be based on the Book of guidance - the Qur’an. It transforms humans to such a high level that he or she becomes fit for attaining a status in the jannah - the heaven. At the family and societal level, it raises such a safe haven for individuals that they enjoy a mutually caring and loving environment. At state level it motivates people not only defend their faith and state, but also fully engage in raising a civilisation on Islamic values so that peace becomes an attainable reality in all arenas of life. Engaging in such endeavour is indeed the divine way of examining a believer. His or her contribution in such effort gets reckoned by the Almighty Allah to ascertain his scores for the Hereafter. His or her success is indeed depends on it. It is the holy jihad in Islam. Such engagement is so important that in the early years of Islam not even a single Muslim remained aloof or withdrawn from such effort. Except some disables, all went to the frontline to make their ultimate sacrifices. Islam became the world power and raised the best civilization on earth because of such committed engagement of the Muslims. Today Muslims have more numbers, but little commitment of that standard. So for any success or glory, they too, like early Muslims must to return to the basics – the Qur’anic guidance. The Qur’an has not been revealed to mankind just to be referred to occasional studies or recitation. Nor is it simply to be read over the bodies of dead men and women. The Qur`an for the most part holds no message for dead men, except good news for the believers and warning of an awful doom for the wicked. Those who have already ceased to live on earth do not need any prescription. A prescription only benefits a living man or woman, not a dead one. The same is true with Islam which is the divine prescription for all human ills. Allah, the Saviour prescribes the right way so that the mankind may attain success both here and in the hereafter. Islam is not the sort of religion fit for idle studies. Nor is it the type of religion wherein an occasional visit to a church or temple fulfils the devotional obligations. Rather it is a religion to be practised with total commitment and dedication. Islam not only concerns the individual's daily prayers, but also his daily acts and behaviours. Mere verbal pronouncement of faith and daily prayers hardly bear any value in Islam. The religion of Allah doesn't aim merely at reconstruction of man's spiritual aspect. Nor is its influence limited within the orbit of private life. Rather it also aims at correcting man's public life. Islam, indeed, possesses an uncompromising divine aim to bring about revolution throughout the entire world: so that the ruling doctrine will be the doctrine of Allah, the triumphant system will be His Own and the victorious leadership will be that of His Own vicegerent. And this very divine aim has been clearly revealed in the Holy Quran: "It is He Who has sent His apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth that He may make it conqueror of all religions even though the idolaters may be averse." (61: 9) It is quite evident from the above verse that Islam is revealed not only to establish mosques and religious institutions (madrasas), but rather to triumph over all man-made ideas, isms and religions. The ever-existent inspiration for an Islamic movement in all ages is, indeed, owes to this Qur'anic command. The revival of Islam with its full spirit and content thus becomes a divine obligation on all Muslims. No true believer can ignore this divinely assigned task. On the contrary, it becomes his overwhelming preoccupation. As revealed in the holy Qur'an, Allah wishes nothing from the believer short of total commitment. Since the very dawn of Islam, Muslims did not hesitate to challenge the authority of a satanic power and its systems. Islam delegates the duty of confronting the devil to all believing men and women. And all the prophets of Islam carried out a task no different from this. From prophet Ibrahim (AS) to prophet Muhammad (SAW), whoever was assigned the prophet-hood, had the same goal, the same purpose and the same mission in life. Moreover, all of them suffered more or less the same hardships and agonies. In fact, the prophetic mission has aimed at nothing except an overwhelming victory for Islam over all existing systems on earth: be it king-worship as established by Pharaoh, or statue-worship, or race-worship. Thus while a prophet like Ibrahim (AS) fought against Nimrod in one segment of history, another prophet like Musa (AS) fought against Pharaoh; and prophet Muhammad (SAW), the last prophet in the divine line, fought bloody battles against the pagan Arabs, the Jews and the Roman empire. In the history of mankind, two parallel chains of power always exist. One represents the divine chain—the chain of Allah, His prophets and the believing people. With the creation of Adam (AS) and man's vicegerency on earth, the divine chain was initiated. Thereafter, it continues through thousands of prophets to the present day's God-fearing man and woman. The juxtaposed chain belongs to Satan and his followers. It extends from Cain (Kabeel) to Yazid and on to the world-devouring imperialist powers of today. The history of humans is in fact a history of confrontation between these two opposite chains of power—between two types of men, and thus between two ideologies. The disbelievers fight their battle in a satanic cause. But the believers fight for divine reasons as revealed in the following command: "And fight them (against the enemies of Allah and His religion) until all persecution has stopped and religion has become all for Allah. But if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do." (8: 39) Therefore, unless all satanic powers and their sick religions cease to exist on earth; and unless all the prevailing ideologies have become solely for Allah; and unless all the perpetrators of corruption, the tyrants and the oppressors have been put down forever and the banner of Islam become triumphant over all parts of the world, a true Muslim cannot retire from his duty of holy struggle. If he, instead of fighting in the way of Allah, establishes peaceful co-existence with the devils, then it amounts to a clear revolt against the above Qur'anic decree. And consequently, he has no place in Allah's party; in fact, he proves himself a cursed supporter of the satanic plot. If a man remains silent in the midst of confrontation with the wicked, his silence contributes nothing to the cause of Islam. In the face of devilish onslaughts, his timid posture acts as a great stimulus to the sin-sick devils in their campaign to spread corruption. As regards to right and wrong, silence and neutrality, indeed, equates "good" people with criminals; and is itself a great crime against truth. Good-conscious morality and value are absolutely incompatible with such neutrality. It serves no good cause; but rather extends rope to the devils to execute their ill-motives. In the past, those who took refuge as saints (?) in isolated mosques or jungles, in fact, did nothing to spread good on earth. Their utter isolation from society afforded the wicked a free-hand to spread their devilish practices. Such people helped enormously to prolong the rule of Yazid and other despots in the Muslim lands. Being apparently religious, they at least created a distorted mould of Islamic living. In contradiction to the combatant way of prophet Muhammad (SAW), their vegetable-like timidity became so-called ideal Islamic characteristic in the Muslim world. Thus the Muslim's summit aim and object became shifted; and consequently, so did the course of Muslim history. In the holy Qur'an, there does not one single mention where a non-partisan secular life on earth is enjoined or encouraged. Muslims cannot be ambivalent about right and wrong. They are not merely members of Allah's party, but are totally committed to His cause. The disbelieving wicked ones must face challenging encounters, and not non-partisan silence from the believers. Muslims dare not display non-combatant neutrality to them. The holy Qur'an enjoins on the believers that they be firm in their faith, uncompromising to their beliefs and totally dedicated to Allah's cause. In the midst of dominant un-Islamic systems, a timid life is no way towards peace for a Muslim; nor is it an Islamic way of survival. A Muslim enjoys no peace in coexistence with devils. Peace is not the outcome of such surrender; it in fact, represents sheer defeat and humiliation for Muslims. Moreover, peace has never been established on earth through the weakness of God-fearing people. If the helm of state-control is lost to the wicked, then they show their talent in spreading corruption. Islamizing individuals, societies and state then becomes extremely difficult. This is truly happening in the Muslim world. Losing the control of state to anti-Islamic people is therefore a dangerous enterprise; leads humans to disasters after disaster. A country then sinks in sins. Mere salah and fasting of millions can save the country from such downhill course. Very few countries in the world has more people than Bangladesh who regularly offer salah and fasting, but that could not save the country from becoming the four times world champion in corruption. Hence it is a moral duty of a Muslim to arrest as well as challenge such a disastrous course. He can not submit himself to irreligious societal trends; but can do his utmost to mould it on the divine model. The unbeliever, on the other hand, follows the flow that prevails on earth. They float unscrupulously with any triumphant socio-political wave. The believers are different. They create their own Islamic trend. They do not adapt the colour of others; rather they render all efforts to give divine colour to others. Nothing short of this holy endeavour can be accepted as the aim of their survival. A believer's God-consciousness and morality thus adds heavenly attribute to his worldly life. The prophet of Islam showed how to live such a combatant life, and has been truly practised by his self-sacrificing companions. What Imam Hussain (R) displayed in Karbala, was indeed the true replication of such a spirit. Moral courage and conviction are the basic ingredients of a Muslim. So, a Muslim boldly displays his faith and spirit in the way of Allah. His Islamic belief makes him active, steadfast and dynamic. He cannot dare remain aloof from the never-ending struggle for Islamic revival; as his aloofness or withdrawal from such endeavour only adds to his punishment in the hereafter. Hence a Muslim may differ with the mode of this battle, but cannot deny its indispensability. Nor can he negate his own role. His inactivity only encourages the enemy to launch further onslaughts against the Muslims. Such inactive and indolent life of a Muslim acts as a boulder-like obstacle in the way of Islamic reformation. Moreover, if the Islamic movement in its prophetic tradition is discarded from the main polity of the Ummah, then what else is left to mould people, politics, economy and culture on the Qur'anic standard? Nothing in fact! Islamic movement is the sole mobilising force for the divine cause. It is the traditional instrument for bringing victory to Allah's religion. Therefore, whoever wishes triumph for Islam, cannot oppose it but must join with his life and wealth. The Qur'an makes this a religious obligation on every believing man and woman. If any Muslim male or female fails to realise his or her duty to take part in the Islamic movement, then it is owing to his or her lack of true Islamic spirit and conscience. It is utter proof that his faith has become adulterated with un-Islamic ingredients. One's degree of participation indeed gives a good measure of his faith and commitment to Allah and His religion. A Muslim does not need an enormous preparation to join this divine movement. The Almighty Lord doesn't count the weapons of His soldiers, but rather their dedication to His cause. In the face of attacks against Muslims, no excuse is acceptable to Allah for exemption from encountering the devils. The divine march towards the triumph of Islam cannot be withheld or deferred merely on the pretext of insufficient preparation. When the Muslims during the time of Prophet (SAW) faced the great threat posed by a huge army of Romans, they didn't have enough preparation either. In that year, they were facing bad times in Medina brought by hostile weather conditions as the mid-summer sun scorched the whole of Arabia. The date harvest was nearing and represented the only hope of relief for the poor draught-stricken people whose agricultural output had suffered alarming decline. The Muslims were living hand to mouth; they hardly had any money to prepare for an expedition. Yet, in the midst of such hardship and agony, the challenge came from the great Roman Empire. To enhance their war strategy, the Prophet (SAW) asked Muslims to undertake long travel towards Tabuk in Syria to meet the enemy in advance. It was a tough time for the Muslims indeed. They suffered dire shortage of men, arms, wealth and camels. But the command came from Allah, the All-Wise: "Go forward, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah. That is best for you if you but know." (9:41) Thus, the holy Qur'an doesn't prescribe any amount of preparation for a believer to do struggle in Allah's way. Rather, it becomes a divine obligation on him as soon as he adopts faith in Allah and His religion. The faith in Allah and the struggle in His way enhance each other reciprocally—one nourishing and developing the other. In a practicing Muslim, both faculties develop equally and in parallel. Thus the logic: 'firstly be a perfect Muslim, and then do struggle in Allah's way' is a great ridicule with the basic concept of Islam. Those who wait for such perfection, never really attain it. It follows the same funny logic as 'first learn how to swim and then go to the swimming pool'. Without going into water, how can one learn to swim? There exists no room for sidetracking, nor is there any way to attain the divine purity without joining the Islamic struggle. The tree of Islamic faith flourishes in the heart of a Muslim with its trunk, branches, leaves, and flowers at a time. Its trunk—faith in Allah and His religion—doesn't aim at touching the sky before giving rise to branches which are good deeds and dedications in the way of Allah. Rather all these develop simultaneously in Muslim polity. As the trunk can't survive without branches and leaves, likewise Islamic faith isn't viable without good deeds and dedications. The holy Qur'an has emphasized much on it. Firmness of faith doesn't come through mere utterances of the Holy name of Allah, the Most Exalted. It needs to be engaged in the holy struggle in His way. The swift swords, gushing bullets, and other oppressive measures at the hands of satanic forces arc the best precursors for developing rock firm faith in a Muslim. Courage and conscience, as consolidated in a believer for encountering the anti-God designs, are basic prerequisites to develop holy perfection in a man. Divine perfection in mind and soul can't come through idle prayers in a calm, cool and pleasing home. The prophets of God did not practice such idle prayer either. Rather, they suffered tremendous tortures, hardships, agonies, and even death for Islam. Several thousands of prophets had to sacrifice their lives for this holy cause. And no less sacrifice was made by their faithful companions. It suffices as proof of their dedication that more than seventy percent of the companions of prophet Muhammad (SAW) became martyred in the way of Allah. The contrast between the perfection of the Muslims of the early days and those of today owes to the lack of this self sacrificing Islamic spirit. Otherwise, with the same Holy Qur'an, the same prophetic lessons, and moreover, the same religious rituals, why do so much marked contrasts exist? The inefficiencies and inadequacies of today's Muslims do not stem from inadequacies or insufficiencies in Islam—may Allah forbid, Islam doesn't suffer any shortcomings or inadequacies vis-à-vis man's well-being—but rather from the failure of the Muslims in practising the Qur'anic teachings with full spirit, It, is due to their arrogance which inspire them to ignore the truth. What Allah, the All-Wise asks Muslims to accomplish, they seldom do. What a Muslim is supposed to do on earth is clearly commanded as follows: "You should believe in Allah and His messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is better for you, if you did but know." (61: 11) Therefore, by adopting faith in Allah and His prophet, the life of a believer simply gets off to an eventful start in His way; his holy journey doesn't end here. In fact, the real life for the materialisation of his faith, the life for the fulfilment of Allah's wish and the life of journeying towards his sublime success both here and in the hereafter get new birth here. Here life becomes a holy emblem indeed. Individual's life, wealth, and all his belongings are for what purpose? Is he only meant to earn more and more and then be plucked off this living world forever by death? The lust for wealth and comfort has no end. It is an unquenchable thirst of every man and woman. It never ceases to torment a man until he reaches his grave. The Great Creator portrays this character of man as follows "Rivalry in worldly gain distracts you. Until you come to the graves." (102: 1 & 2) The competitive struggle for increase in wealth distracts men and women from the real purpose of their creation. Amidst the life-long endeavour for more pleasure and comfort, they forget the main object of the worldly survival. In their minds, the worldly lusts and instincts undergo such a jubilant growth that the divine truth finds no place in their life. The revelation of truth to these pleasure-seeking men resembles the spreading of seeds in a bush of crowded shrubs. The divine truth can not grow in such an exhausted mind. Such people make life a mere tool for attaining worldly gains; and contribute nothing to the cause of the divine change. Thus they miss the whole purpose of their creation. They are the people who will meet a total loss in the hereafter. Allah the Almighty left no doubt or ambiguity on such a failure. In the Qur’an He says: “By the token of time (through the ages), surely man is in loss, except those who have faith, and do righteous deeds and join together in the mutual teaching of Truth of Truth and of patience and of constancy.” - Sura Asr One can afford a failure in this world. This world is not akhira, the hereafter. At least there is an end of all hardships or pains in this world. But that will never end in the hereafter. If compared to the hereafter, this life is not even a drop of water in an ocean. So, can a sensible man afford a failure in the hereafter? Participation in the Islamic movement is indeed an effort to avoid such a failure. It provides an opportunity to integrate with the ultimate purpose of his creation. And that is total servitude to his creator Allah. It helps him assimilate with the wish of Allah. Only this way life he can fulfil this very sublime divine purpose. Indeed, this has been the sole and common way of all the prophets and their companions. So, Islamic movement is not extremism or political Islam, as labelled by the anti-Islamic forces. It is the natural expression of Muslims’ fundamental belief. Even physical objects express some distinctiveness. Flame emits light. Ice spreads cold. Muslims must have their own distinctiveness too. They can not take others as their leaders. They can not adopt and promote others’ culture, politics and lifestyle. Muslims’ belief and his prayer are meant to add such distinctiveness – they need to model for others. The ultimate intention is to please his creator - the Almighty Allah. If that is not achieved, it means the prayers have failed to make any real impact. Such prayer and the belief are dysfunctional. Indeed such failure is the case in most Muslim countries. So the number of Muslims is increasing but not their Islamic identity or glory. Muslims’ faith must get expressed through a persistent zeal and inspiration for changing himself and others on divine line. Here the ideal models are the divine prophets. Such change making constant endeavour gives him and his fellow Muslims a unique dynamism both in their personal and collective life. Muslim ummah thus gets a never-ending movement towards that cherished goal. Indeed, this way Islamic movement gets its genesis. So it is the most natural expression of a Muslim’s faith. Truly, it is a measuring indicator of one’s faith. This is why wherever Islam gets opportunity to spread its true teaching, Islamic movement too gets its strength. And its absence and weakness proves otherwise. The enemies too understand it very well, so ignorance (jaheliyah) has always been the weapon of all anti-Islamic forces in all ages. Allah takes his followers towards light and the satan takes his followers towards darkness, as has been expressed in the holy Qurt’an. And the Qur’an is that divine light. British minister Mr. Gladstone did not hide such objective either. In nineteenth century he told in the parliament, unless we take away the Qur’an (Qur’anic teaching) from the Muslims we will not be able to prolong British rule in Muslim lands. To meet that end they secularised the education system in India, Egypt, Malaysia and other occupied Muslim lands to promote ignorance on Islam and the consequential deviant views. So the so-called educated Muslim people, the products of such institutions, took pride in serving the British interest. They couldn’t find any other job more admirable than that. They put their life as a saleable commodity. Even many of them went to Muslim lands like Iraq and Palestine during the First World War to kill fellow Muslims. Even Bangladesh’s national poet Qazi Nazrul Islam and its first and most honoured general like Mr. Ataul Goni Osmany are no exception. How a Muslim can serve such a non-Muslim army to assist occupy a Muslim country? In Islam, such acts are haram (forbidden). In deep darkness one can not differentiate the right from the wrong? That happens in darkness of mind too. So removing darkness of mind and enlightening with right knowledge is so crucial. This is why education is so important in Islam, it was made an obligation before salah and fasting. But one can not expect such a divine job done during a colonial or secular rule. The same education system with few cosmetic changes is still functioning in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt and other ex-colonies of the imperialist powers. So the system still continues to corrupt people’s mind, culture and behaviour. In Bangladesh, the system has proved its formidable power. It has helped the country scoring first place in corruption in the whole for consecutive 5 years. It is a history that no country has ever made so far. The so-called educated (?) people from this system are so corrupt and so deviant from Islam that they do not hesitate to legalise ugly sins like prostitution (jinah), interest, selling and drinking wine and other corruptions in Muslim lands. Does it require becoming an Islamic expert to understand such basic concepts of Islam? Instead of generating such basic understandings, the system tries to obstruct it. To that end, it has indeed gained a great success. So these Muslims have turned to be the most formidable opponents of implementation of Islam, These secularist Muslims oppose with full force the implementation of shariah, though committing fully to implementation of this divine law is one of the basic requirements for becoming a true believer. The corruption in religious education in Muslim countries is no less either. The British established religious colleges, like Aliya Madrasah of Calcutta, to produce clergies of their own choice. The graduates of such institutions got some selective lessons on Islam, and failed to receive its holistic view. They take little interest in Islamic movement. Many of them even tell, implementation of Islamic law is not an Islamic issue. They are content with their current dominance in mosques and their religious schools. They advise their followers to pay more attention to reconstructing their own souls. Some even restrict their work only to calling people to salah, little they do for inviting them to full Islam. So jihad, implementation of shariah, reconstruction of state, building economy remain outside their domain. The most powerful institution, the state, thus remains untouched. Whereas prophet Mohammad’s (pbuh) mission was all inclusive; state, politics, jihad, culture, economy, social welfare and education drew his full attention. He tried to make each individual a full man; not only a man of prayer but also a man of politics, culture, education, business and jihad. But most of the so-called Muslim scholars are now withdrawn from any form of social, political, economic and intellectual engagement. Those who are fighting and sacrificing their time, money and lives for implementation of Islamic law or for a Muslim cause, very few of them come from the so-called religious schools. Educational failure can only breed other failures. This is why political, social, economical and moral failures are so common in Muslim countries. And amidst such overwhelming failure in education, understanding Islamic movement remains the number one fatality. 09/05/08