THE international geopolitical scene has changed radically since the cataclysm of 9/11. In the heyday of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union was the adversary for the West, the Islamic concept of Ijtihad had an entirely different connotation and perception in the minds of the Americans and the Europeans than is the case today.

The tragedy of 7/7, perpetrated right in the heart of London, has further radicalized the western perception of Islam and the Muslims.

What reigns supreme today on the minds of the West is a highly distorted and convoluted image of Islam. A religion of peace and tranquillity that Islam inherently is in its pristine sense is, regrettably, associated with violence, bloodletting and terrorism, Islam, today, is stuck in the western mind as a religion which has ‘zero tolerance’ for other religions and their followers.

We all know that this is not what Islam stands for. However, it is also a fact that the ill-informed, fanatical and, in a sense, opportunistic religious orthodoxy — the so-called clerics and mullahs — have only fuelled this erroneous perception of Islam in the western minds because of their ill-advised exhortations and sermons that do no service to Islam. The erstwhile Taliban regime in Afghanistan, for instance, did enormous damage to the name of Islam in the western world and made the Muslims a laughing stock throughout the world.

Enlightened and well-informed Muslims — in a clear majority in the Muslim ummah — are, indeed, conscious of the fact that these radical and extremist clerics don’t represent them and don’t speak for them. The majority of the Muslims in the world consist of moderate, law-abiding and pacifist people who neither believe in preaching a gospel of hatred against any other religion, nor do they subscribe to a distorted philosophy of jihad.

I believe that I speak for every sensible, enlightened and moderate Muslim in the world when I declare that the Islamic spirit of accommodation for others is ignited by the Quranic teaching of Lakum deen-o-kum, wallya deen, which translates as your religion is yours and my religion is mine.

Another universally applauded verse of the Holy Quran categorically lays down that there is no compulsion, or force, in Islam; the Quranic injunction says: La Ikraha fid Deen.

I would, therefore, like to appeal to my fellow countrymen, women, students, teachers and others to use all possible and peaceful means at their disposal to rectify and set right the wilfully propagated, and erroneous, perception in the western mind that Islam and violence are synonymous.

The early history of Islam as a message of hope and redemption is replete with glorious examples of Islam enriching the world with its mission of peace. The first temporal period of Islamic rule, the Khilafat-e-Rashida (the Enlightened Caliphate), that spanned three decades after the demise of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), was the finest example of governance guided by peace and tolerance for all, Muslims or non-Muslims.

Although khilafat as an institution fell on bad days after the murder of the last enlightened caliph, Hazrat Ali, the basic Islamic norm of tolerance and peaceful coexistence with others and among the Muslims themselves continued to hold sway. The learned Imams — spiritual guides and religion’s interpreters — whose teachings are still regarded as beacons of light by Muslims all over the world — never wavered from a course of moderation and tolerance. Scholars and guides, such as Imam Malik, Imam Shafai, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal and Imam Jafer Sadiq, may have differed in their interpretation and exegesis of Islam but never issued a fatwa against others. Today, mullahs and two-bit scholars among the Muslim ummah feel free to declare their opponents kafirs (non-believers) and don’t shy away from preaching intolerance and violence in the name of Islam.

Let it be known to all that Islam doesn’t teach its followers to remain cut off from, or non-communicative with, the followers of other religions such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and others. The Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) interacted actively with believers of other religions and didn’t mind entering into contractual commitments and agreements with them.

It was ironic that in an age as advanced and enlightened as the 21st century the world was witness to an obscurantist and regressive Muslim regime like the Taliban, who violated the Islamic values of non-violence and tolerance. They were so archaic and backward in their views as to declare radio, television and other modern means of communication as unIslamic; they also made a mockery of Islam by forcibly excluding women from the mainstream of life and denying them the fruit of education. What else were the Taliban if not belonging to the long gone Stone Age?

What our younger generation of Muslims, students in particular, ought to remember is that in this age when non-Muslims are keeping a hawk’s vigil on the words and deeds of us Muslims, there is an unavoidable need for us to be realistic in our vision of Islam and pragmatic in its application to our everyday life.

I believe that we must correlate our action to measure up to the requirements of our age and adopt a realistic and pragmatic code of life that takes into account the following facts:

a. thought process and thinking changes with the passage of time; b. moral and civic values change too with a new lifestyle and dress code; c. technology dictates its own changes, introduces new inventions in sciences, communications medicine, pharmacy etc. d. sexual mores and traits change and usher in values that may have been taboo before; e. old myths die, or are radically transformed beyond recognition, and are replaced by values that may eventually become myths themselves.

There is an ineluctable compulsion on us, especially in this age when Muslims are being subjected to microscopic inspection by the non-Muslim world, to establish our values transparently and leave no confusion about them.

For instance, we have to let the world know clearly and categorically that Islam is not at war with the world, or with modern technology and inventions; and that we are an enlightened and progressive people who can coexist happily and comfortably with other peoples, irrespective of their beliefs or religious dogmas.

We must get rid of our weakness to get fixated on ideas and concepts proven wrong with the passage of time. Islam’s universalist ideology is what we must preach to ourselves and the world. We have done great injustice to ourselves and to the Poet of the East, Allama Iqbal, by narrowly projecting him as only an architect of Pakistan, instead of highlighting his message of universalism that he so rightly articulated in his famous poem, Sarey Jehan Se Accha Hindustan Hamara.

A qualitative change in our thought process should induce a new era of Ijtihad among the Muslims of the world. We don’t dispute the importance of the excellent commentaries and exegeses written by eminent Muslim scholars and interpreters. But what they dilated on were problems of their age, not necessarily ours too. There is, therefore, binding on us to interpret our religion in the light of the challenges posed to us by the 21st century and not remain mired in, for instance, the 17th century when the famous Fatawa-i-Alamgiri were compiled.

It is the crying need of the times that Muslims must take control of their lives by reinterpreting their religious values and mores in the light of their own age. Islam is a dynamic force that can’t, and shouldn’t, be held hostage to any one time frame or period. We must come to terms with our times and prove to the world that we are a progressive people who can move with the times and advance rapidly to take our due place among the most enlightened. This alone would ensure a place of honour for Muslims in the universal community of mankind.

The writer is the founder and leader of the MQM.