Youth and Islamic Awakening by islamic awakening

IN THE NAME OF GOD

Scientific chart of the International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening: Secretary General of the Conference: Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati Scientific secretary of the Conference: Dr. Abdullah Mobini Members of the Scientific Committee:

Dr. Ibrahim Motaqi/ Dr. Manouchehr Mohammadi/ Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Raees-Zadeh/ Mohammad Ruivaran/ Ali Mohammad Fouladi/ Dr. Hamid Reza Akhavan-Fard/ Dr. Asghar Qaedan/ Dr. Mustafa Malakootian/ Dr. Hossein Sharifi Taraz-Karami/ Dr. Saeed Tavakoli/ Dr. Abdulhamid Sahrayi/ Ali Sabet/ Dr. Nabiollahi Rouhi/ Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini/ Dr. Niazi/ Dr. Reza Kalhor/ Dr. Hojjatollah Izadi/ Dr. Mostafa Izadi

Papers of the International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Compiled by the scientific committee of conference Editors: Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, Tahereh Zare, Seyed Kamaloddin Rafiee, Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, Maryam Golbaz Layout: Rouholamini Institute Cover design: Abna’ Institute Translators: Abna’ Institute Publisher: Abna’ Institute First published in January 2012 (Bahman 1390) Circulation: 2000

CONTACT

09. A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on United States’ security and interests in the Middle East and Northern Africa 57. Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about aerial changes at Middle East & North of Africa 86. Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development of Islamic Awakening 109. Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East 130. Honor›s Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In Light of its Key Role In Islamic Awakening 144. Ideological transformations and Islamic movements in the Middle East and North Africa 159. Imam Musa al-Sadr›s role in encouraging the youth in the Islamic

awakening wave 187. Establishing international Islamic unity based on religion, wisdom, morality and science 203. Islamic awakening and Young Generation 214. ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS BACKWARDNESS AND THE ROLES OF YOUTHS IN RESTORING THE LOST GLORY. 228. THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH; AN ISLAMIC WORDVIEW AND AGE CHALLENGE 239. Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers and International Zionism for Tackling the Islamic

Awakening 251. Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution 267. PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA: FROM CHE GUEVERA TO IMAM KHOMEINI TO FACEBOOK 295. The challenges facing Islamic awakening and the youth›s role in confronting them 305. The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World Zionism Conspiracy 326. The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East And the West›s Plot, Regional Tensions and Radicalism

Introduction: The raise in the awareness of the Islamic Ummah over the past years has led to the Islamic Awakening which can mark the beginning of series of institutional changes in the history and civilization.

Islamic Awakening is the culmination of knowledge and experience, and magnificent representation of the Islamic heritage, civilization, and great Muslim figures and leaders. The movement is the rise of intelligence, energy and the increased knowledge of the people who are regarded as the principal beneficiaries of the uprising. This, in fact, has realized the long-standing expectations of the Islamic Ummah in the Muslim countries that were mostly ruled by puppet rulers over the centuries. The First Conference on Islamic Awakening, held in Tehran on September 17-18, 2011, was attended by more than 700 scholars, resistance leaders, media personalities and political and cultural activists from various Islamic parties and organizations from around the world. The intellectual and historical background and latest developments, challenges and prospects of the movement were discussed and analyzed during the conference and the prominent observers and intellectuals exchanged their ideas on the issue. The opening ceremony included the illuminating remarks of Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei. The ÂŤWorld Assembly of Islamic AwakeningÂť and its permanent secretariat were also established in Tehran in order to extend the scope of the connections between the intellectuals and to monitor the developments taking place at the hearts of the Islamic awakening movement. Besides pursuing the legislations of the first conference, the Secretariat is assigned with the responsibility to facilitate the organization and holding of the following meetings, including the International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening. The general objectives of the conference are as following:

A - Regeneration and the implementation of the Islamic principles, values and goals based on the Islamic Sharia and the Holy Quran; B – Revving the Islamic and national dignity of the Muslim countries; C – Establishing the new international Islamic power and civilization based on religion, rationality and morality; D – Facilitating the interaction between currents, personalities and figures and exchange of experience and ideas between the movements; E – Confronting the influence of the hegemonic powers on the new political order; F – Devising the new model of Islamic democracy to replace the current Western models; G – Strengthening the national spirit of self-esteem and confidence in dealing with the invasion of the hegemonic powers; Accordingly, the intellectuals and scholars were called to send their papers and analysis on six core subjects of discussion which is as following: 1 - Theoretical, ideological, intellectual and institutional issues and the fundamental framework of the Islamic awakening and youth 2 - The role of youth and factors leading to the Islamic Awakening 3 – Examining the weaknesses and threats faced by the process of Islamic Awakening and youth 4 - Perspectives and future prospects of Islamic Awakening and Youth 5 - The Islamic Revolution, models, achievements, youth and the wave of Islamic awakening Of more than 200 papers received in the secretariat, a final number of 40 papers and more than 70 abstracts were selected by the scientific committee of the conference. Some other papers will be delivered in the marginal meetings and workshops. The broad range of issues discussed in the papers submitted to the conference proves the sensibility and importance of the Islamic Awakening among scholars and scientific experts in the Muslim countries. We appreciate all people who have contributed to the conference and helped us with their thoughtful comments. We hope this would be the beginning of new chapter in the glory of the Islamic Ummah, Inshallah.

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on United States’ security and interests in the Middle East and Northern Africa Fatemeh Morsali

Introduction We would fully understand the Middle East’s status and its strategic importance when we refer to “Jurdis Fon Luhausen”, the Austrian retired military General who believed that the Middle East was the center of the old world, whose center held the Persian Gulf, known as the center’s center (heartland). The thing matters in this region, is not just the oil, but if we consider the world atlas, we see that the oceans have penetrated into Africa and Eurasia nowhere else as much as this region. The Indian Ocean has penetrated into the region through its two arms of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, while the Atlantic has entered the region through the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Between the two oceans which are the same distance from African and Asian coasts, lies the ancient land of Ur on the estuaries of the rivers Dedjlah and Forat. The region is the most strategic part throughout the old world. Any turmoil caused by external factors in the region will have consequences for both Europe and Africa continents, that is, the evolutions occurred in the region are likened to a stone thrown into a pond, whose ripples are visible through the whole pond. The Middle East owns specific characteristics such as embracing or proximity to land bridges, passages, straits like Sina, Caucasus, the Strait of Gibraltar, Dardanelle,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Bab-el-Mandab, Hormuz Strait; and having seas such as Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, and Red seas together with the Persian Gulf. These characteristics have provided the best connection paths between the end of vast Eurasia and Africa continents. Moreover, the Middle East and northern Africa are strategic regions in the center of Islamic civilization and culture. The region holding a population of 700 million people, with 22 government-nations; is divided to different cultural (linguistic and ethnic) zones: IndoEuropean Plateau zones (Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan with a total population of 275 million people), Anatolia (Turkey with a 71 million-population), Mesopotamia (Iraq with a population of 25 million), Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen with a total population of 54 million), Mediterranean region (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel with 31 million people), North Africa and Berber (including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia having a population of 165 million). Islam (except the Hebrew-Jewish region in the occupied lands) is a suitable common point of convergence throughout the whole region. The very same common point of convergence has a good potential for having challenges with globalization and the cybernetic cultural imperialism (which is imperialism equipped with virtual space, satellite, and web-based media). More clearly, it has caused a bilateral conflict between the West and the Middle East in western secularâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modernity context and the political Islam. The Persian Gulf with an area of 233,000 square kilometers, not only providing more than 30 percent of the global oil production capacity, but hosting the most

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

important and the biggest exporters of oil in the world, i.e. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates. 16 percent of global oil imports are produced in this region, which supplies 13 percent of consumption in the US, 45 percent in Germany, and 75 percent in France and Japan. So the interruption would cause a great loss in the US and other countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; economies. Because of the geo-economic and geo-strategic importance of the Persian Gulf region, Washington is seeking major substantial goals in the region, caused by the great interests hidden in the Persian Gulf. These interests are of crucial importance for the United States. Following the occurrence of popular uprisings and revolutions in the Middle East and northern Africa, based on anti-totalitarian and anti-imperialistic natures, construed as Islamic Awakening; ultra-regional powers especially the United States and its regional ally, Israel, have faced security threats in different aspects. This article aims at determining the aspects and measuring the effects of Islamic Awakening on the security and national interests of the United States of America throughout the Middle East and northern Africa. The independent variant in this study is the Islamic Awakening, and the dependent variant is the US security, while the limiting factor has been considered as the Middle East and northern Africa. The article also tries to answer the basic question as â&#x20AC;&#x153;What security effects has Islamic Awakening had in the strategic Middle East and Africa for the US?â&#x20AC;? In order to answer this question, the article assumes that the popular uprisings among the Islamic nations have started to threaten the US security and crucial interests due to their anti-totalitarian

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and anti-imperialistic natures. The article can be divided to three major sections, the first of which deals with US security and interests in the Middle East and northern Africa; the second of which studies demarcating the popular uprisings; and the last part of which describes the effects of Islamic Awakening. In order to measure the effects of Islamic Awakening on different elements of the US security in the Middle East and Northern Africa, the article tries to simultaneously employ two methods for gathering necessary data, so that the dimensions and aspects are clearly illuminated. The above-mentioned methods include documentation (library) and inductive (direct observation). Moreover, the research method is either descriptive (integrative) or exploratory, while the data analysis method is hermeneutic and descriptive. Theoretic issues Islamic Awakening: A comprehensive phenomenon ignited by the Muslim elites concurrent with the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colonial intentions together with the scientificallyunderdeveloped Muslim world, which gradually spread to the people. The Islamic Awakening emanates both from intrinsic (colonialism) and extraneous (degeneration) factors. Since started by Sayed Jamaleddin Asadabadi, the movement has experienced four evolutionary waves: A-1) First wave of Islamic Awakening: This wave of Islamic Awakening which started since the ancient colonialism in the Muslim world; has had characteristics such as being corrective and dialogue-centered, individualism, obscurity of the political system sought by

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

the reformists, and the lack of system. In the other words, no major revolutionary moves are seen in this stage, hence it was mostly carried out individually by the Muslim scholars or through trips or creating journals or books. During this period, the elites often prescribed no alternatives for the ruling governances, and usually expected the rulers to change their attitudes, rather than to change the systems. During the first wave, the reformists and activists enjoyed no major group, organization, nor political party. They merely managed to create an organization consisting of influential rulers or scholars and never tried to organize the people. The only exception in this category can be Hassan al-Banna who created Muslim Brotherhood organization in Egypt. Among the intellectual leaders of the first wave are Jamaleddin Asadabadi, Iqbal Lahuri, Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, Abdol-Rahman Kawakibi, Abul-Ali Maududi, and Hassan al-Banna. A-2) Second wave of Islamic Awakening: The second wave is different from its previous stage, as during this stage, reformism and individual moves almost disappeared, and more effective moves against the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multilateral pressure were proven to be necessary. During this stage, from 1948 to 1990, Islam gets more ideological, and Islamic political attitude moves towards armed conflict due to the specific evolutions in the Islamic world, and replaces the individual and passive Islam. Among numerous social, political, and cultural grounds of the second wave, one can mention the creation of Israeli Zionist regime recognized by the United Nations, Declination of Arab nationalism in fighting the occupiers of al-Quds, the necessity of alternative ideology, Colonistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shift from traditional colonialism to

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening modern colonialism, the distinction of aspects of western culture in the Islamic world, Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to empower seculars throughout the Islamic world and make them depend on western powers, and finally the coherence and unity of the clerics after the unsuccessful experience of the Constitutional Revolution. During the time, DarulIslam vs. Darul-Harb concepts (Muslim States versus NonMuslim States) are bulked out among Muslims, agitating Islamists to fight the West or unpopular West-backed regimes. The occurrence of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 is among the most important factors of the Islamic Awakening. The establishment of Islamic groups such as Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Islamic Jihad Movement, Lebanon Hezbollah, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, Tunisia al-Nahda, Algeria Islamic Najjah Front, is among the major results of the Islamic Awakening (table number 1). The substantial strategies innovated by the Islamic Revolution of Iran regarding the Islamic Awakening include the innovation of Quds Day, the Rally to exonerate from the pagans during the Hajj ceremony, opposition to the peace process in the Middle East and supporting the Intifada, media support for Islamistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; campaigns around the Islamic world, refraining from recognizing Israel, and the annual holding of International Conference to support the Palestinian Intifada. Among the common characteristics of the Islamic movements of the second wave are as follows: Reiterating Islam, handling the systems; intellectual, geographical, and social comprehensiveness; being multicentered, and constancy and persistence. Imam Khomeini

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

(PBUH), Sayed Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and Sayed Qutb are known as the intellectual leaders of the second wave of the Islamic Awakening. A-3) Third wave of Islamic Awakening: Islamic Awakening flourished following the restless period of the revolution and the subsequent defense in war. Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s religious democracy on one hand, and the experience of war and defense on the other hand made the Islamists in other countries with a good social status, to start forming a political system; a move which faced crack down. Other grounds and temporal conditions of the third wave, causing another aspect of Islamic Awakening are as follows: the end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, globalization, normalization of fighting terrorism by the West, development of international media through Islamic world such as al-Alam, al-Kowsar, Aljazeera, al-Minar networks, increased military presence of the West in Islamic countries, starting the peace process in the Middle East, and Lebanon Hezbollahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great victories in 2001 and 2006. A-4) Fourth wave of Islamic Awakening: The fourth wave was started in recent months in northern Africa and the Middle East after the 26-year-old Tunisian man Muhammed Bu Azizi committed suicide on December 17, 2010 in the city of Sidi Bouzid. The wave fast spread to Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Algeria. The recent uprisings had some roots in common such as humiliation, internal totalitarianism, dependence on West, corruption of the ruling system, unemployment and vast poverty; and some properties such as being Islamic, being popular, opposition with the US, opposition with Zionism, and being affected by the Iranian

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Islamic Revolution. Among the intellectual leaders of the two recent Islamic Awakenings are Ayatollah Khamenei and Sayed Hassan Nasrallah. National Interests: It is defined as the most important motives and values, the most supreme goals and the most vital needs of a sovereign government-nation which forms and guides the international actions and behaviors. Priority and the superiority of a national interest is also a dependent of its vitality and necessity. According to a report by the US commission for the national interests, the US pyramid for the national interests include: crucial interests, extraimportant interests, important interests, minor or less important interests. The crucial US national interests are those interests that are crucial for protecting and insuring the existence and the welfare of the American nation. These interests in the Middle East necessitate that Israel is recognized as an independent nation, no general disruption or permanent limitation is caused in supplying energy to the world; and none of the regional enemies of the US gain nuclear energy. The US extra-important interests are those that if breached, the US will suffer a great loss but it will still be able to protect its nation. Based on these interests, the Persian Gulf must be free of any anti-US regional power; peace process in the Middle East progresses towards success; Washington maintains a good relationship with pro-West Arab nations in the region and these countries are actively present in the region, and the terrorism is under control. The US important interests are the interests that if neglected, there will be consequences for the White House in providing welfare for the American nation. Accordingly, regional countries need to adopt a balanced political system

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

and respect the human rights. The Commission adds that minor national interests are not dispensable in fact, but these interests are of importance, though their direct effect on the US ability to keep the welfare for its people is not that crucial (figure 1). In a broader point of view, the US key interests until 2025 are as follows: â&#x20AC;˘ Existence of Israel and complementing peace process in the Middle East; Accessing oil Preventing the emergence of a regional authoritarian foe; Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; Winning political and economical reforms, and consequently bolstering internal stability;And fighting terrorism. Security: In an objective context, security means the lack of threats against the gained values; and in a subjective definition, it can be defined as the lack of fear over oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interests. Among the many characteristics of security, one can mention the relativism which is the evolution of the semantics and the instance of security for the players in different situations. Meanwhile, subjectivism means emotional predominance in objective aspects of security and eventually inexpressiveness means refraining from limiting it in a special zone or level. Security could be gained through individual, social, national, regional, international, and global levels; and in different instances of cultural, social, judicial, military, economic, environmental, and political aspects. C-1) National interest is composed of two elements which

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening are completely coherent: internal and foreign security. The internal dimension of security is defined as the nation’s security against evident and hidden threats inside the borders. These threats can be political (such as uprisings, separatism, etc.), economic (economic disruptions and crisis, etc.), military (coup d’état, and domestic war), and social (riots and social mutinies); every one of which will pressure the national government and threats its existence. The foreign aspect of national security, deals with international threats against a government that can be political (isolation and enforcing economic pressures), military (attack or threats of invasion, the enemy’s efforts to boost military capacities), economic (economic sanctions), cultural, or social. In fact, different aspects of national security are likened to different links of a chain. If any single link is endangered, it will have considerable consequences on other links. C-2) Regional Security has been presented by Barry Bouzan and a group of Copenhagen School scholars in 1998. Accordingly, the world is divided to numerous security bunches and every bunch is studied according to its specific issues. Therefore, the world is divided to six security zones including Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America. The criteria for regional security are discipline, governments and regional norms. On the other hand, war, competition, imbalance, and organized crimes are considered as threats to regional security. Harsh and semi-harsh methods are also applied as means to provide security for the region. Security Threats: Security threats are located on the border between threat and risks. In this context, danger and

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

terms related to that all mean passing the threat threshold, and entering potential security threats zone. Meanwhile, through the zone prior to security threats, the risk is recognized and considered as a stage of potential threats. The spectrum for potential threats (possible dangers) can be defined in two different ways. The starting point at this spectrum is known as the discussion, and the finishing point is called the challenge. Danger-threats spectrum can also be divided into three modes of alarm, danger, and the crisis. Therefore, this spectrum includes alarm, danger, and critical conditions (figure 2). This spectrum shows that the threat itself has six main conditions and the security threats include the border between potential threats and actual threats. Security threat is a situation in which the threatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent and issue have targeted the goals of security reference and the critical assets of threat zone, but it is not yet categorized as dangerous threats. The criteria to recognize the threat zone status (country, system, and the player) against the threats consist of general criteria and specific criteria. Briefly saying, general criteria for a threat in order to be considered in the danger spectrumactual threats are as follows: - The threat has targeted the security reference goals or the critical assetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; infrastructures; - The threat has been proven to be true, or it is likely to be proven true; - Existence of a percentage of vulnerability in threat zone against the issue and the agent of the threat; - Inefficiency of capabilities in threat zone in order to create an equilibrium regarding the threat, - Support provided by a vast group of decision-makers

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and strategic policy-makers to securitize the threat; - Fighting the threat as the most urgent solution. In order to define the degree of dangerous threats, the exclusive criteria can be mainly categorized as: Vulnerability against the threat, and the consequences of the threat. Accordingly, three criteria could be implemented to determine the degree of vulnerability and its proportion with the danger degree in actual threats spectrum, which are as follows: preventive power-weakness, protective powerweakness, and restorative power-weakness. Consequently, three degrees can be mapped for the three conditions of dangerous threats: very high vulnerability (critical condition), high vulnerability (dangerous condition), and medium vulnerability (alarm condition). The second criterion to define the degree of dangerous threats was introduced as the consequences of the threat. This criterion can also be measured through three characteristics such as threat severity, threat range, and the threat depth. Considering the characteristics, three degrees of consequences for the three degrees of dangerous threats include: Destructive consequences (critical condition), Severe consequences (dangerous condition), and Considerable consequences (alarm condition). In a general description of security threat, one can define it as the threat against the security values. Security values or critical values are in fact the focal point for the security in every system and security level. Some define this center as the security reference. Security reference is something, the security of which must be provided. Therefore, threatening that would be interpreted as a security threat. On the other hand, as mentioned in the explanations of

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

national security, security threats can also be divided into categories as political, economic, environmental, military, cultural, social, and technological. So these threats can be dealt with in two domestic and foreign levels. In order to fully recognize the aspects and security consequences of Islamic Awakening, we need to study the Middle Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in defense and national security strategies of the United States. Then we will deal with plans and strategies taken by the White House regarding the Middle East, and finally the uprisings will be separated and categorized. 1. Considering the US security geography to separate the popular uprisings in the region Security geography is an expression similar to political geography, but due to its variety and vastness, provides a wide perspective for the researchers. All the centers that threaten the political and social stability of the society are dealt with in the security geography zone, together with recognizing the logic governing each center. Regarding the method, it is descriptive, and nature-wise, it is considered as inter-disciplinary. Security geography owns its particular levels, aspects, and priorities. The threat-producing centers can be divided into three levels of national, regional, and global. The most important aspects are cultural, political, social, environmental, economic, military, technical, and scientific. Regarding the priority or severity, it is categorized as potential or actual, and also medium-term, short-term, and long-term. One of such strategic regions in the US security geography is the Middle East. Following the September 11 events, the Middle East has been considered as key strategic interest

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening in Washingtonâ&#x20AC;şs defensive and security policies, and also regarded as the White Houseâ&#x20AC;şs focal point in international politics. The US strategies and security policies in the Middle East and its crucial subsystem, the Persian Gulf, are based on a number of major axes, the most important of which are as follows: - Easy and inexpensive access to the oil in the region, - Securing a comprehensive security for Israel and achieving results in the peace process between Arabs and Israel, - Preventing the emergence of regional powers in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, - Fighting Islamism. According to the final report presented by the US Commission on National Security/21st Century (USCNS/21), the greater Near East is a region in which Washington has key allies. It is the only region in the world where the US military deployment has been constantly continuing after the cold war era. Therefore, through the Westâ&#x20AC;şs point of view, the greater Near East is a region with a great amount of importance and of course with numerous problems. This report says the fundamental structure of the US regional policies must be based on maintaining and empowering the US allies and friends. By developing the relations between the allies, Washington will widen the peace and stability. We, therefore, can conclude that the Americans and specially the neo-conservatives believe that in the international arena, the basic roots of threat against the US security lies in the Middle East. And so unless Washington

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

cannot cause serious changes in the region, these threats will be there. One of the strategies of the White House is to keep its presence in the region, both virtually and physically. Accordingly, the preventive policy does not always work and the US must maintain its preparation for a military action together with other countries when such cases happen: when the US friends or allies are endangered; when the access to critical resources has been endangered for the international community; and when a regime has decided to seriously hurt the US interests. The report also adds that the US might not be able to prevent more serious threat, having to bolster its military presence in order to back Israel, prevent the emergence of a regional power, and to prevent certain countries to gain weapons of mass destruction. As General James Jones, the former NATO commander said regarding Islamic world and the modern military policies, the new axial strategy for NATO in the 21st century is to focus on the Middle East and northern Africa. Therefore, regarding military presence in the Middle East, the US has carried out numerous plans. What follows are just a portion of different plans US has had in order to be present, be influential, control the situation of the regional countries and direct interference in those countries internal issues: Establishing several military bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain together with reinforcing the present bases in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, increasing forces and equipments in the region with a full support for the Zionist regime of Israel (figure 2), Creating and empowering Taliban in Afghanistan, forming a trilateral military alliance composed of US, Turkey, and Israel, selling weapons to Persian Gulf Arab rulers, and increasing

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening war ships and creation of marine installations in the region. So the US military presence in the region is necessary for establishing the American hegemony in the international arena. This situation could enable the US to benefit from the future developments in the region, and consequently to reinforce its international status. We see that the new document for the US national security and the US project for the 21st century also confirm the issue. But the last case of US soft policies is the plan known as Greater Middle East. This plan was first presented by General Colin Powel, the then Secretary of States, during a speech in Heritage Foundation. «Middle East is a vast region, being so important to the Americans. Millions of people worship in the churches and the mosques in ME and many holy sites have been located there. The US and its policies face numerous challenges and threats, each of which affects our national interests and the regional countries› interests. We, therefore, will fight against these challenges and threats, as we are determined and insistent in this regard.» said Powel. At the time, Powel declared the establishment of the Enterprise Foundation, and vowed that the US would support the regional plans to perform political and social reforms, and also to improve educational systems. He also pledged to support region›s citizens regarding their campaigns in gaining political freedoms and establishing democracy. The Republican administration of Bush in November 2003 publicized the Greater Middle East plan, in which there are a number of visible and hidden goals by the United States. The announced goals for such a plan have been developing western democracy and civil society, purposefully developing of knowledge and developing

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

economic opportunities. But the hidden goals of the Greater Middle East plan are as follows: Maintaining Israel’s security: Some believe that the most important reason for the US to present such a plan and the subsequent attack on Iraq, was due to the close ties between Washington and Tel Aviv. In this regard, Mark Weber, the American expert and the director of the Institute for Historical Review in California says: “Greater Middle East plan is a part of Bush administration adventurous efforts to increase the US and Israel’s benefits in the region.” Dominating oil markets and deposing OPEC: The Middle East embraces some 70 percent of the global oil reserves. To fully understand the importance of oil for the United States, we could refer to Eric Lauran. He says by taking the office by Bush in January 2001, it was not the terrorism that topped his agenda, but the energy. The reason is evident through Dick Cheney’s comments when he said: “The future world needs a 50-million barrel of extra oil per day, and we will find these extra barrels in the Middle East.” On the relationship between the Greater Middle East plan and controlling the oil reserves in the region; Noam Chomsky’s comments are self-explanatory: The Greater Middle East plan is nothing but rhetoric, as the US main goal is to control the Persian Gulf, because this region is an incredible strategic source of power and the biggest oil reserve, so every country who seeks the global dominance must dominate this region. Changing the geographical map of the Middle East: This goal can be clearly seen in the then Secretary of State’s comments, Condoleezza Rice. On July 24, 2006 she met the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Ulmert, saying: “And

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening now it’s the time to build a new Middle East, and that’s not important whether others like this new Middle East or not.” This goal was evidently obvious in the 33-day war of Lebanon. As the Zionist regime of Israel planned the war with direct cooperation with the US in order to disarm Hezbollah, and then attack Syria which is an opponent to the Greater Middle East plan, and then to attack Iran to completely dominate the region. In fact, Israel and the US wanted to anchor the resistance crescent including Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas movement which are all among serious opponents of the Greater Middle East. Maintaining the US hegemony: Among other US goals in the Greater Middle East plan is to culturally dominate the region which is being performed through soft policies. Another important region is the Horn of Africa including most of the Eastern African countries and the Nile valley. Horn of Africa is a titled used for the whole horn of Africa, Sudan, and the countries east of the great lakes. This region is geo-politically ranged through the Red Sea and its political geography complies that of the Middle East. In the Pentagon doctrine and before establishing the AFRICOM (African region Command), operational management of the region complied the central Middle East command, and the whole Africa was commanded under the European Command of the US military. Ben Gurion, the Israeli prime minister (1948-1954) commented on the strategic importance of the Red Sea: “The existence of Israel depends on this sea”. The traditional attention of the US to this region has substantially changed after the Cold War. The US motives and causes to be attracted to this region can be summarized in the following dimensions:

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

Trying to increase political-military dominance in the region and develop its global hegemony; The US is aware of geo-strategic importance of the region. Horn of Africa has strategic reserves such as oil, natural gas, Iron, bauxite, and copper; Changing the regional power balance and coincidence in security-political goals of global powers, as China and India’s efforts to be present in this region and their high investments to extract and explore oil have made the White House take political-security measures to prevent the interference of opponents; Increasing Islamist movements in the region is a serious threat for the US national security and interests. Therefore, Washington has formed security-military alliances with Christian countries in the region such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda in order to tackle any possible danger from Islamic Fundamentalists. These strategic regions have recently undergone changes due to popular uprisings, with the result that the US regional security has been threatened. For instance, Foreign Relations Council, having a considerable influence on power centers and ruling structures in the US, held a meeting on June 5, 2006 titled as “The Emerging Shia Crescent Symposium” chaired by Richard Haass. One of the conclusions was that Shia political geography in the Middle East has a high potential to form some democratic uprisings in mediumterm, which can have conflicts with the US Middle East interests in some areas. In separating these uprisings, we have tried to implement the parameter of US security and national interests. These criteria include military, economic, and political. In the other words, similar to Nickson’s

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Doctrine, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War and attempts to establish a mono-polar system, the US created a new set of regional security based on three pillars: military pillar, political pillar, and economic pillar. In implementing this policy, countries like Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar in the military pillar; Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan in the political pillar; and Libya together with Saudi Arabia in the economic pillar are the major players. The first separation and classification of the popular uprisings in the region: Bahrain Bahrain is a Sheikdom, ruled unconditionally by “Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifah” and in next generations the rule is passed from father to son. Since Mars 6, 1999 the country is ruled by “Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah”. The most important active political group in Bahrain is “Islamic Front for Liberation of Bahrain” which acts clandestinely. This group is basically Shia and it is mostly composed of Shia and Sunni lower walks of life in Bahrain society. Their slogans are Islamic Revolution against Al-Khalifah regime, contradicting any dependence on East or West and believing in the slogan “No West, No East”, and they aim at preparing the Bahraini people, inciting their revolutionary spirits, making them familiar with the spirits and realities of Islamic principles. As majority are Shia and minority Sunnis rule in Bahrain, the relation between people and the ruling regime has always been likened to fire under the ash, and the regime has threatened and suppressed the Islamists during the past

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

30 years. As Ayatollah Modarresi, the leader of Bahraini Shias, has often been jailed or exiled due to his supporting the Islamic Revolution. On the other hand, despite the very limited area, the country is now considered as the most important US military base in the Persian Gulf and the Iraq Mission is mainly supported from Bahrain. Currently, a number of American air force and navy personnel and also a group of British Royal Air Force are stationed in Bahrain to patrol the air space and control the security of Hormuz Strait. Bahrain’s maximum passiveness can be seen against Washington when it delegated a part of its soil to the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy to be stationed in al-Fajeer military base in return for an annual aid of 6.7 million dollars. In strategic defense analysis, Washington has defined a long-term presence in this base. As in February 2008 a 60-year contract was signed between US and Bahrain for the Navy’s Fifth fleet to be stationed. Around 5,000 Marine Corps are in the base. This fleet is operating under the management of US Central Command (CENTCOM), commanded by General James Mattis. The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is commanded by Admiral Marc Fox. He claims that his fleet is one of the levers of the US power to maintain energy security especially in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, thorough which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. According to a report by the US Congress Research Center published on July 7, 2011 titled “Bahrain: US Reform, Security, and Politics”, US military aid to Bahrain Kingdom has been 279.333 million dollars from 2003 to 2011. (Table 3)

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Yemen Yemen, together with Jordan and Morocco are considered in the US plan for democratization in the heart of the New Middle East. This country is the poorest among the Arab nations, with an annual mean income of less than 1300 dollars. Almost half of the population has a daily income of not more than 2 dollars. The weak oil-dependent economy faces increasing population challenges, the most important reason of which must be sought in the vast poverty containing the country. Yemen is another stage for the US military presence. The American air force and navy bases in Eden Gulf and Babel-Mandab Gulf have increased the US military power in the Red Sea. One of the Pentagon plans is to establish a military center in Sukutra Island, located 360 km southeast of Eden. But the popular protests have caused ambiguities in building the center. Naturally, any shifts in power structure and the victory of Islamists could endanger the presence of US military bases in Yemen. Yemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military geography importance for the US is so high that the US Congress approved an aid of 58.4 million dollars in 2010. The Congress also allotted a 150-million-dollar aid to training, supplying equipments for Yemeni security forces. (Table 4) Yemen has been one of the most intense countries in the Middle East. The country has been facing crisis since 2004 after the sextet war broke out between the central government and the Zaidi Houthis in north. The sixth war was turned into a regional war after the Saudi forces intervened. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political and social condition also deteriorated after the crisis flared due to the Harak

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

separatist move to dismember the south, followed by alQaida’s increasing activities. Due to the great influence of Shia Houthis northern Sa’da, during the past 30 years, Saudi Arabia has always tried to cut the connections between Shias in eastern Saudi Arabia and Houthis. Accordingly, since the fall of Mubarak on February 11, 2011, the Yemenis have been holding rallies and staging sit-ins in most of the cities across Yemen. The main square in each city has been named al-Tagh’eer (Change) square. People have been demanding the ouster of Saleh and the fall of the regime. As 40 percent of the global oil is exported through this region with the strategic Strait of Bab-el-Mandab; the West sensitively follow the country’s developments, and the US is more fearful about losing its interests. By prolonging the crisis and Saleh’s inability to handle the unrest, plus protesters and opposition’s insist on his ouster; Washington is trying to manage the crisis as much as possible and find an acceptable solution. The Persian Gulf Council’s initiative must be evaluated in this regard. Kuwait Kuwait is situated in the northwest of the Persian Gulf and the southeast of Iraq, sharing borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The official religion is Islam (Sunni) and 20 percent of the population is Shia. The sparks of Islamism in Kuwait were stricken concurrent with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In 1980, Western embassies especially the US embassy were threatened and attacked several times. Kuwait political system is emirate, and the rule is ancestral. Kuwaiti emir is chosen from al-Sabah clan, with the current emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah ruling since

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening 1977. Political parties are officially banned in Kuwait, but unofficial political groups are openly or secretly active. Among the most important groups, there are two Sunni Islamist groups named Islamic Sharia (Law) Movement, and an Islamic massbased party; and also a Shia Islamist group called Islamic coalition for the country. Another older Shia group is called Dar al-Tawhid, composed of scholars of Kuwait society, having links with Shia communities in Iran and Iraq. Of the 21 US military bases throughout 6 Arab countries in Persian Gulf, 6 bases are stationed in Kuwait, which enjoy considerable facilities despite their limited space and area. Studying the situation of these bases, defense agreements, and the slope of arms sales to Kuwait by Washington; reveals that after most of the joint military operations US has had in the Middle East, its military presence in Kuwait has increased. The examples are Earnest Will Operation (1987-1988), Desert Fox Operation (December 16, 1998), Southern Watch Operation, Desert Storm Operation (Desert Shield), Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (October 7, 2001) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (March 23, 2003). The most important US bases in Kuwait are as follows: - Camp Arifjan: The presence of big arsenals, have made this base be one of the support staff centers of the US operations in the Middle East. In this camp, there are units from the navy, air force, and the coast guards stationed. - Camp Udairi (Buhering): This camp was given to the US military for the Iraq war since 2003. - Center for commanding regional operations: Pentagon is building a permanent center in Kuwait to manage the full

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ... range of operations in 27 regional countries. - Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base: It was taken over by the US since 1996, having a suitable situation in the southwest of the Persian Gulf. - Camp Doha: The Camp Doha has the highest role in commanding the forces. - Ali al-Salem Air Base: One of the most important military bases in Kuwait in which a British squadron of Tornado fighter jets has been stationed together with the American forces. The first separation and classification of the popular uprisings in the region:

Egypt Egypt is a country located in the horn of Africa, which is limited to the Mediterranean Sea northward, to the Red Sea eastward, to Libya westward, and to Sudan southward. Al-Azhar University is one of the most influential scientific and religious centers in Islamic world, with almost 1,000 years of scientific and religious background. AlAzharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important goal is to publish and implement Islamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s laws and regulations, to keep the religious heritage of Sunnis and to make connections between different faiths of Islam. Political Islamism was started when Jamaleddin Asadabadi arrived to Egypt, and it entered a new phase when the Muslim Brotherhood was formed in 1928. Opposition and mutual mistrust between the Islamists and the government was started since 1948 when a number of cabinet members were assassinated, and resulted in assassination of the Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hassan al-Banna, in 1949. Muslim

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening officers’ plot to assassinate Naser in 1954 deteriorated the mistrust and its climax was in 1981, when Sayed Qutb, and the leaders of Jihad Islami, Jama’at al-Moslemin, alTahrir Islami were executed, and on the other hand, Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamists. Contrary to some other countries, Islamism in Egypt has two aspects of intellectual and military. Accordingly the country is both the center of producing Islamic thoughts, and at the same time the center of the most radical Islamic campaigns. Not in many other Islamic countries, one can find so many Islamist leaders who were executed or were jailed for long terms. There are more than 40 Islamist groups in Egypt, many of which are branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, that have disengaged in different eras due to Muslim Brotherhood’s moderation, and they started armed conflict after separation. There are important factors in developing modern Islamism in Egypt like the assassination of Hassan al-Banna, Sayed Qutb’s thoughts, and the Islamic Revolution of Iran. After the assassination of Sadat, wide arrests of Islamists, and a relative short recession in the military phase; the Islamists moved towards peaceful and civil campaign in order to maintain their popular bases. Egypt is considered as the gate of the Arab world and the US base for the Middle Eastern policies. The closeness of Egypt to oil producing regions in the Persian Gulf and its active role in peace process between Arabs and Israel have created such a status for Egypt in US policies. The US supplies Cairo with an annual economic and military aid of more than two billion dollars. Based on a report by the US Research Center, Washington has totally given more than 392118 million dollars to Egypt after the second World War

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

until 2011 (table 5). Since 1979, Cairo has been Washington’s close ally in starting the peace process, facilitating the negotiations between Arabs and Israel, and legitimizing the US-led coalition against Iraq. Therefore, distinguished American experts like Paul Wolfowitz, recommended the US to support Egypt in fighting against terrorism. That’s why American authorities seek stability in Egypt, a country regionally situated in a dangerous zone. After Camp David Treaty was signed by Anwar Sadat, the dependence of Egypt to Israel and the US was visualized in the 22-day war against Gaza, when Egypt started killing Palestinian fighters. During the time, Egypt fully besieged Gaza strip, not allowing even the food, putting Palestinians in a hard economic situation. The servility continued until Omar Suleiman suggested Israel to station their military units in Rafah crossing to prevent any communication between the Palestinian fighters and the Gazan people. The Egyptians even spent millions of dollars to build the separation wall on their border with the Palestinians in order to complete the siege. So regarding Egypt’s importance for the US, there are two points: First, Cairo is located next to the occupied lands and its good relations with Israel could guarantee Israel’s stability and any disruption in ties will result in changes in favor of Muslims. For, Israel is not able to control Gaza fighters without close cooperation with Egypt. On the other hand, Egypt controls the strategic Suez Canal. An Islamist popular government in Egypt can benefit from the canal (which has no equivalent), pressuring the US in order to gain Islamic nation’s goals. For instance, regarding the Palestinian issue, the canal and its strategic

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening importance can create many advantages for Muslims. The fourth wave of Islamic Awakening was started by gathering at al-Tahrir square, and turned into a stormy campaign by different occasions like the Day of Anger, and holding the Friday prayers. These protests finally led to the fall of Honsi Mubarak regime, and the military supreme council took the power. Changes in Egypt are ongoing with three parliamentarian elections held so far. Tunisia Tunisia became independent from France in 1956, and Habib Bourguiba was the first president and the unconditioned ruler of the country. In 1987 and after 31 years of dictatorship, he was toppled by Zeinul Abedin Ben Ali who was a high ranking police officer. Ben Ali was also similarly toppled after 23 years of dictatorship in mid January 2011, fleeing to Saudi Arabia. The popular protests were named Jasmine Revolution. Prime Minister al-Ghanoushi immediately claimed power. The political system is multi-party with a legislative parliament, and 25 ministries. Tunisia is a member of the Arab League. The dominant languages are Arabic and French and the dominant religion is Islam. According to US Congress Research Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report, Tunisia has received 4000 million dollars of economic aid, and 70573 million dollars of military aid from 2008 o 2011 (table 6). Jordan Jordan is a country in the Middle East bordered with Syria northward, with Iraq eastward, with Saudi Arabia

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

southward, and with occupied Palestine and West Bank westward. The total border lines with all the neighbors are 1619 kilometers. Jordan reaches Aqaba Gulf from the south, so it has 26 kilometers of water border, which is the least water border among all the Arab countries. Jordan has been pioneer in accepting and implementing the US plan of the new Middle East. As, according to the US Congress Research Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report, since the second Persian Gulf crisis in 1991 until 2011, Jordan has benefited from 5299.2 million dollars of economic aid and 3742 million dollars of military aid from the US (table 7). Jordanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population is unique among other Arab countries, from which half of the population are Palestinian refugees who mainly live in urban context of Jordan. Hence, the effect of actions by Islamists and the Zionists in the occupied lands is more visible in Jordan than other countries. On the other hand, the ruling power in Jordan has been under pressure from Islamists due to signing a peace treaty with Israel, and also lack of popular support. The above-mentioned reasons are key factors inciting the popular uprisings in Jordan. The third separation and classification of the popular uprisings in the region: a) Libya Libya is the third biggest exporter of oil in Africa, faces Mediterranean Sea northward, neighboring Sudan from southeast, Chad and Niger Republics from the South, and Algeria and Tunisia from the west and northwest. Libya has a population of six million, 97 percent of which are Sunni Muslims. Nearly 12 clans and tribes are in Libya, and during the recent years, visible Islamist moves have

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening been seen in the country. Muammer Gaddafi’s political system during his 42 years of rule caused him to lose his legitimacy in all political and economic aspects. Libya is structurally had an anti-West political system, but Gaddafi walked with the US and the West whenever he felt necessary. Sending Libya’s nuclear equipments and resources to the US is only an example. These inexpedient turns made Libya lose its political credit in the international community. Together with that, the closed space in the country blocked the power shift and did not let the political elites reach the power. Libya has an ailing economy. At least 30 percent of the people are unemployed. This, as many media outlets estimated Gaddafi’s assets as 131 billion dollars. Libyans’ uprising was ignited on February 14, 2001 in Benghazi Port (the second biggest city), Ajdadiah, Misratah, and al-Baida led by Fathi Tarbeel. The crisis in Libya went beyond a civil protest, turning into an armed conflict for many different reasons. Following the escalation of the crisis in Libya, on February 26, 2010; the United Nations Security Council issued the Resolution 1970, based on which the Security Council imposed a number of sanctions against Libyan officials, confirming the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to deal with Gaddafi’s and some of his relatives’ crimes. But the second Resolution against Libya was a starting point for many contradicting discussions and comments throughout the international arena. On March 17, 2011, the UNSC issued the Resolution 1973 to impose a no-fly zone in Libyan skies, allowing other countries to take necessary measures (even military measures) to implement the no-fly ban, and defend the civilians. This resolution also allowed all the countries

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ... to make sure about the no-fly ban unilaterally or through a joint regional alliance, in order to prevent the killing of civilians through air and also to prevent the arrival of mercenaries to the country. After the arrival of the military forces to implement the Resolution 1973, NATO took the command in Libya war. By arriving NATO warplanes on April 19, 2011, Western powers allied to reach two goals: keeping Gaddafi by making the war erosive; and refraining from distribution of occupying forces throughout Libya. The developments continued in Libya until the spokesman for the transitional Council announced that Gaddafi was killed in Sirt by Misratah’s Kateebat-ul-Barakin forces (Misratah Volcano Battalion). The interim government was formed after Gaddafi’s fall, chaired by Abdul Rahim alKeib. 40

b) Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Kingdom is a country west of Asia, located in the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered with Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait northward; with UAE, Qatar, and Persian Gulf eastward; with Oman southeastward; with Yemen southward, and with the Red Sea westward. This country holds important religious Muslim centers such as Kaaba, Prophet’s Mosque, and the Prophet’s Tomb. Among the countries on the Southern coast of the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia is the most important for Washington, as it is the US main base. Saudi Arabia is the key agent to control the oil price in OPEC, as it has a high production capacity. The ties between Saudis and the US are affected by two key strategies: 1) Increasing need for oil and the necessity for keeping its price low, 2) The need for Saudi

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Arabia’s cooperation in fighting with political Islam and anti-American and anti-Israeli moves. Due to Riyadh’s position and the sensitivity of ties and Saudi Arabia’s key role in the region and the mutual interests, the US has always tried to refrain to make decisions which disturb the mutual ties. The US implements its policies in the Persian Gulf, OPEC, Arab League, and Islamic Countries Organization through Saudi Arabia. The military-security ties between Washington and Riyadh started in 1950’s. The US started to form, organize, train, equip, and manage the Saudi army, and security organizations. Saudi Arabia is the biggest buyer of weapon and the biggest customer for US military experts. A number of important military navy and air bases are controlled by the US. The US Defense Department (Pentagon) has established its Headquarters in Prince Sultan air base southern Riyadh for operations in Afghanistan war and also organizing military operations throughout the Persian Gulf. At this base, there are 5,000 American forces, many of which belong to the air base. According to a report by the US Congress Research Center published on March 10, 2011, US military aid to Saudi Arabia has been 3937 million dollars from 2004 to 2011 (table 8). 2) Popular uprisings of the region and the regional threats against the US By evaluating and pursuing the Islamic Awakening in each of the mentioned countries, we conclude that it is a security threat for the US interests and also a golden opportunity for all the Muslim nations in the region. This will make the White House take different strategies in dealing with the changes. In the following, economic, political, cultural,

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

social, and military aspects will be discussed. 2-1) Economic, energy, and security threats Considering the eminent position of the economy in the 21st century, economic threats have been highly important. In many countries especially those with capitalist liberal ideology that seek their economic interests beyond their own borders; the economic security has been a critical goal. Accordingly, any changes which retard their initial goals will be considered as a threat against their national security. Therefore, among the achievements of the Islamic Awakening and its economic effects on the US regional security, one can mention stoppage in continuous flow of energy, and consolidation of Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; position to provide secure energy. 2-1-1) Stoppage in continuous flow of energy If we study the consumption of oil all over the world, we see that northern America was the biggest consumer of crude oil in 2003, with a consumption of 24 million BPD, which accounts for 30% of the global consumption. The US Energy information Administration predicts that the US will be more dependent on the Middle East oil in the future. Based on this prediction, Northern America oil import will increase from 3.3 million BPD in 2001, to 6.1 million BPD in 2025 and almost the whole imported oil will be delivered to the United States of America. Considering the following facts, any anti-dependence change or revolution which brings Islamist governments to power in strategic Middle East and Northern Africa regions; could lead to a stoppage in continuous flow of energy to developed and industrial oil-dependent countries: Oil and its derivatives will globally stay the most important

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening energy sources at least for many decades, Longevity of oil and natural gas reserves in the Middle East, Increase in demand for fossil and inexpensive fuels Oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 have shown losses in the West and particularly the US due to the interruption of oil flow. 2-1-2) increasing importance of Iran’s position and role in supplying secure energy Since political-security stability is one of the conditions of investments to provide energy security, domestic crisis and general protests can endanger that government’s status. Also if that country plays an important role in the regional and international economy, anti-government uprisings can lead to limitation in investment resulting in decreasing the energy exports. Currently, considering the changes in important countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa, who are mostly energy exporters, the position of stable countries such as Iran has been strengthened in supplying and providing secure energy, and this is a security threat in energy zone for the interests of the White House. 2-2) Security-political threats Regarding the definition presented for security threats, a political threat is defined as any threat that politically endangers the security of a country, regardless of its origin. As every move has different consequences, popular uprisings in the Islamic world have also political impacts on the security of ultra-region powers in the Middle East which results in derogation of Israel’s security and existence, development of Islamist revolutionary movements, Iran’s nuclear issue being overshadowed, and disruptions in peace

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

process. 2-2-1) Derogation of Israel’s security and existence It is one of the quickest consequences of the Islamic Awakening, as important as security threats against critical interests of the US. Currently, Israel is surrounded by Egypt from the south, by Lebanon Hezbollah from the north, by Hamas from the west, and by Syria and Jordan from the east. Syria is now seeking to repossess the Golan Heights, Egyptians to repossess Sina Desert and to cut natural gas export to Israel and to end diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, and Palestinian refugees to get back to their original lands. The Zionist regime is also under pressure from Arab residents of the occupied lands, and the latter issue will raise the possibility of the third Intifada. There have also been riots in Jewish settlements in protest at Netanyahu’s economic policies, which have created a political earthquake in Israel’s ruling party. Taking of the Israeli embassy in Cairo by the Egyptian youth, Israeli ambassador’s escape, and the victory of Islamists affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood in three stages of Egypt’s parliamentary elections; have all made Israeli high ranking officials worried. As the Israeli Minister of war affairs, Ehud Barak, has warned about the future security of his regime considering the current situation of Egypt, saying: “I did my best to maintain the ties with Egypt, but things changed anyway and a dark and insecure future is waiting for us”. He was talking on Zionist Regime Radio, saying: “Israel is expected to have a dark future by emerging Islamist movements in some Arab countries, and we cannot imagine a secure and safe view for Israel and for the region”. The US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has also warned

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening against Israel’s increasing isolation in the Middle East, urging Tel Aviv to take diplomatic measures to solve the problem. Panetta also reminds that Tel Aviv faces an international challenge, designed to put Israel in isolation. 2-2-2) Development of Islamist Revolutionary Movements Considering the religious nature of the uprisings, throughout the whole region from Egypt to Bahrain, Islamist groups have been the major players in recent revolutions and developments, and these Islamist forces will play an important role in any political structures in their countries. Such an issue is considered a serious threat to the US political security in long term. Because Islamists have always been a threat to the interests of the White House in any country they were in power. As their first step, the Islamists always either downgraded or cut their ties with the West. As an example, we can refer to the victory of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s Parliamentary elections, and Islamist party, al-Nahda’s success in Tunisia’s elections for the Constitutional Council. In this regard, Abdol-Rahim Keib, the new Libyan Prime Minister, has said that his country will have an Islamic government and Islam will be the origin in legislation. Al-Nahda party chief, Rashid alGhanoushi has also said that Tunisia will build a typical Muslim country where terrorism, bigotry, extremism, and enmity with democracy are totally absent. Libyans also called for the formation of an Islamic system in one of their demonstrations in Benghazi, which was the center of the ten-month revolution against the dictatorship. 2-2-3) Iran’s nuclear energy issue is overshadowed After the regional countries were engaged in dealing

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

with their domestic problems which were more important for themselves, issues like Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nuclear program and the UEA claim to possess Iranian triple islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa; have been the second priority of them regarding their interests. They have tried to focus in short term on solving their own internal conflicts, and stabilizing their own regional position. The example of such decisions is that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council dropped the issue of Iranian triple islands in their March 7, 2011 gathering. This has also decreased Iranophobia in the West regarding this issue. 2-2-4) Disruptions in peace process Another political threat is the disruption in the ArabsIsrael peace process which has happened following the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt as the main regional supporter of Israel, the escapes by this regimeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allies in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and agreements between Hamas and Fatah and efforts to form a national reconciliation government in Palestine. 2-3) Social-Cultural threats to security Nowadays, most of the political systems in the world regard developing and maintaining their desirable values as a part of their national interests. With that definition, the factors that weaken or destroy such values are categorized as cultural or social threats. The properties that characterize these threats from other national security threats are their comprehensiveness and continuity. In other words, cultural and social threats are dangerous as security threat only when they are turned into a comprehensive and continued process. Regarding the anti-American uprisings in the Middle East and Northern African regions, there are some cultural-social

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening threats to the US regional security such as: decreasing the hegemony of liberal democracy debate, increasing people’s roles, and the soft influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2-3-1) Decreasing the hegemony of liberal democracy debate These changes act as a security threat in cultural-social zone for the White House and the most important achievement of them is from one hand decreasing the hegemony of liberal democracy debate and inability of capitalism culture, and from other hand, restoring Muslims’ revolutionary identity, and increasing nations’ trend to political Islam and comprehensiveness of the religious rule in protests. One of the evident examples of deterioration of US position is the fall of their embassy in Tripoli by young protesters and the emergence of Occupy Wall Street Movement in the US, protesting at economic policies. The movement calls itself the 99 percent against the ruling minority of 1 percent. They asserted themselves after September 17, 2100 despite wide censorship during the initial days, spreading to more than 80 capitalist countries. They attracted supporters in different cities of the US but they faced heavy crackdown by police. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has recognized the movement to occupy the Wall Street as the symbol of capitalism, saying: “American people’s uprising is similar to the one we witnessed on the verge of Soviet fall.” 2-3-2) Increasing people’s roles in changes and evolutions According to the Western theory paradigms, any change in a society must start from its elites, and then evolves. In other words, since the Western communities are elitist, the

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

mass people are not directly playing role in changes. But Islamic uprisings proved that people, as the main social resources, are the major role players of the changes and the main deciders of their fates. They sometimes even guide their elites, an example of which is the turnout of more than 60 percent of Egyptians and Tunisians in their parliamentary elections. 2-3-3) the soft influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region The similarity of some of the protestersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demands with the characteristics of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, has worried the West particularly Washington towards the adherence of protesters from the Islamic Republic of Iran model. It is wise to claim that increasing the influence of such mentality despite the implementation of Iranophobia and Shiaphobia projects, is the biggest security threat in cultural-social zone. This adherence to Iran can cause those countries to reject compromises and sow resistance. This great achievement can open up a kind of strategic break time space for Iran, and it is very unlikely that Washington can block such a space. 2-4) military threats of security Among the achievements of the Middle East changes is the military threat which can appear in one of the following forms: threat against the US military bases in the Middle East and their possible moves, increasing the possibility of change in the security structure of the Persian Gulf, and the establishment of an anti-West local structure, and the US inability to control terrorism. 2-4-1) Changes in the arrangement of US military bases The wideness of popular uprisings in the region has

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening created strategic threats against the existence of US bases in the region. It gets more important to keep these bases at the time when Washington is withdrawing its troops according to security agreements with Baghdad. Based on a report by the Congress Research Service on March 21, 2011 any possible change in the power balance and the rise of a Shia government close to Islamic Republic of Iran, seriously contrast with the US security priority regarding the military arrangement of the Persian Gulf. Accordingly the continuation of political-security instability will probably make Washington revise the geographical location of the Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5th fleet Headquarters. Therefore, if the US regional allies are omitted, the Pentagon will start to gradually remove and leave their military bases in these countries and the Middle East will get rid of arms race and the so called humanitarian wars. 2-4-2) increasing the possibility of change in security structure of the Persian Gulf Persian Gulfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security structure is in a way that any shift in security balances will have consequences in national, regional, and ultra-region scales. Continuing popular uprisings in Arab countries will increase the possibility of changes in military-security structures of the Persian Gulf. If popular uprisings win and anti-US governments are formed, the new governments will cut off the White House superior hand by forming new anti-West blocks. Conclusion According to the US national security strategy in the 21st century, the security of allies are considered as critical interest for the US, and on the other hand, critical interests

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

are one degree lower than survival interests without which the US will not exist. Consequently Islamic Awakening and establishment of religious democratic systems which are independent from the US will endanger the national securities of the US. This threat has short-term, mediumterm, and long-term effects on Washington’s regional security. In order to respond to this article’s question, the research findings suggest that the effects of the Islamic Awakening on the US security in Middle East and North Africa’s geopolitic, geo-economic, geo-security regions are as follows (sequential in national interests pyramid): Energy-economic threats including stoppage in the continuous flow of energy and strengthening the position of Iran in providing secure energy Political threats including weakening the security and endangering the existence of Israel, development of Islamist movements, the Iranian nuclear issue being overshadowed, and disruption in peace process Military threats include The change in the arrangement of the military bases and increasing the possibility of change in security structure of the Persian Gulf Cultural-social threats include decreasing the hegemony of liberal democracy debate, increasing the role of mass people in changes and increasing soft influence of Iran on the region. The White House now faces a range of security threats in the regions in Middle East and North African which are changing. Since the critical goals and the reference security values of the US have been threatened, the vulnerability is high, and the consequences will be heavy. Therefore,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Washington is trying to lead and manage the evolutions and changes to its own favor. And this proves the US double standard policy towards the uprisings. For instance, in zones where any change in the current situation threatens Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interests; humanitarian values are easily forgotten in the US foreign policy. The instance is the green light given to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to crack down the Shia movement; or the silence strategy towards killing of Yemeni people. Regarding the protests in Yemen, Kuwait, US has taken a policy in which one hand, it supports the protesters, but on the other hand, it gives the ruling governments necessary guarantees to keep their existence. Over the popular protests in Egypt and Tunisia, Washington is riding the wave of protests in order to prevent the rising of Islamists. Or in Syriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s case, the White House supports the protesters in order to make Damascus change its attitude, or revise ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran or Lebanon Hezbollah. Regarding Libya, Washington armed the protesters, issued the Resolution 1973 in the UN Security Council, sending NATO into the internal changes in Tripoli. These double standards show an apparent paradox in the US announced policies and its applied policies. Therefore, in response to the US policies, the Islamic Republic of Iran needs to take a strategic measure in order to maintain its domestic and regional security. Iran needs to create more options to keep its security and decrease its vulnerability against other countiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; actions.

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

Table 1: Islamic groups after the occurrence of Islamic Revolution of Iran

Year established

Name of Movement

Number

1987

Hamas (Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement)

1980

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement

1990

Palestinian Hezbollah

1982

Lebanon Hezbollah

1980

the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)

1980

Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan

1980

Islamic Movement of Afghanistan

1989

Algeria Islamic Najah Front

1981

Tunisia al-Nahda

Figure 1: the Pyramid of US national interests in the Middle East Figure 2: the spectrum of threat status

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Table 2: US military bases through the Middle East Military Base

Country

Bilad Air Base Al-Talil Air Base in Nasiriah Al-Assad Military Center Camp Victory Al-Qayareh Camp Marines Camp Kirkuk Camp Erbil Camp Bashur Camp

Iraq

Sultan Abdul-Aziz Air Base in Zahran Malik Fahad Air Base in Taâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ef Sultan Khalid Air Base Iskan Settlement Air Base Riyadh Air Base Prince Sultan Air Base

Saudi Arabia

Izmir Air Base Injerlik Air Base NATO quick response center of commanders

Turkey

Ahmad al-Jabir Air Base (HQ of US Army in ME) Ali al-Salem Air Base Doha Air Base Udairi Air Base (HQ of common attack forces) Arifjan Camp

Kuwait

5th Navy HQ of US Navy in ME

Bahrain

Al-Adeed Air Base US Air Force HQ in ME

Qatar

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

Al-Zafraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Air Base in Abu Dhabi (US military magazine in the region) Al-Fajeerah Military Center

United Arab Emirates

Bagram Military Base Holang Air Base Khyber Path Spy Center

Afghanistan

Table 3: US Military Aid to Bahrain (million dollars)

Military Aid Year 90.448 2003 25.2 2004 20.895 2005 24.305 2006 40.93 2007 9.634 2008 25.361 2009 20.77 2010 21.7 2011 279.333 Total Source: Kenneth Katzman (2011) Bahrain: Reform, Security and U.S. Policy ,Congressional Research Service (CRS), p.23

Table 4: US Aid to Yemen (million dollars) Economic Aid 7.920 12 6.413 31 40 34 47.56 178.893

Military Aid 10.780 13.336 8.931 6.325 13.6 40.6 36.1 129.672

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total

Source: Jeremy M. Sharp, (2011) Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations, Congressional Research Service (CRS), p.27

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening

Table 5: US Foreign Aid to Egypt after the World War II (million dollars) Economic Aid 23288.6 815 775 727.3 695 655 911 571.6 530.7 490 450 411.6 250 250 250 30820.8

Military Aid 22353.5 13000 13000 13000 13000 13000 13000 1292.3 1289.6 12870 13000 1289.4 13000 13000 13000 39211.8

Year 1948-1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2204 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total

Source: Jeremy M .Sharp (2011) Egypt in Transition, Congressional Research Service (CRS), p.14

Table 6: US Foreign Aid to Tunisia (million dollars) Total 70537

2011 7200

2010 20150

2009 22925

2008 20298

Year Military Aid Economic 4000 0 2000 800 1200 Aid Source: Alexis Arieff (2011) Political Transition in Tunisia, Congressional Research Service (CRS), p.25

A survey on the effects of Islamic Awakening on ...

Table 7: US Foreign Aid to Jordan after the Second Persian Gulf War (million dollars)

Economic Aid 35 50 35 28 28.9 36.1 120.4 151.2 200 200 151.7 251.6 951 352.3 351.6 299.1 255.3 561.4 413.5 463 363 5299.2

Military Aid 21.3 20.6 9.5 9.8 8.3 201.2 31.7 76.6 121.6 226.6 76.7 102 606.4 208.9 309 210.9 254.1 351.2 388.1 353.8 303.7 3742

Year 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total

Source: Jeremy M. Sharp, (2011) Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations, Congressional Research Service (CRS), p. 28

Table 8: US Foreign Military Aid to Saudi Arabia (million dollars) Total

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Year

3937

370

208

361

113

319

1576

966.9

23.5

Military Aid

Source: Christopher M. Blanchard (2011) Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, Congressional Research Service (CRS), p.5

Analytical glance to Supreme Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude about...

Analytical glance to Supreme Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude about aerial changes at Middle East & North of Africa Hossein Behmanesh1 Abstract

Most of political sciences and specialists in social changes have faced with a type of confusion due to the occurrence of public movements at Middle East and North of Africa which led to fall of governors at Tunisia, Egypt and Libya one after the other accompanied with wide non-calmness at Bahrain, Yemen and limited disagreements in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria and Syria. It is possible to say that basic theories of these accidents are the real reasons of these difficulties. The analysis and attitude of supreme leader about these accidents are the real guidelines for finding the identity and origin of aerial changes as well. For this paper, we have benefited from his official speeches and notices from 09.Jan.2011 up to his speech at International Islamic Awakening Conference on 17.Sept.2011. It has been tried to find a specific and theoretical solution from his attitude about these changes in a fixed framework and through three sections of identity understanding, origins and guidelines. This paper assumes that Supreme leader has a prior view and analysis about aerial changes in continuation of Islamic Revolution Way and its occurrence as well. Therefore all mentioned changes are named as Islamic Awakening. Upon evaluation of his speech, the author concluded that 1. Master of Science student at 3rd semester in International Relations Field Faculty of Human Sciences â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gilan University With guidance of: Dr. Ahmad Jansiz, Professor Assistant in Political Sciences- Faculty of Human Sciences-Gilan University

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening supreme leader has considered some common factors in these countries, except for Syria, including Islam-based attitudes, Public movement, Liberality, Fighting with U.S.A and Fighting with Zionism. Supreme leader considers these changes as a part of history and really determinant for the future of Moslems and even the whole world as well. Key words: Aerial changes, Islamic awakening, Supreme Leader, People, U.S.A

Introduction When Mohamed Bouazizi as a Tunisian street vendor at Seidi Bouzeid province set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation and blames of police for his business, his act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia. Finally the public's anger led to the escape of Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia. It was not the end and such a fire led to Arabic/Islamic countries one by one. It seems a person made a fire in those countries. All governors at Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain were infected to such a fire as well. There were more or less claims at Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Syria. Then all governors at Tunisia, Egypt and Libya stepped down up to the date of this paper. Also such a process is continuing with special aspects as well. People at those countries with step down governors are thinking about 2nd step of making their own future which is specifying a new system quality and structure. Also they will face with a lot of problems and options which seems as a multi-unknown factors function for any evaluation,

Analytical glance to Supreme Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude about...

analysis and estimation accordingly. On the other hand, all these countries have their own geographical, tribal and religious characteristics. It is possible to see the confrontation of people with old system and governors even in other countries. There are some deep complexities in this subject while there are some fundamental differences in Syriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accidents and similar changes at Yemen and/or Bahrain. It seems that such a confrontation will be continued with some future fundamental changes as well. Different political & social specialists are evaluating this accident with relevant roots accompanied with its current quality analysis. It is really important because of the entrance of politics of beneficiary countries especially politics of Western governments and their followers for giving special ideas and also performing scientific analysis and researches. Supervisors and specialists have divided their analysis into different types. In other words, it is possible to divide all ideas and interpretation of specialists about aerial accidents at Middle East and North of Africa. The first type is an analysis of Islamic theories of the area and by Islam followers who may consider Islam as the general root, quality and future. The other scope of specialists may consider the type and quality of these accidents under the effect of western values and only as a result of the lack of freedom and democracy. Supervisors consider this item as the liberal theory for analysis of accidents. The other part belongs to those specialists who may consider social & economic problems as the root of these accidents even focusing on Islamic values. But again they focus on non-fundamental understanding of Islam and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening consider an end for political Islam life. Such an attitude is named as Post-Islam belief as well. Now we start the subject of this paper that intends to provide an analysis about aerial changes from the viewpoint of supreme leader. Of course it is necessary to mention that there are some defects and shortages in this paper with lack of covering all leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speech. But the author tried to consider his ideas as much as possible through his official speeches and notices. As it was mentioned before, the origin date of Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speeches starts from 09.Jan.2011 up to 17.Sept.2011 which is relevant speech at International Islamic Awakening Conference. This paper is divided into three parts as follows: First part under the title of Identity Understanding is generally about recognition, coordinates, quantity and quality of changes at Middle East and North of Africa. This part has been divided into two chapters under the titles of creditability and morphology. For creditability it has been tried to explain any importance, credit and effects of aerial accidents from the viewpoint of the leadership. In morphology part there is an analysis of general specifications and similar characteristics of these revolutions pursuant to the speech of leadership. Second part with a title of Root Understanding includes a discussion about tangible and superficial roots. In second discussion all conceptual and hidden roots of aerial changes have been considered and analyzed accordingly. Then it may explain the type of Islamic Republic of Iran behavior with different revolutions and countries accompanied with relevant accidents at Syria and its differences from

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about... leadership viewpoint. At the end of the paper there is a conclusion and also regulation a viewpoint as mentioned before.

First part: Identity understanding First discussion: Creditability Some of the analysts and political specialists believe that mentioned accidents are not so much important and considerable only an accident which is possible to arise in any country once upon a time for changing of power levels. This is mostly the idea of western-based specialists. At first discussion of this paper we will manage to provide a creditability study and explain the importance of accidents at Middle East and North of Africa from the viewpoint of supreme leader. Supreme leader said in his speech at Tehran Friday Prayer in middle of February of 2011 that:” These accidents are really important. They are like a great and powerful earthquake”. He said on 16.Jan.2011 that:” The issue of Egypt is really important”. Three days after he said among all participants of Islamic Unity Conference that:” This portion is an important one, it may lead into solving all problems of Islamic World and/or provide some other problems for us in lack of recognition and correct benefits”. The importance and position of these changes for him is really great while in all his speeches he has focused to its sensitivity and recommend that if all greats of Islam World and Moslems could not recognize these accidents with lack of correct benefits, enemies may do so. In his speech at Holy city of Mashad, on the first day of 2011, Supreme leader said:”But recently there are some

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening important accidents in the area including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. They are fundamental changes as wellâ&#x20AC;?. The term fundamental change specifies the depth and importance of these changes in a way to be considered as the fundamental and base of Islamic World and change the future with an analysis against scope theory of specialists who may consider these accidents with low importance. Also rather than specifying the quality of these accidents, he considers the future of which accompanied with a great victory: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What should I explain for you as powerful as possible is the start of a new movement in this area by the help of God. This is a public movement. It is the movement of Islamic society. It is a movement with motto of Islam. It is a movement towards Islamic goals and a sign of public awakening. Therefore according to a holy promise it is a movement with exact victoryâ&#x20AC;?. Also the importance of changes are the center of focus in this notice, it is also possible to specify their quality as Islamic and Public points. The other important part of this speech is the final victory as a holy promise. In other words, supreme leader as the great Islamic leader and also an analyst and according to the logical, experimental and specified documents has provided a theory in addition to analysis, identity understanding, root understanding, morphology and the future of these changes accompanied with success of people as well. Such an analysis and estimation is really important. The reason is lack of ability of specialists and theorists for any analysis and giving idea and/or fixed estimation of future. This is because some of them have estimated a fixed future of these changes and the others consider a worst one for countries. It is obvious for specialists that any analysis

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

and estimation of a specialist may not have any reflection and distribution but the estimation of leadership has some reflections around the world and for most parties. Therefore it is necessary not to have any mistakes and errors in any analysis and estimations of this leadership. Otherwise his position and credits will make some questions with further crisis for his own country. With all mentioned items there is a better situation for credit and importance of analysis and estimations of supreme leadership. Through the anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s death, supreme leader specified the mentioned accidents as historical and specific as possible. He said:”What has happened at north part of Arica and our area are very important and historical accidents. What has happened at Egypt or Tunisia are the real meaning of a great awakening in Islamic countries. Such of these accidents need two or three centuries for repeat. These are very important and effective accidents”. He has considered these accidents something like changing the history book pages:” It means really a change of history book page and then the history of the world as well. There is a start of a new chapter”. In another place the leadership considers the importance of these accidents and the depth of which as a criterion with effective dimensions and non-calculating the case in present time. “As I told you before, these are extra-ordinary accidents in our area. Really it is impossible to calculate the dimensions of any accidents occurred at Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen and other areas. There are great dimensions for it”. He has stated among the universities’ professors that:” What are happening around us are really important and effective. There is a great accident near to occur”.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening There is a great credit, importance, history making, fate recognition, further effects and depth in human changes and public movements at Middle East and North of Africa in a way that leadership has focused on it accordingly. Therefore in order to specify the importance degree of this item, the author has found out required documentations and will submit the same for enriching and empowering the present research. It is in a way that all of his speech was not for the mentioned purpose. Among the ambassadors of Islamic countries, the supreme leader has stated:”Today Islamic population is involved with great accidents. We will understand and feel such an experience has been applied in great Islamic world. Therefore Islamic awakening may cause a great presence of people for making their own fate and one of the important and valuable experiences of Islamic history”. He has stated in speeches of Fitr Eid 2011 that:” Islamic world has faced with great accidents within recent months”. He has focused on disability for calculating all dimensions of these accidents among all members of Experts Council and stated:” I have told and tell you again that right now it is impossible to draw any dimensions of such a great accident well. There is a great job as well”. According to the mentioned items and documents about speeches of supreme leader, it is obvious that there is a great position for such important changes something like changing of history. Therefore such an attitude is against another theory of analysts since the mentioned accidents are resulted from bad economic situation and/or autocracy of aerial governors.

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about... Second discussion: Morphology Here we will manage to evaluate any type and quality of accidents from the viewpoint of leadership. In other words, it is obvious that what is the type of social movement? What is the type and governing ideology of this movement? What is the position of Islam in such a movement?

Regarding the quality of these changes, supreme leader said:” These are Moslems, their movement starts from Friday Prayer and/or from mosques. Their motto is “God is the greatest”. People have some religious mottos. The most powerful fighting movement is Islamic one”. We may conclude that at first step we have public and then the most powerful currency which is Islamic currency. In other words, he has stated that it is possible to have various people in such a public movement with various behaviors and mottos. But Islam is the soul and governing color of this movement. He has continued and specified the quality and type of Egyptian public movements and stated:” The rise of Egypt Moslems is an Islamic & Liberal movement”. It means that Islamic movement is formed for fighting with autocracy and domestic cruelty and foreign colonialism. In presence of East Azerbaijan people and by focusing on these changes by Imam Khoemini and considering such a movement as the Islamic Awakening, supreme leader stated that:” Today there is a form of awakening in Islam world. This is not our idea. We repeatedly said that Islamic Awakening has started. Islamic movement has been started. But most people ignored our idea. But today, all people are watching and their ears are listening. The scene is a clear and obvious form of conditions”. There is a sentence

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening about superficial idea of specialists and experts who may ignore such a movement. Supreme leader has criticized all superficial and quick glances and lead all deep and realistic ideas. The quality of accidents is a sign of public condition of it as stated that:” What has happened was a millions people movement as a non-repeated accident. Such a movement, Islamic revolution, could release Iran. If we had the parties, groups and persons instead of people in that scene, never we faced with such an accident. The effect of millions people presence in scene is not similar to any other things. Of course any presence of people without heart belief is impossible. Firstly they should come and secondly remain in the scene up to the obtaining the result and thirdly keep the result. All of these cases require Islamic belief”. In fact he has considered the presence of people and their idea so much important for reaching their goals and complementary of their belief. But in case of facing with different groups and parties, perhaps they will not face with any good fate due to the ignorance and /or violating from the rules. Of course this does not mean any hidden reality and/or absence of groups and parties from the scene. But its publicity and their presence are the special aspects of their changes and movement. Supreme leader has pointed out to those changes when speaking at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza as:”There is a fundamental change in this Islamic/Arabic area. This is a sign of awakening of Islam people”. He has pointed out to a fundamental change due to awakening from a long-term sleep and now they are returning to Islam and other previous wealth. Then he has stated to special characteristics of these

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

movements as:” There are two properties in these changes: One of them is presence of people and the other is religious movement of these accidents. These are two fundamental elements”. He has pointed out to his reasons as follows:” Here our people entered into the scene by themselves with a religious direction which is Friday Prayer. It is Public prayer. It is the name of GOD. It is all specialists of Islam. It means the founders of modern religious thinking in some countries. They have entered into the scene and then other people entered as well. This is the real property of the case”. Then he added:“What should I explain for you as powerful as possible is the start of a new movement in this area by the help of God. This is a public movement. It is the movement of Islamic society. It is a movement with motto of Islam. It is a movement towards Islamic goals and a sign of public awakening. By comparing the type, quality and specifications of movement at previous period and current public movements, supreme leader considers Islam as the real difference and the great weapon of revolutionary youth and stated that: ”Today Islam is alive in this area. Today all youth may enter into the scene with Islamic motto. One day at last thirty years and/or forty years, if a person wanted to speak about national and revolutionary motivations in North African Countries he/she had no chance only to make help from western mottos. Today there is no room for these words. They have been deposited to the garbage of history”. At the anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s death, he has pointed out to the estimated changes by Imam Khomeini and stated” Today the anniversary of Imam is simultaneous with another important accident which is Islamic Awakening. It

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening is the same accident for which our great Imam was waiting and promised as well. He has estimated the awakening of Moslems. It was similar to the step down of Russia which was applied by the help of God”. He has added another specific characteristic of public movements and stated: “ The major index in public movement of these people is three factors: Islamic condition, to be anti-U.S.A and AntiZionism and Harmonized situation of people”. On Resurrection Eid in 2011, the supreme leader made a connection between the holy hands of Hazrat Mohammad (Peace be upon him) and all today movement in different countries at North Africa and Middle East. That was the same light of Islam and benefiting for direction of his holy hand. Islamic breath is available in all Moslem countries”. The interesting point is providing of Islam breath at Islamic countries as well. In other words, the real meaning of this short & literal sentence is creation of Islam claims and religious tradition. At his beginning of speech, he has stated at International Conference of Islamic Awakening that:” What has made all of us to be here is Islamic Awakening. It means a great knowledge among Islamic Population which may cause a great change among the nations of this area with further revolutions”. Regarding such a speech it is possible to say that Islamic Awakening has two natural specifications. The first one is interest and jihad and the second is good knowledge of bearings and Islamic message for further revolution. In continue, supreme leader added that:”In my own idea, the most important element of these revolutions is real and public presence of people at fighting & jihad scene, not only with their heart but by believes. Of course there is a

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about... deep distance between such a presence and a revolution by a military groups and/or even an armed fighting group against indifferent eyes of people. Here we have people who may make mottos and specify the goals for further recognition and introducing of enemies and drawing a suitable future. Therefore it is impossible to have any violation or accepting the enemy and change the way. It is possible to have some delays in public movements. But it is different from non-fixed condition. Great word means the phrase of God as stated:”In these revolutions all principles and values and goals have been written in the mind and heart of present people at the scene not in predetermined manifests of groups and parties”.

Regarding all mentioned items in this discussion, it is possible to conclude that: 1- It is necessary to say that, with regard to the volume and quantity of these movements, supreme leader considers all aerial accidents as a fundamental change and great public movement. In other words any presence in scene is the sign of the presence of people and quantitative aspect of aerial accidents at Middle East and North of Africa. 2- Quality and type of changes and revolutions are clear Islamic situation of them, publicity, anti-U.S.A and AntiZionism and liberal aspects as well. Publicity is the most important aspects of which from the viewpoint of the leadership. Second part: Root understanding First discussion: Tangible & superficial roots What is so much considerable in al accidents, movements

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and revolutions and may cause variety of ideas and viewpoints by analysts and political specialists is any discussion about the roots and creation of them. In other words, all specialists may provide any ideas about revolutions and movements at Middle East and North of Africa. Western specialists had a great share in this field and of course most of them managed for their own root understanding with no more acceptance of Islamic theory. Supreme leader stated that:” World analysis tries to ignore major factor of these revolutions. They may point out to economic and/or non-economic factors which are of course really important”. In another place and about most of these analysis and specialties he said:” Westerns do not permit for any development of this analysis among nations and public thoughts. They are always pointing out to economic problems. Of course yes, this is also a reality about a servant like Hosni Mobarak against U.S.A who could not cause one step of development of Egypt with %4 of seventy and millions population living below poverty line!”. As a result major factors of these revolutions are economic problems, poverty, unemployment and lack of development. But we should consider the depth of this movement in an exact and complete form. In this part there is not a western attitude but a lie for tricking of public thoughts. On 04.Feb.2011,Supreme leader stated in Friday Prayer speeches something about root understanding of these changes especially about Tunisia & Egypt that:”Major factor in such a great movement firstly at Tunisia and then at Egypt is deprived feeling of people by their governors. People were deprived and had bad feelings against them. Such a devil of Egypt made people back warded”. He stated that:”The

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

escaping president of Tunisia, Ibn Ali, was completely depending upon the U.S.A. Even we have different reports about his dependency to C.I.A of America! Note that how it is hard for a nation to accept a president who was really the official servant of U.S.A. He governed on people for many years but he was against the competency of people including the religion:. According to the above-mentioned speech, we may conclude that one of the most important roots and reasons of these revolutions are deprivation and depressed feelings about the past. The other part of this coin is dependency and lack of independency of country. He said:” The next motivation of dependency to U.S.A which is really important. U.S.A official did not prefer to hear that the real reason of Tunisia people was dependency and then in Egypt as well. This is the reality:. He has stated Islam and religion searching as the other roots and requests of people in these revolutions and said:”One of the important motivation of the mentioned people is Islam. Therefore you were noticed that upon escaping of the president there was anarchy in society. All university female students went to university in a covered situation. This is a sign of deep Islamic motivation. Most of western analysts prefer to hide such a great idea accordingly”. Then supreme leader explained belittle and poverty as the major reasons of Egyptian’s movement and added:”Egyptians have been belittled due to supporting of Israel by current regime and following up the U.S.A. This is the real factor”. Then he added:” Today there is a wide scope of various analyses about Egyptian revolution. Everybody says anything. But if anybody knows Egypt may find out clearly that Egypt is defending its own glory. Egyptian

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening attacked those persons who have ignored their glory and made cruelty with them”. Supreme leader considered short distance and even friendly relation of the governors of these countries especially Egypt with Israel as the reasons and roots of these revolutions and said:”All nations of the area have specified their position. Therefore when a government intends to support Palestine it may find his own nation’s support and Arab nations and Moslems as well. Egypt has experienced this reality from 1960 up to1970. But when it may appoint another frontier, the nation will release it. Such a great gap between Egyptian government and nation was resulted from Camp David Contract. Egyptians who assisted Palestine in 1967 and 1973 observed the government as a servant of U.S.A and Zionism. The U.S.A power and authorities ignored all their efforts in supporting of Palestine and changed Egypt as the first enemy of Palestine and great sponsor of Zionism”. According to all mentioned before we may conclude that supreme leader believes in belittle feeling of nation, complete dependency to U.S.A and friendly relations with Israel and changing into an enemy of Palestine are the important roots and reasons of these revolutions. Of course as it was mentioned before, he may consider incorrect economy, corruption, poverty and inefficiency of government as the other important factor but could not consider these revolutions as the revolutions for bread. It is clear that his idea about liberalism of people is not what Western media are interpreting. Freedom means releasing from cruelty of dependent government on U.S.A not escaping from religion and requesting for finding Western Liberal Democracy. There is a question resulted from these factors that whether

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

there is a sudden creation of these revolutions and accidents? If we accept that yes it is in this way, therefore there is no more importance for the goals, roots and consequences. But supreme leader has another idea which says:” If you see today there are great movements around the world, it is not a sudden accident. But all motivations and requests of people may be compressed through the time and may arise in a suitable sector. Today is the real time of updating the case. Any compression of these motivations and continuation of these knowledge are related to previous years”. But in another place he may consider some aerial revolutions as a sudden movement:” Social great movements are not sudden accidents, but sudden arise. Such an accident resulted from continuation of different factors like knowledge, pains and poverty which may suddenly arise in a suitable time”. The other specification mentioned by supreme leader is good knowledge of current movements at involved countries especially Egypt. In his analysis the revolution of Egyptian and quality of revolutionary adolescence, he said:” Egyptian specialists were relevant Egyptian highlighted persons. Some of them were coming and /or going. We had relevant information. We did know what is their feeling and how they consider the problems. Today I am considering any claims of these Egyptian adolescences and Egyptian nation. Therefore it is possible to know what the properties are. The major factor of their movement is boring belittle of governors and their imposed cruelty”. Supreme leader believe that glory of nation and ignoring it by governors is the major factor in aerial changes at Middle East and North of Africa. He has focused this matter at the beginning of Iranian New Year at Imam Reza Holy Shrine

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and said:” What made them to claim was their human glory. The nation has been belittled by cruel governors at Egypt, Tunisia and other countries”. For more explanation he said:”Assume that Egyptians observe their governor who may perform worst crimes on behalf of Israel. Regarding the surrounding of Qazza, if Hosni Mobarak did not assist Israel, it could not make pressure on Qazza and made those crimes. For example Qaddafi in his first year of government showed some anti-U.S.A tendency but in recent years he made great services to Westerns. They observed that upon a small threat, Qaddafi collected all his nucleic facilities and shipped them for Westerns!! O.K when the nation observe such a crime, it may feel belittle. This is true for all countries in which the nation had a revolution”. In addition, on Resurrection Eid in 2011 he focused that:”Suppressed nations are searching for their own glory. The said glory was one of the basics of Prophet’s invitation. All enemies, cruel governors and occupiers have exploited us and belittled as well. If the nations are familiar with Islam, they will search for their glory that is the same Islamic movement. This is the real meaning of Islamic movement”. Second discussion: Conceptual & thinking roots The effect of Iranian Islamic Revolution is the other important subject of various and continuous discussions and also behavior of Islamic Republic of Iran. The first question is: Whether Iranian Islamic Revolution is the inspiration of current revolutions? There are different answers to this question. Some of the analysts had positive answer who may consider the Islamic aspect of these revolutions. But those specialists who may consider any movements for further freedom and /or economic liberalism may hide such an

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

inspiration of Iran. Then Western media and governments may support such analysis and supports. Good knowledge about conditions from viewpoint of supreme leader as the current leader of Iranian Islamic Revolution and World Shiites is very much important as the highest rank of Islamic Republic of Iran. In his first speech on 09.Jan.2011, leader pointed out to the role of Islamic Republic of Iran and said:” They claimed that our opposite party is Iran. This is a wrong claim. The effect of Iran is a conceptual effect. Yes, the power of Islamic Republic of Iran may awaken nations”. We reject any interferes of Iran in such accidents and changes. But we may focus on conceptual effect of Iran and its power. In his Arabic speech on 04.Feb.2011 he has focused the effect of Islamic Revolution of Iran and said:” Today accidents at North of Africa, Egypt, Tunisia and some other countries have another meaning for our nation. It has a special meaning. This is the same Islamic Awakening due to the great Islamic revolution of Iran. Today it may present itself”. As a result, awakening of people is another consequence of Islamic Revolution of Iran and its infra-national effects. This is what Imam Khomeini presented under the title of Islamic Revolution Export”. The other case is positional difference of these countries and any differences between people and their cultural, political properties with Islamic Republic of Iran which may make some Western specialists and speakers of other movements to ignore the role of Iran. Supreme Leader said in this regard that:”No doubt any revolution of nations had some exclusive coordinates according to the geographical, historical, political and cultural necessities.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Therefore it is impossible to consider the reasons of Great Islamic Revolution through last 30 years in Iran exactly for Egypt or Tunisia or any other Islamic countries. Of course there are some common items as well which may provide for other nations”. In another place he said something about claiming or non-claiming of Western media that:”It is not necessary to specify Iran as the relevant pattern. It is not important whether to confess or not. The important case is the awakening situation for enriching them for this purpose”. This claim focuses on the effect of Islamic Revolution on non-conscious pattern of Moslems and providing a conceptual change field as well. Of course it is on the other had a good reply for those movements who may try to reflect that aerial revolutions are not under the effect of Islamic Revolution of Iran. But the leader of Islamic Republic of Iran says:” What is presented in our mottos at Islamic Republic of Iran within 10 years, today is presenting itself in the content of their lives”. Then he considered Iranians as the starters of this movement and their resistance as the frontier and blossoming of Imam Khomeini thoughts in other nations:” Iranians are proud for starting this way with a lot of resistance. Therefore there are a lot of accidents in the area due to such a glory of Islamic Revolution”. In another place the special similarity aspect is what Islamic Revolution may find the victory. Therefore all revolutions are trying to promote their movements as well. He said:”Today the valuable coin and speech is Islam and Holy Quran. Are they small factors? This is the same thing for victory of Islamic revolution under the title of Islam and Quran. Regarding the effect of Iran it is possible to say that the

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

victory of Islamic Revolution of Iran is a type of further effects on recent changes and awakening of Moslems. The other aspect is the effect of Islamic Republic of Iran through more than 32 years as well. Supreme Leader considered two types of effects of Islamic Republic of Iran and said:” Islamic Republic of Iran has a great world effect accompanied with deep consequences. It has weakened Satanic powers with new ways against nations. There is a new chapter in the world”. In fact, Islamic Republic of Iran has resisted against great powers of the world and maintained its power all the times even when there are bipolar powers and equilibrium system in which Islamic Republic of Iran is free from any movement. Therefore such a fixed condition and independency may weaken their powers and claims. He continued that: “Our claim for implementation of Iranian Islamic Revolution and/or Iranian Islamic Republic Pattern is not the cause of these revolutions but a reason of this central soul”. “I do not want to claim that Iran was the real purposebecause some people are sensitive to hear that Islamic Revolution was the origin of these revolutions- No. there is no more claim in this regard. But today we are facing with the same movement with some aerial, tribal and geographical/ historical differences in Islamic world. I said that next wave will be occurred in farthest areas”. Finally he has pointed out to Islamic awakening at other parts of the world and under the indirect effect of Islamic Republic of Iran. This is an important point in meeting with teachers throughout the country on 04.May.2011 and focused on continuation of this way to the heart of the Europe.” I explain that it is not awakening movements at North Africa countries and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening West Asia, This is an awakening movement up to the heart of Europe. We will face with a future in which European nations will stand against policy makers and super powers and cultural/economic policies of U.S.A and Zionism. This is a fixed awakening. The movement of Iranian nation is continuation and depth of this great movement”. As it was said it is the depth and continuation of Iranian Islamic Revolution. The other subject which has been analyzed by different specialists from the beginning of aerial changes is manner of Iranian effects. In other words, all Western media are trying to show Iran with direct and special material & conceptual effects and a great role in accidents in other countries including Bahrain as well. Of course it is possible to understand any effects of Islamic Republic of Iran indirectly because these media try to ignore the effects of Iran and Islamic Revolution of IRAN from one side and try to show Iran as the manager of these changes on the other. Supreme Leader said about manner of Iranian behavior for these accidents:” Why Iran is supporting Bahrain people? O.K. We supported all nations. We are supporting Palestinians for 32 years. Which countries, governments and nations had such a 32 years support? Are Palestine people Shiite? Our people had a lot of efforts for Qazza.” He pointed out to the satanic thoughts of enemy about making frontier and some religious differences for Islamic Awakening movement in Bahrain and said:” As a result Shiite & Sunnite are not our subject of discussion. They are trying to present problem of Bahrain as a Shiite and Sunnite problem. Unfortunately some of the people believe that there are no bad motivations. If there are some

Analytical glance to Supreme Leader’s attitude about...

positive people here, I will notify them about any problems of Shiite and Sunnite. This is the greatest service to U.S.A. This is the greatest service to the enemies of Islamic Group. It is a public anti-autocracy public movement. There are no claims between Shiite and Sunnite”. Then he specifies any criterion and index of Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting these movements and said:” We do not consider any differences between Qazza, Palestine, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen. There are cruelties against nations. We hereby confirm the motto of Islam for further freedom”. In other words, any cruelty against governments, Islam requesting and liberalism are three Iranian indexes for conceptual supports. The other wage item is occurred accidents at Syria and its domestic situation as well. By referring to opponents of government at Syria, Western media are trying to show a new frontier against Iran and a break in resistant frontier against Israel. On the other hand they point out to non-faith situation of Iran in supporting any aerial movements and bi-polar policies. In other words, they may analysis that if Iran is supporting nation and liberalism why it is supporting Syria?? Before presenting any answers of supreme leader to this question we should provide his analysis about U.S.A reaction and following countries in facing with aerial accidents. Supreme leader said that:” They have started two tricks after losing our factors in these countries. One is opportunism and the other is simulation”. In other words, opportunism policy was simultaneous when Western policy makers disappointed from their appointed governors and found it impossible to control public claims. Therefore

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening they followed the opportunism policy and showed them as the enemies of these governors. This was a documentary analysis of leadership with a consideration of short-term period of decides of Western countries. The other reaction of Western countries, especially U.S.A, was simulation and developing the case in facing with these revolutions. Such a policy was started in Iran and we observed the relevant consequences on 14.Feb.2011. But the other consequence of which was relevant accidents at various territorial cities of Syria which may lead to some blooding contacts and a lot of killed people. With such an introduction, it is possible to say that leadership considers most Syria accidents the result of simulation policy of U.S.A and as an analysis of which he said:â&#x20AC;? Today U.S.A decided to apply simulation policy at Egypt and Tunisia and in Yemen and Libya which may threaten Syria as the resistant line of these revolutions. The nature of Syria is different from the real nature of problems in these countries. There was an anti-U.S.A & anti-Zionism movement in these countries. But interfere of U.S.A in Syria is completely obvious and clear. Zionists are searching the case and we should not make any mistakes. We should not forget our criteria. Since our movement is anti-U.S.A and anti-Zionism, it is the original and public movement. In a place in which all mottos are in favor of U.S.A and Zionism, we have a violated way. We will keep such a logic and clearing the caseâ&#x20AC;?. Finally there are some major antiU.S.A & anti-Zionism indexes about public movement and their mottos as an original public movement.

Analytical glance to Supreme Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude about...

Conclusion This paper has divided into two major parts through which we explained the viewpoints of supreme leader for identity understanding and root understanding of any recent changes at Middle East and North of Africa which are all some Islamic Arabic Countries. At first part and for creditability part we concluded in accordance with presented documents that all aerial changes and accidents are important and historical and a return point of history without any good knowledge about it right now. As a result, if we consider these changes, it may change the world of Islam and made it as the winner of the conflicts. If not, it may violated by the autocracy movements. But in fact we should say that future changes are successful because of equipping with belief in God and Islamic learning. In second part of identity understanding we managed to provide some information about morphology of accidents from viewpoint of leadership. According to his claims we concluded that some special and common specifications are publicity, Islamic, Liberalism, Anti-U.S.A and AntiZionism among all countries except for Syria. The publicity specification of it is the major and basic specification of these accidents from the viewpoint of leadership. In second part of the essay we will provide the roots of aerial changes. According to the first discussion about tangible and superficial roots we named belittle of people, fighting with religion by governors, cruelty and domestic autocracy of governors and absolute obeying of U.S.A by governors and kings and their polices as the major and common roots in these countries except Syria. Of course he has pointed out to some cases like lack of benefiting

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening of people from safety, justice, development, blossoming and health economy but these are behind the major and fundamental roots. He has provided conceptual and hidden roots in next discussion. According to the presented documents and leadership we may notice the effect of Islamic Revolution of Iran and also on theoretical and thinking aspect and practical concepts. Of course this subject is different in different countries and with regard to tribal, geographical and governing specifications at different countries. We do not mean that Islamic Republic of Iran will be implemented with the same process in these countries. But it may have some indirect effects through the time. Then he specified the type of Iran reaction against all these changes against these countries. Publicity and anti-U.S.A and revolution in any countries. But Syria has been excepted from this countries because U.S.A has two types of opportunism and simulation policies against all these accidents and revolutions. In Syria this type of simulation and crisis is related to U.S.A and Zionism for breaking any resistance process and supporting countries of Palestine. Therefore it is necessary to take account of this subject with more care. As a result all presented subjects in general framework of Supreme Leader as a drawer of such an Islamic theory about any accidents at Middle East and North of Africa. He intends to provide a careful analysis about these changes in future. Resources: 1- Friday Prayer of Tehran, 04.Feb.2011, www.farsi.khamenei,ir 2- Speeches of Supreme Leader in meeting with thousands persons of East

Analytical glance to Supreme Leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude about...

Azerbaijan, 16.Feb.2011- Ibid 3- Speeches of Supreme Leader in meeting with thousands persons of East Azerbaijan, 20.Feb.2011- Ibid 4- Speeches at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza at the beginning of Iranian new year- Ibid 5- Ibid 6- Speeches at 22nd anniversary of Imam Khomeini, 25.May.2011, Ibid 7- Speeches at meeting with Military Commanders on 04.July.2011 8- Speeches at meeting with authorities of Islamic Republic of Iran, Ibid 9- Speeches in public meeting with university professors on 24.Aug.2011, Ibid 10- Speeches in meeting with authorities and ambassadors of Islamic countries, 31.Aug.2011, Ibid 11- Speeches of Fitr Eid, on 31.Aug.2011, Ibid 12- Speeches in meeting with Members of Leadership Specialists Council, 08.Sept.2011 13- Speeches at Tehran Friday Prayer, 04.Feb.2011, 14- Ibid 15- Speeches at meeting with thousands people of East Azerbaijan, 16.Feb.2011, Ibid 16- Speeches in meeting with participants at Islamic Unity Conference on 20.Feb.2011, 17- Speeches at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza, at the beginning of Iranian New Year 18- Ibid 19- Ibid 20- Ibid 21- Speeches at Imam Hossein Officer University, 31.May.2011 22- Speeches at 22nd anniversary of Imam Khomeini, 04.June.2011 23- Ibid 24- Speeches at meeting with persons in charge on Resurrection Eid, 30.June.2011 25- Speeches at International Islamic Awakening Meetings 17.Sept.2011, Ibid 26- Ibid 27- Speeches of Tehran Friday Prayer, on 04.Feb.2011, Ibid 28- Ibid 29- Ibid 30- Ibid 31- Ibid 32- Ibid 33- Ibid 34- Ibid 35- Ibid

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening 36- Ibid 37- Speeches in meeting with Commanders and Pilot of Air Force , 08.Feb.2011, Ibid 38- Speeches in meeting with thousand people of East Azerbaijan on 16.Feb.2011, Ibid 39- Ibid 40- Ibid 41- Speeches at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza at the beginning of Iranian New Year 窶的bid 42- Ibid 43- Speeches at meeting with persons in charge on Resurrection Eid on 30.June.2011 44- Speeches at meeting with Qom people on anniversary of 09.Jan.2011, Ibid 45- Speeches of Tehran Friday Prayer on 04.Feb.2011 46- Ibid 47- Speeches at meeting with Commanders and Pilot of Air Force , 08.Feb.2011, Ibid 48- Speeches at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza at the beginning of Iranian New Year 窶的bid 49- Ibid 50- Speeches at meeting with thousands of people of Fars Province on 23.Apr.2011, Ibid 51- Speeches at Officer University Imam Hossein on 31.May.2011, Ibid 52- Speeches at meeting with Military Commanders on 03.May.2011 53- Ibid 54- Speeches at meeting with thousands of teachers throughout the country on 04.May.2011 55- Speeches at Holy Shrine of Imam Reza at the beginning of Iranian New Year 窶的bid 56- Ibid 57- Ibid 58- Ibid 59- Speeches at meeting with persons in charge on Resurrection Eid, 30.June.2011

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development of Islamic Awakening Nosrat Khatoon Alavi1 Abstract: In today world, the Islamic groups are the most active political processes of the world. The reason of this activity, which is serious and comprehensive, is as follows: awareness of Muslims from backwardness, underdevelopments, shortfalls and deficiencies existing in the Islamic world. This awareness forced them to take more efforts and movement in recent one hundred years. This attempt is the same phenomenon which is called "Islamic Awakening Movement". Different uprisings, rioting and revolutions across the Islamic world is the outcome of these movements, the most important of which is the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Of course, the Islamic Revolution of Iran helped raising awareness of the Islamic awakening comprehensively. The dimension of the effect of the Islamic Revolution is deep and spread on awakening. In this paper, it has been tried to signify role of the Islamic Revolution of Iran as a world revolution, the issue which is the basis of self-awareness and awakening in the Islamic world and the region. Keywords: Islamic Awakening, Islamic Revolution, Islamic World, Imam Khomeini (RA), Islamic Movements

1. Ph.D. Student in Iran History of Islamic Period Islamic Azad University of Tehran Research Sciences Branch / E-mail: Alavi.nosrat@yahoo.com

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

Introduction: "Islamic Awakening" Movement or Islamic Uprising is a comprehensive and giant phenomenon which dates backs to approx two centuries ago. The Movement has faced many ups and downs in these two centuries which has been followed with the weaknesses and strengths. This Movement was first appeared in specific and limited geographical regions. Then, its range was expanded in the length of the previous decades and was developed gradually across the world, ranging from the East Asia to the South and West Africa and even among Muslim minorities in other countries. In the beginning, the activists of the Movement composed of religious scholars, the elites, thinkers and intellectuals, but today, a great mass of Muslims, both the learned and common people, joined the Movement across the world. With the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Awakening Movement entered the new stage and created an uprising simultaneous with the intellectual depth in the Islamic geography especially among the masses and dormant classes of the Islamic communities. Under such circumstances, the Islamic awakening exited from its passive defense state and was juxtaposed at the stance of behavioral and intellectual invasion and was manifested in forms of political institutions and trends and even resistant movements. The awakening, resulted from the energy freed from the Islamic Revolution which was appeared for the first time in the form of a political system, entered immediately in the field of political and diplomatic management and affected other political systems of the Islamic world remarkably.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening At the current conditions, powerful and strong presence of the Islamic Awakening Movement, with the centrality of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its function in the form of religious democracy under the management of political movements and trends, has changed equations of power in the international relations. In addition, the Movement is reorganizing and formulating a new equation which is opposed with the equations as defined by the liberal-democracy with the centrality of the West. This situation has terrified great powers and claimant of world hegemony clearly in such a way that they have mobilized all their powers and facilities to prevent from completion of new power equation cycle in the region with the management of "Political Islam" under the influence and guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran. History of Islamic Awakening Although Islamic Awakening phenomenon is deep rooted in the history, it ahs been developed remarkably in recent decades due to the various reasons like invasion of West imperialism to the Islamic countries. Historical roots of the Islamic awakening can be grasped out with reviewing history of Islamic awakening. Also, the reason of development of the Islamic awakening can be understood with reviewing its history: With the advent of Islam, a giant development was happened in the history of humanity, because, Islam roamed and removed racial, ethnical and geographical boundaries and approached different communities to one another according to the monotheistic approach and consequently, Islam created wonderful and noticeable material and

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

spiritual power among believers. In other words, Islam created prestige and honor both materially and spiritually among the people who neither benefited from culture and civilization of that time nor had material power. The Islam came to being at the condition that both civilization of Greece had attained fame and prestige and also the powers like Iran and Rome were considered as superpowers of that time. Firstly, Islam defeated the two great powers and secondly, it was developed fast in the geography of the earth. In a short period, Islam possessed a great part of the world of that time. Such expansion was not confined to the land and border, rather, world of Islamic thought and idea was developed in tandem with the military and economic power of the Islamic world. In the meantime, the Europe of that era was proceeding its declining periods but the Islamic culture and civilization was developing rapidly and even, when the Islamic civilization was placed at the climax of its fame and popularity, the West civilization was in deep sleep in such a way that the Westerners named that period as "Era of Darkness in the West", because, they had nothing to present to the world of humanity. In fact, the Crusades were considered as counterattack which waged by the West to the Islamic world. Although the West could not attain what it desired militarily, it became familiar gradually with the culture and intellectual progresses of the Islamic world. The said issue was paved a suitable ground for awakening the West. For this purpose, renaissance period is meant passing darkness era and starting a period which has been called as "Enlightenment Era".

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening So, the West countries, as inspired by the Islamic world, could create noticeable progresses in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, the Islamic world was fallen into deep sleep slowly as a result of two factors: one is related to the exploitation which the West carried out in this important intellectual and geographical region while the second factor is related to the despotism and absolutism which Muslim rulers resorted to it. The two said factors caused Muslims to stand away from real Islamic thoughts and ideas. However, it was incurred a crushing and important blow on the structure of the Islamic world and such blow reached to its pinnacle in the World War I. The Ottoman emperor was primarily overthrown with the mentioned two important reasons and Muslims lost a partial haven, which had been prepared for them by Ottomans. So, a horrible invasion was initialized by the West against the Islamic world militarily and intellectually. Under such circumstances, many Muslims became strangers with one another and considered Islam as the main factor of backwardness. Thereupon, Islamic world hoped to retrieve their backwardness through resorting and taking pattern from the West. Of course, in this period, there were some people who came to this conclusion with their vigilance, awareness and deep understanding of situations as follows: The reason of backwardness of the Islamic world is not related to the "Islam", rather, Muslims have stood away from the Islam and Islamic ideas. In this period, the personalities like Seyed Jameleddin Asadabadi, Seyed Ghotb, Hasan al-Bana, etc. did their

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

utmost efforts to make them understand that what is the main reason of their debacle and backwardness and what strategies should be taken for confronting with it? Setting up and creating Zionism is the fundamental blow which the West world donated to the Islamic world, the seed of which was planted in the sacred land and territory of the Palestine. In studying civilizations and in his book entitled "Civilization in the Course of Test", Arnold Twin B, prominent British historian, put forward the very important and historical statement as follows: "Pan-Islamism is dormant and inactive but if the oppressed in the world revolted against the West domination, and if the Muslims are guided by a wise leader, they will be awakened and such revolt can play a very effective role in instigation of the Islam military spirit." The anticipation of Twin B was occurred with the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 which was bombshell of the light. The Islamic Revolution of Iran stood against all superpowers of the world with bare hands and relying upon the motto of "God is the Great" and returning to the Islamic values and managed to bring about a turning point not only in the history of Iran's developments, but also in the Islamic world and whole history of humanity. With the culmination of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the dormant movement was awakened and was developed rapidly across the Islamic world. In less than two years, after victory of the Islamic Revolution, some of the pious and virtue youth in Lebanon frustrated the then five superpowers like the U.S., England, France, Italy and Israel, which had set up headquarters in Lebanon and forced them to escape from their country i.e.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Lebanon without giving any concession to them. In Afghanistan, British and Russian Empire was debilitated. The echo of Islam is the only echo which is presently heard in the Islamic countries. Therefore, it should be said: "In today world, the Muslims have been awakened and started their great affair based on three important principles. Firstly, "returning to the real Islam" which the very Islam could overcome superpowers of that time in the initial Islamic periods, secondly, "unity and amity of the Islamic world" which imperialism and hegemonic powers tried to sow seed of discord among various Islamic races through relying upon the principle "Divide and Rule" and thirdly, "Anti-Imperialism" and confronting with infidelity. The movement will certainly lead to the victory of Islam and debacle of world hegemony. Reason of Effectiveness of Hazrat Imam Khomeini (RA) on the Islamic Awakening When the Islamic Revolution architect was trying to leave a very important effect on awakening the oppressed and Muslims of world, the following question may hint to one's mind that what is the main reason of such effectiveness? Hereunder are the answers which can be posed to this question: 1) Effect of Hazrat Imam Khomeini (RA) on Muslims is unprecedented and unique in religious and Islamic terms. As of 15th century in the West world and perhaps a little after the advent of Islam, we can not observe such a personality like Imam Khomeini (RA) who left a very important effect in West and East World and also Islamic world with his logical strategies, performance, thought and movement.

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

2) Hazrat imam Khomeini (RA) changed concept and meaning of "power" in the global level and also in the Islamic world. Before the Islamic Revolution, "power" was relied on the material resources, but after the Islamic Revolution, the meaning of "power" was changed from palpable resources (material) to the impalpable resources (spiritual) such as ideas, nurturing thought and dissemination of information. 3) One can not find a religious and scientific personality like Hazrat Imam Khomeini (RA) over the past sixth and seventh centuries ago who led a nation and all and even his opponent confirmed legitimacy of his revolution. As a matter of fact, it can be said that political and religious legitimacy of the Imam Khomeini (RA) is unprecedented in the global level and in recent centuries. 4) With studying life of leaders of the previous revolutions, we can grasp out that none of them could establish such popular and intimate relationship with the oppressed and other social classes like Imam Khomeini (RA). More than any other leader, Imam Khomeini (RA) managed to convey Quranic messages to all Muslim masses in a very simple language and the said issue is regarded as one of the great secrets of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. 5) The simple and luxurious-free life of Imam Khomeini (RA) qualified him to lead Muslim masses and the oppressed. In fact, his simple way of life attracted the attention of many world leaders. Moreover, his Islamic virtue and ethics left remarkable effects on the people and such effect instigated many people to stand against hegemonic powers. 6) Imam Khomeini (RA) was not thinking about only the Islamic civilization and nation and saving it from ignorance and backwardness materially and spiritually, rather, he was

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening thinking of saving all the nations and civilizations. Saving people and cultures, who were exited from the right path, and leading them towards prosperity was his major concern. 7) Imam Khomeini (AS) also was emphasizing universality of the Islamic movement of Iranian people, wishing it for all Muslims of the world, and was refuting universality of the West patterns. He did not accept West patterns' capability for leading and saving people while such perseverance (Islamic universality) and such theory (inability of the West in administering the world) is not observed among many other Muslim thinkers. 8) Imam Khomeini (RA) is the only thinker who himself theorized the revolution and put forward it practically over the 5th or 6th centuries ago. In all-time of the history, rare people can be found to write "What should we pose revolution" and then came to the scene themselves, but Imam Khomeini (RA) himself came to the scene of the revolution and struggled with the previous regime. As a matter of fact, link of opinion and act is of the most important reasons of Imam's success in launching the Islamic Revolution. Taking advantage of religion in setting up favorable social development is the most important effect of Imam Khomeini (RA) and the Islamic Revolution on Muslim activists and also activists of the Islamic awakening while rare people was thinking of the ability of the religion in creation of the revolution in previous era especially in liberalism and communism periods. With relying upon "religion" according to the said meaning, the concepts of power were changed noticeably and Muslims understood that real power is relied on the heavenly power. Relying upon the assistance of the Almighty God, one can defend

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

and regain the lost rights. Imam Khomeini (RA) showed the right path to all the oppressed and Muslims in the world that living simply without any luxury, saving people and civilizations and mixing act and opinion according to the last heavenly religion i.e. Islam is the sole way of attaining legitimacy and acceptance. In other words, the Imam and Islamic Revolution of Iran showed clearly that resorting to Islam is the sole way of saving people and leading them towards prosperity. Role of the Islamic Revolution in Islamic Awakening As a country, Iran has always left a noticeable effect on the international developments due to its geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-culture situation. The said features have caused Iran to put regionalism atop agenda of its policy. Iran could impose management in the fields of intellectual effectiveness, releasing contemplation of resisting and fighting with the modern hegemony and despotism as well as returning to Islam in various periods. Management of newly-independent Arab and Islamic countries, nationalization of the oil industry and 15th of Khordad Movement are clear historical examples of guiding role of Iran in this respect. Separation of policies of the government and rulers was effective trend in these periods which was managed by the religious scholars and thinker, because, the government was taking pattern from the outside (pursuing the model of Ataturk) in these periods especially Pahlavi Era. So, effectiveness in this historic period was limited to the region especially regional countries. As a phenomenon which was formed based on values of the religion through relying upon modern methods of democracy and displayed a new pattern of resistance and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening struggle with the imperialism and hegemonic powers, the Islamic Revolution manifested a new pattern of management in the field of power, policy, and sovereignty and founded a new form of effectiveness different from the mentioned historical function. The Islamic Revolution also reorganized and guided a type of intellectual and ideological revitalizing and awakening trend. For the first time, the Islamic Republic of Iran entered the terminology of the "Islamic Ummah (Nation)" as a revolutionary concept to the world political literature. So, the contemplation of regionalism was put atop agenda within the same framework and practiced process of turning into a powerful hegemony. Today, after three decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to define its status as the dominant pattern of the region. Despite existence of extraneous, interfering and intruding hegemonies, the pattern, as practiced by the Islamic Republic of Iran, could improve its situation and continue its infiltration development. Generally, the Islamic Republic of Iran could promote its regional infiltration area in the global arena. In the current situation, the modern Iran promises a modern discipline which has faced fundamentals of existing political and security equations in soft and hard forms with serious and unprecedented challenges. As a phenomenon inspired by the intellectual movement of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Awakening has appeared within the framework of a claimant social, organizational movement and military institutions in the contemporary era. Moreover demonstrating its nature and influence in

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development... political and security disputes, the said movement i.e. Islamic Awakening is expected to be turned into the undisputed value-creation power in the global level. Islamic Awakening Roots and Factors Some factors have been involved in emergence, perseverance and development of Islamic Awakening phenomenon, the most important of which are as follows:

1) Entrance of new generation with the revolutionary features to the arena of disputes who have more real and fundamental comprehension from reasons of scientific, economic and social backwardness of their communities especially in intellectual and cultural field. 2) Paying due attention to the religious unity and accurate comprehension of strategies of hostile powers for isolating in the Islamic world, 3) Remarkable growth the development of mass media and evolution of publicity methods of Islam, 4) The Islamic Revolution is the major factor of the Islamic Awakening and has played a leading role in the awakening of the Muslim nations. The aforementioned factors are regarded as the Islamic Revolution which overthrew all political, social and intellectual infrastructures and even security of the hegemonic countries and despotic agents, relevant to them, in 1979s in a movement relying upon the public will. In addition, the Islamic Revolution presented a powerful, influential and intelligent pattern with the efficient management to the expecting minds and movements. The phenomenon of emergence of the Islamic Revolution excluded Islam and Islamic communities from

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening isolation after some centuries practically and objectively. As a driving force of all Islamic motivations, trends and movements, the energy released from the Islamic Revolution raised awareness of Muslim people of the region to their rights and capabilities on one hand and nullified invincible phenomenon of the mammoth despotism of the imperialism and global hegemony on the other hand. The said issue restored "Courage and Self-Confidence" to the Muslim nations. Under such circumstances as interested by Iqbal Lahore, Tehran was turned into the headquarters of the Muslims. In addition, the Islamic Revolution in its trend of appearance, stabilization and development was turned inside the country into the unique factor in reviving, stabilizing and developing Islamic Awakening and also a center to reorganize modern Islamic civilization in the current situation. All world political circles, thinkers, enthusiasts, rivals and hostile countries have adopted an equal approach and agree unanimously that the Islamic Revolution is the outcome of religion which has helped revival of religion, renaissance of Islam in Iran in and World and also has played a key role in continuation of contemporary Islamic political trends and movements in recent three decades. But the question is posed here: "Why the Islamic Revolution has affected on the progressing trends and movements of the phenomenon of the Islamic Awakening and even the contemporary political movements?" Backgrounds and Reasons of Effectiveness of the Islamic Movements from the Islamic Revolution of Iran 1) Common Ideology and Idea Although Islamic Revolution is a Shi'a-oriented revolution,

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

100

it had supernatural unity in pillars of religion, monotheism, prophesy, resurrection, Qibla and Quran with other Islamic nucleuses and movements. Multi-decade behavior and performance of the Revolution displayed capability and seriousness of Iran in defending its Islamic idea boundaries and improved clear-cut and independent stances based on the revival of religion of Islamic Iran and deepened their belief to the religious honesty of the Islamic Revolution. 2) Common Enemy As the helmsman of Muslim, Islamic front and also Islamic movements, the Islamic Revolution shares a common enemy in confronting with the West as led by the U.S. which is intending to dominate geographical area and marginalizing ideology of the Islamic religion. As of early years of its establishment, the Islamic Revolution has defined the following motto "Neither the East nor the West" in its foreign policy for freedom-seeking movements. While announcing its readiness to support liberation movements, the Islamic Revolution introduced itself as an honest leader. By taking pattern from the interpretation of Imam Khomeini (RA) who said: "Today, Israel, U.S., etc. are our common enemy which intend to question our prestige. Repel these common enemies." leaders of the Islamic movements announced their readiness to stand firmly in tandem with the anti-imperialistic objectives of the great leader of the Islamic Revolution. 3) Islamic Unity Idea Plan Plan of uniting Muslims as secret of victory of the Islamic Revolution, its continuity and development to the Islamic world is the effective factor in tendency of the Islamic

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening movements towards Iran. In the beginning, unity and amity was turned into a working pattern of trends as a secret of victory of the Islamic Revolution. They understood that unified and integrated will can solve problems. As the origin of unity and amity, Iran has always been considered as the venue of reference of trends for the unity process management. 4) Management of Middle Eastern Crises by Iran The Islamic Revolution of Iran has always defended powerfully from resistance front, Palestinian people and interests of world with accepting hefty political costs. Irrespective of their religion and idea, the Islamic Revolution of Iran has been staunch supporter of these countries in the toughest and arduous condition. The logical management of Iran in Lebanon and Palestine within the framework of Hamas and Islamic Jihad has operated successfully as resistance front. Under the wise and logical management of the Islamic Republic of Iran and fruitful performance of the resistance movements, the Islamic world and Arab geography is on the very of exiting from isolation after six decades while the dreadful front of Zionism, as led by the U.S. and Israel, is thinking of guiding the region in their toughest political conditions. Logical and fruitful performance of the Islamic Revolution has caused more trust of the movements to Iran as efficient pattern and management hub. 5) Religious Democracy Pattern Showcasing new political management pattern entitled "religious democracy and religious management in Iran" is the other important factor.

101

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

102

As inspired by the Islamic religion, Iran has managed to turn into the top scientific power of the region during its political system management periods. After passage of centuries, Iran could prove its independency and sovereignty in management of internal, regional and international crises in the best form possible. As a Third-World Country, Iran has managed to present a type of modern discipline in hegemonic stance and also to challenge all political and security equations. Dissemination of Islamic Revolution Values and Causes A revolutionary regime, which claims globalizations and meets the globalization criteria, can disseminate revolution and its values and principles to the world outside. Such system enjoys philosophical, social and political-based ideology and this philosophy, which is accepted absolutely, is tantamount to a copy which enjoys capability of being prescribed for other geographical and positional capacities. Hereunder is regarded as the main reason which caused emergence of phenomenon of releasing the revolution: political developments of the countries can affect neighboring countries to some extent. The revolutionary slogans of a nation affect directly on the way of living and government of the neighboring countries. Hence, some countries adopt an opposed and adversary approach to the revolution of the parent country and intend to suppress it with the aim of barring penetration of their ideas and thoughts in its respective country. The revolutionary countries act reciprocally for safeguarding achievements of its revolution and also adopt different approaches for releasing the revolution. So, it can be said that Iran's revolution is not exception

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening to this rule, specifically; the Iranian Revolution with its ideological approach enjoys many capabilities and potentials for affecting geography of the Islamic world. With its spiritual dimension, the Iranian Revolution has played an effective role in tendency of Islamic movements towards materialization of the Islamic ideas. As a matter of fact, Iranian Revolution is considered not only an objective pattern for the Shi'a movements of the region, but also an example of the Islamic Revolution for all world Muslims. Nature of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Since the Islamic Revolution of Iran came to being by the Shi'a Muslims and Muslim leadership, undoubtedly, it took advantage of many characteristics of Islam, under the auspices of Shiism, and was developed. This Revolution left a palpable impact among world Shi'ites especially Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon. But, Iran Shi'a Muslims and leader introduced themselves unique Islamic Revolution, because, they believe that the very Islam unites and convenes all the values and nothing else. Assumingly that the Islamic Revolution had enjoyed principles and values of Shiism, the revolution will turn Islamic as the revolutions led by Shaihu Usman Dan Fodio and Haj Amru in Africa were Islamic, nor Hanafi, Shafi'i and Maleki Schools. On the other hand, the Islamic Revolution claims that it is merely a ring of a lengthy chain which has been founded by the Prophet of Islam, even by the Prophets before the advent of Islam and is not led to this revolution as well.

103

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

104

The Iranian Revolution is merely a part of continuous revolution of the prophets and also a part of continuous revolution of the people and will be continued as long as global justice and absolute sovereignty of God is established by His pious and virtue servants and the oppressed. Thus, the Islamic Revolution is the continuation of the Prophets' Revolution, such as Prophet of Islam, and reconstruction of common and specific prophetic values. Despite effort of spiteful individuals, the Islamic Revolution is not a sectarian, national, racial and class revolution and can be considered as a good pattern for revolutionizing other religions and followers of different Islamic religions and all the oppressed. Since Iranian revolution has brought about a new approach practically, it is of paramount importance, and such approach and attitude can be contemplated for all the Muslims and the oppressed who are seeking independence, freedom and justice. Islamic Revolution of Iran, Disseminating Revolutionary Thoughts and Global Islamic Awakening The Islamic Revolution of Iran is a starting point for the rise of Islamic contemplation. The 20th century started with the retreat of Islam as a result of weaknesses and inability of the Ottoman Empire but victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran promises start of a new period of re-advent of Islam in the ending years of this century. Based on its ideological basics, the Islamic Revolution of Iran showed a angrily reaction to the existing situation and displayed its dissatisfaction on the current situation and status of Islam in the contemporary eras. On the other hand, with its enlightening ideas, the Islamic

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Revolution of Iran declared its dissatisfaction to the other strategy of Islamic movements for attaining ideal Islam. The process, which had been based on the predefined modernized assumptions, was intending to increase struggling capability and changing pattern on one hand and was an appropriate alternative for getting rid of the existing situation as well as setting up favorable status on the other hand. Turning potential powers to the actual state and mobilizing the ideas kept inside the Islamic nations was the Islamic movement method in Iran. Performing this activity was carried out based on the allout management with very high emotional potential faster than other Islamic aspects. This Islamic movement was taken into consideration as a pattern for the ideological tricks of other Islamic nations and caused them to create a deep change in strategy or method of operation and the way of determining their objectives. The Islamic movement of Iran paved suitable ground of this mentality that there is yet the possibility of ideal imagination and also the possibility of transforming and returning to the Islamic golden periods. Perhaps, such capability enhanced spirit of mobility, caused by the Islamic Revolution of Iran, among other Islamic movements. So, it can be said that the ideological dimension is the most important factor of Iran revolution's impact on the Islamic world and even the oppressed in the world. Thus, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a comprehensive trend motivated not only the Muslims but also all the oppressed in the world, because, the oppressed living across the Earth was addressed by the late Imam Khomeini (RA):

105

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development...

106

The movement i.e. the oppressed movement against the oppressor should be spread across the whole world. Iran is the first origin and pattern for all the oppressed nations. In all periods of the world, the Muslins should rise. The heavenly promise, which includes the oppressed, reiterates that we do a favor to the oppressed to be our leader and be heir in the world. Imamate is the absolute right of the oppressed. The heirs are of the oppressed. Oppressors are the usurpers and should be kept off the field. In the Islamic Revolution, all Persian Gulf littoral states and the Middle East were turned as the origin of the widespread developments both from inside and outside. The ideas of the Islamic Revolution were expanded automatically in the Middle East region and caused domestic instability in many countries. The regimes like Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which were considering the most stable countries of the region, grasped out suddenly from their vulnerability. Although Iran had not direct interference in internal tensions of these countries, it is obvious that waves of the Islamic Revolution left its impact on these countries. The countries, which were home to Shi'a communities, received the highest impact from the Islamic Revolution. The Shi'ites unrest in the countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, etc. showed that they could understand the tyranny which they are facing with the emergence of the Islamic Revolution and then they instigated to rise. The Islamic Revolution of Iran played a very key role in boosting honor and self-confidence of the Muslims whether Shi'ite or Sunni and without considering their political inclinations or nationality in such a way that a popular movement was formed across the world

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening ranging from Yugoslavia, Morocco to the Indonesia and Philippines. The Islamic renaissance has been manifested in different shapes with each other. The popular Islamic force roamed geographical boundaries and surpassed from political ideologies and national systems and was posed as a serious concern for the conservative regimes dominating these countries. In fact, the victory of the Islamic Revolution created an Islamic charm and rapture among people. Result As a collective awareness relying upon the public will, inspired by the pure Islam, the Islamic Awakening has been turned into the political behavior at the current condition under the management of the Islamic Revolution and has been reorganized in the form of a political idea. Theorizing this intellectual movement has passed the formulation stage and has been manifested as a political model. The situation of regional equations is witnessing in tandem with the interests of Islam and Islamic movements, and completely adversary to the West interests. This increasing movement wave is after breaking West movement obstacles for attaining a religion-based community. The said issue has caused change of power balance among Islamist movements in favor of Shi'ite movements with the cultural support of the Islamic Revolution. The final point here is this that a new intellectual realignment and political behavior has been formed among pure Islamic processes and movements with the U.S. and a kind of cultural, political and ideological combat is witnessing with the U.S.

107

Clarifying Role of Islamic Revolution in Development... It should be noted that Islamic world is passing its final combat stage with the West, a decisive stage which requires to wise and logical management. As symbol of liberalism front, the West is facing its final political and management function stage and has started waning periods at the climax of its growth curve. For this purpose, the West is experiencing passive defense stance but the Awakening movement, at the outset of revolutionary uprising, experiences its evolutional movement rapidly. Unlike liberalism and West Front which is placed at the stance of criticism and wise invasion in all political, intellectual and even military dimensions, the Islamic Awakening is destroying West handmade political and legal fundamentals in the region with its complete selfconfidence spirit. 108

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East Adviser: M.s Bayani Compiled by: Fatemeh Najafi

110

Introduction Islamic Awakening means the restoration of the Islamic values with the aim of establishing a global Islamic civilization in which wisdom and spirituality, power and morality, science and value, knowledge and practice come together and has different aspects including religious, Islamic, popular presence and planning for government establishment. During the past centuries, Muslims’ underdevelopment has been blamed on two factors; Western hegemony and exploitation in Islamic territories and tyranny and deviation of Muslim rulers. Both of these have resulted in distancing Muslims from genuine Islamic thoughts. Meanwhile, some people like Sayyed Jamaledin Assadabadi, Sayyed Qotb, Hassan al-Bana have made great attempts to wake up Muslims and let them know the reasons behind their defeats and underdevelopment. The emergence of the Islamic Revolution of Iran which conveyed divine messages and led to the expansion of religious values. And today, the values of Iran’s Islamic Revolution have been manifested in the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya,… that have concerned the West and especially the US, about the power of the Muslim world and the possible occurrence of Islamic Revolutions in Arab

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening countries. Late Imam Khomeini played a major role in creating the new wave of Islamic Awakening in contemporary times. As the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei said: “There is no doubt that a new Middle East will be formed based of the realities that the Almighty God has predestined and this Middle East will belong to Islam.” Definition of Awakening Awakening has been given two definitions in Dehkhoda’s Dictionary. 1- the state of being awake, 2- the activation of awareness and Islamic means anything attributed to Islam and the Islamic civilization and culture which also means following up the teaching of the best divine religion and as a result, Islamic Awakening means superior life or attempting to achieve it and this life can only be acquired through religion, as that is God who has created the human and the world and his messenger invites us to what makes us alive. In other words, Islamic Awakening means revival in the light of genuine Islam and the restoration of Islam’s life through which, independence, justice, and all other divine values are restored. Islamic Awakening or revival is a kind of religious reformism, which is of course different from what took place in the West. Because religious reformism, in its western version, have been modified in way that does not lead to the establishment of a religious society and in turn drives religion into a private realm which indeed deprive religion of its social life. But Islamic Awakening revives humans and their social life on the basis of religion and that is why the religion gets refreshed and as a result, it returns to everyday life. In other words, Islamic Awakening

111

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

112

means prevention of the obsolesce of religion or refreshing Islamic teachings through eliminating ambiguities from religion. Islamic Awakening is a widespread and profound self-awareness that seeks to free Muslim nations form intellectual, political and economic slavery and accomplish dignity, progress and sympathy among Muslims. In fact, Islamic Awakening has various dimensions including religious, Islamic aspects as well as public presence and planning for government establishment. The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution defined this concept in his speech at the International Conference of Islamic Awakening. He said: what has brought us together here is Islamic Awakening, that is the state of stimulation and awareness in the Islamic Ummah which has now sparked major developments in regional countries and has triggered uprisings and revolutions which the dominant regional and international devils would have never deemed, great uprisings that have overcome tyranny and hegemony.” Despite having various attitudes and subcategories, Islamic Awakening has transmitted a single message to the history which is: We have come back to return religion to human’s individual and social life. This feeling and self-awareness, is a combination of shame and return to genuine values. Shame for having lost the dignity which Muslims once had and return to Islam which means our underdevelopment is due to moving away from Islam. The meaning and the message of Islamic Awakening is that we return to Islam to regain our lost dignity. As we earlier defined Islamic Awakening, return doesn’t mean going back or reverse movement in the history. Return to the past doesn’t mean retrogressive movement

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening but it means return to Islam and repenting of negligence in observing its rules and making up for it. Islamic Awakening means that we have moved away from Islamic values, faith, and concepts and have to compensate for the shortcomings in centuries to come. This return aims to build up a new Islamic civilization using the pure Islamic values and the experience of human civilization. The uprising of the Islamic Awakening is after the establishment of a global Islamic civilization in which wisdom and spirituality, power and morality, science and value, and knowledge and practice, are come together. Islamic Awakening History Over 14 centuries ago, the appearance of Islam brought about a huge change in human history. Islam passed through racial, geographical, and ethnic borders and with reliance on the word Allah, made different societies closer to each other and created huge power for a nation that had no share of culture and civilization and wealth at that time when Greek civilization had reached the acme of fame other powerful Roman and Persian empires. Islam appeared and defeated the Roman and Persian empires, which were the superpowers of their era and rapidly spread and took control of a great part of the civilized world. Islamic ideology developed along with the economic and military power of the Islamic world as the civilized Europe was experiencing its decline. While the Islamic civilization was at its the zenith, the western civilization was slumbering so that nowadays that era is known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dark Ageâ&#x20AC;? in the West as they had nothing to offer for the humanity. The West, in fact, dealt a blow to the Islamic World through The Cursades and

113

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

114

even though it failed to get its desired military might within two centuries, it managed to get gradually familiar with the Islamic culture, literature and breakthroughs and pass the so-called dark age and start “light age”. Thus, the westerners managed to get wonderful accomplishments and 17th, 18th and 19th centuries became the flourishing era for the West and unfortunately, the Islamic World, influenced by these two factors, was undermined: first the western hegemony and the exploitation in the region and second, tyranny and corruption of Muslim rulers who deviated from the genuine Islamic principles and the downfall of the Ottoman Empire, during the Word War I served the final blow to the remaining body of the Islamic World. The West launched an all-out military and cultural offensive against the Islamic World so that Muslims distanced themselves from Islamic values and were oriented towards the West and copied western models in an attempt to compensate their backwardness. Of course there were some people who found out the reason behind the underdevelopment of Muslims was not their association with Islam, but indeed distancing themselves from the Islamic principles. Many attempted to wake the Muslims up and make them understand the reason of their failure and underdevelopment and how they must tackle it. The final blow the West stroke to the Islamic World was imposing the Zionist regime on Muslims in the holly Palestinian territories and its decision to give it a territory From the Nile to the Euphrates. Prominent British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee wrote in his book Civilization on Trial: “Pan-Islamism is dormant— we have to reckon with the possibility that the sleeper may awake, if ever the cosmopolitan proletariat of a ‘westernized’ world revolts

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening against western domination and cries out for anti-western leadership. That call might have incalculable psychological effects in evoking the militant spirit of Islam—even if it has slumbered as long as the Seven Sleepers— because it might awaken echoes of a heroic age. On two historic occasions in the past, Islam has been the sign in which an oriental society has risen up victoriously against an occidental intruder. If the present situation of mankind were to precipitate a ‘race war’, Islam might be moved to play her historic role once again.” Toynbee raised the issue back in 1947 an in fact his prediction came true in 1979 when the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran. A revolution that was staged with empty hands and through the reliance on the slogan of God is Great and return to Islamic values and stood up against superpowers and became a turning point in not only Iranian history but also the Islamic history and even the world history. This movement awakened that dormant and spread rapidly across the Muslim world. Less than two years later, a number of faithful young men in Lebanon, a deprived country hosting the military bases of US, Britain, France, Italy, and Israel, stood up against the occupiers, and without giving them any concessions, forced them to leave their country . In Afghanistan, a country known as graveyard of empires, Afghan fighters are now expected to defeat the US empire after bringing British and Russian empires to their knees. The voice of Islam is now being echoed in Turkey, Algeria, and other Islamic states and the Palestinian Intifada has made the Zionism and Imperialism desperate and the United States is now considering the occupation

115

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East of Iraq to undermine Muslim’s awakening. Muslims have been awakened and have started their campaign based on three important principles: first return to genuine Islam which managed to overcome major powers in the past, second, unity of the Islamic World, which imperialism and hegemony have long plotted to sow discord among Islamic sects on the basis of “ divide and rule” principle. Today, the unity of Islamic world is the only way to boost the authority of Islam and the third principle of this awakening is antihegemonism and countering blasphemy and sacrilege of the idols of the time. This sacred movement will definitely lead to the victory of Islam and the defeat of hegemony.

116

Obstacles to Islamic Awakening in recent centuries The question is why Muslims have declined despite having an authentic Islamic history and when Islamic Awakening started? Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and Russia invaded Iran in 1803. In 1805 Britain built 500 steam-powered ships to expand its domination over international waters. These kinds of moves paved the way for the hegemonic powers invasion of Islamic world and robbing Muslims’ wealth. In 1857, following the crackdown on revolutionary Muslims in Pinjab, by the mercenaries of East India company, Bahador Shah Zafar, the last Muslim ruler of India, was exiled to Burma by Britain. Britain later officially made India as its colony, there decades after exploiting its resources under the trade cover of East India company. It kept Indian Peninsula under its rule for 90 years until the victory of the popular uprising in the region which led to the independence of India and Pakistan from England.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Muslims countries in south eastern Asia were colonized by Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and British governments for a long time. The French set up their colonies in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. And Russia, Britain and to some extent France, exerted their influence in Iran, Ottoman Empire, Transoxiana Caucasus, Kharazm, and Afghanistan. Britain seized the control of the Arabian Peninsula and Portugal, France, Italy, Holland, Spain and Britain colonized almost all parts of Africa. Therefore, Muslims turned dormant and underdeveloped for two reasons: First the western hegemony and exploitation in the strategic region and second tyranny and deviation of Muslim rulers. These two factors made Muslims move away from the genuine Islamic principles and values and dealt a heavy blow to Islam. This was intensified during the World War I when the Ottoman Empire collapsed for the above mentioned reasons and the West started its massive military and intellectual offensive on the Islamic world as Muslims lost the little support they were provided by the Ottoman Empire. Muslims distanced themselves from Islamic values and blamed Islam for their backwardness. They were oriented towards the West and copied western models in an attempt to compensate their backwardness. Of course there were some people who found out the reason behind the underdevelopment of Muslims was not their association with Islam, but indeed distancing themselves from the Islamic principles. People like Sayyed Jamalodin Assadabadi, Sayyed Qotb, Hassan al-Bana and others tried to wake the Muslims up and make them understand the reason of their failure and underdevelopment and how they must deal with it.

117

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

118

Nigerian teacher Osman Fodiv in western Africa, Amir Abdulqader in Algeria, Omar Mokhtar in Libya, Mohammad Abde and Hassan al-Bana and Sayyed Qotb and Mohammad Qazali in Egypt, Abdolrahman Kavakebi in Syria, Tanzimat leader in Ottoman Empire, Sheikh Shamel Daghestani in Caucasus, Basmechis in Transoxiana Sayyed Ahmad Khan, Shah Valiyollah Dehlavi, Abukalam Azad, Iqbal Lahouri, Mohammad Ali jenah in the Indian Peninsula, Sheikh Mohammad Hossein Al-Kashefalghota in Iraq, Ezedin Qssam and Haj Amin Al-hosseini in Palestine, Sayyed Mohammad Mojahed Isfahani, Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, Haj mohammad Ali Kani, Sheikh Fazlolah Nouri, Akhound Khorasani, Mohammad Hossein Naeeni, Sayyed Jamalodin Assadabadi, Sayyed Hassan Modares, Ayatollah Kashani in Iran are among the eminent intellectuals in the Islamic world who stood up against the colonism and led the Islamic Awakening for some time but Imam Khomeini and his role and share in the establishment of the wave of Islamic Awakening has been significantly different from others. The final blow the West stroke to the Islamic World was formation and the establishment of the Zionist in the holly Palestinian. Prominent British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee wrote in his book Civilization on Trial: “Pan-Islamism is dormant— we have to reckon with the possibility that the sleeper may awake, if ever the cosmopolitan proletariat of a ‘westernized’ world revolts against western domination and cries out for anti-western leadership. That call might have incalculable psychological effects in evoking the militant spirit of Islam—even if it has

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening slumbered as long as the Seven Sleepers— because it might awaken echoes of a heroic age. On two historic occasions in the past, Islam has been the sign in which an oriental society has risen up victoriously against an occidental intruder. If the present situation of mankind were to precipitate a ‘race war’, Islam might be moved to play her historic role once again.” During the 20th century, Communism and Fascism emerged as the secular ideologies in the Christian World. Liberal Democracy was challenged by no rivals after the downfall of Fascism (1945) and Communism (1991), but he Islamic Revolution in Iran challenged the Liberal Democracy regime and this was seen as a new beginning of the restoration of religion as the Islamic Revolution nullified the theories and views of the Liberal Democracy that claimed religion is not capable of ruling people and would gradually lose its political and social importance. In other words, it was believed that regarding social development, nations inevitably get secular in the process of modernization but the Islamic Revolution conveyed a different message to the world and that was: societies that return to religions don’t necessarily get secular in the process of modernization and that is why, both in developed and developing countries, many people have come to the conclusion that they can seek their material and spiritual objective more effectively via getting involved in religion groups and movements. After the Cold War, the religious values of the Islamic Revolution expanded as means of communication like telegraph, telephone, and especially internet and email were developed. In other words, means of communication contributed to the reinforcement of the

119

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

120

relations among religious and non-religious communities and the cooperation among religious and political activists in various fields. Also, after the Cold War, new issues, including environment, illegal drugs, HIV, terrorism, immigration, refugees and human rights, emerged in international relations, and religious activists were required to boost their participation in resolving such issues while the American democracy has failed to tackle such matters. Anyway, nowadays, religions, on regional and international levels, maintain a strong influence on politics. The most import manifestation of this influence can be seen in religious fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism indicated a special kind of strategy that seeks to protect the identity of the religious people as a community and a group, against those who wish to drive them into no-religious environments. Some times, this defensive state changes and leads to a kind of political aggression that seeks to change the ruling political, social and economic regimes. Of course, it must be emphasized again that reemergence of religion, or religious fundamentalism, as a principle in global politics, is related to the victory of the Islamic Revolution rather that the collapse of Communism. Therefore, imposing a war, sponsored by the powerful countries, on Iran can be viewed as an attempt to crush Islamic fundamentalism arisen out of the Islamic Revolution. The role of the intellectuals in Islamic Awakening So, one of the meanings of this term is waking up and coming back to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Islamic values which in fact means restoration of Islamic values. Nigerian teacher Osman Fodiv in western Africa, Amir Abdulqader in Algeria, Omar Mokhtar in Libya,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Mohammad Abde and Hassan al-Bana and Sayyed Qotb and Mohammad Qazali in Egypt, Abdolrahman Kavakebi in Syria, Tanzimat leader in Ottoman Empire, Sheikh Shamel Daghestani in Caucasus, Basmechis in Transoxiana Sayyed Ahmad Khan, Shah Valiyollah Dehlavi, Abukalam Azad, Iqbal Lahouri, Mohammad Ali jenah in the Indian Peninsula, Sheikh Mohammad Hossein Al-Kashefalghota in Iraq, Ezedin Qssam and Haj Amin Al-hosseini in Palestine, Sayyed Mohammad Mojahed Isfahani, Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, Haj mohammad Ali Kani, Sheikh Fazlolah Nouri, Akhound Khorasani, Mohammad Hossein Naeeni, Sayyed Jamalodin Assadabadi, Sayyed Hassan Modares, Ayatollah Kashani in Iran are among the eminent intellectuals in the Islamic world who stood up against the colonism and led the Islamic Awakening for some time but Imam Khomeini and his role and share in the establishment of the wave of Islamic Awakening has been significantly different from others. Imam Khomeini and awakening Muslims Imam Khomeini, diagnosed the root causes of the chronic diseases of Islamic Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underdevelopment through his profound and incredibly bright vision, and prescribed a unique treatment for this old illness that was indeed a divine version, which not only uprooted the disease, but also discover the latent potentials of the cure patient to strengthen his defensive capabilities. Several principles have been taken into consideration in this prescription: 1.Restoration of the genuine Islamic identity of Muslims and countering any desperation

121

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

122

2. Uprooting tyranny 3. Cutting hands of hegemonism and Zionism 4. Restoration of self-confidence to Muslims, especially the Muslim people of Iran under the brief but profound title of “We can” 5. Insistence on Islamic principles and rejecting any eclectic approach, tolerance and lenience regarding the religious values 6. Involving people of all walks of life in the political affairs and encouraging them to continue peaceful resistance against the tyrant regimes and their elements 7. Maintenance and protection of the cultural and ideological essence of the Islamic Revolution 8.Exporting the culture of Revolution to other parts of the world 9. Supporting Islamic thoughts and movements in other countries 10. Categorizing the objectives of the Revolution into major and minor issues in the context of Islamic unity, tyranny, and anti-colonism 11. Foundation of a government based on religious democracy and rule of jurisprudence Thanks to God’s special blessings, the successor of late Imam Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei, decisively continued Imam’s path. Surprisingly enough, the beginning of his leadership coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the U-S attack on Iraq After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, enslaved and impoverished nations across the world, got

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening a fresh life and started struggles and movements to gain freedom and salvation. The pinnacle of the struggles in the Middle East and Muslim countries that were neighboring Iran and shared economic and cultural common points with the country. This had a profound effect on the expansion and development of the Islamic Revolution and the most prime examples of these revolutionary movements and struggles were seen in Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and ... which shattered the mystique of the superpowers and promoted growth, unity and brotherhood among Muslims. The collapse of Eastern Block and Communism and the liberation of Muslim republics from the hegemony and dictatorship of the superpowers and some other similar cases, are among other effects of the Islamic Revolution.1 1.Mohammad Bahger HeshmatZadeh, effects and consequence of the Islamic Revolution p.39 New Middle East, Islamic Middle East The Islamic uprising in the Islamic World originated from the Islamic Revolution of Iran and continues in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya. This has once against cautioned the West especially the U-S, over the power of the Islamic World and made the concerned about the occurrence of Islamic Revolution in Arab countries. The recent uprising will lead to a fundamental change in the Middle East in which Islam will have the last say, despite the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media campaign and psychological operations against the unity of the Islamic world and the Islamic Awakening. Believing in the fact that the enemies are now using the instruments of threats and soft wars to deviate Islamic

123

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

124

uprising from their routes and converting them into liberal developments that are base of secularism, is the first step to be taken for having a smart approach towards such plots. It is vital to have a plan for implementing the goals of the Islamic uprising in Arab World and taking the initiative and attacking enemies’ plots. If Muslim government and nations used the soft power of Islam adequately and timely, they can tilt the balance of the global developments towards the interests of Muslims. Definitely, return of Muslim countries to their true nature that is genuine Islam can be considered as the most important achievement of the Islamic movement . On the other hand, due to the recent developments and the collapse of despotic regimes in the region, the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist regime has gained momentum and now it is easier to believe that this regime will be toppled. Even the United States, as the staunch ally of the Occupation regime is now changing its attitude as it finds it very difficult to resist the will of the nations and in near future the Islamic World will turn as the biggest winner and the Israeli regime will be the biggest loser in the recent developments. Last year, Ayatollah Khamenei, in a meeting with Palestinian resistance groups, said: There is no doubt that based on what God has predestined, a new Middle East will be formed and this Middle East will belong to Islam” “Patrick Bouchnan, the commentator of MSNBC and the one of the ruling conservative party in the US, who served as a senior adviser in the administration of President Nixon, Ford and Regan and founded the foundation of American Cause wrote an article under the title of “ A Middle East

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening without US” on February 19, 2011. The popular uprising sweeping through the Middle East has passed through Yemen and Libya and now reached Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th fleet and is heralding a new Middle East. He also raises a question on the characteristics of the new Middle East. The prominent American writer answers his question by referring to the expansion of Islamism in Turkey and writes: Turkey is possibly one of the nations to be studied in this field which has undergone a democratic transfer and has been a reliable US and Israeli ally has launched a membership bid for the European Union. Ankara has taken a different approach which has been supported by Turkish people. Patrick Buchanan also describes the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the most Islamist government after the Ottoman Empire and referred to the expanding ties between Iran and Turkey. He also touched on Turkey’s refusal to allow the US to use its territory to launch military strike against Iraq and says: Turkey is now withdrawing from the U-S hub and is returning to the Islamic World. He also names the recent Ankara-Tel Aviv tensions as the most important symptom of such withdrawal. The former US president aide adds: the U-S empire is now rapidly reaching its end. The US-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt were toppled in a matter of weeks. Hezbollah gained real power in the Lebanese government and the king of Jordan dismissed the country’s prime minister and cabinet and the royal family is being challenged for the first time in the monarchy. The founder and chief editor of American Conservative Magazine, also touches on the US confusion about the latest

125

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East

126

developments in the Middle East and writes: The question is that how abandoning the past functions and stopping war with these countries and allowing their people to decide about their own fate threaten the US interests. The British daily, The Independent, has also highlighted weak US policy regarding the recent circumstances in the Middle East saying in future, a new Middle East is expected to take form on which the US will have no influence. The Independent also focuses on the dimensions of the US failures in the Middle East in the wake of the Islamic Awakening and describes the US foreign policy towards the popular revolutions in the region as weak. The Independent also writes about the US governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weak stances towards the popular uprisings in the Middle East: The US president has been weak enough in his performance regarding the regional development and in future, we should expect the formation of a Middle East without the US influence. Obama has failed to support the Arab revolutions and this issue discredited the United States among Arabs and prompted Muslims to decide about their own fates by themselves. Now the Middle East has considerably changed but the US still says there is nothing wrong with the issue. 1 global hegemonic powers and their puppets, due to the role and significance of Islamic Awakening and their prior knowledge about it, are attempting to keep people in the dark and fundamentally prevent the establishment and growth of uprisings. Because they know that it is time for them to leave. The US newspaper New York Times, published an article written by Thomas Freedman on a Middle East without the US: The people of the region will be able to tackle their

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening problems more efficiently without the US interference. Freedman also refers to the end of the Cold War without the US interference and said the power of the people is above the will of the foreign powers and says: If the people don’t start doing some thing and don’t take the new initiative in peace or any attempts to amend the affairs, no US military deployment or budget can do any good If the people don’t really need us in what they are starting and don’t want the US on their side. When people take the initiative, like what happened during the primary alliance in Afghanistan that resulted in the downfall of Taliban rule and the Revolution in Egypt which toppled the ruling dictator, they themselves take care of the affair. So a Middle East without the US means a successful region. “Slate” Magazine, an online journal affiliated to the Washington Post, published an article under the title of “Middle East without US influence” written by Lee Smith, a leading writer also working for Hudson Institute. The article, published on March 17 2010. read: A New order is taking form in the Middle East. This means the balance of the U-S-backed power order is now tilting towards resistance. Analysts like Robert Millie, former adviser to the US expresident Bill Clinton believe Obama administration must dump Washington’s old allies and try to find new allies in the resistance front. Millie describes Washington’s cautious approach towards Syria and its condemnation of Israel’s continuing settlement activities as positive moves. global hegemonic powers and their puppets, due to the role and significance of Islamic Awakening and their prior knowledge about it, are attempting to keep people in the

127

Expansion of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East dark and fundamentally prevent the establishment and growth of uprisings. This fear among the western government reminds us of Imam Khomeini who used to say: Awakening is the first step. Islamic countries, Muslim nations, oppressed nations all across the world, have been awaken and AfricanAmericans are punished for this awakening.1 A nation that wants to stand on its own feet and be in charge of its own affairs, must first be awakened. Awakening is the first step in the path towards God.

128

Conclusion Return to Quran and Islamic values extracted from Quran and Sunnah is the major common point of Islamic Awakening in all countries across the Islamic World. Muslims yearn to live under the auspices of the Quran and Prophet Mohammad. Islamic ideology is one Muslimsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; power sources and reasserting values like Justice, Freedom seeking, independence and religious democracy has honored Muslims. This merit, if reinforced and used properly, can be utilized to counter the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soft war against the Islamic World. Muslim countries can use this source of power to prevent Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soft war against them and even they can use the Islamic Awakening as a source of power to implement the Islamist goals via proper planning. This awakening should be able to boost solidarity and harmony of the Islamic Ummah and smoothly turn these regional developments into a massive Islamic movement that will ultimately lead to Islamic civilization which is based on the teachings of Prophet Mohammad and contributes to the establishment of independent Muslim countries that support each other as

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening an Islamic Ummah, and robustly defend Muslim nations. Just like the Islamic Republic of Iran which established a government based on Islamic values and the rule of Jurisprudence and get more powerful by the passage of time and Western government have been attempting to depict this movement as superficial and undermine it. But the continuity of the revolutionary demands in the countries where the dictators were toppled. This proves that the regional revolutions are profound enough not to be affected and deviated by the western intelligence servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; superficial attempts. Table of Contents Introduction Definition of Awakening History of Islamic Awakening Obstacles to Islamic Awakening in recent centuries The role of intellectuals in Islamic Awakening Imam Khomeini and awakening of Muslims New Middle East, Islamic Middle East Conclusion

129

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In...

Honor's Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In Light of its Key Role In Islamic Awakening Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini Introduction The word Ezzat (Arabic for honor) has been used in the Quran as both transitive and intransitive verb. The word has many derivatives, whose meanings are different. Some of them have been used literally. And the others have been used figuratively. Dictionaries tell us about the literal meaning of the word: Ezzat refers to strength and power, that is, what guarantees overcoming. Since strength and powers are always associated with supremacy and invincibility, the word Ezzat has also come to mean untouchable. Allameh Tabatabei says about the meaning of the word: "Ezzat refers to rareness; for example when they say something is respectable, it means that one cannot find it easily. And the respectable person of a tribe is the one who cannot be defeated easily unlike other people in the same tribe. This is because the respectable person has a high place." Ayatollah Javadi Amoli says: "Ezzat is the state of being imperious, which causes someone to become invincible". Respectability is one of the characteristics of Allah, the Almighty. In the holy Quran, Allah has been referred to by this name 92 times. When used for human beings, the word honor (or Ezzat) also originates from the same root and means personality and greatness, refusal to bow to the oppressive wealthy and the hypocrites. This is per se some type of invincibility. Psychologically speaking, honor is a source of energy. It's

131

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In... a big umbrella under which there is self-confidence. Self-esteem and human honor is one of the pillars of faith and piety in Islam. If someone's honor and honor are violated, his faith will be undermined and he will become vulnerable to abuse and defeat by the oppressors. Hence, Islam has emphasized a lot on self-esteem of the Muslims and on efforts to preserve it. Unfortunately, in recent centuries and due to different developments and unawareness on part of Muslims, their self-esteem has been gradually undermined and forgotten. In the meantime, the heinous plots and actions of the enemies of Islam and inattention to the teachings of Islam by Muslims have been the key factors. DISCUSSION AND REVIEW Relationship between Islamic honor and Islamic awakening

132

Today, the waves of Islamic Awakening are forging on fast across the world and the Islamic values are being revived. Islamic Awakening is a current, which began simultaneously with the all-out assault of the West on the Muslim world and also the age of colonialism. The current have passed through different stages from the beginning. In fact, Islamic Awakening means the reviving of Islam, which results in the revival of independence, justice, honor and all teachings and high divine values. Meanwhile, there is a collateral relationship between Islamic honor and Islamic Awakening. This is because one the one hand one of the main aims of the currents of Islamic Awakening is to revive and restore the honor of the Muslims that has been lost in recent centuries, and, on the other hand, the desire create and continue the currents of Islamic Awakening increases across the world with the rise

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening in the honor of Muslims worldwide due to those currents. Iran's Islamic Revolution and the Muslim people of Iran are one of the best examples in this respect. Real and fake honor from the viewpoint of Iran's Islamic Revolution's leader There is no doubt that the characteristic of seeking honor is among the inherent tendencies of human beings and has existed in all people at all ages. Each person is inclined towards honor and hates humiliation. However, what matters here is the source of honor and the way to fulfill to this inherent desire. The holy Quran speaks about the real source of honor, saying real honor belongs to Allah, the Almighty, and anything but Him has false and mortal honor. One can vividly see this in the views of the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. He believes that real honor belongs to Allah and has a divine source. It's Him who gives people honor , but from this point it's the human beings themselves who should pave the way for maintaining honor . The leader says, " But honour belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the Believers'. Honor belongs to God. 'Allah grants honor to anyone He liketh and strip them of it if He liketh'. Beg honor from God." In fact, the leader raises two important issues with regard to real honor. The two issues are as following: 1-Real honor has a divine source and only God has authority over who He shall give it to. 2-Humans and Muslims must request real honor from God, not others. Honor is one of the concepts of divine and Islamic concepts. Some people fail to find the right path and the true source of honor and then deviate from the straight path

133

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In... by asking honor and from the fake source. In all parts of his remarks and views, he emphasizes the divinity of the source of honor and rejects the notion that it might have a source other than that.

134

Source of Islamic honor from the viewpoint of the Islamic Revolution's leader He says one of the sources of honor if the holy Quran and the use of its precious and lofty teachings. In fact, the leader says the core of honor of Muslims is Islam. "We should use this essence of honor and Islamic and divine power. The main element of the Muslim Ummah's honor is Islam and the desire to return to the principles and fundamentals of Islam, which bring honor, development and progress. In fact, Islam has given Muslims honor and revived them. In fact, Islam and acting according to its teachings and orders is the very honor. We are not protecting Islam. Islam is protecting us. Any nation that sticks to Islam, it will be alive and will have honor and hold its head high. Islam is respectable. Islam has honor. We need Islam so we can avoid being humiliated by arrogant powers, scientific humiliation, political and cultural humiliation." Elsewhere, he says the source of honor and greatness is the philosophy of invitation by the divine prophets including the Prophet Muhammad and adds that one of the main principles of the invitation is calling for restoring human honor and greatness. He believes that free and oppressed humans repeatedly call for this in line with this global invitation. "Oppressed nations seek honor , the same which is one of the pillars of the prophet's invitation". Some features of the source have a significant effect in extending the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening honor of the Muslims…among them Jihad and Jihadi spirit in the Islamic culture. This has given Islamic Awakening a different hue because in the pure Muahammdan Islamic culture honor can only be achieved through jihad and martyrdom. The compelling evidence to prove this is the great incident of Ashura. That's why oppressors and domineering powers have been trying to erase the signs and teachings of Jihad of the Islamic culture. "The domineering powers are bent on delete Jihad from the Quranic verses and religious teachings. That's because Jihad for the cause of Allah guarantees honor for Muslim nations and the Islamic Ummah and is the biggest bunker of resistance. The same nation, which is ready for moving forward, defending and jihad for the cause of Islam, has been able to give honor to the whole Muslim Ummah. Today, in the Muslim world, Muslim nations feel like seeking honor in Islam and feel they have honor because of Islam." One other characteristics of Islam that helps revive Islamic honor of Muslims and is the source of Islamic Awakening is Ibrahamite Hajj. The Leader of the Islamic revolution says one of the main and big capacities of Hajj is that of giving awareness and honor. "This is where the united Muslim Ummah comes true and is the epitome of spiritual honor and human power of Muslims." How to gain Islamic honor The leader of the Islamic Revolution says one way of gaining Islamic honor is acting according to a Quranic verse: "Thus nations must gain their honor back. The Quran itself has said this: ' If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you'; Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause)' and

135

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In...

136

If Allah helps you, none can overcome you'. [The verses mean if] you help God, help the religion of God, rise up for God, God will help you. If help comes form God, all powers will turn into nothing." The leader in fact believes that Islamic Awakening is the beginning of honor for Muslims and also for all the oppressed and downtrodden people of the world. There is a collateral relationship between Islamic Awakening and human honor and demanding human and Islamic honor has promoted different groups of people to move towards awakening. The outcome of this is Islamic Awakening, which results in reviving the human and Islamic honor. "Why did people come to the scene? Obviously, what brought them to the scene was the issue of human honor. In Egypt, Tunisia and other countries, oppressive rulers had insulted the honor of people." The leader of the Islamic Revolution believes the first step towards restoring Muslims' honor is firm belief in God's promises. " If we believe in the divine promises, then Muslims will see the way towards honor , unity and power open." He also says access to nations and the oppressed to the Islamic teachings is a prerequisite for reviving and resorting human honor . In fact, the leader of the Islamic Revolution believes that the Islamic movements stem from the lost honor of the oppressed nations of the world. "The oppressed are seeking their lost honor, the same which was a pillar of the prophets' invitation. Over years, the enemies, arrogant powers, occupiers and intruders have exploited our nations. Meanwhile, they have humiliated our nations. Nations who have Islam will seek honor. This is Islamic movement. This

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening means Islamic movement. " The leader of the Islamic Revolution Islam, being uniquely perfect, has outlined the characteristics needed for boosting honor of Muslims. One of these characteristics is gaining national honor. He says national honor lies in strengthening and maintaining it. In this respect, national honor means a nation does not feel it's been humiliated and feels it is respected. This respectful view of self among Muslims has been emphasized in the holy Quran. Lack of feeling respect will lead to a nation losing its honor and colonialists violating their honor. In fact, one can say there is a collateral relationship national honor and domination of foreign powers. " Islam has outlined a series of characteristics for building a dynamic and proud nation and it has shown the way forward through history. These are the signs and characteristics of national honor. Just as not one wants to be humiliated, honor is among the highest hopes of a nation. What is national honor ? It means that a nation does not feel humiliated. The opposite point of feeling humiliation is feeling honor. When a nation looks at itself, its assets, its history, its historical heritage, and its human and intellectual resources, it should feel proud and it should feel having honor and shouldn't feel humiliation. This is something a nation needs. The holy Quran frequently refers to this: 'They say "If we return to Medina, surely the more honorable (element) will expel there from the meaner." But honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the Believers; but the Hypocrites know not. '. The hypocrites were speaking to one another and said we are dear and we will throw out Muslims who are not from Medina. God revealed to the prophet (PBUH) that they say so but they

137

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In... do not understand and do not know. It's the faithful who are dear and respectable. Honor belongs to God and to the prophet and to the believers in God. This is a shining tableau that must always be in front of the Muslim Ummah. If the nation underestimates it and feels it has nothing, then it will be very easily fall prey to the foreign powers. "

138

Obstacles to human and Islamic honor The leader of the Islamic revolution believes that one of the most important obstacles to gaining and reviving honor by the oppressed most particularly Muslims is bullying and domineering powers. Such individuals and states do not hesitate to trample on the honor of the oppressed humans particularly Muslims to their protect their illegitimate interests. In fact, they believe that one of the main methods the domineering powers use to achieve their goals is to destroy the human and Islamic honor and identity of people. "Over years, the enemies, arrogant powers, occupiers and intruders have exploited our nations. They humiliated our nations. The bullying and domineering powers are considering getting their hands on any part of the world to fulfill their illegitimate interests even at the expense of the nations' honor and identity. As you can see, this they have been doing allover the world particularly in this region." From his viewpoint, the bullies and arrogant powers want to destroy the Islamic honor of Muslims by making them busy with wars and bloodshed and also with illogical and fake issues. "Today, greedy and arrogant powers, who are coveting the huge and endless natural and human resources of the Muslim world---as they have admitted, have begun a war. The arrogant powers are bearing hypocritical flags in

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening this war, flags of democracy and freedom. But that is not the real aim. The real aim is destroying the honor of the Islamic Ummah, that is, Islam. The leader of the Islamic Revolution says another obstacle to honor of Muslims and the Islamic Ummah is the possibility of them forgetting their Islamic identity. This is mainly done by the puppets of the global arrogance and domineering powers, whom are generally referred to as the enemy. "Each phenomenon, or individual, or government, or system which alienates Muslims from their Islamic identity or cause divisions among them or pays no attention to Islamic honor and greatness or make Muslims disappointed has taken a hostile action, and if he is not an enemy, he is a puppet of the enemy." The leader of the Islamic revolution believes that another important obstacle to gaining and reviving honor by Muslims is disunity among the Muslim Ummah. He maintains that the solution to this problem is restoring the lost honor through unity and resorting to the holy Quran. "Muslim nations should join hands so they would restore their lost honor. Today, the Muslim world needs unity and solidarity as well as resorting to the Quran more than ever. Unity is the embodiment of Muslims' power." In his view, unity and resorting to the holy Quran can create a huge capacity for the awakening of the Muslim Ummah and expand and restore the honor and power of Muslims. "The capacities of the Muslim world for honor and development and power have been revealed more than ever."

139

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In...

140

In the leader's view, the holy Quran is the biggest teacher of Islamic Awakening for the purpose of protecting Muslims' existence and honor. "The Islamic world should think of ways to protect the existence and honor of Muslims. How can this be achieved? Through the Quran." The leader of the Islamic Revolution failure to believe in and act according to the teachings of the holy Quran can be the reason behind the catastrophic situation of the Islamic society and the Muslim Ummah in the past. Unfortunately, we are heir to the situation are also suffering from their problems. "Islam has proved to have the capacity to help the Ummah achieve lofty scientific places as well as honor and political power. Faith and Jihad and avoiding disunity are the only keys to the lofty aim and the Quran tells us: ' So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith.' And teaches us: 'And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right.' And also teaches us: ' And obey Allah and His Messenger. and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere.' These three weaknesses have put the Muslim Ummah in a regrettable situation." Role of the Islamic Revolution in Revival of Islamic Honor In View of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution The leader believes that the Islamic Revolution of Iran served as a model for the movement of the Muslims and humans whose honor has been trampled on. "The Islamic Revolution served a model for Muslims."

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening In his comments, the growth and development resulting from the Islamic Revolution has been a key factor in giving direction to the freedom and honor-seeking Muslims and non-Muslims to regain their lost honor. In fact, one can say that in the leader's view Iran's Islamic Revolution has served as a big model for Muslims to reclaim their honor and the movement to regain forgotten and violated honor by modeling themselves on the Islamic Revolution has turned into a main demand among Muslims and other honorseeking nations. "This revolution came, created a system, the system survived, became stronger and stronger, become more and more developed. This turns into a model. This model-making creates a discourse: the discourse of Islamic identity and Islamic honor. Today, among world nations, the sense of Islamic identity cannot compare with 30 years ago. The sense of Islamic honor and reclaiming this honor cannot compare with the past. This has happened." "In contemporary times, as of decades ago, thanks to the same teachings and a return to those teachings, the wave of Islamic Awakening began and the flag of monotheism once again was hoisted. The climax of the movement was the creation of the Islamic establishment in Iran. It was in this strategic region of the Muslim world that Muslims once again felt they have identity and honor. " He apparently means that the Islamic Revolution has managed to act as a reviver or Islamic honor and independence and serve as a role-model for Muslim and non-Muslim nations. "The righteous word of the Islamic Revolution, which is the very independence of the Muslim Ummah and the Islamic honor, will prevail among Muslims and in Islamic countries."

141

Honorâ&#x20AC;şs Significance from Viewpoint of Leader In...

142

The leader believes that Imam Khomeini and the revolution he started have served as a real and outstanding symbol of Islamic Awakening in the movement towards restoring human and Islamic honor. "Thanks to the blessing of Islamic Awakening, Muslim governments can regain the honor the arrogant powers have denied them. One example is our country, our revolution our Imam. After centuries of despotic rule and two centuries of foreign domination, we came to our senses and the noble Imam brought back people's honor to them." He considers the Islamic Revolution and the Muslim people of Iran as a model and pioneer for the establishment and revival of Islamic honor and regards this as a big responsibility for the Iranian nation. That's because the issue boosts the morale of Muslims and honor-seeking nations and strengthens their will. In fact, the Iranian people has been known as a cause-seeking and pioneer among Muslim and non-Muslim nations. "What the Muslim world expects of us, the Iranian people, is that we, as the flag bearer of the Muslims' honor, keep going ahead firmly. This is what the Muslim world expects of us. The flag of Islam in our country gives hope to other nations. It makes them alive and boost their morale. Hoisting the flag and keeping it firmly is also a big issue for our own people." Conclusion: In this part, we wrap up our discussion by referring to the valuable remarks of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. 1-Today, the situation is different in the Muslim world. Islam Awakening is felt allover the Msulim world. A great movement and uprising is seen at different stages and throughout the Msulim world. 2-The desire to return to Islamic principles, which bring honor, development and progress, is now rampant among Muslim nations and thanks to the blessing

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening of the Islamic Awakening, Islamic states can regain the honor arrogant powers have denied them. 3-Islamic Revolution showed Islamic honor to the whole world. It proved that Islam can give any nation dignity and honor and save it from pressures and intimidations from foreigners and also end their humiliation. The Islamic Revolution also showed it can help a nation realize their potential in all areas and can empower them to defend themselves and their beliefs and identity. The Islamic Revolution showed this. 4-After the Islamic Republic of Iran was created, Muslims allover the world found a new identity and felt having honor and they acquired Islamic personality. 5-Today, the Msulim Ummah is thirsty for that self-confidence and this honor and independence and we all should make efforts towards that end. This is a historic responsibility and today time of right for fulfilling that responsibility and for gaining honor, power and full independence for the Muslim world. 6-Thanks to Islam, Iran gained honor. 7-The great Muslim Ummah should today employ all its assets to gain the honor and power it deserves to have. 8-Today, Islam's enemies, that is, the heads of the global arrogance and Zionism consider its most important task sowing divisions among Muslims and pursuing its media campaign against any nation and government who speaks of Islamic Awakening and the rule of the Quran and works towards regaining Muslims their dignity.

143

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements in the Middle East and North Africa*١ , By Leila Jafari Seyyed Javad Imamjome Zade The main characteristic of bipolar world is direct or indirect competition of two superpowers in order to maintain as well as expand their influence over different regions of the world. Because of its sensitive position in the global geopolitics the Middle East turned into a battlefield among the two poles. There was an idea of two models: the western liberal capitalism model, and the Soviet Union socialism model. These two models, as a key aspect of the competition, were considered the ideal models for the regional states. These models were pursued by socialist and westerner liberal groups in the region. The establishment of the Zionist regime in the heart of the Islamic world left a significant influence over the region’s changes and also over the competition between these rival * In order to have a better understanding of the recent changes in the Middle East and North Africa it seems necessary to take stock of historic background and politics practiced in the region. To analyze this we can divide the history of the Middle East into three segments: 1: From the end of the Second World War and formation of bipolar world system to the disintegration of the Soviet Union (1945 to 2991) 2: From the disintegration of the Soviet Union and introducing the theory of New World Order up to the incident of September 11 (1991 to 2001) 3: From the September 11 and theory of the Greater Middle East up to the recent Middle East popular uprisings (2001 to 2011) A) - The formation of bipolar world and three models to organize the region’s political order

145

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

146

ideological models. Following the establishment of the Zionist regime, there was the formation of pan-Arabism and the union of Arabs as a key idea in the Arab world. The panArabism had a secular tendency and had an inclination to the model of the Soviet Union socialism. The pan-Arabists succeeded to get political power in some countries during 1950-1970s when they claimed the fulfillment of “the Arab dream” such as fight with Israel, fight with colonialism and Western hegemony, taking the hegemonistic royal regimes down, to realize social and political freedoms, solving the problem of underdevelopment and earning economic development. Arab countries, who were considered the Soviet Union’s allies, there were some Arab regimes, which in global and regional alignments, sided with the West and hoped for accomplishment of a “Middle Eastern capitalism”. Politically, however, they had a hegemonistic and reactionary approach. As in global politics, we see a multi-directional rivalry between the two superpowers during 1950s-1980s, regionally also we see a competition between nationalist governments inclined towards the Soviet Union on one hand and on the other hand rightist countries allied with the Western bloc. Following this geopolitical war, there is a competition between these models that each of them promises the ability to solve the problems of regional states. These models include the socialist and communist leftists, nationalists inclined to socialism and a pro-westerner and conservative model. The key characteristics of these models are secular tendency, hegemonism, discarding the religious identity of societies, and insistence on organizing the Middle Eastern

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening countries with imported models, which eventually will put the Middle East in a specific coalition of the global bloc. As a matter of fact, when we observe the outcomes of these rival models, we can say with certainty that the political efforts over these models could not provide proper answer to peoples’ demands and solution to their problems. Failure of communist and socialist groups in attracting supporters, their enfeeblement following the gradual collapse of the Eastern bloc, failure of pan-Arabist regimes in combating the Western colonialism, confronting the Zionist regime and making efforts to solve the issue of Palestine, earning social and economic development, resolving the issue of underdevelopment, reforming the people-government relation, realization of social and political freedom, all these issues resulted in collapse and bankruptcy of the panArabism model in late 1970s and the Camp David Accords rejected this model totally. On the other hand, the regimes allied with the West could not get any good results except more backwardness, hegemonism, incapability of meeting their people’s demands and failure to fight the expansionism of the West and the Zionist regime. B) - Disintegration of the Soviet Union and America’s effort to expand the model of the New World Order in the Middle East At the time when the Middle East experienced the failure of all models and dialogues and it was trapped in a crucial entanglement, the region also faced the changes in the global geopolitics. The Arab countries, under the influence of these global changes, tried to adapt with America’s regional orientation and approach that was manifested in quick acceptance of the Oslo Peace Accords. When the

147

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

148

Arab states faced the invalidity of nationalism and they also saw the Islamic dialogue as a threat against themselves, they again showed interest in the West and especially the United States. Meanwhile, the United States, as the only remaining main player of the cold war claimed to give a successful model to run the world politically, socially and economically. US president George W. H. Bush in his well known speech the “New World Order” outlined Washington’s ambitious plan to become the sole global superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union and expressed a desire to transfer his country’s achievements and plans to the world. There was an idea in the background that with collapsing socialist and nationalist models the United States can present the world a healing prescription of a liberal democracy model in politics and an open market economy. The Arab governments tried their best to conform to America’s wishes of expanding an open market and implement Western democracy. The earliest efforts to plant the seeds of democracy in the Middle East resulted in victory of the Islamist groups in Tunisia and Algeria, which the conservative regimes and western countries didn’t want to accept. The US, working against the old Islamist groups in the Middle East, preferred to side with the hegemonist governments, who were secular and pro-Western and were not a threat to the Israeli regime. Westernization and proximity to the United States’ global and regional policies undercut the Arab regimes in fight against Israel and in fulfilling the Palestine dream. In the economic and social fields, however, there were some positive changes in the Persian Gulf states; but the image

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening of the Arab countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; situation in 1990s shows a body of political and strategic failures and also an increase of poverty and unemployment. The researchers in the end of 20th century described the Arab countries as sinking in crises of ineffectiveness, legitimacy and identity. They believed that as there was not any possibility of forming political systems based on religious democracy, they nourished a radicalism and Salfism, which was a violent protest to the reality of dominant secular hegemonism in Muslim countries and also hegemonism as well as total support of the US and the West for Israel and its aggressive and contemptuous approach. C) - The September 11 and US endeavor to seek hegemony over the region by presenting the Greater Middle East concept There is a special relation between the US efforts to expand its hegemony over the Middle East region and September 11 attacks. So proposing the idea of the Greater Middle East was a redefinition of global geopolitical outlook by the United States. The Greater Middle East plan based on analysis of Arab statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; crises was about to give a comprehensive plan to transit the Arab countries from economic, social and cultural underdevelopment to a better position. In politics the Greater Middle East plan wanted to transit Arab Countries from a total a hegemonism to secular democracy and reorganize the Middle Eastern countries with its liberal democratic model. People of this region interpret this struggle of imposing forceful renovation and democracy from outside as restoration of colonialism. Looking into domestic affairs of regional countries show that this policy has not been effective and they are facing major issues such as cultural and renovation crises, class

149

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

150

differences, corruption and suppression in plutocratic governments as well as identity and legitimacy crisis. Meanwhile, significant progress of communication technology and the expansion of globalization have made loads of changes in world today and the region is benefitting from them as well. D) - Influence of globalization on todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incidents in the Middle East Roland Robertson defines globalization as compression and consciousness of the world as a whole (which means that people get to that level of understanding to see the world as a single place) and global interdependence. Communication between people who are so far apart with each others would be as easy as neighborsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the society. As a matter of fact, globalization has changed the social structures and has produced some kind of identity crisis. So we can trace a sense of fading cultural, ethnics and national identity with approach of acceptance and resistance. David Harway, the author who has reflected on globalization, says that people earn their identity on two elements of time and place; so, globalization with compressing time and place distort these elements. The other issue on identity crisis resulted from globalization which is much related to the first issue that is collapse of the value system and particular beliefs of a society. Undoubtedly, the fundamental values of a society are the key elements of making identity, which is seriously challenged in the process of globalization. On the other hand, globalization results into forming social classes by means of expanding self-consciousness in societies. Meanwhile, there appear some classes that are very much interested in localism. Some of these groups promote the idea of localism against globalization. So some

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening authors believe there is a relation between globalization and emergence and growth of social movements, especially in the third world countries. To name a few social movements, we can mention movements of environmentalists, feminists, advocates of human rights, peace movements and Islamic movements. We cannot underestimate Islamists’ reaction to globalization as merely a tool for religious and national transformation. However, the West’s perception on Islam is also provocative and irritating. The West as a whole and the Western intellectuals in particular, suffer from … intentional superficialsm….. and it has showed itself in different aspects. Edward Said, the Orientalist, criticizes this feature of western philosophy. He says that “American or British academic intellectuals speak reductively and, in my view, irresponsibly of something called ‘Islam’. It seems that exploiting this term (Islam) they take Islam easily that its 1400 years of history can be generalized. They also believe that they can rudely prejudge about adaptation of Islam and democracy, Islam and human rights, Islam and development.” The basis of Edward Said’s Orientalism explains that the West knowingly and consciously pose the East and Islamic World as “the other” and a dangerous rival. They earn identity this way. But people on the streets of Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen, who are Muslims, Christians, men, women, salesmen, the veiled youth are not dead signs that the West can read them according to its own concepts. They are not waiting to be analyzed or get light from the Western torch. On the contrary, they are glowing with their own torch and they believe that it is the Western modernity that needs to save itself. They are about to revive their humane and Islamic

151

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

152

honor and want to change the humiliating situation imposed on them by the West. They want to eradicate concepts such as Arab, Muslim, Terrorist, and Fundamentalist … which are structured about the region’s people by the West. For they all originate from historic prejudgment of Western mind about the East. In order to get desired results, the Westerners make the political realities and color threads of thoughts black and white. Even though democracy is one tool to revive this honor, but the strong presence of Islamic symbols prove that these people want to break the dominant concept and insert their own values and norms in this concept to make a new meaning of democracy. As Hall says in order to take the suppressed cultures into account because of their differences we should reconsider the policies. This means to crack the old constructed identity and make new identity; this would distort the confrontation of “flawless” and “flawed”. If we look at these incidents from another perspective, we see that after street protests and holding the general elections, the result of long queues in front of polling stations in Egypt was 76% votes for the Islamists. Opposed to what was assumed, the Salafists won 29% of the votes as well. The Salafists didn’t participate strongly in the street protests, they do not believe in this kind of campaign ideologically and they do not consider democracy their goal. The matter is that the Islamists today are much different as compared with yesteryears. Looking at speeches made by Rashid alGhannushi, the leader of Ennahda Movement in Tunisia, who has 40% of people’s votes show that he is giving a redefinition of political participation and responsibility in which the new elements such as emphasis on civil rights, political and social freedoms, belief in democracy and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening political pluralism are seen more than before. The election outcomes in three Arab countries of Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco proved that half of people support the Islamists, so their chances of forming a government is more than other parties. This has come true practically in Morocco and Tunisia. This discards the Western standpoint that Islam and democracy cannot go together for Islam is a complicated religion and can give a new definition to democracy. Another keynote about these movements is the presence of the youth. The young people, who are mostly educated and know the global concepts and tools on one hand, and on the other hand, are familiar with their local culture and potential are indeed the chief leaders of these movements. They have the required knowledge and want to make their desired structures. One modernity tool, however, that has had strong influence over these movements is the media. E) - Influence of media on recent changes in the Middle East and North Africa The earlier mass media theorists believed that worldwide expansion of media communication would be a form of Western cultural, economical and political dominion, “western cultural Imperialism” or “Americanization”. In the contemporary global culture, which is called postmodern culture, the international media outlets may be interpreted unpredictably according to local frameworks. On the other hand, these media outlets would be devices to introduce cultures that are pushed to borders. They also make contacts between the members of minor cultures to have them a redefinition of their identity. Roland Robertson says that the new information technology is a threat to the open societies that would

153

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

154

result in the syndrome of â&#x20AC;&#x153;open society and closed mindsâ&#x20AC;?. However, we can restate his saying as these technologies create tension between closed societies and open minds. The recent events in the Middle East and North Africa make it possible to study both limits and potential supports of the media on leveling the path of freedom. The virtual activity that emerged in 2004 in Egypt and then expanded to other Middle Eastern countries is the advent of a virtual civil society and can be accounted as an alternative for restricted media. Since the year 2008 following global economic crises and a rise in political suppression in Egypt, protests amplified in which different media outlets played a key role. When Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian young man, immolated himself in protest to prices hikes and political suppression in his country it turned into national and international hot news thanks to coverage of conventional and modern media. Three months earlier another young man did the same but nobody had noticed it. But this time, people filmed the incident, put in on the internet and brought countless people to the streets. In the year 2008, the protests of Tunisian were suppressed with no remarkable feedback since less numbers of people were using the internet. However, the immolation of Bouazizi was vastly spread and these protests extend to Egypt as well. There was a similar cyber activity in Saudi Arabia following the arrest of a young woman who dared to drive a car. It is noteworthy that with broadcasting these news and awareness of people of western countries the public opinion of western countries were affected too. In fact, the media coverage made Westerners aware that contrary to humanitarian slogans made by their leaders, they are partners in crime with the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening former Middle East and North Africa’s regimes for their support in violating the accepted principles of human rights and human liberties. In an opinion poll conducted in Britain in 2011 February, 25% of participants had no idea of the activities of British oil companies in Libya, but more than 75% of respondents believed that selling ammunition through British companies in that country is wrong. In British Prime Minister David Cameron’s official meeting 62% of people were opposed to an implicit rise in ammunition sale in the Persian Gulf region. These people, however, are not policy-making or business factors but eventually they would make new restrictions for the western policy-makers in order to contact with their autocratic clients. Another key point related to these movements is that people used to reiterate some slogans on restless Arab streets: “people want fall of the regime through peaceful means”. Emphasis on people’s demands through peaceful ways is a brand new phenomenon in Arab political literature that has no example in the region’s political history and even not in the history of Arab political mindset. The history of Arab political mindset is replete with royal literature in which the demand of people has never had any political nor Ideological legitimacy. Changes in Arab world always took place from the top and this statement that “truth is with the majority” has been a deep-rooted belief in the Arab political thinking. The conventional Arab governments after the First and Second World wars were formed with foreign interference or coups by successors against predecessors. Throughout the history of the Arab political history there is not even one government which has been formed on the basis of people’s want and opinion. The only contemporary

155

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ...

156

Arab democracy is a kind of democracy in Lebanon that is based on division of power among the three communities and not based on political competition of parties. The history doesn’t recall in any case that the Arabs have conducted political campaigns so peacefully. The belief in this method in the 2011 uprisings in Yemen was manifested. The Yemenis insisted on the slogan “peaceful” against the violence of Ali Abdullah Saleh regime and his persistence to turn the revolution into localised armed clashes, and eventually these nonviolent protests forced him to leave the power. The belief in people’s role in forming political systems, emphasis on peaceful and democratic ways of campaigns and defending civil and individual rights is an essential metamorphosis in beliefs and meanings of political participation among the elite and public. This metamorphosis owes to the media revolution. However, we should not exaggerate the role of media in these movements, for the media is an instrument after all and not the goal of the movements. The success of the media in making changes was contingent to street movements. The chief cause of the recent events in Islamic countries was the existence of revolutionary conditions and inability of the government to suppress it. Conclusion: The historical analysis proved that the Middle East has been profoundly in turmoil of hegemonism, economic and social problems, the US hegemonism and humiliating defeats from the Zionist enemy during last six decades. Meanwhile, the leftist and rightist models that for a long time were claiming to solve these problems and crises

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening lost their credibility due to their internal incapability as well as creating new problems. Also, globalization and development of communicative technologies, opposing to Fukuyama’s saying, has not set liberal democracy as its ultimate goal, rather it is benefitting from its tools to revive local cultures. In fact we can claim that the main cause of the recent uprisings is ideological changes of region’s people. The youth who have earned self-awareness and self-understanding intend to ascend from present condition to desired condition and revive their humane and Islamic honor. Furthermore, media outlets, which were believed to result in Americanization was utilized on the contrary. Not only have these media outlets made the movements spread to other regional countries, but also pressure the public opinion in Western countries about their governments, for they are accomplice to region’s dictators who have supported them. Sources: 21 ‫ ﻓﺼﻞ‬.‫ ﺑﺎﺏ ﺳﻮﻡ‬.‫ ﭼﺎپ ﺍﻭﻝ‬.‫ ﺗﺮﺟﻤﻪ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﭘﺮﻭﻳﻦ ﮔﻨﺎﺑﺎﺩﻱ‬.‫ ﻣﻘﺪﻣﻪ‬.(1336)‫ ﻋﺒﺪﺍﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ‬،‫ﺍﺑﻦ ﺧﻠﺪﻭﻥ‬ ‫ ﺍﻧﺘﺸﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺁﻣﻮﺯﺵ‬،‫ ﺣﻤﻴﺪ ﻋﻀﺪﺍﻧﻠﻮﺍ ﺗﻬﺮﺍﻥ‬.‫ ﻧﻘﺶ ﺭﻭﺷﻨﻔﻜﺮﺍﻥ‬.(1377)‫ ﺳﻌﻴﺪ‬،‫ﺍﺩﻭﺍﺭﺩ‬ .25‫ ﺹ‬،‫ ﭼﺎپ ﺍﻭﻝ‬،‫ ﺳﻮﺭﻩ ﻣﻬﺮ‬،‫ ﺗﻬﺮﺍﻥ‬.‫ ﻣﺎ ﻭ ﺟﻬﺎﻧﻲﺷﺪﻥ‬.(1387)‫ ﻋﻤﺎﺩ‬،‫ﺍﻓﺮﻭﻍ‬ .‫ ﺗﺮﺟﻤﻪ ﺣﻤﻴﺪ ﺍﺣﻤﺪﻱ‬،‫ ﺟﻨﺒﺶ ﻫﺎﻱ ﺍﺳﻼﻣﻲ ﺩﺭ ﺟﻬﺎﻥ ﻋﺮﺏ‬:‫ ﺍﺳﻼﻡ ﺩﺭ ﺍﻧﻘﻼﺏ‬.(1377 ) ‫ ﻫﺮﺍﻳﺮ‬،‫ﺩﻛﻤﺠﻴﺎﻥ‬ .‫ ﺍﻧﺘﺸﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﻛﻴﻬﺎﻥ‬:‫ﺗﻬﺮﺍﻥ‬ 22 ‫ ﺹ‬.‫ ﺁﺫﺭ ﻭ ﺩﻱ‬.11 ‫ ﺷﻤﺎﺭﻩ‬.‫ ﺩﻳﻦ ﭘﮋﻭﻫﺎﻥ‬،‫ ﺟﻬﺎﻧﻲ ﺷﺪﻥ ﻭ ﺟﻨﺒﺶ ﺍﺳﻼﻡ ﮔﺮﺍﻳﻲ‬.(1381) ‫ﺳﺠﺎﺩﻱ ﻋﺒﺪ ﺍﻟﻘﻴﻮﻡ‬ http://www.hawzah.net/fa/MagArt.html?MagazineID=5427&MagazineN umberID=5442&MagazineArticleID=51068 :‫ ﺩﻱ‬10 .‫ ﺑﺮﺭﺳﻲ ﺍﺳﺘﺮﺍﺗﮋﻳﻚ‬.‫ ﭘﻮﺳﺖ ﺍﻧﺪﺍﺯﻱ ﺳﻴﺎﺳﺖ ﻭ ﻗﺪﺭﺕ ﺩﺭ ﺟﻬﺎﻥ ﻋﺮﺏ‬.(1390) ‫ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ‬،‫ﻓﺮﺍﺯﻣﻨﺪ‬ http://strategicreview.org/1390/10/10 http://www.ghatreh.com/news:‫ ﺁﺫﺭ‬4 .‫ ﺑﻴﺪﺍﺭﻱ ﺍﺳﻼﻣﻲ‬.(1390) ‫ﻗﺎﻟﻴﺒﺎﻑ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﺎﻗﺮ‬ Allam, A. (2011). “ Saudi female drivers defy rules, Financial Times”. 17 June. Beaumont, P. (2011). “ The truth about Twitter, Facebook and the uprisings in

157

Ideological transformations and Islamic movements ... the Arab world, The Guardian”. 25 February. Hall,S.(1990).” Cultural identity and Diaspora” in J. Rutherford(ed),Identity: Community, Culture, Difference. Lawrence and Wishart: London. Lull, J. (1995). “Media, Communication, Culture: a Global Approach”. Polity Press: Cambridge Kellner,Peter(2011).YouGov,

February

<http://today.yougov.co.uk/

commentaries/peter-kellner/dealinglibya>, accessed 1 April 2011. Robertson, R. (2007). “ Open societies, closed minds: exploring the ubiquity of suspicion and voyeurism”. Globalizations, 4(3), pp. 399–416.

158

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

Imam Musa al-Sadr's role in encouraging the youth in the Islamic awakening wave Yahya Maroof

160

Introduction Islamic Awakening is a phenomenon in theory and practice that constitutes an important part of the contemporary Muslim world. This awakening is the result of efforts by Muslims with regard to social, political and cultural developments. Imam Moussa Sadr's efforts to lay the groundwork for Islamic Awakening had an important effect on the young people since he deeply believed in Islam and was constantly seeking an Islamic Renaissance. One can say his view of the youths was based on trust and tolerance. He said in his speech entitled "Religion in Social Participation": "Young people have their own hopes and expectations. However, this does not mean that they should be absorbed in their hopes or they should go too far such that their body and reason fails in the face of developments. My hope is that young people will be such that they have a good idea about their homeland because they are the vital veins and fragrant flowers of the country and they always smell of the heaven. I hope that young people will achieve their national, literary and ethical goals so they can get more support and be more appreciated in the society which God has chosen them." Visit www.yaranesadr.ir Imam Moussa Sadr created different educational, cultural and service institutions for the purpose of reinvigorating the youths in order to lay the groundwork for educating cultivated and deep-thinking generations. Such activities

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening helped make passive people active so that they were present in all arenas and determined social and political relations. He always viewed his activities as a cleric in light of both religion and worldly affairs and believed that religion must be at the service of human beings. Once he arrived in Lebanon , Imam Moussa Sadr began to teach at high schools. He describes the early months with young people in this way: "I began with seven speeches in a week for students and educational authorities at two big Shia cultural institutions of Lebanon [Jafarieh and Amelieh] with the aim of being in a closer touch with young people. In the early days, the ridiculing faces and humiliating smiles of some of the young people were intolerable. But this was justifiable. There were many books and treatises and poisoning thoughts in Lebanese libraries and young people would study them. Several months passed. Days and hours were moving forwards very slowly. I had to answer to weird questions. Once, the youths were leaving the amphitheater while they were surrounding me. One of them told me, "Have you ever thought why young people like you and why they feel they are so close to you? He went on, "Your discussions and proposals are made in light of psychological needs and mental problems. In other words, you view our psychological and physical status realistically and you study our problems very patiently and solve them as far as you can" (Abazari p. 95). Although Lebanon was where Imam Moussa Sadr mainly active, he was never in the dark about issues of the Muslim world. Iran 's Islamic Revolution, the security of Islamic seminaries, an Arab-Islamic unity for fighting against Israel and expansion of Shiism in Africa were among the most important concerns of the cleric outside Lebanon . While

161

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth... realizing that no change can take place in the political scene without an armed movement, Imam Moussa Sadr tried to create a well-organized armed group by educating and training pious and Mojahed youths.

162

A Review of Imam Moussa Sadr's Life Seyyed Moussa Sadr was born on Khordad 14, 1307, in the holy city of Qom . His father Seyyed Sadr-e-Din Sadr was the successor to Sheikh Abdol Karim Haeri, the founder of the Qom Islamic School (seminary) and was one of the greatest religious authorities of the time. His paternal ancestor was Ayatollah Seyyed Esmail Sadr who was the top religious authority of his time and the successor to the late Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi. Imam Moussa Sadr's maternal ancestor was Ayatollah Hajji Agha Hossein Qomi who was the successor to the late Ayatollah Seyyed Abol Hassan Esfahani and also the leader of the popular uprising in Mashhad against Reza Khan, the former king of Iran . (Khosroshahi, 2008, pp. 34 to 55) Seyyed Moussa Sadr completed elementary school in Qom and then went to high school. He also studied at the Qom seminary during high school. (Abazari, 2002, pp. 17 and 25) Besides Islamic studies, he made his way to university in 1950, being admitted to Tehran University to study Economic Law (Economics) there. He was graduated in 1953. Before going to the holy city of Najaf , he was appointed as the supervisor of the review "Islamic Studies Association" by Allameh Tabatabaei. While studying at Najaf seminary, he became a member of the board of trustees of the circle known as Montadi al-Nashr. When

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening he returned to Qom , he was put in charge of a national school and also was appointed as the editor in chief of the newly-established journal "Islamic School". One of his most significant activities in the late years of his life in Qom was the drawing up of a large-scale plan to reform the educational system of the seminaries in collaboration with the Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Beheshti and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi (Kamalian, 2007, p. 22) In early 1969, Imam Moussa Sadr left Iran for Lebanon to succeed the leader of Lebanon 's Shias Ayatollah Seyyed Abdol Hossein Sharaf al-Din as he had willed before his death and as recommended by Ayatollah Boroujerdi and Sheikh Morteza Al Yassin. The journey's aims were to reform cultural, social, economic and political affairs of the Lebanese SHia population and to also use the unique capacities of Lebanon in order to introduce the school of the progeny of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to the world. To Attain these goals, he organized his activities in different areas upon arrival in Lebanon in light of the socio-political climate of the country. (Sharaf al-Din, 2009, p. 136) Imam Moussa Sadr's Role in Islamic Awakening The teachings of Imam Moussa Sadr has left some great an impression on Islamic Awakening. The activities of this great Islamic figure in the Middle East played a great role in the Islamic Awakening of the Muslim Ummah. This is because people all wanted to have a role in deciding their own fate and they demanded dignity, freedom and political and public participation. All these demands emanate from the teachings of this valuable figure. Imam Moussa Sadr's

163

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

164

activities paved the way for the creation of the Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah, which has been one of the main factors in promoting Islamic Awakening in the Middle East . One can dare say that today most Arab uprisings have been inspired by the resistance in Lebanon that was founded by Imam Moussa Sadr. Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah mentions Imam Khomeini, Imam Moussa Sadr, Ayatollah Khamenei and Shahid Mohammad Bagher Sadr as people who most inspired him. This is while the 33day resistance of Lebanese people and the 22-day resistance of Hamas against the Zionist regime indicate the deep impact his teachings have left on regional developments, which is a reflection of the spiritual developments of the young people in the region. Fortunately, the demands have gone public in the last year and despotic rulers have either been toppled or have given in to reforms (Ways and Path, 2006, p. 55) Despite efforts by secular regimes of the region, people are going the opposite way by turning to Islamic teachings and making spiritual reforms. Today, this awakening has happened in all Muslim countries and people are moving towards materializing their demands through heir resistance. This is while previously autocratic rulers of the region by no means allowed people to decide their fate. Undoubtedly, the speed with which popular uprisings and the awakening are engulfing the region and also the huge wave of Islamic Awakening in the future will be in favor of the regional developments. Imam Moussa Sadr's Attitude towards Opponents What made Imam Moussa Sadr different from others

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening in Lebanon and the whole Muslim world was his attitude towards his opponents. Since his beliefs and actions as well as his viewpoints endangers the interests of many in the social and political scene of Lebanon's SHia and nonShia factions, large numbers of people turned into his enemies and opponents overtime (see Ethics and Politics in Life of Imam Moussa Sadr). Imam Moussa Sadr's main characteristic was his tolerance of other beliefs. Thus, he was allowed to make speeches at well-known churches such that many Christians came to call him "The Jesus Christ of the Time" (See Imam Moussa Sadr and Reviving Religious Thought). Imam Moussa Sadr was never into imposing his beliefs on others and respected all people according to their beliefs. He knew that religions cannot be imposed and everyone should be free to adopt the religion they like. Therefore, he was not seeking to eliminate his opponents. Imam Moussa Sadr by no means imposed anything on anyone. One can say that his most outstanding characteristic was that he never vilified anyone. Such behavior was not tactical and was deeply rooted in his personality. He was ready to talk to and interact with anyone from any social class or any group with any social or political standing. He did not attach himself any faction or person or group and was ready for dialogue over all matters. People could put forward all matters with him without feeling insecure or feeling humiliated and without fearing the consequences. As Lebanon is the focal point of opposites, he not only managed to make Shia groups converge through his Islamic temper but also secured a respectable place for the Shias in Lebanon . Hence, his popularity did not come solely from his being a cleric and religious teachings, but his ethics and

165

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

166

ways played a significant role in shaping his standing in Lebanon and the Arab world. Imam Moussa Sadr's speech at churches gave special credibility to his personality and the standing of the Shias in the Lebanese society. A reporter says on his speech at a catholic church: "When Imam Moussa Sadr entered the church, the Christians sitting there looked at him with a mixed feeling of happiness and worry. Imam Moussa Sadr showed his respect to people by nodding his head forward. After taking his seat, the former Lebanese president introduced him, and then Imam Moussa Sadr addressed the congregation on the joint mission of all religions. His speech impressed the audience in such a way that they wished they had not been at the church so they give him an ovation. After the speech, people stood in line to shake hands with him. This behavior of Imam Moussa Sadr was not aimed at bringing him popularity or power. He only aimed at introducing Islam and Shias and solve their problems by going to the churches and meeting with government officials as well as by visiting the religious and scientific centers of the worlds (see Ethics and Politics in Life of Imam Moussa Sadr). The most outstanding characteristic of Imam Moussa Sadr with regard to ethics and politics was his moderation. The way he spoke, the words his used and his concepts in his daily and political discourse was indicative that he understood others (Sari alGhalam, 2007, p. 25 Why Imam Moussa Sadr was eliminated from Lebanon 's political scene? Imam Moussa Sadr was the first person to bring the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;resistanceâ&#x20AC;? to Lebanon (Tareq Ibrahim 2009 p. 50). He

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening was among the most influential figures, who came to serve as a role-model for the new generation most particularly the young people due to his scholarly and practical eligibility. This had angered the US government and the Zionists. Thus, former Libyan ruler, Moammar Gaddafi, who was a puppet of Israel , abducted Imam Moussa Sdar and his companions, destroying the supporting pillars of this Ummah, which was resistance and awakening. Imam Moussa Sadr spearheaded the movement towards religious politics, Islamic resistance, revival and reform of religious thought, social justice and inter-faith dialogue as well efforts to bring about sectarian convergence in Lebanon in real terms. While maintaining a balance between religion and nationality, he gave Shias dignity. His life shows that Imam Moussa Sadr’s activities and presence in the region posed the greatest threat to the Zionists and their interests. He would neutralize the Zionist regime’s plots to sow divisions among the Lebanese people and would not allow Tel Aviv to achieve its heinous goals in Lebanon . Imam Moussa Sadr’s courageous move to organize the religious youths of Lebanon as Mojahedeen for the cause of God and to form an organized militia group in the heart Islam’s enemies particularly the Zionists caused great fear among them. On the other hand, Islamic leanings began to spread more than ever to Shia regions of Lebanon and Iraq . The global arrogance arrived at the conclision that it should liquidate Imam Moussa Sadr and his cousin Mohammad Bagher Sadr to prevent the growth of Islamic leanings in Muslim countries particularly Lebanon and Iraq . That was because the thoughts of these two figures posed a potential threat to the West. Meanwhile, Imam Moussa Sadr and Mohammad Bagher Sadr’s efforts alongside the Islamic

167

Imam Musa al-Sadr›s role in encouraging the youth...

168

Revolution’s victory in Iran could seriously threaten the interests of the global arrogance in the Middle East . Thus, they hatched a plot to get Imam Moussa Sadr kidnapped by a lackey named Gaddafi and to get Mohammad Bagher Sadr and his respectable sister Bint al-Hoda martyred by another lackey named Saddam (see Companions of Imam according to Savak documents, Vol. II, 2000, p.347). Having mixed politics with religion, Imam Moussa Sadr was seeking to establish an Islamic government in Lebanon . The enemy did not want such a man to be in Lebanon . The global arrogance was fully aware that Imam Moussa Sadr as a savior of Lebanon was very popular with the followers of all sects in the country including Christians such as Maronites, Catholics, Armenians, orthodox Christians, Kaldani people, Nasturi people as well as Muslims like Shias, Sunnis, Druze people, Allawites, and Ishmaelite. The global arrogance also knew that his ideas played a pivotal role in resolving many ethnic differences and caused solidarity among people. So they assigned the task of carrying out the heinous mission to Gaddafi whom Britain had brought to power via a coup and as a tool of global arrogance and who always vilified Shias and betrayed them. Speaking in Tehran two years after Imam Moussa Sadr’s abduction, Mostafa Chamran, the martyred commander of Amal movement, who was alongside the cleric defending Lebanon against Israel, said (Hojjati Kermani 2009 pp. 100 to 134), “Israel, the US and Egypt gathered at Camp David and made arrangements that they should carve out southern Lebanon to solve the Palestinian issue and give one chunk to Israel and the other to Palestinians so they could take refuge there. So they decided to bombard the Shia

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening population of southern Lebanon to make them leave their land. Imam Moussa Sadr’s opposition to the plot to settle Palestinians in Lebanon angered Gaddafi who obstinately insisted on the plan….so they came to the conclusion that Imam Moussa Sadr must be wiped off the Middle East ’s political scene. They tried several times to assassinate him to no avail. Finally, Gaddafi invited him to Libya . On the sixth day of his stay in Libya , that is, August 31st, Imam Moussa Sadr was seen before 2 pm in front of the hotel where he was residing. Some Lebanese had also seen him with those accompanying him while they were being taken by government vehicles to visit Gaddafi at 2 pm. Libyan intelligence services said during the meeting Gaddafi and Imam Moussa Sadr ended up in a bitter discussion about some topics including religion. Here goes the story: Gaddafi claims he is a prophet and a savior who leaded the world. Then, they begin discussing fiqh and the Quran and Gaddafi says he only believes in the Quran and rejects the sunnah. Imam Moussa Sadr tells him if he violates the Shariah, then even his wife will be haram for him. This angers companions and put them in jail. While they were being taken to prison, one of the companions of Imam Moussa Sadr contacts the Lebanese embassy from the prison office or from the intelligence office and wants to speak to the ambassador, but the secretary says he is not there. He barely asks the secretary where the ambassador is when the phone conversation ends. The secretary recognizes the voice of Mohammad Yaghoub. She gets worried. On the other side of the line, a soldier runs and hangs up the phone. That’s the first news coming out of the prison at 4 pm. Later, three intelligence officials of Gaddafi go to Italy with Imam

169

Imam Musa al-Sadr›s role in encouraging the youth... Moussa Sadr and his companions’ passports and the Libyan government claims they have traveled to the country and are not in Libya . However, evidence show that the three men were not Imam Moussa Sadr and his friends. The evidence includes their handwriting found at the Italian hotel, their height, looks and a spelling error when the write the name of Imam Moussa Sadr and his friends as well as the cleric’s passport’s having been stamped twice. (see Commission of Article 90 of Majles, report of Imam Committee for Pursuit of Moussa Sadr’s Fate, 2007, pp. 150 to 200) and “To Remember Imam Moussa Sadr) http://islamicstation.mihanblog.com/post/59

170

Actions of Imam Moussa Sadr in Lebanon 1-Founding Lebanon ’s Resistance Imam Moussa Sadr was considering founding a resistance movement against Israeli aggressions in Lebanon as of 1964. In the spring of 1965, he dispatched a group of pious Shia men to Egypt to learn military skills. With the return, the young men, who formed the first resistance groups, to Lebanon , the first joint Palestinian-Lebanese guerilla operations began in northern Palestine . The bulk of the fighters were Shia Lebanese youths and the operations were led by the Palestinian fighters. Such joint operations continued until 1972. In October of 1969, the Industrial Institution of Jebel Amel owned by Imam Moussa Sadr was launched. In 1950, Israel heavily bombarded southern Lebanon ---a move that did not receive an adequate response from the Lebanese government. Following the incident, Imam Moussa Sadr called a general strike in Lebanon , which crippled the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening entire country. This prompted the government to form the southern associations to rebuild the war-torn regions and set up makeshift refugee camps there. Since 1962, the military operations by Shia youths against Israel took an independent form. However, the operations were declared to be carried out for years to come by the special forces of the Palestinian group Fatah. In September 1972, the High Islamic Council of Shias convened a special meeting with all members in the village of Jouya less than 24 hours after Israeli forces occupied the village and another one named Qana Jelli. And Imam Moussa Sadr founded the Lebanese resistance the same day. One months later, the Lebanese resistance carried out its first military operation against the Zionist regime, killing or wounding several Israeli troops. The operation came after Israeli forces made an incursion into the village of Faouq.in southern Lebanon . In the autumn of 1972, the military training of the SHia youths gathered steam. The first martyr of the Lebanese resistance was Fallah Sharaf al-Din, the 14-year-old muezzin of the Jebel Amel Industrial Institution. He was martyred after killing several Zionist soldiers in the border village of Bent Jubail in the winter of 1973. In the spring of 1975 and following a bomb explosion at the Ein al-Baniah military base in the Bekka mountains that killed 27 Shia youths, Imam Moussa Sadr official declared the birth of Lebanon 's resistance groups. With the end of the civil war in Lebanon , tensions shifted to southern Lebanon . This prompted the Lebanese resistance to base units on strategic points along the border. The first large-scale operation of the resistance against Israeli aggressions took place in early 1977. After several

171

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

172

days of fighting, the resistance fighters managed to liberate the towns of Tayyebah and Bint Jubail. Imam Moussa Sadr was the first to reveal the compromising plan of settling Palestinians in southern Lebanon in the winter of 1977. He prevented the plan from going into effect with his courageous stance. Israel launched a massive assault on southern Lebanon in 1978, which forced leftist and Palestinian groups to retreat. However, the Shia youths of Lebanon and the students of the Jebel Amel Industrial Institution stayed there and resisted the Israeli invaders to the end despite the fact that they had meager supplies. In the second half of the 1960s, dozens of Iranian youths went to Lebanon after the first resistance groups were born and began military training there. In the late 1960s and concurrent with the formation of the High Islamic Council of Shias, Imam Khomeini told some Irnaian scholars in Najaf that he had pinned his hopes on Imam Moussa Sadr to form a government in the postShah era in Iran. Afetr Hafez al-Assad took power in Syria in 1971, he began a close relationship with Imam Moussa Sadr and Syrian turned into a safe haven for Iranian resistance fighters. Imam Moussa Sadr called Imam Khomeini as the sole leader of Iran 's Islamic Revolution in his essay entitled "Voice of the Prophets" in the French daily Le Monde in the September of 1978. That was just one week before he was kidnapped in Libya . Undoubtedly, the greatest contribution of Imam Moussa Sadr to the Islamic Revolution was that he introduced the revolution to the Shias and resistance groups of Lebanon in the eyars 1977 and 1978 after two decades of propagating the beautiful values of true Islam in Lebanon (Kamalian 2009 p. 128). In recent years, the heroes of southern Lebanon who forced

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening the Israeli occupiers to retreat from their land admitted that they were indebted to the thoughts and instructions of Imam Moussa Sadr as well as his efforts to organize the Lebanese resistance. And they described this as the rootcause of their victory against Israel . There is no doubt that Israel , which once attacked and intimidated all countries of the region, was annoyed by the Shia more than any time before and now fears Lebanon more than any other nation thanks to the blessing of Imam Moussa Sadr's existence. However, Imam Moussa sadr's cooperation and solidarity with Lebanon 's Christian leaders in their struggle against Israeli aggressions on southern Lebanon is one of the most beautiful examples of cooperation and unity among people. 2-Reviving inter-faith dialogue and convergence of religions Imam Moussa Sadr made tremendous efforts to strengthen cooperation and brotherhood among the followers of Islam and Christianity and made spectacular achievements in this way. The dialogues were such that he could build good trust among the Christian eladers and later came to be known as the "Jesus Christ of Lebanon". He served as a unifying force to bridge ethnic divisions in Lebanon . He aimed to help make Shias of Lebanon equal to the followers of other sects in all political, social, cultural and economic areas of Lebanon . From the early days of the winter of 1960, he began a friendly and cordial relationsip and cooperation with the leaders of the Lebanese Christians and Sunnis Matran Yousef alHuri, Matran George Haddad, and Sheikh Mohieddin Hassan based on the slogan dialogue, understanding and coexistence. During his two-decades of presence in Lebanon , Imam Moussa Sadr did not failed

173

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

174

to attend any festivity or mourning ceremony of Shias with several Christian and Sunni scholars. His courageous support of a Christian ice-cream seller in the early summer of 1962 in the city of Sur , which led to his fatwa that the people of the book are clean, attracted the attention of the Christian circles of Lebanon to him. In the late Summer of the same year, Matran Gregovar Haddad came to Sur and requested Imam Moussa Sdar to join the board of trustees of the "Social Movement" group. As of early 1963, he began to frequently attend churches, convents and cultural and religious circles of the Christians. His historic speeches at Dair al-Mokhles in the south and at the Marmarun Church in the north through the years 1962, 1963 and 1964 left a deep spiritual impression on the Christians of Lebanon. He made a two-month visit to northern African nations in 1963 to help Shia religious schools of Egypt , Algeria and Morocco . In the spring of 1965, he launched the first round of inter-faith dialogue between Islam and Christianity with the scholars from the two divine religions in attendance at the Al-Nadouh AlLobnaniah cultural institute. Following the six-day war of Israel against Arab countries in 1967, he went to visit the head of the Pope. The meeting was expected to take half an hour. But it lasted for two hours at the request of the Pope. In 1968, Imam Moussa Sadr became a member of Strasbourg 's Islamic Studies Center. He paved the way for suck works as "The Mastermind of the Shia World" through holding numerous seminars. In the Spring of 1969, he invited the Sunni mufti Sheikh Khalid immediately after inaugurating the High Islamic Council of Shias so they could find a way for the monotheism of

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening rituals as well as the festivals and other religious activities of Islamic sects. He gave a well-organized plan on the same matter to the 1950 meeting of The Islamic Discussions Association in Cairo and subsequently became a member of the circle. In 1950, Imam Moussa Sadr gathered the religious Muslim and Christian leaders of southern Lebanon within the framework of a body named The Committee for Defending South to devise a plan to confront Israeli aggressions. He also managed to convince the Muslim and Christian leaders of Lebanon for the purpose of forming an exclusive national front in 1978. He also set a date for holding the first meeting of the front that would take place after his return from Libya . He believed that Lebanon was the focal point of coexistence between divine religions and the crossroads of the eastern and western civilizations and should be protected and preserved (see highlights from the life of Imam Moussa Sadr written by Dr. Mohsen Kamalian www.Imamsadr.ir). Imam Moussa Sadr did never make an absolute compromise with the Christians during the two decades. He never backed down from his Islamic beliefs. On the contrary, he tried and explained the Quranic verses and Islamic beliefs at the churches. Imam Moussa Sadr only explained his own Islamic beliefs during the discussions. Coexistence with other people was such that Shias and Muslim scholars could preserve their identity. There was such a vacuum in Lebanon at that time. There were only Sunni Msulim and Christian scholars who expressed their views and no Shias would explain the Islamic ideology at the same level. There was no one who could elaborate on Islam's view about society, women, defense and important issues of the modern age. For instance, meetings were

175

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

176

held at Al-Nadouh Al-Lobnaniah in which Christian and Sunni scholars expressed their views. There was nobody who could express his views about the Shia ideology and defend it. Imam Moussa Sadr filled this vacuum. So it should be said that he revived the issue of coexistence with other religions by properly and correctly putting forward Islamic thought and views. In other words, he introduced Islam in its own logical and natural manner. He put forth the same discussions in different speeches in Christian areas. Interestingly, the Christians agreed to his views. Many of Imam Moussa Sadr's intimate and close friends were Christian. So the coexistence and dialogue was not aimed at convincing the Christians to convert to Islam. The more a Christian's hostility towards Islam was lessened, the closer to Islam he would be. And the deeper his friendship with Islam and Muslims would become, the more successful the dialogue and coexistence among them would be. 3- Founding Lebanon 's High Shia Islamic Council In the summer of 1966 and after Lebanon 's SHias bid allegiance to him during mass gatherings, Imam Moussa Sadr officially called on the Lebanese government form an association to streamline the affairs of the Shias like the followers of other sects in the country. The High Shia Islamic Council of Lebanon, which was the first stage of his long-term program, was founded in the late spring of 1969. In fact, the council was the embodiment of his ideas. Islam believes collective work is necessary. Hence, it was necessary that an organization be created for organizing and canalizing such activities. The establishment came true in the form of the High Shia Islamic Council of Lebanon. This

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening was meant to give the Shias their own leadership and with the policy to tackle poverty. In the winter of 1961 and after renewing voice just like the followers of other sects. After a long and bloody struggle, the council was approved and Imam Moussa Sadr was appointed as its head. The body was a focal point for the Shia population of Lebanon . It had a religious committee consisting of nine clerics and an executive committee consisting of 12 people elected by Shias. 4-Creating charities and educational institutions At a time when Shias were considered lower-class citizens in Lebanon and had low standards of living, Imam Moussa Sadr managed to unite them. Unfortunately, before this, some Muslims held their wedding and mourning ceremonies at churches and buried their deceased in the cemeteries of Christians (Political and Social Structure of Lebanon p. 149). As of the winter of 1960 when he was actively involved in his religious and cultural activities in the Shia-populated regions of Lebanon , Imam Moussa Sadr conducted in-depth studies about the root-cause of the social, economic and cultural underdevelopment of the Shias in the country. The outcome of these studies was short-term, middle-term and long-term programs that were implemented from the mid-summer of 1960 in line the charity "Al-Berr and Al-Ehsan", he eliminated the social ill of begging from the city of Sur and surrounding areas through a crash program aimed at meeting the financial needs of poor families. Between 1961 and 1969 and within the framework of the mid-term program, dozens of charity organizations and cultural centers as well as professional workshops came into being. This provided jobs for

177

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

178

thousands of poor families, reduced illiteracy, boosted public culture and helped launch hundreds of big and small development projects in impoverished areas of Lebanon . Jebel Amel Industrial Institution was a school for boys, which was launched by Imam Moussa Sadr. He established three similar institutions for girls because their conditions in southern Lebanon were even worse than the boys'. AT that time, Beirut was the Middle East 's sex resort for the Arab sheikhdoms. 85 percent of the Lebanese prostitutes were Shia girls who moved to Beirut from southern Lebanon . These girls came to Beirut to serve as servants out of poverty but ended up becoming prostitutes. Then, they could not return to their families. The issue agonized Imam Moussa Sadr very much. He though something had to be done about it. How could these innocent girls be allowed to be forced into prostitution? Thus, Imam Moussa Sadr founded a school named Bait al-Fatah where girls learned dressmaking and manual arts. After completing the training course, the girls could run their own affairs. He also established a nursing school for the girls. Those who had earned a high school diploma were admitted to this school. He launched another school to teach girls carpet-weaving. Over 300 girls from southern Lebanon learned carpet weaving at the workshop. Afetr completing their course, the girls would take necessary tools home to weave carpets and receive a monthly salary. The carpets were put on sale at charity shops. Imam Moussa Sadr also launched a school for the clerics named " School of Islamic Teachings ". Large numbers of clerics from Africa, Afghanistan , Indonesia and other countries enroll at this school and returned to their countries after studying Shia fiqh (jurisprudence). Thnaks to this school, today Shia

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Islam has large influence in African countries because many of the missionaries of the religion are the same clerics who graduated from the school in Lebanon . " School of Islamic Teachings " was located by the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Sur. (see Life and Activities of Imam Mosusa Sadr, Speech of Mostafa Chamran from pp. 59 to 97, Chapter Five of the book " Lebanon ", 1997) 5-Reivval of self-confidence and self-esteem of Shias Another great achievement of Imam Moussa Sadr was that he managed to give the Lebanese Shias self-confidence and self-esteem. He established Amal and Hezbollah movements at a time when leftist groups including the Communist Party, ethnic Syrian Party, Nasseri Rabetun Organizations, extremist Palestinian groups and even Fatah, had the upper hand and had attracted many people from the Shia population. Some well-known Shias were among these people. However, the body of these groups included the Shias. Their growth depended on their joining these parties, which served as a launch pad for them. The of the Shias towards the leftist groups was due to them lacking the necessary tools to achieve their goals in Lebanon . The key factors for lobbying to this end were: 1-Power, which originates from the inner potential of an ethnic group: 2-Need for foreign support of an ethnic group. At that time, all ethnic groups were dependent on a foreign country except the Shias. (see The Story of Imam Moussa Sadr 2010). Fortunately, thanks to Imam Moussa Sadr, today only Amal and Hezbollah are important for the Shias of Lebanon, not the Syrian group and that of Assem Ghassouh. From the spring of 1969 to the mid-winter of 1974, Imam

179

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

180

Moussa Sadr held talks with the Lebanese government to convince it to implement infrastructure projects for the impoverished Shia areas and commit to its obligations towards them. After the Lebanese government rejected this demand, Imam Moussa Sadr led a campaign to form the Movement for the Downtrodden Lebanese in 1974. Afterwards, Shias held mass anti-government rallies in the cities of Baalbak, Sur and Seyda. The Middle East crisis, the opposition of the extremist Christian groups of Lebanon to the Palestinian cause, and the turning of Lebanon into a field for Arab countries settle their accounts, all these prompted Imam Moussa Sadr to stop the masses from confronting the Lebanese government with the aim of protecting stability in Lebanon and to prevent a crackdown on Palestinians. And he postponed the pursuit of the demands of the Shias until the next president took office. In 1975, Imam Moussa Sadr was reappointed as the head of the High Shia Council despite the government's efforts to prevent him from being elected. After the outbreak of the 1975 civil war in Lebanon , Imam Moussa Sadr focused all his efforts on trying to end the conflict. In April of the same year, he staged a sit-in at Amelieh Mosque and managed to restore peace to Lebanon due to his popularity among the followers of all sects. Later, the civil war reignited, making him turn to the Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in the May of 1976 to get him to dispatch troops to Lebanon and cerate a balance of power and restore peace there. After Egypt and Syira resolved their differences and following the Riyadh conference in the October of 1976, the hospitalities in Lebanon subsided. The peace continued until Imam Moussa Sadr was in Lebanon. In Fact, the political and social

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening influence of Shias over Lebanon was not gained instantly. The Shias had been seeking their forgotten place in Lebanon’s political and social scene for 40 years. The process of the Shias’ entry into the Lebanese politics is a complicated one like many other political and historical events with the ethnic group having passed through several stages. The key point is that the now powerful Shia population of Lebanon, which has as an aware and self-confident community stop up to difficulties and has reaped the benefits of their solidarity, took shape over a few decades. The dignity and self-esteem of the Shias undoubtedly is indebted to the endeavors of Imam Moussa Sadr at that time. (The Political and Social Structure of Lebanon p. 240) Imam Moussa Sadr blamed the underdevelopment of Muslims on their lack of organized systems as well as powerful governments. In Fact, Imam Moussa Sadr’s activism in Lebanon was the continuation of the religious modernity of the 20th century in Islamic countries. Since such a movement was not tolerated in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Imam Moussa Sadr shifted the struggle to southern Lebanon for the purpose of expanding religious culture and attracting Muslims to practical Islam given his family status. Lebanon’s Shia community, which was divided into south and Bekka, originated from two different cultures and two ideological, social and even economic systems. Imam Moussa Sadr brought together the two Shia communities through patience, prudence and consensus and turned them into a coherent group, thus bringing them to the main political spectrum of Lebanon and even abroad. A spectacular episode in his record was giving priority to the boosting the financial and economic power of the Shias

181

Imam Musa al-Sadr›s role in encouraging the youth...

182

before taking to fighting against Israel. Giving relief aid to poor Shia families was a top item on the agenda of Imam Moussa Sadr. Amid all this activism to collect relief aid for the poor families from, say, wealthy Shia merchants, which included trips to Africa, Imam Moussa Sadr did not cease addressing people’s religious and ideological ideas. (Mohsen Kamalian , Dignity of Shia, p. 156) When Imam Moussa Sadr entered Lebanon in 1338, thought mainly borrowed its essence and credibility from socialism and Marxism in the Middle East and the Arab world. Intellectuals in the social and political realm believed in the materialistic principles of socialism and a wide range of books and texts had been translated into Arabic in that context. Islamic ideology gradually made its way among young men and women, cultivated people and professionals. Imam Moussa Sadr established an Ilsamic studies center in Lebanon to guide the Shia youths from socialism towards Islam. In other words, he invited young people to Islamic principles and ethics in the political atmosphere of Lebanon and the Arab world where such schools as Ba’athism, Socialism, Existentialism, etc. were rampant. Imam Moussa Sadr differed from others in that he did not speak about political activism for about a decade. He was a cultural and social reformist rather than a political one. This was not a mere tendency, but was a strategy. In his speeches and writings, Imam Moussa Sadr makes focal reference to a concept he calls “Decent Society” and believes that other pillars of Islam are also viable in such an Islamic society. (Religions at Service of Human Being 2005 pp.191-198) Imam Moussa Sadr believed that political activism calls

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening for religion and faith and if it lacks ideological and ethical backup, then the political work of Msulims will not be different from that of the followers of other schools. (see Ethics and Politics in Life of Imam Moussa Sadr) Meanwhile, Imam Moussa Sadr was involved in other activism in Lebanon including his list of 20 demands from the Lebanese government. This was the first time such demands were put forth in the country. Imam Moussa Sadrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20 Demands from Lebanonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Government Imam Moussa Sadr constantly tried to improve the lives of the Lebanese Shias and made new demands. It was in 1972 when he submitted a list of 20 demands to the Lebanese government on behalf of the downtrodden classes. AT that time, Imam Moussa Sadr wielded much influence across Lebanon. Here is a list of his demands: 1-Arming young Shias in southern Lebanon so they can fight Israel 2-Building shelters in all villages of southern Lebanon to protect people from Israeli attacks 3-Linking Beirut to the south with a thoroughfare so Shias can easlit commute between the region and the capital 4-Insisting on the construction of a dam over the Litani, Lebanonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest river. The river pours into the sea in southern Lebanon. Israel is trying to divert the water of the river towards occupied Palestine. The Lebanese government has drawn up a plan for a long time to build a dam over the river and develop southern Lebanon, which the homeland of the Shias. Israel has opposed the plan because it does not want southern Lebanon to be a developed region. Although,

183

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth...

184

the budget ahd been allocated for this purpose and the maps of the dam had been drawn, the Lebanese government failed to resist Israeli pressures. Imam Moussa Sadr said it was the SHiasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; natural right to have the damn built and demanded that the government go ahead with a plan to construct it. 5-Issuing Lebanese identity documents for thousands of Muslims who did not accept to receive them from the French colonizers in the past and were still lacking the documents 6-Fair distribution of state and military jobs 7-Preventino of stashing goods and oppression 8- Fair production and distribution of wealth 9-Social justice for the downtrodden people The above points are only part of the demands of Imam Moussa Sadr. Definitely, the Lebanese government refused to agree to the demands and said it would have had to meet all demands of the Shias had it fulfilled the 20 demands of Imam Moussa Sadr. Therefore, the government decided to resist them. In 1973, the Shia demands gained full steam and hit the press and was the main topic among political factions. Imam Moussa Sadr gave an ultimatum to the government. He urged the Shia parliamentarians and ministers to begin an appropriate struggle if Beirut did not respond positively to the demands. Later, the 1973 Ramadan War broke out between Arab countries and Israel. Since all forces had to focus on the foreign enemy, the issue of the Shia demands was suspended. It was raised again in 1974 after the end of the war. Armed protests in Balbak Imam Moussa Sadr called anti-government rallies in

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Balbak as a show of force after he did not receive a response from the government. Some 75,000 people took to the streets ardently in response to his calls for the rally. The fighters of Balbak staged an armed protest on March 17, 1974. This rocked the Christian government of Lebanon because the youths of Balbak are brave and unparalleled in the world. The government tasked a seven-member committee of senior army officers to review the demands of the Shias. The committee concluded that are the Shia demands were righteous. However, the Lebanese government refused to give in. Imam Moussa Sadr called another armed protest in the city of Sur to force the government to respect the rights of the Shias. (Institute for Studying Middle East’s History, 1988, pp. 45 to 78) Imam Moussa Sadr’s endeavor gave the Lebanese Shias their rightful place and revived the Shia regions. Dr. Josef al-Hashem, a former Lebanese minister said at the international conference “Imam Moussa Sadr, Needs and Time Necessities” at Tehran University in 2001, “I believe that talking about Imam Moussa Sadr is equal to saying prayers before Allah. I believe that just as listening to the beautiful verses of the Quran and reading the prayer of Imam Hussein (PBUH) is worship, talking about Imam Moussa Sadr is also worship; it’s a reminiscent of divine values and an embodiment of piety”. Conclusion 1-Imam Moussa Sadr’s efforts in Lebanon inspired the wave of Islamic Awakening in regional countries. Undoubtedly, if Imam Moussa Sadr were present over the past two decades, the regional equations and relations would

185

Imam Musa al-Sadrâ&#x20AC;şs role in encouraging the youth... take shape more quickly. 2-Using his dynamic view, Imam Moussa Sadr founded Hezbollah near the Israeli border. If it were not for his prudence, the US-Israeli project known as the Camp David treaty. 3-Imam Moussa Sadrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence in Lebanon caused the Shias to the freedom and justice seeking hero of the Arab world and the hero of awakening in Lebanon and the whole Muslim world. Hence, the enemies could not stand seeing him free. 4-The increasing awareness of the Lebanese Shias is indebted to the efforts of Imam Moussa Sadr and his endeavors in the political and social scene and his ideas that originated from the Islamic revolution of Iran helped turn the Lebanese Shias into one of the most powerful ethnic groups of the country.

186

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

Establishing international Islamic unity based on religion, wisdom, morality and science Dr. Hossam Nassar

188

Introduction Islam is a religion based upon the surrender to God who is One. The very name of the religion, ALISLAM in Arabic, means at once submission and peace, for it is in submitting to God's Will that human beings gain peace in their lives in this world and in the hereafter. The message of Islam concerns God, who in Arabic is called Allah, and it addresses itself to humanity's most profound nature. It concerns men and women as they were created by God--not as fallen beings. Islam therefore considers itself to be not an innovation but a reassertion of the universal truth of all revelation which is God's Oneness. Muslim Ummah Today The present status of Muslim Ummah is of great concern to all Muslim intellectuals. No one can deny that the Muslim Ummah occupies a position, which is at the lowest rung of the ladder in the world. The share of Muslims in Nobel Prizes and the Olympic Games is close to none. Muslims' contributions to literature- both general and scientific- is marginal at best. It is very sad to see the dismal status of Muslims in the present world. Muslims have been economically exploited and politically subjugated. Economically, Muslims are poor; in education they are backward; and in science and technology they are marginal. The average literacy rate is around 35-38 per cent and in

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening rural areas in Muslim countries, the illiteracy rate among Muslim women is 93 to 97 percent. This is contradictory to the message of the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (s). Unity and Civilization Islam was destined to become a world religion and to create a civilization which stretched from one end of the globe to the other. Already during the early Muslim caliphates, first the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to create classical Islamic civilization. Later, in the 13th century, both Africa and India became great centers of Islamic civilization and soon thereafter Muslim kingdoms were established in the Malay-Indonesian world while Chinese Muslims flourished throughout china. Islam is a religion for all people from whatever race or background they might be. That is why Islamic civilization is based on a unity which stands completely against any racial or ethnic discrimination. Such major racial and ethnic groups as the Arabs, Persians, Turks, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Malays in addition to numerous smaller units embraced Islam and contributed to the building of Islamic civilization. Moreover, Islam was not opposed to learning from the earlier civilizations and incorporating their science, learning, and culture into its own world view, as long as they did not oppose the principles of Islam. Each ethnic and racial group which embraced Islam made its contribution to the one Islamic civilization to which everyone belonged. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood was so much emphasized that it overcame all local attachments to a particular tribe, race, or language-all of which became subservient to the universal brotherhood and sisterhood of Islam.

189

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

190

The global civilization thus created by Islam permitted people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to work together in cultivation various arts and sciences. Although the civilization was profoundly Islamic, even non-Muslim "people of the book" participated in the intellectual activity whose fruits belonged to everyone. The scientific climate was reminiscent of the present situation in America where scientists and men and women of learning from all over the world are active in the advancement of knowledge which belongs to everyone. The global civilization created by Islam also succeeded in activating the mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result of Islam, the nomadic Arabs became torch-bearers of science and learning. The Persians who had created a great civilization before the rise of Islam nevertheless produced much more science and learning in the Islamic period than before. The same can be said of the Turks and other peoples who embraced Islam. The religion of Islam was itself responsible not only for the creation of a world civilization in which people of many different ethnic backgrounds participated, but it played a central role in developing intellectual and cultural life on a scale not seen before. For some eight hundred years Arabic remained the major intellectual and scientific language of the world. During the centuries following the rise of Islam, Muslim dynasties ruling in various parts of the Islamic world bore witness to the flowering of Islamic culture and thought. In fact this tradition of intellectual activity was eclipsed only at the beginning of modern times as a result of the weakening of faith among Muslims combined with external domination. And today this activity has begun anew in

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening many parts of the Islamic world now that the Muslims have regained their political independence. Muslim Unity and challenges Muslims are so looked down upon, and they are treated with disrespect and they are suspect for terrorism. Muslims are also the most oppressed people anywhere in the world. Everywhere Muslims are bullied, detained, bombed and massacred with impunity. The Muslim countries are weak and are unable to do anything to defend themselves, their people and their fellow Muslims anywhere in the world. Common sense dictates a Muslim country needs guns and rockets, warships and warplanes, armored cars, etc to defend its sovereignty. A Muslim country cannot depend on imported military equipment, particularly from countries that are opposed to us. Muslims should invent, design, produce and test their own weapons of defense like happening nowadays in Iran and to some extent in Turkey. This goal cannot be achieved unless one has scientific and technological knowledge and skills. Acquiring knowledge and skills is mandatory in Islam. Those who learn science, mathematics and acquire technological skills are therefore obeying and fulfilling the injunctions of Islam. There was time when Muslim countries were strong militarily and economically, and were advanced in the sciences and technology. During those glorious years of the Muslim civilization, Muslims were not oppressed. Muslims were respected and feared. Europeans had to learn from Muslims new knowledge as well as those of the Greeks and others, which the Muslims had studied, translated into Arabic and enhanced. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) brought only one Deen from Allah (SWT) that is al- Islam. But today there

191

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

192

are many Islamic sects. They are the results of differing interpretations about Islam by different scholars through the centuries. Some of these interpretations and teachings are so different from each other that their followers actually accuse each other of not being Muslims. Indeed, they regard many who profess to be Muslims as infidels. Because of the thousands of different interpretations of Islam and very many different sects, each claiming to be the true followers of Islam, the Muslims are thoroughly confused and disunited. Disunited, confused about Islam, fighting each other for power, lacking in essential knowledge and skills, misapplying their God-given wealth, the Muslims of today have reached the lowest point in their development. The injunctions of the Qur'an are ignored completely, although these injunctions stress making judgment with justice. And because we ignore this stress on justice enjoined by Islam, we create an image of Islam that is uncaring and unjust. Islam has been misinterpreted and deliberately ignoring the teachings of Islam. It is because of this that Muslims of today are backward, lacking in knowledge, unable to defend themselves and their religion, and some Muslims are forced to resort to terror in order to seek revenge. The Qur'an clearly states that Allah (SWT) will not change our fate unless we strive to change it ourselves. And so we will come to be oppressed, to be attacked, bombed and killed, while our religion, Islam, is condemned as false by the Christian elite in the West.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Dangers of globalization Non-Muslims were busy exploiting new technologies to the full, while Muslim countries were being left behind. This warning that Muslim countries that were technologically backward and economically poor risked being bullied and recolonised by the non-Muslim world.To achieve the unity of Muslim, it is recommended that all Muslims should become true Muslims themselves. (This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be happening either, perhaps it might happen in future). Some people want to establish an Islamic Khilafat (a single Muslim government in all the Islamic countries) by changing the minds of the Muslims. However in the present era it appears to be impossible to achieve unity. One goal approach for Muslim Unity Muslims are required to work together towards a common goal set by the Noble Qur'an and shown by the Prophet (PBUH) through his Sunnah. They are brothers and sisters because they are bonded by the common ideology of the unity of God and the unity of mankind. These are the foundational principles of Islam. The Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) require Muslims to work for the unity of the Ummah. Muslims are required to be merciful towards each other (The Qur'an (48:29)) and be like the body where if any part hurts the whole body should feel the pain (Hadith). But, are Muslims practicing this injunction of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH)? Muslims and various Islamic organizations are working hard but it is frustratingly obvious that the above goals are ever so illusive. Instead of Muslims being united in mercy towards each other, they are, on the whole, far

193

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

194

from it. Instead of feeling the pain and misery of other Muslims (Chechens, Palestinians, Kashmiris, for example), most of us are happily enjoying our material comforts of life. Is Muslim unity only a dream that cannot be fulfilled? Some may argue that all this talk of Muslim unity is out of date. There was a time when Islam united Muslims but present reality makes it impossible. Talk of Muslim unity is nice, and makes Muslims feel good but it is an unrealistic goal that cannot be achieved. In fact, this is what is happening to Muslim Ummah today. Probably, there are no people in the world today who have been as divided as Muslims. They are divided along religious, political, ethnic, cultural, racial, linguistic, and sectarian lines. These divisions extend further into subdivisions. Status, wealth, fame, and fortune have also created social differences among Muslims. Dr. Mansoor Alam says, "Muslims are divided at the root into Sunnis and Shias. Sunnis are further divided into Hanafi, Maliki, Sha'fi, and Hanbali. Shias too are divided into Kesania, Zaidia, Imamia or Ithna 窶連shari, Ismailia, etc. Sunnis are also divided into Ahle-hadith and Ahle-fiqha. In the Indian subcontinent (at least) Ahle-fiqha are further divided into Deobandis and Barelwis. Similar differences exist in other places as well. Are all these divisions and differences schools of thought as many Muslims claim? Whether or not we admit it, these differences and divisions do create physical, emotional, and psychological barriers amongst us. Iqbal says that these differences create prejudice in human beings.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Suggestions to achieve our goals in Islamic unity Any recommendation for the unity of Muslim Ummah should be realistic and its effective application demands utmost sincerity, conviction, commitment and caution from every relevant person or authority. Although there has been gross political deviation within Islam, this can be rectified easily - because, Alhamdulillah, the Islamic framework is still alive and Al-Qur'an, the eternal constitution of the world, is ever present in the Muslim hearts. Repentance for the past negligence and pledge for the present, these two things being acceptable to Allah (SWT), are the pre-requisites for any success. Following broad recommendations are mentioned here - some for the inter-governmental bodies of the Muslim world and others for the Islamic Movements. (i) Lack of Consensus and Islamic Spirit Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and other governmental agencies, global or regional, should initiate to strengthen the cause of Muslim unity by increasing their commitment to their own declared objectives and charters. OIC has, in fact, devised some commendable schemes to promote mutual assistance and cooperation among Muslim countries in various fields. But the lethargy of the member states and incompetence of the OIC administration have made these programs ineffectual. Lack of consensus as well as Islamic spirit are the main reasons behind these apathetic situation. Methods and ways need to be found so that the relevant Muslim states can work positively on matters of common interest and avoid those that create dissensions. The following areas of cooperation and mutual help by the governmental organizations are now more demanding than ever.

195

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ... (ii) Economic Cooperation These include Food, Agriculture, Energy, Trade, Basic Industry, Transport, Communication, etc. Economy is the backbone for the self-reliance and prosperity of any country, but unfortunately no Muslim country has any economic infrastructure of its own. As Muslim countries are plagued either by affluence or extreme poverty, sharing of wealth, skill and expertise can improve their collective economic predicament.

196

(iii) Science and Technology Exchange As Science and Technology are fundamentally important for a nation to keep pace in the race of development, Muslim countries should promote cooperation and interaction in these areas. Muslim countries should put their joint efforts in order to develop their technological know-how in the productive areas of their economy and initiate some basic research if possible. This will help reducing the brain drain of the talented scientists from their countries. (iv) Information and Cultural Cooperation These include cooperation in the promotion of the features and history of Islamic Civilization, Academic and Research link in various areas of mutual interest as well as Information-related and Humanitarian activities. Cooperation in defending Muslim rights and Islamic values in Muslim-minority countries can lead to a better understanding among the Muslim countries. Serious and practical steps should be taken to promote Arabic, the language of the Qur'an and of eternal paradise, throughout the Muslim world with a view to making it the common

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening language of the Ummah. This will definitely increase the psychological and spiritual bondage between the Muslim people. (v) Scientific cooperation between Muslim countries The first verse of the Quran that was revealed and inspired Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was "Iqra" or to acquire knowledge and emphasized the importance of learning in human life. "Read in the name of thy Lord who creates." The Noble Qur'an also says "Rabbi Zidni Ilmaa" that is to pray to Allah for increase in knowledge. According to the Qur'an only men of knowledge really fear Allah most. There are many Ahadith, which emphasize the spiritual value of learning and of the need for all Muslims to expand their knowledge in all ways. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has said, the learned men are his heirs. Also with learning Allah (SWT) raised a people and makes them pioneers in whose path others will follow and whose examples others will take. Prophet of Islam also said, seek knowledge though it be in China. It was in such a spirit and encouraged by such words that the Arabs re-lit the torch of learning in Europe and bore it triumphantly aloft to illumine what would otherwise have remained for the West, the Dark Ages. Islamic Education brought light wherever there had been darkness before. From the very beginning Muslims were encouraged to do all they could to further the cause of education. Joseph Hell in his well-known book, Arab Civilization (Joseph Hell, "The Arab Civilization." Tr. Khuda Baksh, Lahore 1943), explains why education was bound to flourish

197

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

198

wherever Islam spread, in these words: Islam encouraged a noble ambition for learning, a craving for learning, a spirit of tolerance, a restless ambition to extend wider and yet wider the frontier of knowledge which so distinguishes the Muslims' mentality and stimulated lofty purpose. Joseph Hell continues in the Arab Civilization: "In the domain of trigonometry, the theory of Sine, Cosine and tangent is an heirloom of the Arabs. The brilliant epochs of Peurbach, of Regiomontanus, of Copernicus, cannot be recalled without reminding us of the fundamental and preparatory labor of the Arab Mathematician (Al-Battani, 858-929A.D.)." Persian and Arabic, the pride of the Muslim ruling elite, where replaced with the English language. The curriculum was designed to serve the purposes of the colonial empire and not to promote the intellectual growth of the students. The British rule in India, gave a fatal blow to the system of education that distinguished the Muslims from the rest of the communities of the Subcontinent. With the passage of time the Muslims were alienated and their system of education suffered heavily. After the Second World War many Muslim countries became independent. Most of these countries are situated in Asia and Africa. Many Muslim countries in Central Asia got independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union. After gaining independence these countries gave due importance to education which was previously dominated by their colonial rulers-Great Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and also Soviet Union, institutions of higher learning were established and students were sent abroad for education in science and technology. At present there are 56 independent Muslim States,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening members of the OIC, total number of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education and Research in the Muslim Ummah is above 1000. The average literacy rate in the Muslim world is 35 per cent. Taking the economic development index as a parameter for development, one can see the disparity between the Muslim world and the developed world. According to statistics, only six Islamic countries fall in the high human development index (HDI), 22 in the medium and as many as 23 in low HDI category, according to the UN. The highest-ranking Islamic country is 36th while the lowest 173rd, in the HDI list of 178 countries. The total GNP of the 56 OIC member countries is only $1.1 trillion, which is less than that of France with $1.5 trillion and only one fifth that of Japan which has a GNP of $ 5.1 trillion, with no natural resources but has 1000 universities including 120 of them in Tokyo alone. The total number of universities in OIC countries is 328 while Tokyo alone has 120.The OIC region, as a whole needs at least 12000 universities. The entire Muslim world constituting one-fifth of humanity, contributes barely 1000 research articles out of 100,000 science books and 2,000,000 research articles published annually. While the West has an average of 3000 science PhDs per million populations, our number is so dismally small that even the statistic was not available. The number of universities should give emphasis on technology and research in scientific education and only by paying full attention to the scientific education, we can compete with the developed countries of the world. Scholars agree that the true wealth of a nation lies in the quality of education with which its people are blessed

199

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ...

200

and its ability to use its educated masses for economic development. It is a fact that the contribution of science and technology to economic growth is now widely recognized. After gaining independence, the Muslim countries' emphasis on science and technology is very poor. Because of this, most of the Muslim countries are defined as poor and under-developed. There are only 8 countries, which can be described as developing. . As stated above there are more than 1000 Universities and institutions of higher learning and research in the Muslim world. It is amazing to note that most of the Muslim countries do not have educational links/contacts between them. Though some positive steps have been taken in this direction yet more efforts are required to develop linkage/ contacts between educational and research institutions of the Muslim world. The Muslim Ummah must realize the demands of the 21st century and give due importance to education. The Muslim world must lay the groundwork of constructive, dynamic and meaningful revolution among the minds of our youth through education. For this, expansion in educational links/contacts between Muslim countries be so planned that these countries could benefit from each others' experiences and expertise. (9) Linkage be established between prestigious Universities and Institutes of Higher Learning of the Muslim world for inviting well-known scholars to visit and deliver external lectures. During this visit scholar can meet colleagues and advanced students, advise on academic programs, and explore the possibilities for collaborative research. Under such a scheme a prominent scholar from an Arab University might visit a number of universities of an Asian Muslim

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening country or a distinguished researcher from Central Asian Muslim country work in some Muslim country in Africa, of course, these are just examples. (9) Similarly teachers/students could be sent to be exchanged between Muslim countries for further training and gaining more practical experience. This will also create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and friendship. Literacy rate in some of the Muslim countries is as high as 97.5 per cent (Central Asian Republics) whereas in Niger (Africa) the literacy rate is only 19 per cent. In Afghanistan it is 10 percent or less after the unending Civil War. Coordination can be worked out for exchange of experience to raise literacy rate in Muslim African countries with the assistant of Central Asian Republics. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) can be signed between Research Institutes of Muslim countries to gain experience and share results of research in the same field. This is the age of information technology. Muslim countries can link their Universities and Institutes of Higher Learning through Internets and e-mail to share their experiences in the different fields of research and to achieve positive results. Expansion in Educational Linkage/ Contacts programs between the Muslim countries could be established through the assistance of different Islamic International and Regional institutions. Finally, we all know that Ummah is going through very crucial stage. At this juncture of time unity within our ranks is most important than ever.

201

Establishing international Islamic unity based on ... Was Written by: Dr/ Hossam Nassar Associate Researcher, Environmental Research Division, National Research Center (NRC), Cairo, Egypt. Now - Doctor Course Candidate, Lab. of Hygienic Chemistry, Environmental Science and Engineering Division, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan. Mobile : +81-80-4256-1977

202

; Fax : +81-76-234-4456

Islamic awakening and Young Generation

Islamic awakening and Young Generation (Dr. Aziz Mahdi (India "The reward of deeds depends upon intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended''

204

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Let’s see what happens when we look at the concept of Islamic awakening while keeping this Hadith in our minds? Undeniably it is a reward for the youth and young generation for the pious intentions and actions of their predecessors; for all that is happening today in the form of Widespread Islamic Awakenings is the fruit of the tree which was planted yesterday. It is the reward which God has given us for our true belief in him and complete submission towards him, otherwise if it would not have been for God’s grace, this day would never have come; as for decades Muslims have been flooded with accusations by their opponents; that too to such an extent that they are labeled "reactionaries," "die-hard traditionalists," "bigots" by the so called civilized West under the existing antiIslamic situations prevailing all over the globe. It is widely known for a fact that as for today, the Imperialist and Zionist regimes are doing everything in their power to look for any opportunity to crush the Islamic fundamentals and also this wave of Islamic awakening which while being in its first stage has shaken the world powers and has shown them what the Islamic Ummah can do when they are united! The later stages of this “Wave” can only be speculated

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening about and it is this speculation which is one of the prime reasons why the west is worried about this phenomenon which for sure is going to become a world phenomenon on a much bigger scale than it is today. As Ayatollah Khamenei had once pointed out in one of his speeches after Friday prayers which I quote “the political upheaval in the Arab world was part of an "irreversible defeat" for the United States and an "Islamic awakening" in the Middle East”; this is what the west is so angry about, their “irreversible defeat”! The axial point of this article will be the role of youth in Islamic Awakening; because we being the young generation have duties as a part of Islamic Ummah and it is we who have huge responsibilities on our shoulders. It is ‘Us’, the young generation who have the task of planting yet another seed of the same tree which our predecessors like Imam Khomeini planted for us and take the legacy forward. It is our duty to protect this Islamic Awakening from any harms whatsoever by the enemies of Islam and make it a deep rooted world phenomenon which our generations to come can use as a shelter. Let us first look at Islam. What is Islam? It is undoubtedly a religion of submission and awakening. It is a comprehensive system of life which guides our lives towards an ethical direction by bestowing its divine and spiritual character in our lives; it provides the foundation and goals for the Islamic Ummah and not to forget, the limits which guide us in our movement towards that ultimate goal of life, helping us to walk on the right path, protecting us from negative consequences or getting lost in the way. Islam is a collection of beliefs which nourish our minds,

205

Islamic awakening and Young Generation

206

cleanse our souls, help in imparting justice equally among all, and decorates our lives with its customs and etiquettes. Scholars from all over the globe have defined Islam from various points of views; Marx, while condemning religions did not exclude Islam from being opium for masses but the scholars who really looked into the practical aspect of Islam realized the fact that Islam is a complete submission of will to the commandments of God. This submission and surrender does not mean that people should be inactive, should not think of their development and their progress. As we see that Islam since its emergence has always paid special attention to the mankind; and being a codified religion it has given all necessary instructions in its holy book known as Quran, which was revealed to the prophet for making people aware of evils and goodness, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance. In brief the real purpose of the revelation of Quran is to guide the humanity towards the right path, which leads to salvation. There is no doubt that about it that Quran has everything which may be of any use for the mankind, but it has also been proved that only theory cannot and never be result oriented unless that theory is not realized into practice; in other words, whatever has been codified in Quran has to be presented in its practical form. Our prophet presented the teachings of Quran in its practical shape. Whatever was dangerous for humanity, Quran declared that forbidden or Haraam and whatever is in the interest of the mankind, Quran referred to it as permissible or Halaal. In other words, Quran and actions of the prophet are the basic factors to be adopted and followed by every Muslim until the mankind breathes his last.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Coming to the point of our discussion, let’s talk about Islamic awakening. Islamic awakening has its roots in stronger inspiration and greater understanding among Muslim Ummah. The uprisings and revolutions that took place in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen etc were a shock to the analysts of the whole imperial world; as they had never even contemplated that one day Egypt or Libya etc could see such momentous uprisings which could bring down the imperialists strongholds in these countries and eventually get rid of tyrants guarding the interests of imperialistic powers. Social revolutions are normally based on a very strong foundation of wisdom and experiences; be it their own or experiences of others which are in fact lessons to learn from. The best example of such experiences of others is the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Imam Khomeini has put it in the best set of words as “victory of blood over sword”. What we witnessed in Iran more than 30 years ago is the precursor to what we witnessed in Egypt and Libya and other Arab countries. Watching Egypt’s Islamic revolution was more like a Déjà-Vu for Islamic Awakening. Many of us are mentioning this point again and again in altogether different sentences, but the fact remains the same that the spark of this fire was ignited by Imam Khomeini and his Islamic revolution of Iran. Many others are saying that the latest revolutions in Arab countries are in no way connected to Islamic revolution of Iran, but I am sure that in the near future this will become a proven fact that Islamic revolution of Iran was the spark which burnt down the castle of Imperialism.

207

Islamic awakening and Young Generation

208

This small spark of Iranian Islamic revolution got stronger and stronger with each heavy blow of the unfavorable winds, wanting to extinguish this fire of Islamic Awakening right from the beginning until the latest events of Islamic revolutions in Arab countries; but they were unsuccessful then and they were unsuccessful for yet another time in the recent times. Moreover, on the contrary to extinguishing this spark, these strong unfavorable winds made this phenomenon stronger and stronger and eventually helped it to spread to various other regions of the world. The more they tried to harm, the more their actions helped. We have a saying in India which goes like this “how can that candle be extinguished which is lighted by God” it perfectly corroborates with the present situation of Islamic awakening. No matter how hard the imperialistic powers try to put this candle out, they can’t succeed, as this is a candle which is lighted and protected by the almighty God. As Iranians say it in one of their Proverbs: ‫ﻇﺎﻟﻢ ﭘﺎﻱ‬ ‫ ﻣﻴﻜﻨﻪ‬،‫ﺩﻳﻮﺍﺭ ﺧﻮﺩﺷﻮ‬ ِ The oppression of the oppressor harms him only. Or Haafez the great Persian poet has pointed out: ‫ﺩﻭﺭ ﻓﻠﮑﯽ ﻳﮏ ﺳﺮﻩ ﺑﺮ ﻣﻨﻬﺞ ﻋﺪﻝ ﺍﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﺧﻮﺵ ﺑﺎﺵ ﮐﻪ ﻇﺎﻟﻢ ﻧﺒﺮﺩ ﺭﺍﻩ ﺑﻪ ﻣﻨﺰﻝ‬

Be assured that the oppressor will ultimately be defeated. It is without a doubt that Imam Khomeini as a source of translating Islamic theories into practice and also as an architect of Islamic Republic has provided us with a sea of thoughts regarding Institution building and defining the political orientations and approaches of the Islamic Ummah. The sea of ideas which originated from the clear spring of Muhammad’s (PBUH) Islam. It was Imam Khomeini’s

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening dream to export the Islamic revolution and let others also quench their thirst from that spring. And there is no doubt in the fact that his dream was finally achieved in the form of recent Islamic awakenings; which proves the sayings of Imam Khomeini fully true. In one of his messages, he categorically said: “Present true Islam to the world people in order to quench their thirst of Islam” ‫ ﺩﻧﻴﺎ ﺗﺸﻨﻪ¬ی ﺍﺳﻼﻡ ﺍﺳﺖ‬،‫ﺍﺳﻼﻡ ﺭﺍﺳﺘﻴﻦ ﺭﺍ ﺑﻪ ﺩﻧﻴﺎ ﻋﺮﺿﻪ ﮐﻨﻴﺪ‬

The determination of young generation towards righteousness has shown itself to be solid and unflinching in the recent events of Islamic awakening. One must also pay due importance to their determination to recapture the true Islamic spirit and to reconstruct their life according to it in the 21st century where everybody in the western world is running after hoarding or spending large amount of wealth, having a luxurious life away from the bounds of religion. It is not at all surprising for me that today’s young generation wants to reconstruct their lives according to the fundamentals of Islam. It was expected for them to do such things, especially after what Imam Khomeini said around 30 years back! What did he say? That “I want to export this revolution this Islamic awakening to all the Muslim ummah all over the globe and it is the youth who will play the key role”. The older people are easily attracted towards religion according to their age factor and their experience in life. It is the young generation which is difficult to convince and it is difficult to make them understand the importance of various religious concepts; the young and hot blood, which is running in their bodies has its own aims and most of the

209

Islamic awakening and Young Generation

210

times it is far away from spirituality and religion. What we saw in recent developments of Islamic awakening is that this young generation has come out of its hibernation and has started looking into the fundamentals of Islam on a serious note and as to how it can help in the progress of their countries and the Muslim ummah on the whole. They are the ones who want to follow the footsteps of great leaders like Imam Khomeini who when asked by some western journalist that he has taken Iran 50 years back with his revolution, told him that â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is not just 50 years which I aimed at! I want to take this society back to 1400 years ago.â&#x20AC;? It was the same time when certain groups in the Muslim ummah were so west stricken that they looked at the western way of life as the only solution for being content and happy in life. They looked at Islam as something which has lost its charm and is too old to be in accordance with the 20th century. The imperialist powers had done everything in their power to outcast Islam from the world scenario and it seemed that they were succeeding, but God helped and guided Imam Khomeini towards reviving this religion and it is through Imam Khomeini that God showed the non believers how compatible this religion is with the 20th or even 21st century, or even many more centuries to come. When we look at the Islamic revolution and Islamic Republic of Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful life after the revolution, even after so much pressure from the imperialistic powers, we tend to look into the reason for this success, which is none other than the young generation. The young generation which is brought up with the teachings of righteousness and piety is the real strong foundation which any country can

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening build its hopes upon. Their value is immeasurable in any kind of material form. Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei have shown us in their speeches and guidelines that youth is the most important section of the society. When you look at how they address the people listening to them you will find out that it is not the older men they are addressing to, it is the youth; the young generation. Looking from another perspective, Imam Khomeiniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last WILL is addressed to the young generation not the elders. He wanted to export this revolution to the whole world and when reporters asked him about what will happen to his goal after he is gone from this world? He answered that every single youth of Islamic Republic of Iran has and will become a Khomeini and after him it is them who will export the Islamic revolution to the whole world. And now we can see for a fact that his dream has come true, yes it did take time, and of course it should take time to make people understand, awaken them from their sleep of modernity, I see this period of 30 years as the laying of strong foundations for the next centuries to come and the foundation stone of this building was laid by Imam Khomeini, who was without any doubt one of the greatest leaders of Islamic history. And now when the foundations have been laid strongly with the cement of complete submission to the almighty, no power in this world can do any harm to the Islamic awakening of world society. The Prophet (PBUH) said: [The Flag of Islamic] knowledge will be carried from one generation to the other by the moderates who defend it against the distortion of

211

Islamic awakening and Young Generation bigots, the claims of falsifiers and the misinterpretation of the ignorant." Hence it is the duty of the young generation to carry this flag of Islamic Awakening on its shoulders with the determination of handing it over to the next generation; which by the grace of God, the present young generation has rightfully taken this responsibility for.

212

To sum up: Those who are actively engaged in claiming the merit of engineering and supporting the revolutionary awakenings in Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya are in fact engaged in annihilating the Islamic Awakening. How the United States and its allies, who propagated that Islam and democracy, are incompatible, Muslims are terrorists and extremists and Islam causes war and bloodshed. The presence of women with their Islamic Hijab in the historic demonstrations staged in these nations proves that the process of Islamic Awakening has already started. The presence of Young generation in the mosques proves the fact that Muslim youth has started emulating the revolutionary elements of Iran, who in fact are the pioneers of the Islamic Awakening. The days of Anti-Islamic propaganda has now come to an end. The progress and development achieved during the last 32 years after the victory of Islamic Revolution in Iran, in spite of all illogical and unjustified sanctions has proved the fact that Islam is very much capable of coping with the requirements of 20th and 21st century and even, it can lead the world towards happiness and real prosperity; but one should try to catch hold of the rope of true Islam-e-

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Muhammadi and remain away from the Islam which imperial powers are propagating. Even the right thinking and logical American and European youths have started studying the tenets and principles of Islam. Thousands of young men in the western world have already embraced Islam, which is nothing but prayer of Almighty and service to mankind; as the holy book Quran belongs to the masses, Prophet of Islam was merciful for the masses and its pious Kaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;aba is a place especially marked for the masses. I would like to end with this note that: Two factors are essential for the success of any movement. First is the readiness of the masses to offer valuable sacrifices and the second factor has been described as the presence of a decisive leadership. The current wave of Islamic awakening in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and other Arab nations proves the readiness of the masses, who are marching towards the grand victory under the noble guidance of Ayatollah Syed Ali-e-Khamenei. Wassalaam

213

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ...

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS BACKWARDNESS AND THE ROLES OF YOUTHS IN RESTORING THE LOST GLORY. A.B.Salati1 Abstract In this paper, we shall examine the causes of Islamic nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backwardness in the last century and we shall look into the roles of the youths who are the flag bearer of Islamic Awakening in restoring the lost glory. We delve into some details to expose the real situations and give hope to youths that the future belongs to them. Keywords: Islamic nations, youths, backwardness, Islamic Awakening.

215 1.0 Introduction Hadhrat Imam Khomeini said:"We, who started the movement, did so for the sake of Islam. The republic is an Islamic Republic. A movement which is for the sake of Islam cannot be limited to one country. It cannot even be limited to Islamic countries. The movement for Islam is the same as the movement of the prophets. The movement of the prophets was not just for one place. The Exalted Prophet (Muhammad, (SAWA)) was from Arabia but his mission was not (just) for Arabia. It was not limited to Arabia. His mission was for the whole world."(1) When Imam (RA) said that the movement cannot be 1. Department of Philosophy and Mysticism, Almustafa International University, Qum, Iran.

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ... restricted to one country, one may be asking a question that when will it reach other countries? The recent wind of change that is blowing across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) confirmed the Imam's statement. This blowing wind is a process towards completion of the light of Allah. As Allah said in His book: ‫ﻭﺍﷲ ﻣﺘﻢ ﻧﻮﺭﻩ ﻭﻟﻮ ﻛﺮﻩ ﺍﻟﻜﺎﻓﺮﻭﻥ‬

216

…God insists on perfecting His Light, though averse the disbelievers may be.”(2) This wind is a blessing to Muslim communities in particular and the world as a whole because the result that will come from this wind will benefit all. The wind started by blowing out the Tunisian dictator Zein al Abedin bin Ali. This is follow by Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Gaddafi of Libya. This wind, by God’s Grace shall blow out Salih of Yemen, Sheikh Ahmad Khalifah of Bahrain, Al Suhud and all other dictators in all muslim nations. This has been the promise of Allah to the whole human beings. Allah says: ‫ﻭﻟﻘﺪ ﻛﺘﺒﻨﺎ ﻓﻰ ﺍﻟﺰﺑﻮﺭ ﻣﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺍﻟﺬﻛﺮ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻷﺭﺽ ﻳﺮﺛﻬﺎ ﻋﺒﺎﺩﻯ ﺍﻟﺼﺎﻟﺤﻮﻥ‬

“And indeed We did write in Psalms (Zabur) after the Reminder (Torah) that My righteous Servants shall inherit the earth.”(3) In the past ages, Muslims were the leaders of caravan of civilization .In fact there were many cultured nations ruled by the Muslims. Universities and libraries were also established by the Muslims which made them became the leader in scientific advancement and torchbearers of knowledge. Almighty Allah testifies to this in His Glorious Book: ‫ﻛﻨﺘﻢ ﺧﻴﺮ ﺃﻣﺔ ﺃﺧﺮﺟﺖ ﻟﻠﻨﺎﺱ ﺗﺄﻣﺮﻭﻥ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﻌﺮﻭﻑ ﻭﺗﻨﻬﻮﻥ ﻋﻦ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻜﺮ ﻭﺗﺆﻣﻨﻮﻥ ﺑﺎﷲ‬

“You are best community that has been brought forth for

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening mankind; you enjoin goodness and forbid evil, and you believe in God…” (4) In the above verse, three things were identified to be the factors of that make the Muslim community to be the best community; (a) Enjoining goodness. (b) Forbidding evil. (c) Believe in God.

So far Muslim communities uphold these three factors; they shall be the best in all areas. Otherwise, we shall be face with backwardness and stagnation. Our past testified that Muslim communities upheld these and it brought about all the development that Muslims have in that age. But recent Muslim communities are facing different disgrace such as underdevelopment, stagnation and many more because of not following these precious instructions. Allah said: ‫ﺇﻥ ﺍﷲ ﻻﻳﻐﻴﺮ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻘﻮﻡ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻳﻐﻴﺮﻭﺍ ﻣﺎﺑﺄﻧﻔﺴﻬﻢ‬

“God does not change the condition of people until they change what is in themselves”(5) We shall try in this paper to examine the causes of this backwardness for the Muslim nations and also the roles of the youths as an engine and power house of the recent Islamic Awakening in restoring back the lost glory. 2.0 CAUSES OF MUSLIM NATIONS BACKWARDNESS (a) Inadherence to Islamic teachings

One of the basic fundamental causes of backwardness of Islamic nations is inadherence to the teachings of Al Islam. This noble teaching encompasses the whole worldly and spiritual advancement in all its form .As the Muslim nations fail to realize this, some western writers and thinkers testify

217

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ...

218

to the rich teachings. As an example, Gustawlobon in his work entitled “Civilization of Islam and Arab” quotes the French scientist as saying,”If the name of Islam had conic out of the history, the age of European restoration of science would have fallen behind for several other centuries”(6) and he, too, states in another section of his book “If civilization of Islam did not exist, there would be nothing of the present civilization”(7) But the enemies of Islam realized that these unadulterated teachings will harm their interest so, they initiated an all out struggle against it and they did not withhold from any plot and strategy. They knew that the only way to dominate over the Muslims nations and keep them backward is to indirectly remove them from Islam. One of the ways they employ is distancing the Muslim nations from the Quranic teachings and Prophetic sayings (SAWA). This has caused a great havoc to the Islamic Ummah. Part of enemies tactics to reduce the influence of Islamic teachings is promotion of evil and wrong ideologies among the Muslim nations like secularism, liberalism.. These satanic ideologies are used to marginalize religion teachings and restricting it to mere personal matter. Most of the corrupt and dictatorial leaders of Muslim countries are their puppet in spreading these poisonous ideologies. (b) Lack of unity

In the first era of Islam, the Muslims were united and this opened a lot of gate of successes to them. In recent centuries, there has been a considerable increase in intersect animosities. To the extent that every sect considers others apostates and infidels, and tries their best to insult and degrade one another. This barbaric action has inflicted

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening a heaviest blow upon the holy body of Islam and the true face of Islam has been concealed behind the veils of misunderstandings and misconceptions. Realizing this source of all misfortunes, the enemies employ all their mercenaries to fuel the situation. They sow discord among the Muslim nations. It is undisputable fact that a nation that lacks unity and consolidation among the individuals will forever remain in the state of weakness and stagnation. Besides this, the enemies can also utilize tribal and religion sentiment to create problem among the Muslims. This is done by supporting one tribe or religion group over other to reach their own satanic goals. (c)Over dependency on the west

The issue of over dependency permeates all sections and levels of Muslim countries. This over reliance brings about modern colonization; Muslim nations become a slave to the western counterpart. For example, Western countries are the backbone of the economic sector of majority of the Muslim nations. That is why the effect of world economic deterioration was seriously felt by these countries. The same situation repeating itself in security sector rather than utilizing the human resources at home to develop the nation they put all hope on the west. Recent Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirate weaponry deal with United State of America is clear evidence to this. Billions of dollars are wasted annually on this. Some of these countries cannot produce common things unless they imported it from western countries. This is a great shame! (d)High level of corruption and poverty

A situation whereby the resources of a whole nation are

219

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ...

220

under a family, without doubt, corruption and poverty have to be the order of day. This has been the norms of the Islamic states. The ruling family and their allies are rich why the masses are poor. In Egypt as a case study, the poverty level among the masses reaches a stage that poor ones took grave as an house. The Muslim countries always have the highest number of unemployment, poverty rate etc. In 2011 ranking of Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the Muslim nations had a low ranking. Out of 178 countries, Yemen ranked 146th, Egypt 98th... (8) However, it is surprising that why the nations which have access to the best wealth and the richest resources, live in abject poverty? While these nations can with such a great deal of capital have a great industry and technology. On the other hand, the United State of America, Zionist together with their allies in the west continue to plunder these great resources and annihilate the potential economic infrastructure of the Muslim countries and then place the Muslims in the state of backwardness and neediness. (e) Racism factor

Racial discrimination is one of the factors that cause a lot of backwardness for the Muslim countries. Like for example, Arab race may see her superior than Non Arab race or Iranian may see herself superior than Non Iranian. This has created rift between Islamic states. The recent fuelling of racism among Iranian and Arab is an effort of United State of America and Zionist towards dividing the Muslim nations and then continue controlling their resources. It is sad that the allies of USA in the Islamic countries are listening to this satanic music and even go to the extent of dancing to the tune of these great enemies of Islam and Muslims.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening (f) Separation of religion from politics

When Islam and politics are linked together and a composition of the Islamic policy is formed, undoubtedly this will be followed by advancement, success and development. The only and the best example of a country we can cite using this system is Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the secret to the Islamic Republic of Iran development and advancement. The enemies of Muslim nations discovered this foremost issue, it concentrated its endeavor on it to separate religion from the policy of Islamic states and gradually drive the true religion of Islam into isolation. If we take a look at Turkey, we will observe that a country which has once been the center of Islam and from which the power of Islam has been originated, now has disregarded all the Islamic disciplines and took step towards misfortune and decline. This is not a surprise when the Prime Minister of Turkey is recommending Secular/Liberal ideology to the Egyptian. The West and their allies are gradually disseminating the idea that faith and religion is only peculiar to the illiterate and ignorant ones and its place is only in the tombs and mosques and Islam is unable to administer society so as to take the solidarity and proper Islamic biases away from the society and alienate the Muslims from their national identity and then follow their evil motives. In this way, through instilling these doubts, they are planning to remove the religious ones and on top of them the great range of the clerics from the scene. They went ahead so much as even the political interference is considered as sin and crime. In many of the Muslim countries, if a person who has a scientific and Islamic status interferes into the affair

221

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ... of the society, he will act contrary to his own standing since the enemies of Islam introduced politics as telling lies and resorting to trickery. In summary, religion is politic and politics is religion: RELIGION = POLITICS and POLITICS = RELIGION RELIGION – POLITICS = UNDERDEVELOPMENT, RETROGRESSION… RELIGION + POLITICS = DEVELOPMENT, ADVANCEMENT…

222

3.0 POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS TO THE YOUTHS ON HOW TO TACKLE THESE PROBLEMS. (a) The youths should put more effort to promote the teachings of Islam. Direct attempt must be made to set up various organizations and forums to propagate the teachings of the holy Quran. The universality of the teachings of this Glorious Book must be exposed to the Muslims in particular and to the whole world as a whole. These teachings should be enshrined in code of Education of Islamic countries and must be taught in various levels of education. Various objectives of Almighty Allah in sending the Glorious Quran were mentioned in the following chapters below: ‫ﻛﺘﺎﺏ ﺃﻧﺰﻟﻨﺎﻩ ﺇﻟﻴﻚ ﻟﺘﺨﺮﺝ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻈﻠﻤﺎﺕ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﻨﻮﺭ ﺑﺈﺫﻥ ﺭﺑﻬﻢ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺻﺮﺍﻁ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰ ﺍﻟﺤﻤﻴﺪ‬

“This is a Book which We have revealed unto you so that you may bring people forth from utter darkness into light by their Lord’s permission, (and bring them) to the way of the Mighty, the Praised One.” (9) ‫ﻭﻧﺰﻟﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ ﺍﻟﻜﺘﺎﺏ ﺗﺒﻴﺎﻧﺎ ﻟﻜﻞ ﺷﻰء ﻭﻫﺪﻯ ﻭﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﻭﺑﺸﺮﻯ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ‬

“We have revealed unto you the Book, explaining everything, a guidance, mercy, and glad tidings to those

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening who submit themselves (to God).” (10) ‫ﺇﻥ ﻫﻮ ﺇﻻ ﺫﻛﺮ ﻟﻠﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﻦ ﻭﻟﺘﻌﻠﻤﻦ ﻧﺒﺄﻩ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺣﻴﻦ‬

“It is but a reminder to the world, and you will certainly come to know about it after a time.” (11) By promoting this Word of God, it will block all forms of poisonous ideologies preached by Muslim enemies. The root of all problems is our distance we have created between us and the holy Book. God Almighty says: “The Messenger shall say: “Lord! Indeed my people have forsaken this Quran.”” (12) (b) One of center message of Quran is promotion of unity. Allah says in Surat Al Imran ‫ﻭﺍﻋﺘﺼﻤﻮﺍ ﺑﺤﺒﻞ ﺍﷲ ﺟﻤﻰﻋﺎ ﻭﻻ ﺗﻔﺮﻗﻮﺍ ﻭﺍﺫﻛﺮﻭﺍ ﻧﻌﻤﺖ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻜﻢ ﺇﺫ ﻛﻨﺘﻢ ﺃﻋﺪﺁء‬ ‫ﻓﺄﻟﻒ ﺑﻴﻦ ﻗﻠﻮﺑﻜﻢ ﻓﺄﺻﺒﺤﺘﻢ ﺑﻨﻌﻤﺘﻪ ﺇﺧﻮﺍﻧﺎ ﻭﻛﻨﺘﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺷﻔﺎ ﺣﻔﺮﺓ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺭ ﻓﺄﻗﺬﻛﻢ ﻣﻨﻬﺎ‬

“And hold fast to the Rope of God all together, and do not be divided among yourselves, and remember the bounty of God bestowed upon you when you were enemies (of each other); He united your hearts together with (mutual) love, and thus through His favour did you become brethren, and while you were on the brink of the pit of fire, He delivered you therefrom.” (13) One major way of tackling issue of disunity is to set up Dialogue Council. The role of this council is to organize discussion forum which will bring people from different sects or religion group together and problems relating to various sects or religion group will be analyzed and a solution will be proffered to it. If this can be done, it will close the door for external enemies to fuel the situation. (c) The heart of development of any nation is the youths so therefore, the youths should throw down and break up

223

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ... the old culture of over reliance on the West. Youths should try to believe in their abilities and have trust in God. With these two factors, gate of successes, development and advancement shall open to Muslim countries. Allah, The Merciful said: ‫ﻓﺈﺫﺍ ﻋﺰﻣﺖ ﻓﺘﻮﻛﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﺇﻥ ﺍﷲ ﻳﺤﺐ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﻮﻛﻠﻴﻦ‬

“When you are resolved, put your trust in God, for God loves those who put their trust in Him.” (14) ‫ﺇﻥ ﻳﻨﺼﺮﻛﻢ ﺍﷲ ﻓﻼ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ ﻟﻜﻢ ﻭﺇﻥ ﻳﺨﺬﻟﻜﻢ ﻓﻤﻦ ﺫﺍ ﺍﻟﺬﻯ ﻳﻨﺼﺮﻛﻢ ﻣﻦ ﺑﻌﺪﻩ ﻭﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ‬ ‫ﻓﻠﻴﺘﻮﻛﻞ ﺍﻟﻤﺆﻣﻨﻮﻥ‬

224

“If God supports you, none shall overcome you; but if He forsakes you, who is there that could help you after that? On God then should the believers rely.” (15) This is the promise of God and He does not fail promise. The problem lies with us that will fail to put our trust in Him. (d) Youths should ensure that they refrain from corruption and prevent the corrupt people from perpetrating corruption. Effort should be made to distribute the wealth of the nation equally among the masses. Excessive love of money brings about corruption. The Supreme Being makes reference to some of the qualities of the pious ones (MUTTAKIN) in the holy Quran: ‫ﻭﻓﻰ ﺃﻣﻮﺍﻟﻬﻢ ﺣﻖ ﻟﻠﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺤﺮﻭﻡ‬

“And in their property was a share due to the needy and the destitute.” (16) (e) The youths should totally reject the idea of racism and base all their theories of relation on Islamic teachings (not on racism) and open up to share experience from all corners of Muslim nations. They should restrict themselves from seeking advice and exposure from others. For example, Mr.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening A, who is an Arab, should feel free from sharing experience from Mr. B that is non Arab. This is Allah’s instruction in Suratul Hujurat: ‫ﻳﺎﺃﻳﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﺇﻧﺎ ﺧﻠﻘﻨﺎﻛﻢ ﻣﻦ ﺫﻛﺮ ﻭﺃﻧﺜﻰ ﻭﺟﻌﻠﻨﺎﻛﻢ ﺷﻌﻮﺑﺎ ﻭﻗﺒﺎﺋﻞ ﻟﺘﻌﺎﺭﻓﻮﺍ ﺇﻥ‬ ‫ﺃﻛﺮﻣﻜﻢ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍﷲ ﺃﺗﻘﺎﻛﻢ‬ “O people! Verily We have created you of a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes so that you may recognize each other; verily the most honored among in the sight of God is the most pious.” (17) (f) The separation of religion from politics is a tactic of enemies of Islam to isolate the religion and the youths must understand and watch out for all these evil plots of enemies. Quran has described those that failed to rule with Book of Allah as unbelievers (Kafirun), unjust ones (Tholimin) and transgressors (Fasiqeen). Islam believes governing and government’s policies have to be based on principle of religion. ‫ﻭﻣﻦ ﻟﻢ ﻳﺤﻜﻢ ﺑﻤﺎ ﺃﻧﺰﻝ ﺍﷲ ﻓﺄﻭﻟﺌﻚ ﻫﻢ ﺍﻟﻜﺎﻓﺮﻭﻥ‬

“Whoever does judge according to what God has revealed is indeed among the unjust ones.” (18) 4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The listed above points are possible solutions to the backwardness of the Muslim nations especially the countries that are experiencing the Islamic awakening. If the youths adopt the way out above, definitely some key problems which are obstacle to the progress of Islamic Awakening will be solved. There is another recommendation too that I feel is all round solution that is it fits the past, present and future situations of Islamic Awakening. It also serves both personal and collective interest of any Islamic nations.

225

ISLAMIC AWAKENING; MUSLIM NATIONS ... This recommendation is in the speech of Supreme Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran during the first International Conference on Islamic Awakening held on 17th of September, 2011. The instructions are in verse 1-3 of Suratul Ahzab which the Leader read at the beginning of his speech and at the end to show the importance of these precious instructions. The verses are as follow: ‫ﻳﺎﺃﻳﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﺍﺗﻖ ﺍﷲ ﻭﻻ ﺗﻄﻊ ﺍﻟﻜﺎﻓﺮﻳﻦ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﻘﻴﻦ ﺇﻥ ﺍﷲ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻋﻠﻴﻤﺎ ﺣﻜﻴﻤﺎ ﻭﺍﺗﺒﻊ‬ ‫ﻣﺎﻳﻮﺣﻰ ﺇﻟﻴﻚ ﻣﻦ ﺭﺑﻚ ﺇﻥ ﺍﷲ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺑﻤﺎ ﺗﻌﻤﻠﻮﻥ ﺧﺒﻴﺮﺍ ﻭﺗﻮﻛﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻭﻛﻔﻰ ﺑﺎﷲ ﻭﻛﻴﻼ‬

226

“O Our Prophet (Muhammad)! Fear God (alone) and do not obey the disbelievers and hypocrites; verily God is all Knowing, all-Wise. And follow what is revealed unto you from your Lord; verily God is all-Aware of what you do. And rely on God (alone), for God is sufficient Protector.” (19) Four instructions were spelt out in the above verses; (a) Observing piety in all situations. (b) Rejection of orders of the infidels and hypocrites. (c) Adherence to the divine revelation. (d) Trust in God Our dear youths should have these instructions at heart in their entire endeavor so that success, tranquility, blessing, favor and guidance shall be their portion on this Godly struggle that they step out for. ‫ﺍﻟﻠﻬﻢ ﺇﻧﺎ ﻧﺸﻜﻮ ﺇﻟﻴﻚ ﻓﻘﺪ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺎ ﺻﻠﻮﺍﺗﻚ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺁﻟﻪ ﻭﻏﻴﺒﺔ ﻭﻟﻴﻨﺎ ﻭﻛﺜﺮﺓ ﻋﺪﻭﻧﺎ ﻭﻗﻠﺔ‬ ‫ﻋﺪﺩﻧﺎ ﻭﺷﺪﺓ ﺍﻟﻔﺘﻦ ﺑﻨﺎ ﻭﺗﻈﺎﻫﺮ ﺍﻟﺰﻣﺎﻥ ﻋﻠﻰﻧﺎ ﻓﺼﻞ ﻋﻠﻲ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﻭﺁﻟﻪ ﻭﺃﻋﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺫﻟﻚ‬ ‫ﺑﻔﺘﺢ ﻣﻨﻚ ﺗﻌﺠﻠﻪ ﻭﺑﻀﺮ ﺗﻜﺸﻔﻪ ﻭﻧﺼﺮ ﺗﻌﺰﻩ ﻭﺳﻠﻄﺎﻥ ﺣﻖ ﺗﻈﻬﺮﻩ ﻭﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﻣﻨﻚ ﺗﺠﻠﻠﻨﺎﻫﺎ‬ ‫ﻭﻋﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻣﻨﻚ ﺗﻠﺒﺴﻨﺎﻫﺎ ﺑﺮﺣﻤﺘﻚ ﻳﺎ ﺃﺭﺣﻢ ﺍﻟﺮﺍﺣﻤﻴﻦ‬

O Allah! We feel uneasy about and disturbed over the departure of our Prophet (Thy blessings be on him and his progeny), absence of our Guardian-friend, too many

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening enemies, our numerical smallness, widespread disorder, and vicissitude of time, so send blessings on Muhammad and on his progeny and help us to overcome this state of affairs at once. Disperse the ominous clouds hanging over our heads, lend a helping hand to achieve success, bring in the rule of justice and fairplay, make us bright, free from grief, and take care of us, through Thy mercy, O the Most Merciful.

NOTE 1. Sahif-e-ye Nour, vol. 10, p.115, November 1, 1979. 2. Quran 61:8 3. Quran 21:105 4. Quran 3:110 5. Quran 13:11 6. www.rkhomeini.org 7. Ibid. 8. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Corruption Perception Index 2010, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Transparency International, Berlin, DE (2010), online at : http://www.transparency.org/content/ download/55725/890310. 9. Quran 14:1 10. Quran 16:89 11. Quran 38:87-88 12. Quran 25:30 13. Quran 3:103 14. Quran 3:159 15. Quran 3:160 16. Quran 51:19 17. Quran 49:13 18. Quran 5:45 19. Quran 33:1-3

227

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ...

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH; AN ISLAMIC WORDVIEW CHALLENGE

AND

AGE

Edy Yuliansyah Syarif* The sun rises from behind the horizon and gives out light golden listless faces towards the passenger ship. Every waking from sleep all night, the passengers hurried to eat, drink, and have fun, while following the motion of the ship wade through endless. Meanwhile, a man who seemed more intelligent than the others began to think then turned to his partner and asked, "Where would we be headed?" The man who had just woken from sleep awakened by the question and immediately asked a similar question to other colleagues. Some are too sank in pleasure and gaiety ignoring this question, and kept immersed in his own affairs. This question slowly spread to the ears of the captain of the ship. Apparently they did not know and wonder about the same thing. Finally, a big sign clung atmosphere of the ship, causing fear and anxiety The Fundamental Problem The story above is one analogy that attempts to stabilize the origin of human consciousness and life goals as well as the direction of motion of this nature. Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the human being on the ship called earth? Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the earth spinning at the stretching universe? When this earth will be end? Whether man was created only to wait for the destruction of this earth? If someone is born, grow up and just go with the flow

229

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ... of this age, - looking for money, food, and build the house - then what's the difference with the animals that roam over this nature? Then the fundamental problem of every sector of life is the construction of a human concept, the origin and destination. The human issue is the issue of civilization. If man is not understood and defined in convincing the education, no matter how modernya, will not result in success and real benefits. Modern education albeit with luxurious facilities in various regions of the world can not educate people properly because the principal goal of education was not the man himself. If humans are not understood as it is, then the culture and civilization that is built will remain fragile. Marxism or socialism will not be different from other ideologies, if it fails to understand human nature and its purpose. 230

Materialism Worldview Materialism has a view that if men would expire at the shattered body was buried. This view argues that in the human body as a machine that there is a system becomes the motor of human beings. As with other machines, if the system is broken then that's the end of human life. The worldview of materialism rests on what can only be reached by the senses. Therefore, only the body and all its organs are owned by humans, as well as the reality of this nature. They like people look at the sky like roof behind it emptiness or nothingness. As human beings with consciousness, the materialism realizes that life will culminate in absurdities or humans live in a world without purpose. When examined, the world

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening view definitely gives color to the motion of a person's life. The worldview who thinks the world is without purpose and absence of the will definitely which set up like a country whose leader is not fair, then do an honest, good or fair in this country is futile. Because of this awareness, then arises disappointment that they get themselves to accept this painful reality, the world which not in harmony with human nature. Because innate nature is so different from the purpose of this world, then arises feeling alienated. Aly Shariati said, they see the world as a crazy place and see the sky empty of feeling, taste, and pure power. They were unable to find meaning and purpose in life, there is no inherent legal and no system. What about the development of technology and science which considered as indicators of the progress of western civilization? This side should get a positive value, although the view of Islam does not agree if civilization rests only on scientific progress. As the theory of Islamic knowledge which put a value on the sensory knowledge (scientific) but did not make the only basis of knowledge. One of the thinkers of Europe said: "Modern humans are able to know how we get to the bottom of the ocean and moves like a fish. He also knows how we are in the air and fly like a bird. Unfortunately, humans do not know how we walk on this earth like any other human being! "No wonder then many ideologies come and unequivocally say that everything we consider 'exist' is essentially nil. Human in the Islamic world view As a creature that has the innate nature and awareness,

231

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ...

232

humans will be faced with a series of life questions. If someone is neglectful to find the answer, he will hit the boundary line between humanity and animalistic. If we sort of perfection in the chain, then the most perfect human achievement than any other creature. Material things do not have the ability to grow as plants. Plants that have the elements of matter and growth have no instinct for food, or maintain its existence as animals. Animals that have the body as material, growth and animal instincts are not thinking about knowledge as human awareness. Therefore, men that can have the all of it, and other potentially reaching infinite grace according to the level of achievement. In Islam, for example, the highest degree of human perfection is the prophetic degree. Because of this achievement, Muhammad SAW was sent as a model or ‘uswah hasanah’ for Muslims. Generally human in the Islamic world view divided into two dimensions, but a unity. Basyar is a creature which has just “being” and Insan is a “becoming” creature, which continues to move toward perfection. Human nature when it has reached an actual human being degrees. Because in this degree, but there is also awareness of free will, and creativity. With these three elements, only beings who can be “becoming” (forward) and not like other creatures. As an animal that has not changed since the days of his ancestors, humans in the circumstances as Basyar also will not change. He will remain a two-legged creature that walked upright on the earth. As an animal, he would have a definition that does not change over time

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening The Challenges of Youth Worldview of materialism, capitalism, communism and liberalism has been judged by history failed. One by one, slowly but surely building which fragile world view is crumbling. Physically civilization which proud, now began to retire. People who are adherent to understand 'must match demands of the times' confusion now determine the direction of time. All forms of thought, behavior and goals in life depend solely on age. 'Obsolete' is a call for those which do not follow the style of this era or today's lifestyles. Eventually they like carrion-driven waves on the ocean currents. Do not have an independent establishment to determine the way forward. Fragility of the world view as the support of this civilization makes people run away and try to figure it out. Then came the various ideologies shaped the understanding which offers drug pills such as feminism and liberalism. Feminism, for example, arise as the result of treatment of women as second class beings under the man, the oppressed, not free, and no value in the sphere of political, social or economic. Even Deng Xiaoping, General Secretary of Communist Party of China in 1961, has a well-known opinion about ideology: “It does not matter a black or white cat, if it can catch mice, it is a good cat” The question is, why feminism and liberalism are many influencing patterns of thought most Muslims, especially students, intellectuals and activists generation of Muslims? Is Islamic worldview was also considered as imperfect and fragile world view of materialism? Aren’t Muslims have a holy book and perfect? Is not the Prophet Muhammad taught his teachings to his followers until the end of time? How does

233

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ...

234

Islam answer this? A series of these questions is not to make a man drown in anxiety, however, for those who never gave up looking for a light perfection, anxiety is the first step to be taken toward peace rather than a house to stay forever. Muthahhari said "Doubt is a beautiful bridge, although it is also a bad place to live" Until now, Islam is a religion that still has not recognized correctly. Very little of the essence of Islam is understood by most people. Thus, many people who fled from him. The main reason was a number of teaching and guidance mistakenly delivered to the public in the name of Islam. In modern times, Islam got hit the hardest of the people who claims will keep Islam. The invaders had attacked Islam openly or secretly, and to weaken its influence in the lives of Muslims. On the other hand, due to ignorance and the inability of some people who fled from Islamic ideas in various fields. Not even a little, who goaded to revolt against the Islamic thoughts as they delivered it. This is the challenge of Islamic people, especially the Muslim youth that characterizes the present and future. Prophetic Movement; An Inspiration for Muslim Youth Imam Khomeini’s student, Syahid Ayatollah Murtadha Muthahhari, has a lot of contribution in the achievement of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979). In one of his masterpiece, ‘al Adl al Ilahi’, he was writing many books for twenty years with the aim to answer the question of Islam in the 'modern era'. As a scholar as well as the architect of the revolution, he was considered successful in bringing the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Islamic worldview into social theory readily accepted by society. His thoughts that clarify the Islamic teachings with the philosophical approach dispersed and studied in many countries. In Indonesia, study of Muthahhari’s thought never goes out. For Muthahhari, the strong and everlasting world view impossible comes from a fragile knowledge foundation or irrational. Muthahhari criticizing western thought that underlie the fragility western civilization over the years. In Iran, because of Muthahhari enlightenment, the Marxism idea no longer has a place even is next door to the Soviet Union. Muthahhari even able to explain Marx's theory better than the adherents of Marxism in Iran. By variety of his work, Mutahhari want to tell to the Muslims that to build a civilization based on the strong ideology should be the rational thought basis, logic and consistent with human nature. In the Islamic worldview, nature is creature that is preserved through the allowance and the divine will, and when the moment it was cut off from His allowance, then crushed and destroyed. Nature was not created in vain. There is a wise purpose in the creation of human and nature. Everything that is created contains the wisdom or ‘hikmah’. The existing arrangement is the best and most perfect arrangement. Nature rests on justice and truth. Natural order is based on cause and effect. For every effect should be found the causes and previous events. For every effect should be sought for his trademark, and a typical result for every cause. In addition to the universe system, prophetic is a principle part of Islamic world view structure. In prophetic concept, described the structure of the divine teaching transformation

235

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ...

236

to this world. One of divine teaching which transformed by Prophet Muhammad is Islam recognizes the freedom of expression in the corporate world and business, though it is privately owned company. But it unlike capitalism, because private property rights in Islam is not a whole. There are some natural wealth that belongs to another society as a manifestation of social responsibility; that is the weak and poor people. Therefore, it teaches ‘zakat’, ‘shadaqah’ and ‘infaq’. Meanwhile liberating the oppressed or colonized materially and knowledge is a glorious duty in Islam. Muslim scholars in Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Amin Rais, called it by ‘Social Tauhid’. It means someone cannot be said to have monotheism (Tauhid) if he sated while his neighbors suffered from hunger. Back on the prophetic concept as part of the Islamic worldview structure. In Islamic worldview, the presence of prophets in this world is a necessity of the God existence. Every prophet had transformed the truth teaching to the people so that an update in each period. They were not religious leaders who just happy to meditated on a mountain without going to present in his society. They were not religious scholars who hide from social reality with their robes and turbans. Tracing the footprints in the prophetic pages of history, we will get the Prophet Adam was born as a resistance on ignorance symbol and contradictions in the world in beginning generations. Prophet Noah led weak people to oppose their oppressors. Prophet Hood along with his followers fought against the autocratic authority. Prophet Saleh led his people to enforce social egalitirisme. Abraham was struggle to against the cruel king as well as atheism spreaders. The Prophet Joseph, little slave who grew up in Egypt and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening managed to lead the reform of the bureaucratic elite to the grassroots level. Shu'aib fought against economic inequality. Prophet Moses was the liberator of the slaves. Prophet Isa led the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mustadifinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; against the emperor. And the Prophet Muhammad came as a revolutionary who succeeded in destroying the idols of capitalism, oppression and succeeded in elevating the oppressed. From the prophetic auspices, are born great leaders and revolutionary guards, like Aly Bin Abu Thalib, Salman Al Pharisee and Abu Dzar al Ghifari. Islamic worldview inherited of these prophetic like endless ocean. Endless in the sense that the building is solid until the end of time. To dive into this ocean, one must observe them with existential awareness and knowledge to grow stronger faith. This role should be taken by the youth. As Aly ibn Abu Tholib who have entered in the struggle to maintain prophetic since his youth. Although this role is not easy, but they who brighten his day. these young men like wax, though small but able to dispel darkness. of the light, they were able to distinguish between light and dark, truth and falsehood. Enlightened youth generation, those who are aware of the human condition in his time as well as the color of history and society. They do not have to come from the educated and intellectual. They are the pioneers in the revolution and the scientific movement. In modern times as well as evolving, enlightened youth generation can develop a sense of responsibility and awareness to give intellectual and social direction to the masses. Enlightened youth generation makes the founders of great religions (the prophet) as an example of a leader. As Muhammad and other prophets have managed to promote the establishment of reform-the fundamental structural reform.

237

THE ENLIGHTNED YOUTH AN ISLAMIC ... Among them emerge from the grass roots have the capacity to communicate with people and creating new slogans, projecting a new outlook, start a new movement into the heart of public awareness. Movement is a revolutionary movement to break them, but constructive. From frozen into a progressive society, and have a view to determining their own destiny. Like the prophets, enlightened youth generation has the awareness and responsibility to produce change as a solid foundation of civilization. <!> References:

238

Yazdi, M.T. Misbah. Philosophical Instructions; An Introduction to Contemprorary Islamic Philoshopy. University of Binghamton; 1999 Muthahhari, Murtadha. Divine Justice. Bandung; Mizan. 2009 . Man, Islam and Universe. Bandung; Mizan. 1989 Supriadi, Eko. Islamic Socialism of Aly Shariaty. Yogyakarta; RausyanFikr. 2011 Shariati, Aly. Man and Islam. Iran; University of Mashhad Press. 1982 *Personal Details Full Name Place, Date of Birth Nationality Address Mobile E-mail Education : Edy Yuliansyah Syarif : Ujung Pandang, July 19, 1985 : Indonesia : Jl. Kaliurang 5,7 Yogyakarta, Indonesia : 081326527225 : syarif679@gmail.com : Student of Muhammadiyah University at Yogyakarta

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers...

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers and International Zionism for Tackling the Islamic Awakening Kawla Bennvr from Tunisia

240

Islamic awakening with the Arab Spring, which is called by most Arab satellite networks and elites, is facing the critical and real threats that can defuse the Arab revolutions in the buds and restore the situation to the previous and also enumerate new aspect of tyranny and dictatorship. In fact, the said issue is the new objective of the global arrogant powers especially the United States and Zionist regime. Despite many efforts done for safeguarding their mercenaries in the Arab countries, the arrogant powers know that they cannot count on them for the expansion of their development in these countries, because, coordinating with the current developments is the nature of global arrogance. As of the late 18th century and early 19th century, the hegemonic powers have made their utmost efforts to dominate the Arab and Islamic world while the Muslims were in the weakest situation in that time and colonialism emperorship had dominated on all their regions. The imperialism is ready to confront with any threats and changes with the least cost and damage. The history shows that nations do not tolerate any occupation and any nation will resist against malicious objectives of aggressors and occupiers sooner or later and will defend their freedom, dignity, greatness and sovereignty. Also, these nations are ready to wage war against aggressors and occupiers with all their means and powers. These truths caused strategy of

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening imperialist powers to face severe changes and presently, the attractive slogans like human rights and the United Nations is only the mask for covering the real face of imperialism and hegemony although the global arrogant powers have not set aside their domineering and killing policies. So, although old colonialism exited from their colonies, they resorted to manipulation of their intellectual colonialism and also their mercenaries and agents who were loyal to them severely. However, explosive bombs were planted in these countries like religious, ethnical, and racial conflicts and the most important of which is related to the Zionist regime which is regarded as a real threat to the Arab and Islamic nations and left no stone unturned with the aim of changing geography and history of these nations. It can be said that we have stood against a cute, relentless and oppressive enemy which has specified its malicious objectives accurately and is continuing is imperialistic measures through taking advantage of historical experiences. Generally, the enemy is regarded as complete example of Satan party. The Satan knows that the real Islamic Mohammedan is an obstacle ahead of their domineering and warmongering policies. So, waging war against Islamic and the Holy Prophet is always heard by the West. A glance at the trend of history of Islam up to the preset time, we can grasp out that not only anti-Islam efforts have not been ceased, but also, these malicious efforts have been intensified and aggravated and sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (S) and martyrdom of the Infallible Household of the Holy Prophet are a solid evidence in safeguarding Islam and confronting with the enemies. In the same direction, even the Holy Prophet and Infallible

241

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers...

242

Household of the Prophet and Imam Hussein (AS) sacrificed their bodies and souls in safeguarding Islamic values and principles. The Karbala Incident is manifestation of the oppression of Islam which enemies resorted to it against Islam. Presently, we are witnessing war of enemies against monotheism. The rulers, who call themselves as caliph of God and the Holy Prophet, have waged war against Islam and Muslims and now, merging right and wrong is considered as tools of Satan party and his companions. So, we are facing a brutal and sledge-hammer attack of the global arrogance against Islam. With their double-standard behaviors and changing equations, the global arrogance has embarked on creating religious and sectarian seditiousness and tries to detour the attention of Muslims as their main enemy of the Islamic nation. The global arrogance is well aware of this fact that if Muslims are united with one another, they will gain more power and strength and objectives of unity and amity are materialized when the Islamic nation resort to the Real Islamic Mohammedan. With the studies made on the developments related to the Arab revolutions, we can grasp out that foreign media outlets and official Arab media are trying to stand firmly against these revolutions. Presently, the Arab media have targeted public opinions of the nations. For example, these media show the Bahrain Revolution as illegitimate and call it as religious, sectarian and family revolution and justify military intervention of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia in defending rulers of Bahrain (Al-e Caliphate). The Arab media outlets also justify military intervention of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in Libya while

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening NATO intends pillaging wealth and capitals of this country i.e. Libya. Generally, these media outlets are intending to distort truths and realities in view of public opinion. These media networks are strongly supported by the U.S. and embark on dissemination of information on the Syria as the West wishes. These media called revolution in Tunisia and Egypt as social and economic revolution and ignored Islamic and ethnical motivations of these revolutions. Since Islamists gained landslide victory in the elections of Egypt and Tunisia, it is regarded as the best reason of Islamism in these revolutions. In Tunisia, the media did not intend to announce that the revolution is originated from tyranny of Bin Ali regime. In Egypt, they made their efforts to weaken this country from its pioneering role in the Islam and Arab nation and ignored the dependency of Hosni Mubarak regime to the West. Playing with the truth is carried out for materializing objectives of the New Middle East and the West tries to revive this project under the auspices of the Arab revolutions, to show right as wrong and vice versa as well as to manifest friend as enemy and enemy as friend. Thus, popular revolutions are originated from the people's will except in Bahrain. In Bahrain, the Bahrainis movement intends to overthrow the country's ruling dynasty as led by the U.S. On the other hand, Syrian Revolution should rise against the regime and overthrow the Islamic Republic and Resistance front, because, the U.S. economic situation does not allow direct attack and intervention in the region. Presently, the U.S. plans in the region are followed up through the coercion policy on Syria. As of the beginning of rising of the revolutions, the

243

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers...

244

global arrogance and hegemonic power was worrying about taking power of the Islamists. So, they decreased their assaults against Islam, because, they knew that these revolutions, according to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei, have Islamic legitimacy, but the West selected the term "Arab Spring". Principally, the West intends to steer these revolution towards a dark and lethal autumn. With losing its allies in the Arab states, the U.S. is now trying to stand firmly in tamed with the nations and for this reason, the U.S. President Barack Obama expresses his congratulations to the Tunisian people on the landslide victory of the Islamists in the country. It is very funny to know that an executor stands in tandem with the Revolutionists, as if nations were unaware of the U.S. supports from previous rulers of these countries. The arrogant power cannot confess its debacle in Iraq and Afghanistan and also economic recession. Hence, it tries to stand firmly along with the revolutions and approach itself to the Islamic forces. The said issue is the greatest danger waged against the revolution and Islamic awakening. At any rate, if the U.S. wins support of those elements in the ruling Arab states, it can follow up its malicious objectives easily in these countries without any concern. In other words, the U.S. will be worry if a regime stands firmly and resists against the Zionist regime. Unfortunately, The Sykesâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Picot Agreement has empowered the imperialist powers to show an Achilles Hill and weaknesses in the Islamic and Arab states. For this reason, the U.S. interaction differs from any revolution in each country. There is not any religious and sectarian element in Tunisia. So, regional sedition is followed up strictly. Presently, there

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening are hidden hands in the Tunisia who intends to unstable and shatter economic and security situation of the country. Many of Tunisian elites are intending to frustrate the revolution willingly or unwillingly, because, these elites are acted based on the West ideology and contemplations and have ignored the interests and objectives of the Tunisian nation. Of course, the said idea has not created suddenly, while it is a preplanned objective, resulted from years of plot and conspiracy for confronting with the religious motivations and Arabic identity of the Tunisian people. Nations are suffering from mental and intellectual problems which have been planted by the global hegemony in their minds and hearts. Presently, the Arab nations are similar to a toddler who intends to walk and needs help of others and are facing massive terminologies like pluralism and democracy. The imperialism backgrounds have affected tremendously in these countries a way that the concept of citizenship and political life have turned ambiguous in Arab states and nations have been set aside from the government trend. Presently, opportunists and arrogance agents have boarded on the waves of the Revolution with the aim of safeguarding spirit of resistance in confronting with the plots of the U.S. and its allies. We should make our utmost efforts to defuse and frustrate all the plots waged by the global arrogance against the Islamic nations through the application of different material, spiritual and publicity tools. Elements of power, challenges of the Islamic awakening and role of the youth in confronting with it in developments of the region are specified that there are commonalities between the Arab revolutions. In most cases, it is specified that these revolutions are formed by the youth.

245

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers...

246

Before studying weak points of the Islamic awakening, we should understand the situation of the youth in the Arab states, aimed at comprehending dignity of achievements of the youth and new revolutionary generations. It should be noted that the youth are the greatest victims of the imperialism. The imperialists have tried to deviate the youth and lead them towards the margin, because, they know that progress, prosperity and capability of any country strictly hinges on the youth. Hence, they try to disseminate corruption and malicious behavior among youth strata of the society. Moreover, the imperialists intend to lead youth of the country towards barrooms and entertaining centers. In contrast, they want to degrade religious schools and Hijab (Islamic Dress Code) and also try to introduce religion as main factor of backwardness of the nations. However, imperialists intend to deviate the youth from their Islamic identity and took them away from their real Islamic ideals and principles. Generally, the imperialists do their topmost effort to lead youth towards corruption and conflict. The enemies have destroyed logic and idea of the youth. Previously, we could not have freedom of speech and could not pose our ideas on a matter. As a Tunisian youth, I have seized this opportunity for the first time to write an article freely and explain my comments and viewpoints on a subject. During presidency of Bin Ali, the ousted President of Tunisia, there was censorship overwhelmingly and even the media had been monitored strictly. Now, my question is this: "How the youth can stand firmly against the plots of the enemies?" Certainly, this is a heavenly blessing which is the outcome of the real Mohammedan Islam and blood of martyrs.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Despite plots waged by the enemies, the Islamic teachings are deep rooted in the logic and wisdom of the Islamic communities and spirit of resistance is yet alive. Although efforts have been made for normalization of relation with the Zionist regime, the alternative of the Palestinian resistance and ideal is yet alive and stable in the conscience of the youth as well. From the beginning, Israel has lived to the concept of time with the aim of frustrating Palestinians gradually. The illegitimate state intends to demoralize Palestinian youth especially the rising generation but, the fact is this that resorting and living up to the land, territory and sanctuaries is deep rooted and is strengthened day by day. The Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) in 2000 showed that compromising and negotiating process is similar to a mirage and is useless and we, the youth of the country, do not recognize the Zionist regime officially as a country and intend that this country should be wiped out completely. As Seyed Hasan Nasrollah, the Religious Leader of the Lebanese Islamic Movement, announced: "Relying upon the assistance of the Almighty God, we have entered the new stage which will change the face of the region." Hezbollah's undisputed victory against the Zionist regime in 2006 as well as landslide victory of Palestinian Hamas Movement in 2008 showed that resistance is the only way of attaining dignity, freedom and safeguarding sovereignties of the nation. With resistance, one can attain victory even on powerful enemy. The ideas and causes of Jerusalem have been inspired by the resistance which motivates the youth. Karbala Uprising gives youth spirit of resistance and martyrdom seeking. These are the most fundamental factors of the Islamic Awakening

247

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers... which should be highlighted and also should be stabilized and institutionalized with its different methods. Strategies of Safeguarding Islamic Awakening and Its Victory There are different factors which can confront with the plots waged by the U.S. and Zionist regime through relying on them as follows: 1- Disclosing these plots and raising awareness of the nations especially the youth, 2- Returning to the Islamic identity 3- Activating role of the elites 4- Referring and resorting to the wise and logical leaders, 5- Activating Palestinian resistance and causes,

248

Healthy and sound media, which are in tandem with the objectives of resistance, should be used extremely for redisclosing of the plots waged by the U.S. and Zionist regime. In contrast, more efforts should be taken with the aim of resisting against enemy's media struggle. We are in dire need of committed pens and clean and clear-cut languages and here, elites of the community should roll up their sleeves to set up committed media with the aim of confronting with the hostile media. I am of the opinion that more pictorial and visual media should be used which can play a very constructive role in this regard. Moreover, various films and different documentary films should be produced for presenting real Islamic values, aimed at strengthening spirit of resistance among people. It is highly recommended to use statements and instructions of scholars, elites, thinkers, and university lecturers for disseminating and strengthening culture of resistance. Arab youth should be trained excellently in line with manifesting aspects of the revolutions. In addition, youth

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening should be trained appropriately to learn logical and scientific discourse methods without any dispute and prejudice. The constructive discourses and discussions can crystallize the truth and disclose the distortions and false. It should be noted that returning to the Islamic identity is the basic and fundamental factor of attaining victory in the revolutions and Islamic Awakening. Standing away from the Islamic values and principles is the major concern of the Islamic nation. Islamic Ummah (nation) enjoys many natural, material and spiritual wealth and these wealth can be flourished and boomed only with following Islamic religion. Unity and amity among Islamic nation can be attained through resorting to the Islamic principles and values. Generally, disunion and division should be avoided through practicing Islamic values. Moreover, the elites can be empowered to fulfill their duties with regard to Islam in the best way possible, because, if we are defeated against the enemy at the present condition, Islamic nation will lose all its material and spiritual capitals. If the Islamic Awakening is attained victory, we will reach prosperity and blessing. So, the elites and learned individuals should stand firmly in tandem with the government and recount ideals and causes of the nation to the people. The history teaches us when the elites are surrendered by the strangers; the Islamic nation has incurred irreparable damages. Attending religious and mourning ceremonies and participating in Friday prayers and mosques is a source of pleasure and happiness which invigorates spirit among the youth. Certainly, each revolution requires a powerful leadership, because, movements of people are not free from error. So,

249

Plots, Threats and Methods of Arrogant Powers...

250

leader(s) should take helm of the revolution and guide it to the safe haven. The leaders should know that they are exposed to the heavenly test and are held responsible for their acts and behaviors. The leaders should stand firmly against the enemy as mountain and should be kind to the people. In addition, leaders should practice patience and follow up trend of developments especially political issues. If leaders did not accept criticism of others, they would be turned into new dictators. The leadership should be a driving force of the revolutions and the late Imam Khomeini (RA) was placing special emphasis on this issue and considering the Jerusalem as the main theorem and duty of the Muslims. If a person withdraws himself from the Palestinian ideal, actually, he has ignored the Islamic identity and a pious and virtue person will not retreat from this cause. So, individuals and movements can be identified and also right party can be differentiated from the satanic party as well. Summary Under the current circumstances, we are on the verge of the developments and changes which will decide trend of the history. We have faced a very difficult and decisive test and it is duty of each Arab Muslim to take giant stride towards victory of Islam coupled with defusing plots of enemies. The Arab elites burden the great responsibility in this regard and pursuing real Islam, strengthening unity and amity and returning religious identity to the nations are the sole way of victory of the Islamic nation. Author: Kawla Bennvr from Tunisia Age: 28 years old Academic Degree: Freshman Ph.D. Student E-mail: kawla-bennvr@yahoo.fr

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution By Sedigheh Hamidi Supervisor : Bayani

252

Today, technology and expansion of mass media has created a massive wave of change in communication and other cultural, social, political dimensions. On the other hand, Internet, among other functions and capabilities, raises the political awareness and involves people in the political interactions. Given the limitations of the urban public space for dialogue and conversation, cyberspace has become an arena for more interaction. The main feature of such a dynamic space is that it provides the people with better tools to demonstrate their political affiliation. Social network is regarded as one of best tools which have attracted a large audience. Virtual social networks are viewed as Web-based services in form of online services, platforms or websites in which users express their views and interests and share them with others. These networks have created a space where users can offset the real-life restrictions and they can also have an opportunity for interaction, communication and conveying their message. Spreading the wave of revolutions in the Middle East and paving the way for the Islamic awakening can be regarded as one of the main political functions of social networks over the last months. The striking point in these developments is the role of media and social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook in particular, in informing people and spreading the wave

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening of developments. Egypt is one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, and studying to the role of social networks in the recent developments of the country is essential. The current paper starts with a brief history of the Egyptian revolution. The general role of social networks in the social movements will be examined. Finally, the role of these networks in political developments in Egypt will be examined in more details. Given the limited period of time passed since the beginning of the uprisings in the region, there are obviously a small number of books and researches on the issue. Therefore, news agencies and internet resources have been used in order to access to valid information and facts about Egypt. The paper ends with a conclusion. Egyptian revolution Egypt is located in North Africa and East Mediterranean. Most of the people in the country have a lower standard of living and increasing migration from villages to urban areas has raised the rate of unemployment in the cities. Having a population of 50 million people, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world. Arabic is the official language and 92 percent of the population are Sunni Muslims and the rest are Coptic Christians. Over the six thousands years of its history, Egypt has been invaded on many occasions by Persians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. By the early sixteenth century, many of the Arab dynasties invaded Egypt including the Fatimids, the Mamluks and Ayubis. Egypt's long-standing occupation by the Ottomans began

253

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

254

in 1517. In the early nineteenth century, Egypt was briefly occupied by the French. The country was back in the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1802. In 1882 Egypt was occupied by English forces that left the country in 1956 when the treaty expired. Gamal Abdel Nasser took office in 1956 and Egypt attracted more attentions at the global level. During the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War in June 1967, the country suffered huge losses, representing a major defeat for Arab nationalism which led to a situation in which more people turned to Islam. After the death of Nasser, Anwar Sadat became the president and accepted that Peace Treaty with Israel. This provoked huge anger and led to his assassination by a group of Muslim militants called "al-Jihad". He was then succeeded by Muhammad Hosni Mubarak whose presidency also created more dissatisfaction among people. Many opposition leaders were arrested and accused of creating unrest. Meanwhile, Islamic fundamentalists continued their struggle to symbolize the Islamic laws leading to a new wave of arrests in mid-1985. Islamic parties in Egypt can not constitute a single identity and they can be categorized into three different groups: 1- Al-Azhar which is the dominant Islamic faction representing the government. 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The moderate Islamic factions represented by the Muslim Brotherhood. 3- The revolutionary wing including groups like Islamic Jihad, and the Muslim Jamaah, Islam Jamaah, etc.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening What happened since the assassination of Anwar Sadat in Egypt proves the fact that the third group of Islamist parties in Egypt plays the most important role in the political developments. Over 30 years of Mubarak's rule and even before that, people in Egypt have suffered a massive wave of political and economic oppression and social discrimination. The country was a backyard for Israel and the United States during the Mubarak era and the natural gas was exported to Israel at a quarter of the market price. Due to these facts, millions of people get together in the January 25, 2011 to eliminate the oppression and discrimination and to topple down the puppet ruler. Inspired by the Tunisian revolution, people revolted against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment. They called for the abolition of emergency law, raising the minimum wage and most importantly the establishment of a popular system in the country. Egypt's nationwide protests occurred while more than 40% of the Egyptian people were earning less than $ 2 per day and according the latest statistics, the inflation rate is currently more than 13% in this country. Social gap in Egypt is higher than the international standards. However, returning to the Islamic civilization and human values was the most important issue in which different forces including the spiritual wisdom, power, ethics; knowledge and pragmatism were concentrated and created a new phenomenon called the Islamic awakening. The popular uprising in Egypt gained the final victory on February 11, 2011, coinciding with the day of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Hosni Mubarak resigned

255

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution from his post and gave the power to the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

256

Social networks and their impact on social movements Today, the massive use of Internet and new communication and information technologies has led to the emergence of cyberspace besides the existing real world resulting in huge changes in the equations and patterns of traditional communication, production, transfer and use information. The virtual space which is regarded as an integrated entity has many unique characteristics such as no need to location, no time limitations, the complete industrial nature, not limited to civil law restrictions, accessibility, different and distinguished cultural, theological, economic, political, physical, and sexual identity and freedom of expression and many other peculiarities. Virtual social networks are comprised of a collection of websites which provides the users with the opportunity to share their favorites, thoughts and activities with each other. In other words, social networking sites are online platforms which use tools such as a search engine, chat, email messaging, voice and image transmission and etc. which provide users with the ability to communicate in a network of individual and group relationships. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, podcasts etc. are among the main social networks in the virtual space. Facebook is currently the most prominent online social network that has been welcomed by many users. The network has more than five hundred million people which is regarded as the third populated region in the world after China and India. Every eight seconds a new user is

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening registered in this site. The huge popularity of the social networks in Internet is due to the fact that the users can find the most appropriate response to their online needs in these web sites. Users can also create their own personal profiles on social networks, which include specifications, photos, favorites and etc. Features similar to blogs and microblogging for posting short daily notes, features similar to the image sites to put personal photos, creating the possibility of chat for immediate conversations between users, building interview rooms and fan clubs like online forums are among the basic features. Thus, most of the features which were monopolized by other websites can be easily accessed by users through social networks. The possibility to communicate with others in other countries causes the network to become a place where new ideas are introduced and discussed. The common feature in many forms of social media is that they produce audiencedriven content, So that every person using the social media uses the content produced by him and also share it with other people. Virtual social networks create a good environment for the participation of people in the community, building symbolic relations, rediscovering and redefining religious, social, political identities, free from the constraints and suppressing factors. Social networks can be considered as a subset of society in which people live in a parallel life outside of their actual living and continue their relations with other people. They can also enjoy the advantages of this virtual community including family support, information,

257

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

258

emotions and feelings of the others. These networks have various economic, political, cultural, social functions at the current situation which enables them to reduce the face-toface relationships. These networks have brought about huge changes in social, cultural, economic and political structures resulting in numerous challenges over the past years. They have provided considerable interactive opportunities for the internet users and have played an effective role in increasing citizen participation in some processes. They have also the ability to mobilize the power of people and bring them together at one time or place them in a real or virtual environment, and engage them in various campaigns. These networks are the best interactive spaces for the most audacious people to struggle for their civic objectives and to engage in a harsh criticism of the government, politicians and media officials. Social movements are born with mobility or gathering of or groups of individuals. This mobility is on the one hand the repositioning of the people and on the on the, it is the acceleration of the ideas, connections and contacts. In these circumstances, people that were less likely to have contact with each other, find the opportunity to work together and get into contact with each other. Repositioning of the population and geographical mobility provides the possibility to go beyond the traditional environment and arrive in a new set of situation which increases the capabilities and capacities of the people. Cyberspace in the near future will be dominated by social networks and it will have huge impacts on social,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening cultural, economic and political structures. Social networks can promote a democratic culture and play a key role in strengthening and regeneration of identities. On the other hand, Internet, among other functions and capabilities, raises the political awareness and involves people in the political interactions. Given the limitations of the urban public space for dialogue and conversation, cyberspace has become an arena for more interaction. The main feature of such a dynamic space is that it provides the people with better tools to demonstrate their political affiliation. Social networks on the Internet can be assessed as a source for determining the level of social capital. Trust should be considered as the cornerstone and determinant of social capital because trusting the current in the online social networks is regarded as an important factor for the use and contribution to these networks. Social networks have created a room in which the users can compensate the real-life restrictions, these virtual networks have provided the younger generation with an opportunity to interact, communicate and transferring of messages. Functions of social networks and social media may vary in any society and their role in various issues is acknowledged. However, they have played a huge role in revolutions and social upheaval in the Arab countries over the recent months which is regarded as one of the main political functions of these networks. New social movements that are coordinated efforts to achieve a common goal. The movements are regarded as a new form of civic, rational and political activities. These networks can pave the way for the establishment

259

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

260

of a stronger government with more prominent citizens and more social benefits. Therefore, social networks interface between the modern society and the modern governments and play an important role in public issues. Users in these networks enjoy a free environment where they can openly express their desires and beliefs. Quick and easy access to the social networks, lack of free and critical media, minimum control over the content of the media, reflecting on the views of all other users, no risks and costs similar to the face-to-face discussions are among the main reasons behind the massive expansion of the social networks. In a society in which the public interactions are limited, the political impasse develops in the social relationships and changes that must occur in the public community goes to the social networks and hidden layers of the society and the government is no longer able to control these interactions. The political motivation of the social networks as one of the most complex and most difficult bases for civil resistance emerges when the government pays no attention to the political needs of the people and citizens. The social networks have created new forms of social relations which are mostly mass-oriented but it affects every individual as well. These networks have become a tool in the hand of social uprisings in different countries. To reach to their objectives, these networks should become capable and self-sufficient in three fields: Shaping the collective identity, convincing their followers and mobilize them in a single direction. They can also create a situation in which users exchange their ideas without being noticed by others. The users are

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening mobilized through various tools including massages, ideas, images, graphics, voice and music and finally the political activity is blended with the daily life of the users. The virtual social networks are like laboratories in which the social movements can measure the degree of their capabilities. In this situation, social networks are not only a political tool, but they are actually a political ground for the activity of the users. The social networks also facilitate the expression of the protests and the traditional methods are thus combined with new ways to demonstrate the feelings and attitudes. Therefore, the movement can attract more young people in the society and shape the public opinion. With the application of information technology, social movements do not need any mass media coverage to achieve their objectives. At the same time, social networks have some weak points as well. For example they can not create institutions during and after the political protests. Twitter or Facebook, for example, can only help to shape protests aimed at overthrowing the governments. However, they can not contribute to planning and creating democratic institutions when they successfully topple the governments. Structural conflicts and the duality of identity, strengthening the extremist tendencies, creating the gap between nations due to extreme nationalism, conflicting ideologies and cultural gap, horizontal integration and intensification of the activities of bipolar groups and classes, paradoxes in values and beliefs, weakening of traditional ties by strengthening and promoting Western values leading to cultural alienation, propaganda and exploitation of unreal and distorted news, creating political and cultural elite

261

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution that are mainly subservient of the external powers, all are among the weaknesses of massive popularity of the online social networks. However, they have created huge changes in the political equations which needs more scrutiny and analysis.

262

The role of social networks in Egypt Despite the huge repression of protesters by the Egyptian government, Egypt's civil society continued to struggle for political change and there was a significant increase the number of dissident movements in Egypt. The Facebook and Internet in this situation were regarded as the best options for the new groups and the emerging civil society. New generation of political activists used the Internet and the mobile phones to contact with other protesters. More than 20 million people use the Internet in Egypt and more than 42 million people have mobile phones which makes the country the number one in Africa. 162,000 bloggers use internet as the only tool to express their political attitudes. Most of these bloggers have been brought up during the time of Mubarak and they have seen no other president in the course of their life. In 2008, a group used Facebook to mobilize 80,000 people against the rise in the price of foods. Facebook was also used as tool to draw support for the textile workers' strikes and labor protests in April 6, 2008. The strikes which were the first one under the direct influence of Internet seriously shocked the government. Since then April the 6th was called the day of dissatisfaction in Egypt and people also tried to contribute to the reform process.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening The wave of protests in Egypt began when a Facebook page “We all are Khaled Said” called on the people to participate at huge public demonstrations on January 25. The page was named after young Khaled Said who was tortured to the death by the Egyptian police. The day was entitled as the National Police Day. Tens of thousands of people have declared their readiness to participate at the street demonstrations, despite the government’s restrictions on protests under the emergency law. However the protests continued even after the January 25th paving the way for the final overthrow of the dictator Hosni Mubarak. Wael Ghonim, Google’s regional market manager in the Middle East and the one who administered the famous page on Facebook was arrested by the police officers two days after the revolution began. Given the huge importance of the media in social developments and the popularity of Internet and social networks, the Egyptian government started to close down the service and cut the connections between the protesters. The unrest in Egypt soon became an interesting topic in the social networks. Twitter was also blocked by the government. However, the protesters tried to find new methods to access the n networks and keep their connections alive. They continued to tweet their massages through Tweeter, which is regarded by many scholars in the United States as one of the effective channels for the protesters to get their voice heard. Tweeter’s cooperation with Google also facilitated the transfer of voice massages through email. The value of the massages and extent of the dissemination and immediate access to information and the content and

263

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

264

also the possibility to get in touch with the Egyptians abroad was among the main reasons that users resorted to social networks for their interactions. Some Western scholars have put huge emphasis on the role of the social networks, especially the Facebook, in the democratic change in the Arab world. Some of them have even called the uprising in Egypt as the social networks revolution or the Facebook revolution. They believe that it was the capabilities of these networks and not the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s which facilitated the revolutions. However, given the rate of access to networks like Facebook in Egypt, the role of such media can not be overestimated. The current number of the users for Facebook in the country is less than 5.200 million people which is less than 7 percent of the total population. Moreover, security of Israel is the most important interest of the United States in the Middle East and the US government could use Facebook to stop the revolution and to protect the Mubarak regime. The social networks have played a considerable role in the Egyptian revolution, especially in terms of raising the awareness of the people in other parts of the world about the situation on the ground in Egypt and what happened to the people in the days leading to the final victory. However, it was not only the Facebook or Twitter that toppled Mubarak. In other words, the social uprising in the country was the result of long years of oppression, deprivation of the people, economic and political corruption which was articulated through Facebook and other social networks. The Kafaya movement, for example, has continued its online struggle in the country for many years which has been

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening mostly through weblogs and posting videos on YouTube. However, the pages established in Facebook by Wael ghonim and other influential figures played a considerable role in strengthening the revolution and attracted more than 100.000 members over a limited period of time. Even the post-Mubarak era Prime Minister Ahmed Shafigh declared his resignation through his own page on Facebook. Calling the revolution as the result of Facebook is in fact a ploy by the hegemonic powers to highjack the revolutions in the Arab world. However, the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described the revolution as Islamic and popular in nature. All in all, it can be said that the real cause and factor behind the revolution was peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disappointment and exhaustion with the autocratic governments. In his article in foreign policy, Evgeny Morozov denies the overestimated role for social networks in the Tunisian revolution and calls such attitudes as a kind of illusion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also denies such a role for technology enterprises including Facebook and emphasizes on peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in such a great upheaval. Conclusion Online social network is a kind of social media which has many similarities to the human societies and provides the people with numerous capabilities to interact with other people free from political, economic and cultural restrictions. The Egyptian revolution was in fact the direct result of years of oppression, deprivation of the people and the economic corruption. In such a situation, even without the

265

Role of Social networks in Egyptian revolution

266

social networks on the internet, people will sooner or later start to revolt against the government. However, in repressive regimes like Egypt which has many limitations for the faceto-face contacts between the people, online forums such as Facebook can play a major role in facilitating the popular uprisings and their final victory. Some western analysts have tried to overestimate such a role for the social networks, underestimating the role of the people in the revolutions of the Arab world. By calling them the Facebook or Tweeter revolution, the hegemonic powers are trying to weaken the popular base of the revolutions and finally to underestimate the Islamic nature of the revolutions. Although social networks have facilitated the popular uprising in Egypt, but their role shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be overestimated, because they are only a tool to accelerate speed of the connections between the people and to realize the objectives of the revolution.

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA: FROM CHE GUEVERA TO IMAM KHOMEINI TO FACEBOOK1 (Mohd Faizal Musa (PhD Fellow Researcher at Institute of the Malay World and ,(Civilization (ATMA (National University of Malaysia (UKM mfaizalmusa@ukm.my ABSTRACT

268

Student activism in Malaysia has encountered many phases. During the 60’s and 70’s, the student movement was influenced by among others, socialist ideas. During the time, external factors in influencing them were limited. They depend on traditional peers formed and translated through activities such as public corners. Their radicalization led government intervention and UUCA, a draconian law to confine their activities were set up. After 1979, students who very much influenced by Islamic Revolution in Iran, chose Islam as their way of life. The process of awakening has been slow as peers and student activism was very much challenge by the restrictions. Recently, Malaysian student movement however shows interesting development. New modern and sophisticated peers emerged offering abundance of information through social networks via new media. Applying Karl Wolfgang Deutsch’s approach of political behavior in his celebrated book The Nerves of Government this essay analyze the shift of attitude and feedback among 1. Paper presented at International Islamic Awakening and Youths Conference, Tehran, Republic Islam of Iran, on 28 and 29th January 2012.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening student activists as surfaced through history. Keywords: Student activism, Youth awakening, Political behavior, Islamic movement, Freedom of expression, Malaysian politics.

INTRODUCTION Not many have been written on Malaysian student movement. One might find difficulties to search on this matter as not many accounts are available to be dig into. Perhaps the most referred book on the subject is Mahasiswa Menggugat2 (1973) by Muhammad Abu Bakar. The second is Politik Kampus: Di Sebalik Tabir3 written by Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri that discussed on how Moslem student movement such Persatuan Mahasiwa Islam (The Moslem Student Organization) managed to be one of the political forces in Malaysian political scenario during the 70s and 80s especially. Other research on this subject is Mohamad Ridhwan Aliasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree research for Department of History, Art Faculty Malaya University4. Also worth to mention is Zainah Anwar book on Moslem student movement5. This particular limited essay for sure would not be able to cover the vast aspects on student movement in Malaysia 2. Muhammad Abu Bakar, Mahasiswa Menggugat, Pustaka Antara, Kuala Lumpur, 1973. 3. Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, Politik Kampus: Di Sebalik Tabir, Pustaka Generasi Baru, Bangi, 1995. 4. Mohamad Ridhwan Alias, Gerakan Pelajar di Universiti Malaya Pada Tahun 1970-1986: Isu dan Pendekatan, Latihan Ilmiah, Jabatan Sejarah, Fakulti Sastera dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 2003/2004. 5. Zainah Anwar, Kebangkitan Islam di Kalangan Pelajar, IBS Buku Sdn Berhad, Petaling Jaya, 1990.

269

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

270

but somehow will try to narrate three influential factors that embolden student activism in Malaysia. There are numbers of Malaysian universities in Malaysia. Among others, University of Malaya (after will be mention as UM) is the oldest university in Malaysia (founded 1905) and the most famous one6. UM as been told, is the only university founded before Malaysia independence in 1957. Other universities such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now University Putra Malaysia) are founded after 19697. UM students served as an important political force in the 60s as Kelab Sosialis UM (UM Socialist Club) had marked their own history in championing many national interest issues. It was also UM students that led the Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam (Islamic Student Movement) during the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. In order to analyze the subject matter academically, this essay applied Karl Wolfgang Deutschâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach of political behavior in his celebrated book The Nerves of Government8. Before elaborating this theoretical 6. In 2005, according to Times Higher Educational Supplement UM is bestowed as top 100 universities in the world. UM rank at 89. The nearest university in Malaysia to compete UM (at number 111) is University Science of Malaysia. At South East Asia level, UM is at number 3 after National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Look at Budiman, Jun 2005, Bil 72, page 19. 7. On the 13th May 1969 an ethnic riot broke between Chinese and Malays, jeopardizing the Malaysian harmony and stability multi-ethnic lifestyle. Due to that tragic bloodshed, the government had to rearrange most of their policy and started to pay attention more on Malay backwardness in economy, education and social aspects. 8. Karl Wolfgang Deutsch, The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control, Free Press, New York, 1964.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening framework, it is important to understand the political behavior itself. There are three main sources of influence that shape masses (students’) political orientation. These three influences created long-term effects. First of all, without doubt, the real and strong influence originates from family. It is normal that parents will pass to their children their ideological values. Secondly, as we are talking about students, the teachers or perhaps ‘educational authority figures’ would certainly left some marks and impacted significantly on their political orientation. Finally, the one that very much related to this essay are peers. Obviously peers also affect political orientation. By peers, it is meant here by set of friends who often cross-shaped the students knowledge, habits, and orientations. Socialization these days make easy with the existence of social media, networks such as the Facebook and Twitter created new fashionable peers for the youth to exchange their ideas and hope. In fact, most of the time young generations don’t even need to socialize physically; their days are focus to this peer. This kind of peer had been suggested by Deutsch back in the 60’s. Deutsch’s idea on communications theory and cybernetics had been dominant since. It is so striking that in the new millennia, Deutsch’s view on ‘the computer based political world model Globus’ is at work. As this essay interested in only establishing how peers have influenced student activism in Malaysia, it is important here to elaborate certain areas of Deutsch’s idea. In his book, Deutsch stressed few key concepts. Among others are feedback and equilibrium. According to him, feedback is a communication network “that produces action in response to an input of information, and includes the

271

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... results of its own action in the new information by which it modifies its subsequent behavior.9” Basically, feedback is an output returning back to the system as an input. Equilibrium is a “return to a particular state which was disturbed.” The interesting parts of his discourses are the so called feedback can be measured by analyzing lag and gain. In his own words, Deutsch explained that “lag is the time that elapses between the moment a negative feedback system reaches a certain distance from its goal and the moment it completes corrective action corresponding to that distance. Gain means the extent of the corrective action taken.” Applying Deutsch’s framework, this essay will explain how student activism and the peers that influenced it deal with feedback and equilibrium. In order to do that, certain episodes from history will have to be surfaced. 272

The Vestibule Todd Gitlin wrote, “A student movement should maintain the highest of standards, not ape the formulas of its elders or outdo them in virulence10.” We can surely read Gitlin statement in many ways. In this case we would understand that student movement needs a wise and upright attitude, behavior and strategies, to survive in a more global climate. Student movement shouldn’t be just a bunch of loggerheads disagreeing establishment without a real work plan. Looking back at student movement in Malaysia, 9. Ibid, page 88. 10.Todd Gitlin, “The Rough Beast Returns”. June 17, 2002. Motherjones.com

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening particularly UM, we can understand Gitlin statement more clearly. UM as one of the oldest education institution in this country is the ‘vestibule of student movement building complex’. It is interesting to look into how UM student movement gains the society and mass respect towards them in the past. Public Corner and Socialist Club Impact Many historians now note how student movement played very important role in Malaysian political map especially during 1966 and 196711. On 27th May 1966 for instance, student movement in UM that are unorganized before, turned to be a national political force when they launched an illustrious public corner. Surely to say, this public corner as a tool of expression had gathered peers among the students. Here, at this particular corner, the student gathered to debate and discussed various kind of issues. It is also important to note here that, during the 60s more and more students from rural area of Malaysia (thus poor, and have strong identical ethnic characteristic) were accepted to be UM students. The students are very much aware on several issues for example the implementation of Malay language as national language, the huge economic gap between urban and rural society, also unsatisfactory feelings towards Tunku Abdul Rahman (first prime minister’s policy towards Chinese). The information passed by the peers created a tremendous feedback at the time. Interestingly, the ‘fashionable’ socialist movement contracted from Latin America and Europe also invaded 11. Hassan Karim and Siti Nor Hamid, Bersama Rakyat! Gerakan Mahasiswa 1967-1974, Pustaka Insan, Petaling Jaya, 1984.

273

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... UM campus. Che Guevera and Fidel Castro turn to be their idols. Books written by Jean Paul Sarte and Albert Camus, perhaps existentialist plays for example are staged. Waiting for Godot and other absurd dramas been repeatedly appeared to be performed in the campus. Concomitant with this, the students founded Kelab Sosialis UM (UM Socialist Club) to organized activities that without doubt are antiestablishment. This leftist behavior and philosophy became powerful exclaim and force as the student background ideology for more than a decade12. The same club also organized series of national demonstration and riot in the 60s and 70s. The second student association in rank is Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (after PBMUM) or UM Malay Language Association. 274

Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya To say that socialism play the main factor in empowering the student movement during the 60s and 70s alone are not correct. In fact nationalism also played important role. There are amount of Moslem students whom religious and attached to their ‘kampong’ (rural) identity. It is an interesting fact that ‘kampong’ identity is an important element in tying a bunch of students. Perhaps here one of the influences regarding theories of political behavior is proven to be right. This ‘kampong identity’ was directly linked to the student’s families or parents at home. ‘Kampong’ or literally village is also a social term referring to traditional values and orthodoxy. Student who hold ‘kampong’ principles (usually Malay ethnic) are the student who really 12. Muhammad Abu Bakar.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening valued fundamental Islamic teachings and are proud with their race or identity background. It is anyway wrong to assume that their acts are ultra-nationalistic behavior. They clearly distinguish their moves as just nationalistic and patriotic. Therefore they are very much alike to defend their language, culture and religion. These students cannot tolerate any hostile attempt to joggle their stand. For example, PBMUM helps a lot in strengthening the Malay language as national language. On 29th and 30th October 1966, they organized a Malay language seminar and challenged the government to be more serious in implementing national language. Language alone are not their priority, in September 1967 they organized another symposium on looking at villagers problem. They conveyed a strong message to the government that rural area are still not developed and left out from fair economic cake. Having their parents in mind, surely those students from rural area or kampong saw the fight for the peasants as essential. No wonder in October 1967, PBMUM went out to the street to show their support to Hamid Tuah (a farmer who arrested for exploring new land in the state of Selangor). The picket and demonstration immediately turn into vast political scandal. Together with Kelab Sosialis, PBMUM are well known among the little people as their genuine voice. When PBMUM got their new leader in 1973, Anwar Ibrahim turned PBMUM as another strong pressure group giving headache to the establishment. The Impact of Baling Demonstration In 1974, Kelab Sosialis (a socialist entity therefore can be considered as left wing) and Persatuan Bahasa Melayu

275

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

276

Universiti Malaya (a nationalist entity thus pointed here as right wing) started an interesting understanding. Both cooperated to organize series of mass demo, and the impact was huge. The most clamorous demonstration are Tasik Utara demonstration and Baling demonstration in 1974 (students from several institutions joint forces to organized series of demonstration that manage to put famine in Baling to the centre of national interest) that attracted government to crack down the student movement, more than 1000 students from several universities mainly from UM are detained. Few influential leaders were jailed including Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysian former Deputy Prime Minister and currently opposition leader) and few others became exile like Hishamudin Rais13. For sure, from now on student movement had been important voice representing the poor. Clearly if the government doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;good careâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of these students more troubles will wait them ahead. Without official intervention more riots and street demonstrations are to be face. Wan Mohd Mahyiddin stressed that student activism is heavily linked to opposition quarters. This has pushed the government to act accordingly in order to curb their activities. 13. Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, page 26-28. Anwar Ibrahim came almost one step to the power in Malaysia when he was sacked by the time former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1997 for corruption and sex scandal. Anwar Ibrahim anyway maintained that what happened is a political conspiracy. Hishamudin Rais went for exile and travel to India, Middle East, Soviet Union and Europe, ending to study film in London. Hishamudin returned back after two decades and directed an award winning film Dari Jemapoh Ke Manhestee. Hishamudin now is an activist promoting reformation through series of cultural and philosophies lectures and agitprop theatres in Kuala Lumpur.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Kerajaan menyedari penglibatan pelajar dalam demonstrasi boleh membahayakan masyarakat selain kedudukannya sendiri. Ia mencampakkan pelajar-pelajar secara langsung dalam proses politik sama dengan parti-parti pembangkang. (My translation: Government is aware that the involvement of students in mass demonstration can jeopardize the society and their own future. This situation put the students to the political process just like the opposition parties)14 For this reason government found it is important for them to control the student activities and imposed a restriction law on the students in 1971 and make a tougher and more strict amendments in 1975 (after Tasik Utara and Baling incidents) to ‘sterilized’ student movement by introducing a new institution in campus – Badan Hal Ehwal Pelajar or Student Affairs Department. Their role is as invigilator. The draconian law named Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (University and College University Act or UUCA) was introduced. According to Wan Mohd Mahyiddin, “pengenalan Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti pada awal tahun 1971 adalah langkah yang bertujuan meredakan kegiatan-kegiatan politik seperti ini di kalangan pelajar. (My translation: The move to introduce Univesity Act and College University Act early 1971 is a major step to tone down these political activities among students.)15 Hal Ehwal Pelajar (Student Affairs Department) On 20th September 1974, government take control all campus in Malaysia and formed Majlis Tertinggi Sementara 14. Wan Mohd Mahyiddin, Kepimpinan: Sorotan Pelbagai Aspek Bagi Meningkatkan Kualiti dan Pencapaian, Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Shah Alam, 1996, page: 148. 15.

Ibid.

277

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

278

(Temporary High Council) to govern UM. After certain period of time government formed another council, Majlis Tertinggi Nasional (National High Council) and gave back the power to UM Vice Chancellor16. As mentioned previously, Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (UUCA) was introduced in 1971 to tone down the student activities. Even though it was introduced in 1971, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as it is hope so, to limit the student movement. Aftermath the Baling demonstration, the government started to drill and strengthen their clutch by strangling grip the act. Few amendments were taken in 1975 and these new clauses are aimed to cripple the student movement. Clauses 15,16,48,49 and 51 for instance had directly limitized or cutting down student freedom or rights. Clause 15 (1) stated students are not allowed to join any political parties, labor association, non governmental organizations, inside or outside campus without official consent from Vice Chancellor. Clause 15 (3) stated students are not allowed to show sympathy, support or opposed any political parties, labor association, and non governmental organizations, at any time during studying. Clause 15 (5) stated any students found involved, or any deliberate contravention of any section of the act can lead to a penalty of RM 1000 or six months imprison or both. Other section under the same clause also stated that students cannot accumulate money to help any parties, institution for any purpose. As for the most interesting part is cabinet minister have the full right to elect or sacked any Vice Chancellor or 16. Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, page 28.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Deputy Vice Chancellor. This stated under clause 16. Badan Hal Ehwal Pelajar was formed under this bill, with the purpose to manage, control and invigilate student activities. After 1975, student association who like to organize a symposium on literature or collect money to help the poor or tsunami survivors for example, have to get the permission of this department first. Badan Hal Ehwal Pelajar is strictly controlled under Deputy Vice Chancellor of student affairs and Vice Chancellor is bound to report to the cabinet. For this bureaucracy and other factors then, the student movement in Malaysia has been tone down to a great amount. How did this act and clauses give an impact to the student movement? Two examples will be given here: The Berakan Institute Incident In Trengganu (a small but rich in resources state in eastern peninsula of Malaysia) there was an institute known as Institute Berakan (after this Berakan), it is an open secret that the institute founded in 1977 operates under or affiliate to an opposition party, Islamic Party (or known as PAS). Government17 afflicted with difficulties, had been looking way to close the institute as it was look as a credit for the opposition party. One way to make it happen is by crumpling the institute building charging it was constructed on the government land. In 1997, government determined to bring the institute building down and stirs so many protest and disapproval from many sides. Students in UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), UPM (Universiti 17.

Government is under the ruling party Barisan Nasional lead by the most dominant Malay party known as UMNO.

279

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... Pertanian Malaysia) and UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) showed their sense of solidarity and togetherness by protesting the tragic incident. Their firm stand paid a bitter price when Badan Hal Ehwal Pelajar or HEP took an action, stripping off their status as student in their particular universities18.

280

The Right to Wear Veil in Campus Second case that can be referred how Akta Universiti and Kolej Universiti limited the student movement was when Persatuan Mahasiwa Universiti Teknologi Malaysia known as PMUTM (The Student Association of University Technology of Malaysia) supported statement from Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (Malaysian Moslem Scholars Association) on giving rights to Moslem women to wear full veil covering their face in campus. The incident happened in 1986 when leaders of PMUTM make a brief statement supporting morally on this issue. Hal Ehwal Pelajar in the UTM summoned the student leaders and put them in front university trial19. If only the act was not there, many students believed that they will not felt hesitate to voice their stand or rights in any issues. This law served as surveillance observing the students. The intent of the law is not only control and supervised them but also it was designed to create a state of consciousness and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power20. Therefore Hal Ehwal 18. Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, page 35. 19. Ibid. 20 Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Pelajar is existed to function as bureaucratic agency that exercised control and normalizing the behaviors of the people (in this case student) under their control. Students who are haunted with this law know they are observed and they will conform. Malaysian government feedback towards student activism as explained above were to cage and confine them at one corner. Adopting Deutschâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s framework, this period can be measured as lag. As the time passed, students became comfortable in their zone. But the lag terminology as proposed by Deutsch also suggested â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;corrective actionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from the affected organizations. This lag and gain process is so interesting, as Islam became the factor of re-awakening. For this alone, student activism in Malaysia was very much indebted to the Moslem Students Movement. Moslem Students Movement What meant to be Moslem student movement here is Moslem students that engage themselves with full commitment to fight for Islam and the ummah betterment. The leading Moslem student movement in Malaysia belongs to Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Malaya (later on PMIUM) founded by reputable scholar (in the Islamic world) Syed Naquib al Attas during academic session of 56/5721. The members of this movement can be identified in the campus by their dress code. For women they wear veil, covering whole body and usually prefer somber colors. 21. After digging their archieves I found their domestic document, records on what they did and achieved from 1957-2002. The document prepared by Lajnah Penyelidikan, PMIUM 2001/2002.

281

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... As for male students they wear Malay traditional dress with kopiah (white cap) or serban (turban). Somehow dress codes are secondary. The most important part was their ideas are different from the earlier student generation22. The previous one was very much enlightened by Che Guevera, but this time, they were energized by Imam Khomeini. There are certain clear characteristic in their beliefs that can be determined easily, but two23 is enough to show how different they are from their former generation:

282

Implementation of akhlak and adab (Islamic and moral values) It is not accurate to say that akhlak and adab are moral values but as English language is inadequate to explain some Islamic terms, we will stick to this term as definition. Moslem student movement believed that only implementation of akhlak and adab can save the soul from modern world24. Under this beliefs also, the students believed that study and preparing themselves for the world outside campus is a part of jihad (holy war). As they stressed akhlak and adab (Islamic values), they opposed western lifestyle. Students with western style 22. Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, page 46. 23.16. To understand more, refer: Ahmad Lutfi Othman, ‘Gerakan Mahasiswa Islam: Sejarah dan Pengiktibaran’, a paperwork from seminar ‘Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Islam Peringkat Kebangsaan’ organized by Persatuan Ulama Malaysia and Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia, at Kompeks Tabung Haji Kelana Jaya, 25-26 Disember 1993. 24. Former UM Vice Chancellor, a very influential academician and economist Profesor Diraja Ungku Aziz praised this movement as ‘injecting good moral and they are achievers with strong motivation’. See, Mohd Shuhaimi al-Maniri, page 47.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening fashion are criticized as unIslamic or influenced by western norms. Activities such as rock or jazz concert are regarded as not suitable with national and Islamic aspirations. In order to give an alternative, nasyid (Islamic hymn singing) replaced western music. Coupling between male and female students (whom are not married) are condemned. Moslem student movements are against hedonistic way of life. They also want to exercise al-Quran teaching: amr makruf nahi mungkar (to support goodness and to deter evilness) For them, Moslems are created by Allah not just to have fun in the world but they came as Allah representative with huge responsibility and whatever they did has to be from Allah and for Allah. The Moslem brotherhood became so significant, Palestinians suffering means they also suffered, the fight of Moro people are their fight also, the discrimination towards Moslems in Patani (southern Thai) are their main agenda even. Secularism Certainly Not the Way, Back to Fundamental Colonization since 1511 in Malaysia are look as an attempt from the Western powers to separate Malay from their ethnic and traditional identity, but the scariest part is colonization for them means the separation of religion from daily life. Islamic teachings strongly convey the message that Islam is the way of life. The need and urgency to return back to Islam and traditional values are massive in every campus. They rejected secularism and charge it as taghut (devil values, deviate from Islamic teachings) Detestation towards any unIslamic activities are high. The need to learn Arabic suddenly rose.

283

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

284

As peers concern here, these students formed usrah or small groups (meetings) in surau (small mosques) to discuss Islamic issues. With their friends, they read and analyze many religion books. They discussed books written by Moslem scholars around the world, name as Fathi Yakan, Hassan al Banna, Syed Qutb, Abu Ala-al Maududi, Said Ramadhan al Buti, Zainab al-Ghazali, Abdul Qadir Audah and others are their real icons. Posters of Hassan al Banna, Syed Qutb and particularly Imam Khomeini pasted on their files and walls. They went to attend tamrin (a short course or workshop they themselves organized) that intensively encourage them to fight, to live and served, even to die in the name of Islam. Their slogan is ‘Allah Matlamat Kami, Syahid Cita-cita Kami’ or ‘Allah is Our Vision, Martyr is Our Ambition’. They didn’t see themselves as extremist but as fundamentalist (people who return back to fundamental principles). What they do they will always refer to Al-Quran and al-hadis (holy Quran and Prophet sayings). In this matter they are derived from this ideology and philosophy when they move along in the student activities in campus. University of Malaya change totally. But they didn’t appear from vacuum or out of nowhere. For sure there are few factors that can be examined how these students get to know their ‘new force’. The Rising of Moslems and Islamic Revolution in Iran In mid 1970s Moslem awareness was rising globally. Discrimination towards Moslem in many countries was made known. Technology helps to spread news on Palestinian suffering. The invasion of Afghanistan by USSR, or the oil

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening crisis during the 70s, these all have invigorate the student and youth movement globally. Malaysia included. When Ayatullah Khomeini managed to topple American puppet government, Shah Iran in 1979, Moslem in the whole world got their new spirit. Islam can be the factor to govern a country. Islam can even defeat super power like America. An Imam can be a leader. They get real confidence. Islamic Revolution spirit soon is exported to the whole world. Spiritual values has come to save the dehumanize world. The feelings of overwhelm and astonishment towards an old man with a beard and turban supported by a mass of young people influenced many young Moslems. Student movement in Malaysia including in UM impress with this successful revolution soon incorporate the spirit, the principles and the ideas of Islamic Revolution in their activities. Islamic Revolution incarnated in each student in the Moslem student movement. From Fidel Castro in the 60s, now in the early 80s, student movement got their new fresh icon, Imam Khomeini. Parti Islam Semalaysia and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia Another interesting factor is internal one. The existence of Moslem students movement are interconnected with Islamic (political) movement outside the campus. To name a few are Jamaah Tabligh, Darul Arqam, Jamaah Islah Malaysia and two most influential are Parti Islam Semalaysia (or PAS, an opposition party with Islamic base) and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (or ABIM, mostly the members are Islamic intellectuals). In the early 70s, PAS

285

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

286

and ABIM is nothing more than one ‘compartment’. ABIM is considered PAS proxy group. Their inspiration is the still same, they want Islam to play role in every aspects of life and to play more dominant factor in the government. PAS took an open aggressive methodology by joining politics to confront UMNO (sees as secular proxy) and ABIM is the recruit group for PAS contributing young leaders later. But when Anwar Ibrahim (one of ABIM leader at the time) chose to join UMNO (ruling party) and not PAS in 1983, the Moslem student movement separated to two groups. Anwar Ibrahim explained why he did such controversial move: I have not resigned my principles in entering politics through UMNO. I didn’t discuss any specific term before joining…we discussed general principles. My views on the Societies Act and the ISA are still there. I have always had a good personal relationship with Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir. He has been open to harsh criticism from me, even when it was crudely expressed. ABIM leaders have accepted my decision that I should become active in politics for the sake of national unity and continue my struggle for Islam25. In real, anyway, many Islamic activists were very disappointed with Anwar move that they respond as betrayal. Campus surrounding was affected with the changes of climate outside. The Moslem student movements are divided into two camps26. The first camp supported Anwar Ibrahim thus ‘politically tame’ by the establishment. Second camp, carried on to support PAS, the Islamic party therefore chose to be anti establishment. During this lag student activism was not crippled entirely, 25. Star, 30 March 1982. 26. Ahmad Lutfi Othman, page: 2

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening but rather finds its own way to do self corrective operation. The Berakan Institute incident for example proved that there are certain feedbacks from the youth or students. Borrowing Deutsch’s terminology, the feedback is more like goal-seeking. According to Deutsch’s goal seeking feedback is “the feedback of new external data into a net whose operating channels remain unchanged.27” In 2010, a bunch of students with strong camaraderie enter the second phase; the learning feedback territory. Here, they learned how to question the channels itself. In this context, students started to feel uncomfortable with the confinement, and believe that operating channels have failed them. Deutsch’s learning feedback defined as “the feedback of external data for the changing of these operating channels themselves.28” This feedback was sudden, and ignited by four students, later called UKM4. After Arab Spring, A Malaysian Monsoon? Malaysian student movement, be it leftist or rightist had suffered for so long since the restrictions make effective by UUCA. The democratic space had been smaller and suffocating for students in recent years. Student activism had been suffered huge set back. For example PMIUM domestic document did state that in the year 2000/2001 PMIUM President Muhammad Fuad Mohd Ikhwan was arrested under Internal Security Act (ISA) briefly. In Malaysia, ISA permits government to detain person without

27. Deutsch, page 97. 28. Ibid, page 98.

287

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

288

trial29. Two other students are also arrested. However, recently student activism seems to get their energy back. Was it Arab Spring ‘to be blame’ or perhaps The Facebook, the new sort of peers, that poked and glued them together? Or is it Deutsch predictions on The Nerves of Government turn out to be right? Again, theories of political behavior get full marks as in 2010 peers became a very significant element to spark ‘student freedom’. During Hulu Selangor by-election in 2010, four political science students under the course entitled ‘Election Analysis’ were arrested for ‘attending political scene’. They defended themselves, claiming it was field trip and observation for their course. They were then named by the media as ‘UKM4’. Azlin, Ismail, King Chai and Hilman refused to stand “trial” at the internal disciplinary proceedings in UKM because according to them “it won’t be a fair one — it will be one sided — a case of the judge, jury and executor.30” Their daring stand sparked sensation among students and started to gain momentum slowly. They even challenged UUCA in Malaysian court, charging it as unconstitutional. Hilman, seems like a leader for UKM4 bravely started a campaign on ‘student freedom movement’, rejecting and rubbishing UUCA as a law. He viewed UUCA as oppressive law that sterilizing youth locally, cutting their potentials and also shutting the young generations from being sensitive to international issues such as Palestinian conflict with Israel: Also note that the UUCA also says that we cannot support 29. Lanskap Politik Kampus, page 8. 30. See http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/ ukm-4-fight-for-students-freedom-part-3-lord-bobo-loyarburok.com/

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening our local political parties, but also international parties. This means that students cannot join yesterday’s anti-Israel demonstrations because it would supporting Hamas and Hamas is a political party. The UUCA is an oppressive act. It limits students — from what we think, what we are allowed to say, down to our movement as proven in our case. Students cannot be expected to just bury their faces in books — if I don’t go into society, how will I join society? We want to show people that unfair and oppressive laws and acts like the UUCA can be challenged. The voting age in the country is 21 years. We are all registered voters. So if we cannot be seen “to show sympathy or support to any political party”, how to vote? We can’t vote based on how handsome a candidate looks – we have to know what he stands for, what his party stands for and will do for society. Looking at the restrictions in UUCA, they don’t give students the freedom to make decisions. These students will go on to be our future leaders. Effectively we will have leaders that have never made decisions and will only be learning how to do so once they are leaders. That is the reason for the poor quality of graduates nowadays that everyone is complaining about. If you are to be the future leader, you must have maturity and that comes in part from experience. For example, if you are a political science undergraduate and you have never been to a byelection, what’s the point?31. UKM4 struggle was rewarded with enormous gain when the Malaysian Court of Appeals ruled out that UUCA as 31. Ibid.

289

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA...

290

unconstitutional and contradict basic human rights. The historic court ruling surprised many, and forced Malaysian government to promise to amend UUCA in near future. The Court of Appeal’s decided, section 15(5)(a) of the UUCA is unconstitutional, on the ground that it violated the freedom of expression Gaining a lot of momentum from the victorious battle, Solidariti Mahasiswa, ‘a refresh network of peers’ whom connected through Facebook have path the way to continue the struggle. While UKM4 graduated from their university with flying colors, their juniors in campuses are following their footsteps this time around in a more provocative ways. At least two incidents showed the youth awakening as never thought before in Malaysia: The Adam Adli Chronicles On 17th December 2011, about a hundred student activists had marched to the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on to hand over a memorandum on what they claimed as ‘academic freedom’ to Deputy Higher Education Minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah. During the protest, Adam Adli Abdul Halim, a 22 year old university student of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), had lowered a flag depicting Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak briefly32. His symbolic act immediately drew criticism from the public and some government officials. That is not the case here, as over 40,000 peers have so far backed a Facebook campaign named “We Are All Adam Adli” created in support of the student activist. Obviously this Facebook campaign was inspired by Egypt’s Wael Ghonim’s Facebook campaign called ‘We Are All Khaled Said’ in support of Khaled Said who was tortured to death by 32. See http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/184787.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Egyptian’s police.” Ghonim’s Facebook campaign started what now history look as ‘Egpyt’s Revolution’ bringing down Hosni Mubarak from power after two decades33. UPSI's disciplinary body brought two charges against Adam, alleging him as responsible for damaging UPSI’s 'good name' and 'endangered morals and public order.' Adam, in his fifth semester refused to appeal against the suspension but prefer to file a case in the civil court34. Looking at Deutsch’s concept of feedback as stated in his book The Nerves of Government, student activism had reached a more challenging but probably rewarding phase. Deutsch named the third type of feedback as ‘consciousness’ which the students started to scan internal datas. Deutsch defined this king of feedback as ‘a collection of internal feedbacks of secondary messages. Secondary messages are messages about changes in the parts of the system. Primary messages are those which move through the system in consequence of its interaction with the outside world35.’ Adam Adli, one of Solidariti Mahasiswa’s figures had benefitted from Facebook peers. Facebook served as peer, was also another dimension of first hand information. The secondary messages regarding the success of UKM4 for instance are visible in Facebook. Peers from Facebook delegate more information through their instant 24-7 communication. Adam Adli together with other peers from other universities founded Movement for Academic Freedom (Bebas). On 21st October 2011, Bebas organized a 33. See http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/02/13/thefacebook-freedom-fighter.html 34. See http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsgeneral. php?id=638895 35. Deutsch.

291

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... protest supporting Professor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, a law professor of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) who was suspended day before. Aziz Bari is an outspoken academic and was taken disciplinary action by IIUM following his remarks on the Selangor King, saying that “criticism of a Ruler is valid if it is intended to constructively show that the Ruler has erred.” During a protest in IIUM campus, the students shouted ‘Hidup hidup mahasiswa! Hancur kezaliman! (Long live undergraduates, reject authoritarianism!)’. Bebas, according to the students was formed to ‘repair’ Malaysian university’s image as a respected academic institution36.

292

It’s New Year! Following harsh action towards Adam Adli, peers connected through student activism organized a sit-in infront UPSI’s campus in Tanjung Malim on New Year’s Eve. The incident saw several students were injured when police moved in to disperse the assembly. According to Mohd Khalid Ismath, one of Solidariti Mahasiswa’s figures during the ensuing exchange, Movement for Academic Freedom (Bebas) chairman Safwan Anang (a UM student) was punched and kneed by policeman37. This led him to be hospitalized. However Malaysian police denied any assault, and insisted there was ‘no scuffle’ at all when the students were arrested. The police also claimed Safwan Anang’s wound was from self inflicted injury resulted during the chaos when the students panically stormed a clinic nearby, 36. See http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ hundreds-of-uia-students-protest-aziz-baris-suspension/ 37. Interview 7th January 2012.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening crushing the clinic’s glass door. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein also denied that there was police brutality38. The students were swiftly backed by the oppositions. For example, Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) president Dr Nasir Hashim commented, “For me, I feel proud and hope that the people would give their support and give them (the students) spirit to move forward. If not they will be crushed by the existing system... so we have to back them up39." Both incidents, causing Adam Ali and Safwan Anang to be new icon40, and among student activists their name were greeted warmly. What’s next in the thickening plot of student activism in Malaysia? It will rely on how government and the students skillfully understand political behavior. While restricting peers are impossible, primary messages seems to be flowing all over the systems and the government’s nerves. CONCLUSION Student activism is always referred as part of basic human rights and democratization. Malaysian student movement had it up and low. During the ‘confinement’, youths faced many tribulations and struggle along their way. In order to be more effective for the society and to stick to their original mission, student movement had to be more sophisticated in playing with politics of communication. Student were 38. See http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/ student-maintains-was-beaten-up-says-will-sue-cops/ 39. See http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/38201-psm-proud-ofburgeoning-student-movements.html 40. See http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/columnist/editorharakah/7427-fenomena-adam-adli-safwan-anang-

293

PEERS & STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA... also ought to set their vision and working plan in order to avoid being bunch of anarchist. The challenge for youths awakening now enter new phase as after Arab spring there are too many lessons to be learned. Student movement does not need to sacrifice their basic principles or give up their unique identity, but they have to learn to swim in the huge tsunami wave of globalization as translated recently.

294

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and...

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and the youth's role in confronting them Mohammad Sharif Roubo Introduction: Greetings to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khamenei, who initiated the Islamic Awakening Conference and greetings to you the audience

296

Definition of Islamic awakening: The Islamic awakening is a reform movement which started from two centuries ago in the Islamic societies and gradually developed in various scientific and practical areas and is continuing to exist. It has emerged as a social political fact in the human and Muslim world. According to a definition of the Islamic awakening offered by Ghanoushi, the move is collective and individual efforts with reliance upon tens of thousands Muslim believers around the world to lead the human toward God. The move stems from Islamic incentives and is in line with the efforts to achieve divine blessing and necessitates individual and collective continued fighting against satanic and carnal desires which put obstacles in the way of revival, thoughts, behavior, and policy of the society. Ghanoushi says that religion is present in the movements that have cultural, political, social, financial, and educational nature. In other words, religion is followed not only in Mosques but in all spheres and areas because religious awareness has emerged in all aspects of life. And thus liberals and seculars do not have a monopoly on culture, politics, or economics.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening The dawn of Islamic awakening The dawn of Islamic awakening is a contemporary phenomenon which was formed after the collapse of the reign of Islam, and the political breakup of Muslim nations, and during the reign of colonialism. Then extremist seculars entered the scene in the name of enlightenment and modernity and called for westernization and dependence in the name of progress. Meanwhile, the Islamic Ummah was asleep and in confusion and there wan not a true understanding of Islam. Therefore, the teachings of Islam did not have influence over humans and societies. Islam contains divine teachings but Muslims were perplexed by unpleasant facts corruption, dependence, racism, and ethnic and color prejudice. There were a few intellectuals that intended to reform the manners of their nation and thought about the valuable causes of Islam. Today, the phenomenon of Islamic awakening is not confined to a certain country but has spread all over the Muslim world and can be adopted as a model in the world. Now non-Muslim countries also attach high significance to Islam and even have set up places for Muslims' prayers in airports, garrisons and so on. The colonialist powers are afraid of the Islamic awakening wave and have spared no effort to counter the phenomenon of Islamic awakening. For instance, the French government has forbidden the veil for young girls. The challenges facing the Islamic awakening Today, Islamic awakening is facing many challenges in various areas but it is not a strange issue because Islam has always been facing various challenges and conspiracies since the period of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). However,

297

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and... Islam has weathered the challenges and remained in the scene in order that the word truth governs in the world and defeat the false. It is a divine tradition in the universe and divine traditions are unchangeable. With the emergence of challenges, reformists and religious leaders have called on the people to resist and return to Islam and its values and instructions and fight against colonialism and occupation. Now a great intifada has formed and the nation intend to revive Islam and return to their past glory and grandeur. Challenges facing the Islamic awakening are internal or external. Recounting the challenges is difficult but I do my best to mention the main challenges. Internal challenges: There are many internal challenges but in brief they include:

298

1.In the area of ideas, intellectual extremism and various distortions which can damage the face of Islam. 2.In the area of politics, lack of a political view about contemporary important issues like problems of tribes and minorities, globalization, modernity, propaganda campaign, cultural invasion etc. 3.In the area of civilization, backwardness of Muslims' civilization such as lack of achievements, self humbling, indolence, and dependence on the West 4.In the area of methods, lack of a clear view about interaction with the special circumstances of any period and lack of innovation and resorting to extremism. 5. In the area of behavior and education, lack of commitment to Islamic teaching and religious ethics. 6.In the area of institutions and solutions, the multiplicity

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening of proposals and lack of a plan which coordinates other plans in the primary stage and disagreements and divisions which can sap the youth's strength and involve them in the internal problems. 7.In the area of society and culture, lack of commitment to Islamic values and exploiting the religion as a tool in issues concerning women and social customs, and religious interpretations without any scientific or religious evidence. 8.In the area of management, keeping aloof from orthodox Islam, and not utilizing appropriate forces, and not being self-sufficient, and not doing organized work and lack of order in most affairs of the life. 9.The multiplicity of groups and plans which can lead to the conflict among forces and sap the strength of the youth and prevent them from countering the real enemies and for example there is no comprehensive plan to confront the challenge of globalization. 10.Religious and racial prejudice: the global arrogance spares no effort to take advantage of the challenge to counter the Islamic awakening and prevent Muslims from returning to Islam and to provoke fanatical emotions and internal conflicts among them. Religious thoughts, which are fanatical, leave no space for rational dialogue about religious issues and if there were a question it would be answered with violence, while the religion and the Quran call on us to use logic and reasoning in debates. In this manner, the arrogance and hegemonistic powers try to exploit the prejudice of Muslims and question the Islamic awakening and the Islamic Revolution. There are extremist thoughts in Shiism which are far from the central tenets of Islam, and the global arrogance takes advantage

299

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and... of this situation to control the Islamic awakening and cause dissention among Muslims and make them ignorant of their real enemy.

300

External challenges: External challenges are also numerous, the most important challenges include: 1. Certain Arab and Islamic regimes' dictatorship and their campaign against the Islamic awakening and Islamist currents. 2. Challenge of seculars who are opposed to Islamists and support the dictatorial regimes. 3. The challenge of global arrogance and the Zionist regime and international organizations posing against Islam fore example the organizations support Israel. 4. The challenge of media and propaganda campaign like satellites and internet networks and Muslims' weakness in confronting the challenges. The role of the youth in confronting the challenges: Divine religion was founded and spread by youths. The youth, were exiled from their homeland, tolerated poverty and annoyance and sacrificed their lives for God's sake to spread Islam and let us have the religion. Therefore the youth, who shoulder an important and historical responsibility at the current situation, should fulfill it through avoiding ignorance and indifference. Since a long time ago, the West has tried to deviate the youth through ideological invasion and hide the truths from them and blend the truth and the false in order to destroy their determination and damage Islam's face. The West

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening accused Islam of backwardness and offered the youth the Western values in the name of freedom and progress and other attractive titles. Unfortunately some Muslim youths followed the West blindly and looked for glory near the enemies of their religion. They abandoned mosques and distanced themselves from Quran and let the tradition of the holy prophet fade into oblivion. In this manner, the West took the Islamic identity from the youth, made the Jews dominate the Muslims, and caused them to deviate from their thoughts and made corruption and illicit drugs prevalent among them. The youth are the backbone of an Islamic society and are ready to spread the Islamic culture as lively factors. The youth are the treasure of an Islamic nation and are capable to stand in the way of enemies. Thus the enemies are always afraid of the valuable treasure and devise numerous plots to cause their deviation and weakness. However, there have always been some young believers who have grown up under the auspices and progressive teachings of Islam and have not given up the religion and now are fulfilling their duties in the Muslim world. The youth are aware of their religion and the circumstances of their age and are ready to devote themselves to Islam and to confront the challenges posed by the enemies. They never retreat from their stances. In my opinion, the role of the youth in confronting the challenges facing the Islamic awakening can be recounted as following: 1. Obtaining divine knowledge through pondering the verses of holy Quran and strengthening soul and the spirit of piety and avoiding hypocrisy, are the main incentives for confronting the challenges.

301

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and...

302

2. Striving to fulfill duties and achievements while engaging in worship and worldly and heavenly duties. 3. Fostering their awareness of the circumstances and developments of their age and resolving doubts and contradictions to interact correctly with the issues. 4. Fostering their awareness of the conspiracies of devils in the areas of culture, literature, arts, politics, economics, and society, because the devil's hands are numerous and are present in all spheres. In the Holy Quran God says "Surely the devil is your enemy, so take him for an enemy." Thus we should identify the global arrogance and know that its attacks are not only military but cultural, political, financial, social and intellectual. Therefore the youth's awareness is very crucial and important in countering the attacks. 5. Spreading Islam and promoting the Islamic awareness and campaigning against ignorance among Muslims and fulfilling the mission of prophets and saints. The youth's role in fulfilling the historic mission is very crucial and vital. 6. Doing social activities, particularly charities, and providing help for Muslims around the world and being in competition with international charities which act in favor of the arrogant powers and make the Muslims dependent on the powers. 7. Utilizing the guidelines of the leaders of Islamic awakening including the old and new leaders and using their scientific and practical experiences. 8. Creating unity of approach among the youth about the issues concerning the Islamic Ummah without religious observations and party and tribal prejudice and with reliance upon common affairs and principles and through avoiding

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening disagreements and disputes. 9. Reviving the spirit of modernity and practice of religious jurisprudence and presenting efficient plans in the educational and political areas and inviting to contemporary jurisprudence and so on. 10. Striving to develop the Islamic awakening movement intellectually and educationally at the levels of individuals, societies, leaders, plans, organizations and regulations. 11. Striving to institutionalize intellectual and religious organizations like the United Nations, Islamic Cooperation Organization, and Arab League with the aim of exploiting facilities and focusing on resources. In conclusion, the threats and challenges facing the Islamic awakening are the same threats and challenges facing the movement of holy prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but only the place and time conditions have changed. Divine Tradition is summarized in the struggle of the oppressed and the oppressor and the right and the wrong and the good and the evil. Therefore, we should learn from historical experience and confront the contemporary challenges with more knowledge and power. We as Muslims should work even more than the enemies because we have capabilities and capacities which the enemies do not possess. We possess the divine teachings of the Holy Quran in which God has promised to help us, provided that we deserve the help and follow God's instructions. The young generation is one of the blessings of God for us and the capacity is our strong point and the greatest challenge for infidels. Thus it can be anticipated that the future of the Islamic Ummah is bright and it will be victorious. Of

303

The challenges facing Islamic awakening and... course, the enemies are aware of the fact and for the reason they make every effort to mislead and weaken the youth. The youth should be aware of the enemies' conspiracies and confront their challenges in the intellectual, verbal and practical areas. Finally, I would like to thank those involved in the great meeting.

304

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World Zionism Conspiracy Mohammad Ali Fazari

306

Introduction: Islamic awakening and the bed created by Islamic thought and Ummah in the new era is in fact a revolutionary movement whose aim is to provoke Islamic spirit and Islamism among Islamic world nations, and their awakening from an ignorance which is the result of the Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colonization. The story of Islamic awakening is a story of Islamic invitation threatened by all kinds of conspiracy and obstructionism right from the beginning. Countries like France, England, America and Germany have employed all possible methods to prevent Islamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress. They controlled destructive Medias in order to target Islamic world having a strategic position, being intermediated between world continents and enjoyment of great natural resources. And this position is the origin of economic and military powers in repelling its enemies. However, world Zionism is the strategic and axial enemy of Islamic World. All the fights against the Islamic countries originate from Zionist lobbies. Anti-Islamic conspiracies of Zionism are not a matter of today or yesterday, but they are organized at the time of foundation of Zionistic Movement of Basel Conference in Switzerland in 1897; A conference which informed establishment of Israel government in 50 years, namely 1948. Actually, it was 1948 when Israel began transgressing Palestine and displacing its people, consequently fulfilling

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Hutzelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream, namely establishment of Israel government. Although it dated to 1917 when the Jewish were allowed to establish their country in Palestine, Lefevere, ignoring people of Palestine, said that Palestine was a vacant land and it should become of those homeless people, by which he meant the Jewish. Those, following the development of Palestine problem, can see nowadays that Israel has occupied best parts of the Islamic lands in the Middle East. It occupied some parts and attacked the others. The disunion existed in Islamic World is the result of Zionismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conspiracy and seditions. Islamic and Arabic Worlds are divided into two sections: A section that is called moderate because of the bribes it pays and the conciliation with Israel. And the other section which is called enemy and resistant. The Weaknesses of Islamic Awakening and of Youths The youth from various countries of Islamic World, with similar wishes and aspirations, gathered together to exchange their own views. It was assumed that these common points of view were accidental and adventitious and would disappear because of different factors, while it has been proved that Muslim youths will in confronting problems and miseries, which Islamic Ummah has faced, has not been weakened but it has been doubled. Islamic awakening has a major role in awakening youths from the deep ignorance which created by Ottoman Empire and followed by Europe colonization during its twohundred-year presence in the region. They have tried to make lassitude rampant in the region, but youths are awakened generation after generation.

307

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

308

Although this awakening was sometime interrupted, finally it proved to be something absolute. Some weaknesses of Islamic and Youths Awakening Serious disunion between Islamic sects (Sunni, Shia, Sufi), which makes possible the influence and dominance of The West. Following so-called modernist thoughts and the spread of mercenaries’ influence, and those claiming to bring liberty to Islamic World. A decrease in effective religious speeches which consider wishes and aspirations of the youth. In the contrary, pointing the finger of criticism towards the youth has made them lose their will and omit religion from their life. Not creating awakening channel among youths in Sudan, Iran, and other countries. Challenges hindering Islamic Awakening In the present era, especially after what happened on 11th of September, explosions in London and Madrid have created a state of Islamophobia or so-called Stress of Islam. These conditions threaten Islam’s culture and civilization. It has been proved that Islamic awakening have played a specific role in repelling the West’s attempts to achieve its goals. During these years in which values have been completely transformed, Islam is introduced as terrorist and extremist. According to Western’s avowal, Islam and especially the attempts which have been made in line with Islamic awakening in the new era has been transformed into the top culture of the world. They believe that Islam, among other heavenly religions, is developing. This has frightened the Western more and has made them to consider Islam

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening a culprit and accused it because of what some extremist Islamic groups do. This widespread attack brings about the following challenges which hinder Islamic awakening: 1) The West Advertisement Media: After what happened on 11th of September, The West applied all its Advertising systems against Islam and the popularity of the Muslims. All those things which was being broadcasted in BBC, CNN and France 24, were in most cases were against Islamic awakening, and these channels began to invite to liberty and mercenariness. 2) Vulgar and Anti-Islamic Caricatures Under the title of freedom of speech, some of the dependent and Zionist western newspapers began to distribute some offensive caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). However, Muslims’ reaction was great and perfect, and in many countries of the region, people protested in order to stop these profanities. But the enemy ridiculed some heads of Islamic states because of their silence and indifference to these profanities. This trend made the development of awakening slow and unnoticed, and actions were taken furtively. Hyperbole in Religion: One of the other weapons used by the enemies of Islam is hyperbole in religion. Moderation in religion is an important factor in Islam, as the Glorious God says in the Holy Qur’an: ‫ )ﻻ ﺍﮐﺮﺍﻩ ﻓﯽ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﻗﺪ ﺗﺒﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺷﺪ‬and (‫)ﻣﻦ ﺷﺎء ﻓﻠﻴﻮﻣﻦ ﻭ ﻣﻦ ﺷﺎء ﻓﻠﻴﮑﻔﺮ‬ .(‫ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻐﯽ‬

309

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

310

These two Ayat explicitly indicate that there is no obligation in accepting Islam and no one should force others to accept Islam (As Boko Haram party in Nigeria attacked the Christians and churches, in order to make them Muslim.) All these challenges place a burden on Muslim youths and make them responsible for the problems and accusations through which The West wants to attack Islam and Islamic awakening. Muslim youths are certainly the pioneer in confronting the problems. They should vaccinate Islam against all these doubts, misgivings and misunderstandings. They should wake up because Islamic awakening needs a generation that is able to understand all these problems and solve them cognizably and wisely. Here, we mention three factors that youths should consider: First: creating a bed for union of Muslim youths in all Islamic countries and cooperation in a determined framework without any religious and racial bigotry, and any kind of other dependences. Second: The youth should not obey The West and should eschew any mental duplicity, through appealing to Islamic awakening and fighting against any meddling in affairs of Islamic states and influence on the youth. Third: presenting Islamic awakening in a powerful way among the youth and showing the course of this awakening in conferences, meetings, congresses, local and regional and international gatherings, and fortification of spirit of union among the youth for corporation as organs of the same body, in order to fulfill Islamic common goals, and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening group work for repelling regional problems. Problems Threatening Islamic Countries and Youths on their Way Back to Their Identity: Many of Islamic countries are in a state of weakness and decadence and never have been in such a situation before. This weakness, despite existence of powerful factor of civilization which is Islam itself, causes recession in civilization, culture, social power and technology. In this section, those factors leading to Islamic countries recession are presented: A new world system and the way to confront it; this system deals with the values of Islamic countries in a dual way. This world system is in fact created by America and it is America which is controlling Islamic and non-Islamic countries. Is this system a fair one? Is it fair to invite Islamic country to join this system? (God has not forbidden you from fighting those who oppose your religion. But do not expel them form their own lands, do justice to them because God likes righteous). The current civilization of the West has spread its dominance over the world through its advanced economic, technological, military and advertising tools, and these facilities cannot be ignored. Islamic countries do not use their Arabic culture achievements, those things that are based on common values; Things that can be used without any problem, like knowledgeable institutions which enjoy freedom of speech and political system, through which it could be possible to satisfy authorities and to seize power in these countries peacefully. World Zionism had important role in some Islamic

311

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

312

countries, through controlling them by racialist and Zionist leaders who were not popular among people. Abolishment of these governments during the Arab Spring reveals their ugly and nefarious face. Arabic countries follow rules and solutions that make them consumers of Western products. They also label their own products in a way as if they are produced in America, Germany or France. Weakness in advertisement compared to American Zionist Medias. Medias in Islamic World are transformed into tribunes that only cry quarrel between sects and organizations; A Media praises the Sunni and the other one destroys both of them. Economic mobilization: after withdrawal of colonialism from Islamic countries, the colonizers tried to make colonized countries dependent on themselves and in so doing economy of many Arabic countries became dependent on the economy of Europe. The best example is Suez Canal through which transformation of more than 60% of Persian Gulf oil exports to Europe and America is done. The Issue of Iran, the West, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis is another form of the West dominance over Islamic countries economy. The foreignerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention in Islamic countries after the second war of Persian Gulf: this region is subject to the foreignerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention under various pretexts. The entrances to Iraq, Afghanistan, Somali, the presence of United Nations in Sudan under the title of UNAMID and UNMIS, and the present crisis in Iran about Uranium enrichment, all are examples of interventions in Islamic World countries.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Some of the Jewish’s Conspiracies against Islamic Ummah France’s Canal Plus is in the service of American Zionist Lobby for fighting against Islam. It is completely obvious that France’s Canal Plus has been changed in recent years. The one who follows this channel can easily and clearly find out that this channel has become a tool for advertising American Zionist Lobby and do its best to fight against Islam, while it hides Zionism regime’s crimes in world especially in Palestine. All channels and canals are in their service with such aims. They have been so successful in influencing these channels that most of the managers and sponsors of these channels began to have Jewish viewpoints in all aspects. All great journalists, TV hosts, and actors of these channels with Jewish viewpoint support Zionism. Those who did not agree with Lobby’s aims were ousted gradually. When an anti-Islamic plan was presented, it was accepted generously and broadcasted in all TV channels and rebroadcasted several times in different hours. Zionist propaganda also tried to influence the French and the people of Frankford and in this way encouraged them to incorporate Islam into terrorism. It takes a long time to mention all actions taken with this aim, from comics to news, documentaries and…. All these were opportunities which Canal Plus used to express anti-Islamic ideas and viewpoints. The most recent thing that Canal plus has employed is an anti-Islamic documentary which has been proved, in the end, to be a product of anti-Islamic organizations. This channel presented a long documentary of what

313

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

314

happened on the evening of Munday, on 5th of September, 2011, which lasted more than one hour. Its title was beurre Islam, antéchrist et jambon, with Paul Moreira as its director. In this programme attempts were made to link Islam with terrorism and violence in a deceptive manner. It misused Resurrection through displaying what happened on 11th September so that it could implement the equation of extremists of Zionism which linked Islam and terrorism together. What is new in this movie is that it no longer speaks of the Muslims, but it points to Islam, religion and Holy Qur’an directly, and depict it as something trivial and cumbersome in America. The director exceeded and copied this movie on DVD and delivered it to the Zionist extremists of America in order to attack Islam and excite anti-Islamic feelings. He did not suffice it and through translating some sentences against Islam and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), in different parts of the movie, prevent its audience’s reaction and does not let him to analyze, but presents all that the director wishes. The intentional provocation of the audience and broadcasting lies and misinformation about Islam in this channel increased with the approach of French presidential elections. American Zionist Lobby tries to use this channel for advertising the candidate having the most anti-Zionist sentiments and creating an atmosphere of anxiety of foreigners’ intervention, especially the Muslims, in this election. The report prepared at the America Development Center indicates that this country has spent about 42 billion dollars on spreading Islamophobia concept (fear of Islam) and fighting against the promotion of Islam in the countries

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening after what happened on 11th September. This report that has been prepared for the imminent tenth anniversary of the Twin Towers destruction indicates that six national and social institutions have provided the America’s allocated 42 billion dollars for the propagation of extremist anti-Islamic and anti-Muslims beliefs in America as well as the spreading of Islamophobia in the American and European societies. The majority of specialist scientists and sociologists have taken part in this conspiracy designed for the provocation against Islam and the spread of rumors for the destruction of Islam’s popularity and the increase of fear among its followers. The Islamic Awakening has encompassed all the Islamic ummah’s offspring in large countries due to the scientists’ and elite’s endeavors and their continuous battle, as well with reliance on the Islamic society’s awakening, the defense of rights, the obedience of the principles, the implementation of the religious commandments in government, the possession of divine morality, the combination of virtue and good deeds throughout the whole life, the control of the government on the basis of equity and justice, the establishment of just economical relations, the improvement of friendly relations, and the return to the Muslims’ brotherhood. This invitation has been accepted enthusiastically by the contemporary generation, the ones aware of their needs and challenges, the ones determined to change themselves through the obedience to the human and Islamic principles; because they believe that God does not change any nation’s fate, other than one changing itself. The Islamic nations plead for their own rights and

315

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

316

independency in voting; Away from the World Arrogance and its hostile favouritism towards the oppressed Islamic nations; Away from any chimerical fear of worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imposed politics that is the real factor fomenting the tribal and national seditions as well as the blindly religious prejudices in the present conditions which brings nothing to Islamic World but destruction. They want to resist the seditions imposed by others on their Islamic societies by resorting to the tight divine rope and the religious law. They try hard to understand the real needs of their time and do their duties as a Muslim alertly. They also try to present the fundamental basics with appeal to the Revelation and Wisdom; away from any liberalism and irreligion that are the result of the different schools of thoughtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incorrect doctrines. They always try to learn the sciences and technologies by keeping themselves away from the perversities in this way; besides, they always observe the moralities in their social lives. This approach bore fruit in a very short time and did not allow the arrogant countries to meddle in the matters related to the Islamic countries such as Iran, Sudan, and the other countries that are the main sources of wealth. The dominance of oppressors such as America, England, and Israel got eradicated; Zionist occupiers are swept outside the south of Lebanon, as well the flames of hope kindled again in Palestiniansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hearts with the beginning of Intifada in 1987. Before that, the Palestinians were just the observers of the fights taking place outside their territories, subsequently providing a safe place for them to live; but that time, those fights also extended to the internal boundaries and brought so many achievements despite the preventive

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening actions mentioned below: First: the propagation of irreligion, particularly Liberalism in the West as well as Secularism and Marxism in the East, in order to annihilate the Islamic societies’ beliefs and spiritual spirits and their transformation to societies with no identity and civilization, with no past and the future. Second: Islamic World boycott for not achieving the advanced, modern technology; the propagation of the consumerism culture and the setting up the fairs for plundering the wealth of these countries, as well. Third: direct and indirect dominance over the wealth of the oil-bearing districts, and gaining the control of its price and plundering it; the transfer of the consumables and the persuasion of these countries’ rulers to keep silence and keep their people silent, as well. Fourth: advocating those governments that do not respect their people and rule over them by force and appeal to Western and Eastern weapons. They also attack those who resist the arrogance. In both cases the nations were the only victims of these assaults, such as the events which took place in Iraq and Afghanistan. The warriors’ imprisonment, their sending to exile, and launching coup in different countries are the other important issues that I will skip them here. But all these things, compared to the new revolutions which provoked the World Arrogance wrath under the U.S.’s leadership, did not hinder the actions taken against Islam; actions such as 1. Creation of racial seditions among the Muslim compatriots of a country within the Islamic world that caused the death of the majority of them; besides, it kindled the grudge and blind hostility flares among them, similar to what happened in Pakistan and …

317

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

318

2. Provoking fight among the Islamic neighbor countries under chimerical pretexts which can be solved easily just by negotiation on the part of offspring of the large Islamic family and the rulers of these countries, without America’s and other foreign countries’ interventions. These kinds of fight imposed high costs on Islamic World materially and spiritually. There are many cases like this one in Islamic World and even now some of them are still continuing. 3. Insistence on the oil plundering and other mineral substances in Islamic World and their exchange for some worthless commodities such as weapon, combat aircrafts, battle tank, and banal traditional old ammunitions. Therefore, they have changed the Muslims’ oil into a weapon against them, rather than benefiting them. This is in fact looting these countries’ wealth, while Muslims need to spend more money on the development projects rather than utilizing lethal weapons. Limitless and continuous support of Zionist regime, the occupier, the regime that the great war against the Palestinians, their murder, loot, imprisonment, and turning them to Judaism by force _ which are all considered crimes according to both the international law and the UN’s manifestos_ have not satisfied it. Furthermore, that regime attacked Syria and Lebanon and targeted these countries’ cities by their missiles. Despite all these crimes, America still accept what this regime does and proclaim its complete support. America has meddled in the majority of wars just by advocating the seditions and uprisings which bother Islamic World. But it brought about nothing to America but its shameful presence in all these wars through the record of

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening the vast destructions and murders, as what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. What took place on September was a chance for America to implement its development project, in order to be able to reveal, on one side, the apparent opposition between good and evil deeds, or America and Israel, and on the other side, Islamic World; in order to reveal the Christian Jewish Zionism powerful presence in fighting against Islamic world in an incredible battle. Israel took advantage from America’ rage provoked by 11th September suspicious events to murder cruelly the innocent Palestinians night and day, without any trial, suppress or even interrogation for those crimes committed. And again it was America which dropped over 1000 bombs on Afghans’ mud houses, under the pretext of fighting against Terrorism and eradicating their authorities. It was America again which entered ten thousands forces to Iraq land under the excuse of annihilation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and its only consequences were murder, assassination, destruction, and occupation; even now they have not found any track of those flimsy pretexts. The Iraqis have tasted the terrible horror stirred by the arrogant regime and American occupiers. Whenever they got rescued from the former, they got struck in the terror of the latter. They do not even know their destinies. Besides, we have been observing some disagreements among these countries’ authorities recently. Nowadays, America is even more afraid of the Islamic Awakening spreading throughout Islamic World. Islamic World got united and gradually awakened after its long ignorance sleep, besides, Iraq targeted by America as its military base

319

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

320

against all the Islamic countries has turned into a volcano in which the adversaries are burnt. Iraqis unitedly plead for the occupiers’ exit; all the Islamic forces belonging to different groups and religions enthusiastically ask for the establishment of an independent government on the basis of holy Islam in this country, as well; a government in which all Iraqis live prosperously, and it is exactly what Martyr Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Hakim, the head of Iraq’s Islamic Revolution Supreme Council as well as the head of Religions Approximation World Assemble Supreme Council, has expressed and written repeatedly. He spent over 30 years of his life on establishing a just government and resisted Saddam’s criminal government. All of these activities brought about just imprisonment, exile, and the martyrdoms of about ten members of his family, at last his own martyrdom. At the present time, Islamic World is in the need of a better solidarity and cooperation to fulfill the expected union that is the most important pillar of Islam, of course after monotheism. The union that makes the Muslims very potent, so that no material storms can shake its bases. If the world had not remained silent at the time of Israel’s impinge on Syria, instead it had attacked its residential regions and condemned that country for those crimes, it would have been the last time that these kinds of action are taken. These arrogant governments ask Iran to deprive itself of Peaceful Nuclear Technology which will be very productive for Iranians and Islamic World in the future. Although this technology is the fundamental right of all the industrial countries, the issue of the unjust manifestos indicates the America’s and World Arrogance’s wrath.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening However, Israel, the leader of Middle East international Terrorism, has the control of the biggest nuclear storage at the Middle East. The Islamic and Arabic countries should resist World Arrogance, whose leaders are America and Zionism, by being united and cooperated. Tenth Session of OIC Member States should emphasize the termination of the occupations taken place by America according to the restricted timetable; besides, the UN should have the strongest role in this process and put an emphasis on the necessity of reconciliation among the Islamic Countries, so that the current changes bring profit for Islamic World. These countries can defend their own and their nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interests; furthermore, if they get united in this way no force can resist the Islamic nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wills. In these conditions they can attain their aims; honor is just for Lord, His Prophet, and His pious worshippers. 321 Does Islam oppose Judaism? When we observe the strife between Israel and Palestine, it seems that there are so many oppositions at the beginning of this strife. What are seen in these skirmish are some religious and hostility symbols. Daniel Bipes, the manager of the Middle East Centre in America, states: this is religious bigotry which makes Muslims worry about Jerusalem; otherwise Jerusalem itself does not cause such situation. The others feel worried about the Muslims getting along with the Jewish and try to legitimize the old hatred through fortification of the Zionist Jewish aspect.

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World.. Here we have three separate matters: The historical relationship between Muslims and the Jewish

322

The importance of Jerusalem for the Muslims Zionism The relationship between the Muslims and The Jewish during the history The way the Prophet manner shook hands with the Jewish in Medina, lenity, kindness and cooperation with them are those factors indicating how to treat them. Like Christians, they were also esteemed because they possess divine book and share the book of the prophets with the Muslims. In many of the Ayat of Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an regarding the Muslims duties, it is recommended to treat them as kindly and compassionately as possible. The Constitution, which the Prophet wrote in Medina in 662 A.D., is a historical document witnessing how the Prophet treated them justly and tried to increase the cooperation between the Muslims and the Jewish in order to eliminate tribal and religious disputes. This Constitution emphasizes the equity of the citizens to the law, and also freedom in religion, trade and mutual behavior. This law is passed according to a political oath between the Jewish and the Muslims so that they advocate each other confronting the enemies. Therefore, that time Medina was a city which enjoys justice and ethics. The Importance of Jerusalem to the Muslims Jerusalem is one of the most ancient cities in the world. It is a city in which many civilizations, especially three major Abrahamic religions, namely Judaism, Christianity

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and Islam, were founded. Therefore, Jerusalem due to its religious history is an inseparable part of history of Islam and is one of the major geographical manifestations of Islam. And again, one of the other reasons of its importance according to Qur’an and the prophets’ narratives is that this city is many prophets’ place of birth such as David, Solomon, Jesus, and place of death of many such as Abraham, lot, Moses, … Peace be upon all of them. Jerusalem through Aqsa Mosque is liked to Mecca since it was in this city that the Qibla of the Muslims changed. And they are only the Muslims that recognize these prophets because the Jewish do not believe in Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and Jesus, and the Christians do not recognize Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as a prophet. Jerusalem is the first Qibla of the Muslims, and during the history, it was assumed the third holy city after Mecca and Medina. Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, Al-Nabi Mosque in Medina and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem were of those places which the Muslims visit as a pilgrimage. It is said that the Prophet encourages the pious to visit these places. The holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) bid that praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque equals to 500 prayers in an ordinary mosque. It is according to these Hadiths that the Muslims, having such religious documents, show interest in visiting Jerusalem. It is such a shame that figures such Daniel Bipes who concur with Zionism do not consider Jerusalem deserving such respect. If one looks at Jerusalem’s historical and religious importance honestly, he can find out how important it was and is to the Muslims. So, let the Muslims to return to Quds and Jerusalem.

323

The Role of Islamic Awakening in Repelling the World..

324

Zionism In an attempt to see the satanic nature of Zionism, one should eliminate this thought and myth from Judaism since Zionism does not have Jewish nature. Judaism is a religion which dates back to 3000 years before but Zionism is a political movement that is founded by Europe Union in late 19 century, and their founders were Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann who were both heretic leaders. Zionism was turned to an armed political movement, consisting of such Jewish that were after establishing a country for all the Jewish in Palestine. (Of course, first suggestions for such goal were Archanet and Uganda. Foundation of this movement by Theodor Herzl was announced officially in 1897 in a conference held in Pizzele, Switzerland. This Secular movement of Zionism at first started with reliance on doctrinal and non-racial issues and then fomented the Crusade through misusing doctrinal issues as a pretext, so that it could fulfill its colonial aim as establishing a national country for the Jewish. Without this feint, the dispersed Jewish in various societies would not agree with this request and uniting them was not possible. Children were embedded and brought up in a bed of lies. As a result, Palestine, center of Islamic World, became their promised land; A gift granted to a selected nation which was subject to murder, plunder, and transgression. Zionism is a national movement with a racial superiority, in favor of a certain group, and its totality is enjoyment of religious feelings and distortion of history and interpretation of crime and its elements.

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Dr. Israel Shahak, the head of the Israeli Association of Human and Civil rights, says explicitly: I think Israel is a racist government and its racialism is the undisputed result of Zionism movement racialism. This is a fact. After proving this issue, we can discuss why this racialism is prohibited when it is against the Jewish, but accepted when the Jewish behave in this way? (Ha’aton, B., The Racial Nature of Zionism and Zionist government, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 5th of November, 1975) General Assembly of the United Nation was established on 10th November, 1975, in support of “Zionism, as one of the forms of the racism”, while 20 manifestoes were issued, convicting Israel presence in Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian lands. It seems that Zionism has the role of the most important enemy of Islam and the Muslims. It does the most indecent crimes in Palestine under the name of Jewish nation and Zionism. Their brutal atrocity to the defenseless Palestinians and owners of this land is obvious.

325

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle East And the West's Plot, Regional Tensions and Radicalism Mohammadghasem Vafayizadeh1 Introduction: Islamic awareness and Islamic awakening are tied up in the religious culture and social dynamism of Islam. The great epic of Imam Hussein is the first and the most enduring uprising for awakening Muslim nations, and in the history of Islam many Muslim societies have been inspired by it. Islam is the religion of passion and mobility and constant endeavor, and God has called on Muslims to create their own destiny. He says: “Unless a nation tries to change their destiny, Allah will not do so.” (Ra’d, verse 11). This message can also be found in the words of the Prophet who says: .‫ﮐﻠﮑﻢ ﺭﺍﻉ ﻭ ﮐﻠﮑﻢ ﻣﺴﺌﻮﻝ ﻋﻦ ﺭﻋﻴﺘﻪ‬

Similarly, it can be found in Imam Ali’s words; he says: .‫ﻭ ﺍﻧﺘﻢ ﻣﺴﺌﻮﻟﻮﻥ ﺣﺘﻲ ﻋﻠﻲ ﺍﻟﺒﻘﺎﻉ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺒﻬﺎﺋﻢ‬

Imam Hussein quotes the same thing with an epic tone from the Prophet: O people! If a person keeps silent when he sees a tyrant ruler who breaks God’s rules, does things that are prohibited, uses Muslims’ public assets for his personal use, disrupts the divine boundaries, and sheds the blood of Muslim people God will count him as one of the oppressors. The history of Islam is an epic one which is full of Islamic and political movements. Throughout history Muslims have 1.PhD student in International Relations/ Kanazawa University, Japan

327

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

328

been inspired by these divine commandments and have always risen against imperialism, oppression and injustice, and Islamic history is full of examples these endeavors. The contemporary uprisings form North Africa to Middle East and Central Asia are also inspired by this dynamic culture. Today, we see young Arab Muslims who have stepped forward and have rioted against global aggression and internal tyranny because of their sense of religious responsibility. Those who spent their nights in the squares and streets of Cairo, Sanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a, Manamah, Tunisia and other parts of Islamic countries were full of religious love and were committed to the restoration of Islamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatness and grandeur. To limit the causes of their uprising to things like what was behind the riots in London or the Wall Street Movement would be a pure underestimation of the depth of feeling and the moral, social and political causes that went into Islamic movements. This wave of Islamic awakening is in fact a sequel to the Islamic movements and uprisings of the past against colonialism and tyranny and imposed systems. Three Decisive Waves of Islamic Awakening In the contemporary history, 3 waves of Islamic awakening have played a great role in the defining the political fate of Islamic societies. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Impossible to analyze the Islamic revolutions prevalent in the Middle Eat and Northern Africa as a third wave of Islamic awakening without studying and recognizing the first two waves of Islamic awakening. First, every social phenomenon develops in a specific historical and cultural context, and social and political developments cannot happen overnight without a connection to the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening past and its religious and cultural associations. In other words, the thirst wave of Islamic awakening and the active participation of young people in revolutions are in fact legacies of their ancestors. Second, the writer believes that there’s a direct link between today’s Arabic revolutions and the first and second waves of Islamic awakening especially Iran’s Islamic revolution and in this regard one should take a look at the previous phases of Islamic awakening. In the present revolutions in the Middle East, the traces of Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani can be found; also those of the followers of Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri, Omar Mukhtar, Sayyid Muhammad Senussi and also the deep influence of Imam Khomeini’s thoughts. The First Wave of Islamic Awakening and the Fight against Colonialism The first wave of Islamic awakening was in the face of Western colonialism, and it started in late 19th century and was inspired by the thoughts and beliefs of Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani and his students. It lasted until the second half of the 20th century. In this wave, Islamic countries witnessed extensive public uprisings with the aim of achieving freedom and independence from Britain and other European colonizers. But the first wave was accompanied with the emergence of Nationalism and pan-Arabism, a pest that, though helping the dependence-seekers, resulted in the devastating process of alienation in Islamic societies. For years nationalism cast its shadow on Islamic awakening movements and the dispersal of Islamic societies gave the colonizers a new chance. Another result of this unhappy phenomenon was the emergence of dictators and the

329

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

330

oppression of Muslim people for many years. Although the leaders and pioneers of the first wave of Islamic awakening lighted the first spark of awakening and movement in Islamic societies, they couldn’t properly theorize Islamic awakening at such sensitive time which was simultaneous with the fall of Ottoman Empire and the rise of Western colonialism, and they couldn’t institutionalize their goals in the framework of a political and social system attuned to modern times and the emergence of nation-states. Ideas such as pan-Arabism, the salafi movement of Rashid Rida and later on Muslim Brotherhood were somewhat passive reactions to Western colonialism and its political and cultural invasions. None of them managed to offer Muslim nations a clear and practical social and political structure, and instead dreamt of the impossible goal of restoring caliphates or creating a united Islamic nation in which the nation-state phenomenon didn’t fit. Desirable but impractical ideals that were incompatible with the necessities of time and the conditions of Islamic societies. Ideological generalizations in the first wave of Islamic awakening prevented success and practical achievement in restoring the dignity and prosperity of Islamic societies and releasing them from the multifaceted shackles of the West. In addition, lack of a pragmatic and strategic plan on the part of the leaders of the first wave of Islamic awakening caused confusion in the establishment of political systems in the post-colonial period. This confusion resulted in the development of Islamism, Socialism and Nationalism and the schools of thought associated with them. In other words, the three conflicting movements of Islamism, Socialism and Nationalism not only caused division among Islamic

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening countries and revolutionaries, but also became new tools for the colonizers, providing them with new levers. These movements that differed with the nature of Islamic countries even paved the way for the occupation of some of them. The 1978 communist coup in Afghanistan which led to the invasion of the Red Army is a good example. The Second Wave of Islamic Awakening and Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Islamic Revolution The second wave of Islamic awakening began with the Islamic revolution in Iran led by Imam Khomeini (P.B.U.H.). The Islamic revolution in Iran which led to the establishment of an Islamic system offered a new political system to the world which was neither Eastern nor Western, but Islamic Republic. This political system was based on neither liberal democracy, nor Socialist models, nor Arab dictatorship. In providing a successful example of a political system, the Islamic Republic started the second wave of Islamic awakening which could safeguard the accomplishments of this revolution and other Islamic movements that were victorious. The leaders of the second wave of Islamic awakening, especially Imam Khomeini (P.B.U.H.), who were aware of the conditions of the time and the political relations governing the world, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just do with restoring Islamic traditions and morals and returning to the self; they put the establishment of an Islamic political system at the top of their agenda. Because Islam is not limited to individual guidelines, it also guarantees a specific political and social system. Islam believes that without establishing an Islamic system, defending religious values and the integrity of

331

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

332

Muslims and their accomplishments is impossible. On the other hand, past historical experiences have shown that the most difficult responsibility for a political movement is the establishment of a political system to guard their values and accomplishments. In the contemporary history, the Islamic revolution of Afghanistan is a good example. Through their efforts, the Muslim nation of Afghanistan managed to bring the Soviet occupying forces to their knees, thus paving the way for releasing Muslim nations in Central Asia from the domination of the Red Army, and inspiring revolutionary forces all around the world. But the failure of Afghans to establish an Islamic system led to many misfortunes and internal wars and so they couldn’t safeguard the legacy of their martyrs and the great achievements of their jihad and resistance. These bitter facts reflect the importance of establishing an Islamic system emphasized by the leaders of the second wave of Islamic awakening. Imam Khomeini (P.B.U.H.) believed that just showing anti-Western sentiments is not sufficient for restoring the greatness of Muslim nations, but one should face the West with economic power and a political will. That’s because the West isn’t against Islam only as a religion; they are trying to exploit Islamic countries. Imam Khomeini (P.B.U.H.) believed that “if you pay no attention to imperialist policies and keep your knowledge of Islam at a low level, they’ll leave you alone. They have their eyes on your oil, why should they mind your religion? They seek your natural sources and want to turn your country into a consuming market for their exports. That’s why they use their subordinate countries to put hurdles on the way of our progress and industrialization and have instead built several

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening car factories that are dependent on outside forces.” So the leaders of the second wave of Islamic awakening knew more about the colonizers and also had a practical plan for the establishment of an independent political system based on Islamic thoughts. The leaders of the second wave of Islamic awakening entered the field equipped with practical plans and they developed economic, political and social relations on the basis of divine commandments. Because of these factors, the Islamic revolution of Iranian people had a great influence on Islamic countries and led to the awakening of Muslims all over the world. From the very beginning, Westerners realized the importance of Iran’s Islamic revolution as a pattern that could lead to an extensive series of revolutions and movements in Islamic countries, and they acted to prevent its spread. The Western policy adopted to undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran and its revolutionary pattern was based on two theories: the first was occupying Iran with domestic and regional problems by encouraging Iraq’s Baath regime to attack Iran, and the second was highlighting the Shia and Sunni differences in the region and adopting the Iranophobia project. Despite their efforts the influence of Iran’s Islamic revolution extended to European borders (Syria, Lebanon, Philistine, and Northern Africa and Maghreb countries). In the 1980s and 1990s the west, specially the US, adopted the “Radical Islam” project (known as creating the Green Belt) to contain Communism on one hand and prevent the repetition of revolutions such as Iran’s that could hamper their presence in the region. At the height of the Cold War, the invasion of the Red Army to Afghanistan provided the West with a good opportunity to complete this project. In fact

333

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle... with the implementation of the Green Belt project, the West succeeded in containing Islamic movement so that its allies could sleep peacefully, and also distracted the Islamists by exaggerating the danger of Communism. The development of radical movements and support for dictators in the last three decades have somewhat undermined the continuity of the second wave of Islamic awakening and have delayed the start of the third wave. For many years pro-Western dictators have ruled Islamic countries by suppressing people and basking in foreign support, and have paved the way for the presence of foreign forces in Islamic countries.

334

The Their Wave of Islamic Awakening: Anti-imperialist Revolutions The third wave of Islamic awakening was born despite the efforts of the West in one of the westernmost parts of the world (Tunisia) and then it reached Mubarak regime, an ally of Israel and the US. With the fall of these two allies of the West, the third wave of Islamic awakening grew and disturbed the dictators’ sleep in Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. So far, the third wave of Islamic awakening has put an end to the rules of four dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and recently Yemen. In other parts of the region there are Islamist movements which have shaken the foundations of the dictatorships that are the West’s allies. The third wave of Islamic awakening is a continuation of the second wave of Islamic awakening and Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Because protesters and revolutionaries in Arab countries have shown that they don’t want small reforms in the political system; they want an end to the dictatorships,

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and fundamental changes in political systems, because they want to restore their Islamic identity through an Islamic system and to be free of global imperialism. Revolutionaries of the third wave of Islamic awakening have experienced the failure of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Tunisia and Algeria and also the successful model of Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Islamic Revolution. Knowing that without a change of the present political systems and establishing a desired Islamic system every kind of reform would be short-lived and it will undermine their long-term efforts (just as Imam Khomeini emphasized the necessity of establishing an Islamic system), the revolutionaries of the third wave of Islamic awakening aim at fundamental changes and most specifically the establishment of a democratic system. Although in the manifests of movements the nature of their desired political system is not defined, if we take Tunisia and Egypt as examples, an analysis of the developments and results of elections show that what people desire and have voted in favor of is a government based on religious democracy, not a secular one. Therefore, the reason the third wave of Islamic awakening is considered a threat to Western interests is that revolutionaries have targeted governments and systems, not the subsets of these political systems. These kinds of changes have shaken up the previous calculations in the Middle East and threaten the interests of imperialists, especially Zionists who signed contracts with some Arab governments and considered Western Asia and Northern Africa a safe haven for their strategic interests. After the fall of their dictator friends theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be isolated further and the increasing anger of Islamic nations will target them.

335

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

336

The Characteristics of the Third Wave of Islamic Awakening Although the third wave of Islamic awakening is a sequel to the first and second waves of Islamic awakening and shares some of their features such as being anti-imperialist and having an Islamic nature and identity, it has some characteristics of its own; the active presence of young people, the spontaneous nature of these movements and revolutions, and the extensive use of technology and the exchange of information are three important and thoughtprovoking characteristics of the third wave of Islamic awakening. The presence of young people: one of the characteristics of the last wave of Islamic awakening which has shaken all Arab countries is the unprecedented presence of young people. During the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Philistine (especially in the first and second intifada) and in Lebanon the strong presence of young people was felt, but in the third wave of Islamic awakening young people are the main actors on the stage of uprisings and revolutions, and this needs to be studies further. The most obvious reason offered by some Arab and Western writers is the demographic characteristics of Arab countries. According to the statistics published in 2009, the average life expectancy in Arab countries is 22 years, compared to 28 years in other parts of the world. Statistics show that more than %60 of Arab women are less than 25 years old. Accordingly, Arab countries have a young population and therefore young people have a strong presence in revolutions and celebrations in these countries. According to this analysis, the main reason for the

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening dissatisfaction of young people is economic, not religious. The rate of unemployment in Arab countries is between %20 to %40, and the number of unemployed youth is three times higher that middle-aged ones. Therefore, by 2020 about 50 million jobs should be created in Arab countries to solve the problem of unemployment. On the other hand, the high rate of unemployment and the increasing number of educated people have led to a social crisis which some people call “youth inflation”. In this regard, the government’s failure to create jobs and offer educational services with international standards is the main reason for young people’s anger and protests. There’s no doubt that the high percentage of young population and devastating problems such as unemployment greatly influence social movements, but limiting the widespread revolutions of the third wave of Islamic awakening to some financial and economic reasons prevents us from understanding the fundamental factors and phenomena involved in the activation of the social dynamism of the youth. In fact these financial calculations are the only thing Western politicians can understand and predict. Just as we saw clearly in this great wave of Islamic awakening, they never expected such fast and wide-ranging developments in the Middle East and were taken by surprise. The main reason for that is their inability to understand the spiritual power of Islam; their calculation is only based on economic, political, and social factors. But the main factor is not unemployment; it’s that awakening which results from Islamic teachings. The youth in today’s Islamic societies live in the age of information and knowledge, and in a world that has turned into a small village they cannot

337

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

338

witness the hopeless state of their society and the domestic tyranny and abjection of their rulers, and watch the dignity of their religion and nation on the other end of economic and political scales, and keep silent. Social and political self-awareness is naturally a challenge for imperialist governments whose legitimacy is taken not from people, but from foreign countries. What happened in Philistine and the disgraceful silence of the heads of Arab countries hurts the pride of young Arabs. The economic and industrial backwardness of Islamic countries and their dependence on the West and the marginalization of Islamic countries in the international field of macroeconomic policies have disappointed young Muslims. Many young Arabs who are neither unemployed nor uneducated and are studying abroad have spoken in favor of young Lebaneseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; resistance and the 23-day war, and were proud of them and they have shown dissatisfaction at the upsetting condition of their country. The pain young Arabs live with is too deep for the understanding of Western politicians. Even Salafis and Wahhabis who are like a chronic disease for Islamic societies do not hide their frustration and are also proud of the heroic acts of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Ahmadinejadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stance against Western policies and the scientific accomplishments of Iranian people. The display of such sentiments shows the depth of discouragement felt by young people in Arab and Islamic countries. The revolution of young people is in fact a revolt against their present condition and a move towards change and transformation. In other words, the active presence of young people as the driving force of chain revolutions in Arab countries is rooted in their religious

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening morality and their high social and political understanding. Reducing the complex and multi-layered dimensions of the third wave of Islamic awakening to economic factors or demographic reasoning for the presence of young people in these revolutions will prevent a better understanding of the third wave of Islamic awakening. Spontaneity and the Absence of a Particular Leader: Another important characteristic of the third wave of Islamic awakening is the strong presence of people and the weak presence of leaders and political parties and elites. In other words, there were no particular leaders to direct the social dynamism in the face of the present conditions, political leaders and parties just accompanied people in this regard. In the first and second waves of Islamic awakening there were charismatic and prominent leaders to lead people on. But the development of Islamic movements and popular revolutions in Arab countries happened in the absence of such charismatic and prominent leaders. Many Western observers believed that the lack of a leader in these movements meant a lack of coherence and order, and questioned their continuity. Particularly so, because Arab countries have been famous for following charismatic leaders for years; in other words, the social culture of Arabs was patriarchal and Sheikh-centered. A Western author says that for years the “long live with…” slogan was heard and only the name ate the end of the sentence would change, but now people say “Leave!”, saying no to political systems that are based on imperialism. The victory of Islamic movements with theses characteristics went against the calculations of Western politicians. But young Muslims followed Islamic teachings and the lessons they took from

339

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle... Iran’s Islamic Revolution, and shook regional dictators, thus creating their own destinies.

340

Effective Use of Information Technology: Another distinctive characteristic of these revolutions is the effective use of information technologies and social networks. Perhaps for the first time, social networks such as Twitter and Facebook which were originally created for a small circle of users were used for such an extensive social phenomenon. Of course, the role of these social networks has been exaggerated in Western media and it’s wrong to call these revolutions “Facebook Revolutions”. What really happened in Arab countries is quite a different story. If we take Egypt as an example, the literacy rate is %66 and it ranks 156 among other countries in the world and a low percent of its educated population have access to the internet. But in Egypt’s revolution different kinds of people took part. After the parliamentary elections in Egypt which led to the victory of Islamist parties, an Egyptian explained his reasons for voting in favor of an Islamist in an interview with BBC: “Islamists address our needs and understand our traditions. But Liberals and Secularists are busy talking on Facebook.” These three characteristics of the third wave of Islamic awakening strengthen revolutionaries and protesters whose voices are heard in the streets of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Algeria. Firstly, in popular revolutions the fact that many people take part and they have no particular charismatic leader make it hard to undermine them, thus leaving behindthe-stage endeavors futile. That’s because there are no distinct base or address for conducting these political deals

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening and every one who wants to say something has to address all the people. As was seen in the case of Egypt, when people started to feel that there were movements behind the scene trying to divert their revolution, they came to the streets again to defend its values. Secondly, young people are full of passion and youthful will and they have proved their commitment and endurance as the driving force of these revolutions, disappointing their enemies. Thirdly, unlike Western propaganda, the spread of social networks provided the revolutionaries with two strong potentials. One was the difficulty of containing the flow of information and the delivery of these movementsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; messages to both internal dictators and big economic-media powers, and the second was the role of these networks in drawing young people closer to each other and the easier exchange of social and political of ideas. Thus, revolutionaries were not limited to one country or nation; they spread to other parts of the region and the Islamic world, and it strengthened the sense of closeness and brotherhood among young Muslims. Islamic awakening and its Effects on World Policies The third wave of Islamic awakening in the most sensitive part of the world (the Middle East) affected global policies. The importance of Islamic awakening cannot be analyzed without considering its effects on the policies of world powers. The Middle East is the cross-section of world policies. Throughout history, the Middle East has been a good place for some superpowers to build their empires, and also for some other to bury their dreams. The Islamic Revolution in Iran put a stop to US imperialism in the Middle East, and Britain suffered a great loss in the Suez Channel.

341

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

342

The French Empire broke down in Algeria and the Soviet Union experienced its Waterloo in Kabul. Nowadays, every development in the Middle East affects global policies, especially those of the West. The emergence of China as a superpower in Eastern Asia and Iran in the Middle East has limited the West’s opportunities for extending their boundaries, and Latin America has also changed course and is no longer the West’s backyard. In other words, the US and the West are struggling for their survival and the Arab Middle East is “the final border” for them, and because of the third wave of Islamic awakening this border is closing down. The fall of the West’s and Israel’s allies has provided them with new challenges. Furthermore, the Middle East is an important center for the world economics and is the main source of energy for the world and industrial countries. The speed and extent of the developments in this region has thrown the Western leaders into confusion and has forced them to adopt contradictory stances. It’s quite obvious that the system of Western propaganda and policy-making cannot defend its dictators and their allies. The strong will of Muslim nations in their efforts to undermine Arab imperialist governments has confused the West. They have adopted two policies: blaming fallen rulers and defending those who might survive. As was seen, some Western writers tried to portray Obama as different from Mubarak in their analysis of the relationship between Washington and Mubarak’s regime, saying that they never saw eye to eye with each other from the very beginning. The West’s policy in relation to dictators that still rule is quite different. The West speaks in favor of political reforms and not revolution or changing the present political system, saying that hurried

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening changes will result in political and economic instability in the region. If we take a look at the US’s past policies in the region, we will see the contradictions in their policies in relation to defending the West’s interest and their defense of democracy. A research center for the Congress has called it the great mystery of Islamism. Defending democracy paves the way for the presence of Islamist groups who are favored by people (like the victory of Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria in 1990 and Hamas in Philistine in 2006). The presence of Islamist movements on the political scene poses many problems for the US, questioning their legitimacy. But the US has always shown that it prefers supporting dictator rulers to defending democracy and acknowledging the rights of people to choose their own destiny. The Middle East has always been a means of providing geostrategic interests for the West and the US. The “Great Middle East” and “the New Middle East” projects reflect the imperialist view of the US and the West towards the region. The aggressive goals of the West highlight the importance of awakening Islamic nations in order to win their revolutions and defend their values. What the West has done in the last decade shows that their efforts to stop or divert the wave of Islamic awakening still continue. Therefore, the pathology of these revolutions is necessary, especially considering the fact that there have been some transformation in the social and political manifests of these Islamic movement that try to deny the existence of an Islamic nature and the rediscovery of a religious identity, and instead emphasize freedom and target the West’s fallen pieces in the region. The summary of the Western policies in their attempts to

343

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle... divert or stop these chain revolutions is as follows:

344

Forging identities and diverting revolutions: The most important basis for the West’s new policy is changing the identity of these revolutions, turning them from an Islamic and religious identity into a democratic one. The West’s plot has two dimensions: one is the vast propaganda of the media in order to forge news identities for the revolutionaries and limit their goals to being antiimperialist and revolting against dictators and the West’s fallen rulers. Choosing names such as Arab Spring and Arab Revolutions or the Second Arab Renaissance is in fact an attempt to change the Islamic nature of these revolutions. The second dimension is marginalizing Islamist movements and calling them equal to terrorists such as AlQaida. As was seen, faced with the uprisings in Egypt the West introduced secular and liberal forces in the political field to divert the course of this revolution according to the US interests. The West also adopted some other hasty actions such as forcing the temporary government in Egypt to acknowledge Camp David Treaty in relation to Suez Channel, and Western media adopted a negative rhetoric against Islamic movements such as Islamic Brotherhood, calling them a threat equal to Al-Qaida’s. although this policy was not very successful and the results of Egypt’s parliamentary elections showed that people were in favor of Islamic movements and not liberal or secular ones, if we look carefully we’ll see that the West’s negative propaganda resulted in some internal conflicts and changes of policies in Islamic movements. What Sheikh Rachid Alghanouchi said when entering Tunisia, that he was “neither Khomeini nor

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Bin Laden” and the fact that Western media quickly put it in their headlines, is an unfortunate example of the influence of Western policies. The Islamic and anti-Zionistic and antiimperialist nature of Islamic revolutions is not reflected by Western media. In fact the West tries to pretend that they are with the revolutionaries and not targeted by them. The West is fully aware that the two strong countries in the region, namely Iran and Turkey, can influence the political tendencies and developments in the region, and therefore have started to support Turkey‘s version of “moderate Islam” and make out Iran as a Shia power and a threat for the future of regional countries. But the fact is that these revolutions bear no relation to Turkey’s secular Islam, and that Islamic nations have risen with the aim of restoring their Islamic identity. On the other hand, it’s not fair to limit the aim of these revolutions to pulling down people like Mubarak and Gadhafi, because there’s no guarantee that other Mubaraks and Gadhafis will not appear again. These kinds of interpretations divert Islamic revolutions from their right path and then Western countries can easily persuade people that now that there are no Mubaraks, these revolutions should come to an end and the other issues should be addressed by leaders and experts. The Project of Iranophobia and Creating Sectarian Gaps: Another threat that Islamic movements face is creating discord among Shias and Sunnis and also following the Iranophobia project in the region. Unfortunately, extremist groups such as Salafis and Wahhabis have helped the West achieve this goal. As we saw in Bahrain, when people’s

345

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

346

protests grew and the Al Khalifa government found itself helpless in the face of their protests, this policy was used and they used the issue of Shias and Sunnis and Iran’s interference in order to suppress the protestors, and Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia helped in suppressing them. In Yemen and Iraq and other Islamic countries the same policy was used. Naturally in every country there are Shias and Sunnis living together and they stood side by side during the revolutions, so it cannot be said that Shias are always tools used by Iran. Islamic nations showed in the course of the third wave of Islamic awakening that they are fighting for the good of Islam and are not concerned with sectarian issues. The West tries to create discord among them just to use it for their own benefit. The Project of Creating Tensions and Rivalry among Regional Powers (Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia): Another policy adopted by the West in order to put a stop to Islamic revolutions in the region is intensifying regional tensions. Unfortunately Gulf dictators, especially Saudi Arabia, knowingly work in favor of US interests. These tensions can be seen on political and economic levels. Using Terrorism and Extremism as an Excuse: As we said in the “Great Middle East” and “New Middle East” projects the problem of terrorist groups and extremism was exaggerated; the present policy of the West and the US is to intensify pressure on Islamic movements with the excuse of the increase in the number of extremist Islamists and their security threats. Although the US didn’t succeed with Islamic countries, the threat of the growth of radical and extremist groups really exists for the third wave of

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening Islamic awakening. Movements such as Wahhabi and Salafi ones have become more apparent in recent years and can stray young people, imbedding their minds with destructive prejudices. These movements, knowingly or unknowingly, serve the interests of the West. Another important threat in the region is the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to fake other revolutions such as the riots in Syria. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no denying that Syria needs reform, but the West and Zionist Regime spare no considerations for Syrian people and in fact are trying to strengthen their allies by targeting their rivals in the region, and thus create a new political balance that serves their own interests. Finally, as was said previously, there are different threats faced by the third wave of Islamic awakening and they are related to foreign influence and also the internal dynamism of revolutions and the internal structure of movements. But just as history has shown the most dangerous threats are those that can destroy Islamic movements from the inside and prevent them from reaching their Islamic goals. The fact that makes these threats more serious is that many of these revolutions have no experience in the political field. Conclusion: As we mentioned above, this wave of Islamic awakening is a sequel to the first and second one and was inspired by great men such as Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani, Iqbal Lahori, Muhammad Abduh, Imam Khomeini, Abdulqader Jazairi, Omar Mukhtar, Sayyid Muhammad Senussi, Imam Musa Sadr, Sayyid Mohammad Baqer Sadr, Hassan Albanna, and Sayyid Qutb. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting to know that young people have come to the political stage under the influence

347

The Third Wave of Islamic Awakening in the Middle...

348

of such great men and yet Western countries have weakened the Islamic aspects of these movements, and these great men are not mentioned. Who can deny the fact that Sayyid Muhammad Senussi, Omar Mukhtar and Abdulqader Jazairi were anti-imperialist heroes in Algeria and Libya? Why shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t other Islamic leaders and pioneers who cannot be categorized in a specific religion and geographic place have a presence in the context of these revolutions, revolutions that some try to associate with Gandhi and others? This two-layered policy by the leaders of these movements and revolutions shows that, unfortunately, the anti-imperialist movement has been influenced by Western power and if young people are not careful and do not lead revolutions in the right direction their result will be lost in the interplay of political policies of the world. These threats and challenges faced by this wave of Islamic awakening necessitate a careful planning and policymaking with Islamic goals and also the pathology of these movements. Considering the fact that if the third wave of Islamic awakening reaches its destination it will bring about great changes in world policies, the enemies of Islamic Revolutions are doing their best to undermine them. So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary that Islamic countries unite and protect these revolutions against Western plots and conspiracies. Young Muslims should also act consciously to defend the accomplishments of Islamic revolutions. One way to achieve this goal is by holding conferences and creating opportunities to exchange ideas among young scholars and also among the leaders of Islamic movements and drawing them closer together, so that they can have a better understanding of the challenges that lie ahead and

International Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening make plans to meet them directly. Besides, holding meeting with the aim of drawing religions closer to each other and exchanging ideas among Shia and Sunni scholars can work as a shield against discord and extremist groups such as Salafis and Wahhabis. But fighting greater threats posed by the US and other dominant countries in the political field needs a greater coordination among powerful countries such as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia and their support for Islamic movements. But unfortunately this is very difficult, if not impossible. Because up to now Saudi Arabia has refused to take on a constructive role and have acted in favor of Western interests, not those of new uprisings. This country has also acted like dictators in suppressing uprising in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen. The present foreign policy of Turkey, too, works in favor of the regional power play and rivalry and the increase of such rivalry naturally turns Islamic uprisings into small islands that can be influence by other regional factors. Coordination among regional powers can only happen if there is a strong political will, because Islamic world needs cooperation and teamwork in order to witness a restoration of the greatness of Islam and the great historical place of Muslims. But the realization of this goal depends on the will and commitment of Islamic countries towards Islam and Muslims.

349