From: ag3l+@andrew.cmu.edu (Arun K. Gupta)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic
Subject: Re: Islamic World News (21st)
Date: 22 Aug 92 17:35:37 GMT
Organization: Physics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


Here is an interesting article from Islamic World News (21st):
(reproduced without permission).

EVENT SCAN ###############################################################

                 ISLAM AND ARAB NATIONALISM

By Imam Mohammed H. Asi

Part IV
                    Neo-Arab Nationalism

     During 1952  C.E., a  new extention of life was granted
to Arab  Nationalism by  the CIA this time it was to prevent
the Muslim  masses in  Egypt and around the occupied land of
Palestine from  gaining political  control of their affairs.
Arab nationalism  was, to  our living  memories, a  euphobia
which brought with it these salient features.
     a.  Political   parties  were   abolished,  no  Islamic
politics were  permitted; this  constituted a  severe strike
against the  popular Islamic  movement at that time in Egypt
and the levant.
     b.  Military   rule  became   the  sole  authority  and
political party in Egypt and Syria.
     c. Arab nationalism was to become the official ideology
of these countries.
     d. Zionist  Israel was  to  be  spared  the  raids  and
attacks launched by Islamically-motivated people against its
national security.

     Arab nationalism  in this  new context  of developments
(the forceful  implantation of  Zionism in Palestine) was to
serve as an external mechanism of protection and defense for
the newly established Zionist state.
     What transpired during this era of neo-Arab nationalism
was undoubtedly one of the most fantastic success stories in
the annals of imperialist and Zionist history against Islam.
During  the   influential  days   of  Abd  Al-Naser,  Muslim
revolutionaries, Muslim  activists  and  Muslim  ideologists
were to  become, literally,  social outcasts.  An undeclared
war was  waged against  al-Ikhwan al-  Muslimun ( before the
de-revolutionizing saga  of the  Saudi connection), Hizb al-
tahrir al-Islami,  Hizb Al-Da'wah and anyone who articulated
Islam as a revolutionary ideology and system (deen).
     Throughout this historical sequence of Arab nationalism
chipping away  at Islam,  it finally  made it  possible  for
Zionism to  settle on Muslim land by the rationale and logic
that if  the Arabs  are entitled  to a  `national' homeland,
Hebrews  (Israelis)   are  also  entitled  to  a  `national'
homeland. There  cannot be  an argument that can be made for
one nationalism  (Arab or  Hebrew) with the exclusion of the
others' same  right. The  spirit of Arab nationalism kept on
`excluding'  others  (Muslims)  until  it  earned  the  same
treatment and  was eventually  excluded from  Palestine. The
present  occupation   of  Palestine   by   an   exclusionist
nationality  and  religion  (Zionism)  was  invited  by  the
Historical  and  contemporary  crimes  of  Arab  nationalism
against the  Islamic ideology  which joined Palestine to the
Fold of  Islam to  begin with.  It was  not Arab Nationalism
during the  Khilafah of  Umar  (radhia  Allahu  Anhu)  which
liberated Palestine.  Therefore, Arab  nationalism does  not
have  the  right  to  reclaim  Palestine  because  it  never
possessed it to begin with.
     The  Arab   nationalists   of   today,   of   whichever
persuasion, by  the very exclusive character of nationalism,
offer Yahud  the right  to compete  for  the  governance  of
Palestine. This,  of course,  is strictly  within the mental
arena of  theory and  counter-theory. But as far as practice
is concerned,  Arab nationalism  is at  it again, and in its
best tradition  of combatting  Islam.  Today,  there  is  an
Islamic State  established upon  the basis of the Qura'n and
the Sunnah in a contemporary non-Arab society. Of course the
very character of Islam means the ultimate transition of the
non-Qura'nic mother tongue of that society into the Qura'nic
language.  This   transformation  is  not  one  that  occurs
overnight, a  whole generation  has to  be schooled into the
idiom and  common speech  of  the  Qura'n.  And  surely  and
definitly when  an Islamic  State, authority  and government
come into  existence, as happened in Iran, then it is only a
matter of  time before the Muslims in Iran become conversant
and talk the language of the Qura'n.
     Every Muslim  is, relatively  speaking,  an  Arab;  all
Muslims pray to Allah and perform all their religious duties
in Arabic  (the language  of the  Qura'n). Every Muslim is a
potential Arab  because he  is encouraged  and motivated  to
understand the  Qura'n. this  fact of  becoming an Arab, one
day or  another,  one  generation  after  the  other,  after
becoming a  Muslim is a force that continues to work its way
today even  after the  many attempts at creating a dichotomy
and driving  a wedge  between the  language  of  the  Qura'n
(Arabic) and  the principles  of the  Qura'n  (Islam).  This
social and  sociological fact does not, and should not, blur
our vision  when Arab  nationalism was,  and is,  one of the
most potent forces in subverting and derailing the system of
Islam at the political level.
     This impending  process of  transforming Iran  from the
Pahlavi exclusivism  to  Islamic  inclusivism  was  declared
unwelcome by  Arab nationalism  (represented  this  time  by
Michael 'Aflaq  and his inner circle). And for the umpteenth
time,  the   exclusionist  character   of  Arab  nationalism
declares a war against the universal and global potential of
Islam.
     On  the  one  hand,  Arab  nationalism  throughout  one
thousand and  four hundred  years of  exclusionist  politics
offered  a   rationale  and  justification  for  the  Hebrew
nationalism to intrude into an originally inclusivist domain
of Islam within the lands  of Islam, Palestine. On the other
hand, by  waging a  war of  aggression launched  by Iraq and
supported by  virtually all  the other  Arab  nation  states
against the  inclusivist Islamic  State in Iran it (Iraq) is
acting as  an agent  of defense  and  support  for  the  two
nationalisms: Arab and Hebrew.
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-arun gupta
ag3L@andrew.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic