Bonding with America
Akhlaq e Amrikiye : A Manual for the Survival of Muslims in America (7 of 7)
By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
The Islamic world is at cross roads. Internally, it is ravaged by civil wars driven by sectarian, tribal, political and ideological rivalries. Externally it is bombarded, invaded and destroyed by foreign powers determined to take the natural resources of the Third World. Vast swaths of earth extending from the Indus River in Pakistan to Lebanon on the Mediterranean Sea are in ruins. The civil wars and the external invasions act like a gristmill, grinding a huge mass of humanity into utter destitution, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, and spewing forth millions of refugees who move like waves across the Eurasian continent.
In this comprehensive article consisting of seven chapters, we focused on American Muslims. This nascent Islamic community is not immune to the storms raging across the Middle East and South-Central Asia. Indeed, it is now caught in the eye of the storm. The hatreds which were hidden for decades in the American body politic have now surfaced openly. It is kosher for presidential candidates to openly call for restrictions on Muslims or for buses in major cities to carry advertisements in which Muslims are called savages. Islamophobia has not spared even the Prophet or the Qur’an. The attack is frontal. If it is not contained, it could lead to a great tragedy similar to the tragedy faced by Japanese Americans during WWII.
We asked ourselves: Given the context of the times, how can American Muslims survive and prosper? We surveyed the fourteen hundred years of Islamic history to examine alternative strategies. The one that offers the greatest intellectual promise is the development of an Islamic ethic in America, Akhlaq e Amrikeye. It is taken after the masterpiece, Akhlaq e Nasiri of Nasiruddin al Tusi (d 1274) from the era of Mongol devastations. This trend-setting work became a template for similar works in succeeding centuries in places as far away as India and Pakistan.
The edifice of Akhlaq e Amrikeye (the ethics of an American Muslim) stands on four pillars: Faith, Law, Justice and Ehsan.
The central pillar of Akhlaq is Faith. It is Iman, our belief systems as enjoined by the Divine Word. Faith is the propulsive force of a civilization and the basis for its renewal. Where there is no faith, there is no civilization. For the American Muslim, faith must also include faith in America, for without it, life in America is untenable.
The Law is the second pillar of Akhlaq. “Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and those among you endowed with authority”, declares the Qur’an. Although multiple explanations are possible for this injunction, we choose to interpret the last part of this injunction as obedience to the laws of the United States based on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Justice is the arbitrator of interaction between diverse groups in a pluralistic society. It is the third pillar of Akhlaq. Throughout their history, Muslims have had a strong tradition of liberty and justice. This meant freedom of belief and freedom of worship. Wherever they went, whether it was Spain or India or Africa, Muslims championed due process and equality before law. They enforced justice irrespective of who the plaintiff was and who the defendant. It was this resolute enforcement of justice that attracted people as diverse as the Egyptians, the Iranians, the Indians, the Central Asians and the Indonesians to Islam. America, too, has a strong tradition of liberty and justice, enshrined in the pledge of allegiance. American Muslims have a historic opportunity to reinforce this tradition and stand up for justice for all, whether they be black or white, Native American or immigrant, rich or poor.
The fourth pillar of Akhlaq is Ehsan. It connotes excellence, beauty and perfection in service with no expectation of a reward. It is the guiding principle of a civil society.
In a nutshell, Akhlaq e Amrikeye is the guidance of the Qur’an and the Seerah of the Prophet filtered through the sieve of the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Acronyms enable the packaging of complex ideas so that they are understood and remembered by everyone. We will package Akhlaq e Amrikeye as FALAH where FA stands for Faith (Iman), L stands for Law (of the land), A stands for Adl (justice) and H stands for Hasana (beautiful works).
The Falah (well-being, safety, security) of the American Muslim is to be staunch in his faith, practice it within American laws, stand firmly for justice for all, and engage in works of excellence, beauty and perfection that are an example to the whole world.
A Muslim, by definition, is optimistic. He never despairs of Divine Grace. The attainment of Falah is not the work of a single individual or a single organization. It is the work of every individual, each locality, each masjid and each township. I doubt if there will emerge a grand leader who will somehow bring about a revolution and change the social conditions in America. Rather, it will be small changes in perception brought about through person to person contacts and the grassroots work of local organizations. America is a great civilization with remarkable resilience and a capacity for renewal. It is like a mighty river that changes its direction ever so lightly with the terrain. America will evolve; it will not bend.
The positive impact of Islamophobia is that it has awakened the Muslim community. Mosques and Islamic centers alike are reaching out to their neighbors and engaging with the body politic. Educated, articulate and passionate young men and women are taking the lead. They are engaged. The focus of the Muslim community is shifting from politics to civil society. These positive trends must be reinforced, the young must be supported and the generational effort must continue. The critical word is “engage”; engage your neighbor, engage your friends, engage your foes, engage them with justice and Ehsan, and let them see the Islamic ethics practiced through you.
In conclusion, I submit for our distinguished readers references to a few selected quotations from the Qur’an for Akhlaq e Amrikeye. For future reference, I have summarized a more complete collection of quotations applicable to the individual, the family and the community in the Encyclopedia of Islamic history www.historyofIslam.com.
Guidance for the Community
Build bridges of understanding with other communities (60:8); Uphold liberty (of faith) and justice for all (4:135); Avoid extremism (7:55); Honor your Contracts (with America and with each other) (5:1); Enjoin good, forbid evil (7:157); Integrate faith and deed (13:21); Cultivate knowledge (58:11); Serve (51:56); Avoid Corruption (2:188); Meet your Social Responsibility (76:8); Forgive the (Islamophobic) ignorant (7:199); Apply Reason. (20:128); Do not despair of Divine Grace (12:87).
Guidance for the Family
Mutuality between men and women (2:187); Do not kill children (abortion) (17:31); Be kind to your parents (17:23); Women have rights similar to their responsibilities (2:228).
Guidance for the Individual
Do not despair of Divine Grace (12:87); Purify your Nafs (23:4); Be forgiving (7:199); Do not be arrogant (7:146); Avoid drinking and gambling (5:90);Do not go near unlawful sexual intercourse (17:32); Do not ridicule others (49:11); Be charitable (3:134); Do not be envious (59:9); Accept responsibility for what you do (17:15).
What Allah Does Not Love
Lack of faith (30:45); Injustice (42:40); Extremism (14:55); Breaking Social Contracts (8:58); Arrogance (16:23); Waste (8,141); Deceit (22:38).
What Allah loves
Faith (2:165); Justice (60:8); Perseverance (3: 146); Social Responsibility (76:8); Honoring contracts (5:1); Ehsan (3:148); Purification (of the heart) (9:108); Repentance (2:222); Taqwa (3:76); Trust in Allah (3:159).
