The myth of a Muslim Ummah

“The primary function of myth is to validate an existing social order. Myth enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal. It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values. Because myth anchors the present in the past it is a sociological charter for a future society which is an exact replica of the present one” — Ann Oakley.

Indulging in illusions in today’s world is a recipe for disaster. The countries with a Muslim majority are all encircled by the world’s greatest myth, a myth that has been doing the rounds for countless years: the myth of a Muslim Ummah. In a letter published in the Gulf News, a letter writer says, “The soul of the Muslim Ummah is dead. How else can one explain the apathy of the Muslims to the plight of the Palestinians? They are being starved into submission, and we sit idly by marvelling at the next high-rise and ogling the opulence of Dubai” (‘The soul is dead’, A. Zayd, May 13, 2006).

The ‘soul’ of the Muslim Ummah is dead? There is no soul, because there is no Muslim Ummah. It is but a myth. This myth was perpetrated by theologians, and believed by most of the Muslims around the globe. It is not possible to achieve this ‘vision’ either, simply because given the dispersed nature of Muslim politics in each of the Muslim countries, there is no unified vision, nor is there a single goal among the Muslims that would lead them to act in unison. Apart from the commonality of their religion, these countries have nothing else in common. If there was such a thing as a Muslim Ummah or even a Muslim world, then the common platforms like the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) would have made some mark in the international arena, which they have continually failed to do. The OIC remains just an organisation for its hollow namesake. The Arab League too could do little to overcome the vast problems of the Arab nations, and was unsuccessful in bringing peace to the Middle East, especially to Palestinians who have been facing Israel’s aggression for over half a century now. Even though most of the important Arab countries are close allies of the US and the UK, and could exercise their influence to mediate peace in the Middle East, what has prevented them from taking a firm stand in this regard? The reason is simple: the so-called Muslim world is divided. The Arab League is paralysed because of the divisions within the Arab world, while the OIC is paralysed because of the divisions within the Muslim world.

There is Arab and non-Arab division; there is sectarian division, especially among the Sunnis and Shias, there are economic divisions between the affluent and poor Muslim nations; there is division due to vested interests, how some Muslim countries are the unalloyed supporters of one Western country or another, while some are anti-West. The main motive behind each pro-West country’s choice is that it does not want to live in international seclusion.

If there was so much unity among Muslims all over the globe, then there would not have been a Bangladesh today, there would not have been an eight-year long war between Iraq and Iran, there would not have been a war between Kuwait and Iraq.

Palestine is in shambles.
Lebanon is burning.
Kashmir is full of blood.
Iraq is destroyed.
Afghanistan is war-ridden.
Iran and Syria have been threatened by the US.

Why only Muslims? Why is the world targeting innocent Muslims? This is where the Muslims go wrong when they think that these countries are under fire because of the religion they profess. Instead, the reason is that these countries are located in geo-strategic places, and even if they had not been Muslim states, the neo-cons who rule today’s imperialistic world order, would have gone after these countries. It would not have mattered to them had the prevailing religion of these countries been Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism, these countries would have been attacked to garner economic benefits.

If there is an injustice taking place around the world, we should raise our voice against it, regardless of the fact whether the victims are Muslims or non-Muslims. When 9/11 happened, the humanitarian Muslims raised their voice against it for there is no Islamic injunction that endorses acts of violence directed against civilians. When the Mumbai blasts took place recently, the majority of the Muslims condemned this despicable act, and we can see that as Lebanon burns today, the majority of people in the West are condemning Israel. For a humanitarian, religion does not matter. Human life matters. A Muslim would feel the same pain at the killing of an innocent other religionist that he would feel for one of his own Muslim brothers under the same circumstances.

The concept of Ummah in Islam was very different from what the mullahs are preaching today. These ignorant clerics are preaching hate against the non-Muslims, which is not what Islam has taught us. We forget that Islam was the most progressive religions of its times, but these retrogressive clerics have made it sound like an archaic set of medieval beliefs. Mushirul Hasan, an eminent Indian historian of Islam, explains the true concept of the Ummah in Islam during an interview: “As enunciated in the Quran, the Ummah (community) is a very progressive idea. In its original form, it struck at the roots of parochialism and nationalism. It was an effort to create a Muslim personality that would not bear the lineage of race, language, colour and other parochial denominations. However, and this is the unfortunate part, its construction in the later centuries was designed to foster not an inclusive notion of Islam, but an exclusive notion. That’s where the distortion takes over.”

It would be hard to fight a myth that has been ingrained in every Muslim’s mind because as Françoise Giroud said, “Nothing is more difficult than competing with a myth.” But even so, those Muslims who understand how myopic and wrong this concept is must stand up and fight against it. Every Muslim must understand that the fulcrum in today’s world is not religion. Therefore, let’s dispense with the myth of a Muslim Ummah and move on. As the August 1st editorial of The Post titled ‘Enough!’ said, “…it would now be a nice time to acknowledge that the ‘Muslim Ummah’ is a myth that should finally be given a decent burial.”