Prof. Kidwai's Urdu Work Refutes Western Scholars' View Of Islam And Muslims
By
Dr. Zafar Darak Qasmi
8 December
2023
(Translated
from Urdu by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqui, New Age Islam)
Orientalists
Are Distorting The Global Perception Of Muslims, Portraying Them As Adversaries
Of Humanity And Lacking Moral Principles. They Claim That Muslim Women
Experience Humiliation And Misery In Islam, Disobeying Quran And Sunnah Teachings
About Women. They Want To Convince Everyone That It Is In The Best Interests Of
Humanity To Take Action Against Islam And Muslims. In This Regard, Prof. Abdur Raheem Kidwai's
Urdu Work, “Islam: In The Eyes Of The West”, Analyses And Refutes Western Scholars'
Works On Qur'an, Seerat Or Prophet Biography.
Main
Points:
1. Islam
promotes peace in the universe, yet Orientalists are promoting nonsense and
raising objections against it.
2. The global
slander of Islam and Muslims is rooted in the orientalist ideologies, leading
to widespread suspicions against the religion.
3. Professor
Abdur Raheem Kidwai's book “Islam: In the Eyes of The West” highlights the
harmful impact of Orientalists on Islamic values.
4. The book
encourages academic balance, moderation among scholars, and accepting truth
even when it goes against their ideas.
------
Everyone
knows that Islam is the advocate of real peace in the universe. Despite this,
the Orientalists are talking nonsense and raising objections against Islam. It
is a good thing that due to their appeal, the scholars and Ulama have made
efforts to resolve the doubts and suspicions that are arising in the society.
In this regard, a recent Urdu work titled, Islam: in the Eyes of the West, by
the renowned scholar Prof. Abdur Raheem Kidwai, has been kept in order by
Maulana Rafiq Ahmed Raees Salafi. In this book, the analysis of the works of
the Western scholars regarding the Qur'an, Seerat, biography of the Prophet,
and English literature is presented. It seems appropriate to mention here that
freedom of opinion is given great importance all over the world today. In the
name of freedom of expression, they violate social, civilized and religious
values.
In the
West, this process has become very common. Unfortunately, such things are
happening in a pluralistic society like India. Why do we forget that freedom of
expression does not mean that any religion, creed, beliefs and views should be
hurt and emotions and feelings should be provoked? But all this is happening on
this land. Of course, these factors and motivations are not only affecting
human relations and social well-being, but nations and societies are facing
each other. Therefore, we should not cause any kind of trouble to anyone in the
name of freedom of expression.
Maulana
Rafiq Ahmad Raees, who compiled of Abdur Raheem Kidwai’s book “Islam: In the
Eyes of the West”, writes:
“What the
Western scholars of Islam [orientalists] have been saying for a long time about
the Holy Qur'an, the Seerat, and other Islamic teachings under the pretexts of
free speech, impartial analysis, and independent research is distorting the
global perception of Muslims. Because of
this, Muslims are characterized as the adversaries of humanity and as lacking
in all moral principles. They make an effort to show that a Muslim woman
experiences humiliation in addition to misery in her life. They make this claim while disobeying every
lesson about women found in the Quran and Sunnah. The goal of all these
disgusting organizations is to persuade the world that taking any action
against Islam and Muslims is in the best interests of humanity. They do this by
portraying Islam and Muslims as enemies of humanity.”
The
terrible things that are happening all around the world against Islam and Muslims
are the result of orientalist notions and ideologies. The majority started to
argue against Islam because they accepted the Orientalist perspective as true,
although it is an inaccurate or incomplete representation of Islamic
literature.
However,
our experts and academics need to understand that this is a well-thought-out
scheme by Orientalists. Prof. Abdur Raheem Kidwai asserts that every malicious
attempt by Orientalists to undermine Islam and Muslims in the name of
scholarship, discussion, and investigation needs to be strongly rebutted with
honesty and knowledge.
Unfortunately,
there is a tendency towards sectarianism among the Muslim organizations
operating in our circles today that claim to be focused on knowledge and
research. The fact that the proprietors of madrasas and other religious
educational establishments are unaware of the Orientalists' actions and their
betrayals in both academia and research is one of the several reasons for this.
Our
Madrasas are generally not familiar with the language in which the Orientalists
work. For all these reasons, it can be declared with absolute certainty that
there is now no organized organization that methodically addresses and refutes
the criticisms of Islam, both nationally and internationally. However, in order
to keep Islam pure, it is also required to refute the criticisms made of it in
the context of Da'wa sermons. For this reason, we must call attention to this.
After
studying Professor Abdur Raheem Kidwai's book “Islam: In the Eyes of The West”,
it is felt that the Orientalists have badly tarnished Islamic values. Their
allegations are very dangerous. This book fully exposes their roots. In the
same way, some western thinkers have been balanced and moderate, and they have
tried to rise above all prejudices of Islam and understand it. Maurice Bucaille
etc. is a clear example in this regard. In today's scientific and research
landscape, expansion and moderation are less visible. Almost everyone is
somehow involved in this context. He
tries to understand things and problems in the same way. Therefore, orientalism is a regular movement.
Anyone who associates with it will see Islam through the lens that his elders
have asked him to see.
Therefore,
this book also conveys the message that researchers today should adopt
moderation and balance in their academic achievements. Truth should be openly
acknowledged, even if that balanced inquiry is contrary to our own ideas,
thought and practice. Professor Abdur Raheem Kidwai is also a supporter of
academic and literary harmony and social frequency. So, he writes in the
preface of the book: What is the
impression of the followers of other religions about us, what is their level of
understanding of Islam, what are their goals, what are the purposes, goals and
effects of their demands, this is a mirror for self-accountability.
Young
Muslim students and researchers need to be diligent in this regard and
participate in such academic projects that contribute to inter-religious and
inter-cultural understanding and promote mutual unity and respect among
mankind. In this way, we will all live
in peace and harmony in a happy world. The Qur'an recognizes religious
tolerance and respect for other religions, requiring us to abandon our prejudices,
prejudices and reservations and engage in building a better world.
-----
Urdu
Article: The Conspiracy of
the West against Islam اسلام کے خلاف مغرب کی سازش
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