Missing Dimensions in Contemporary Islamic Movements

Abstract

Opening Remarks
This paper will examine dimensions that seem to be absent, whether
totally or partially, from the thought and practice of certain contemporary
Islamic movements in the Muslim world, many of which may be viewed
as extensions of the liberation movements that played significant roles in
maintaining the ummah's identity at the tum of the twentieth century. We
will address these movements and remind them, for "remembrance does
the faithful a world of good" and "wisdom is the pursuit of the faithful;
wherever it is found it should be cherished."
Since God created Adam, people have fallen into two categories: those
who perform their roles according to the teachings of revelation and those
whose roles originate from their own ideas, desires, and views or those
that have been passed down from their ancestors. The first type sees history
as the outcome of conflict between humanity and nature. In response
to the latter, the true religion-Islam-has been the indispensable sine qua
non for correcting humanity's basic assumptions, rebuilding its vision,
helping it to find peace of mind, and providing it with answers to quintessential
quesions.
The use of Islam as the foundation for both thought and practice is the
force that drives activist Muslims. In the Qur'an, God revealed a perfect
text that responds to questions of existence at all levels.1 Moreover, God
has linked the Qur'an's totality and all-encompassing explanatory nature to
the responsibility of witnessing that, after the Prophet, was passed on to
the ummah.2 Through the testimony of the Prophet and of the ummah, God will certainly cause His purposes to prevail.3 We define this witnessing as
a consciously responsible type of witnessing that has its own economic,
social, and intellectual characteristics based on a specific societal order, on
the one hand, and a specific scientific and methodological order on the
other. Our responsibility in witnessing, then, is much greater than we have
envisaged or put into practice in the past.
Certain dimensions that are absent from our perspectives and practices
may be uncovered by weighing them against the objectives manifest in the
repsonsibility of witnessing.4 This process makes the issue of reform and
change a composite, as opposed to a simple, one. Moreover, both factors
require an awareness that must be "methodological" and that examines all
dimensions at the levels of both theory and application. In this way, we
may gain an understanding of the agents that affect change and generate
deviation and the resulting crises ...