Why is Tanzeem-e-Islami concentrating its attention on Pakistan?

Tanzeem-e-Islami was founded in Pakistan, and its aim is to establish the Deen of Allah (SWT) initially in Pakistan and ultimately all over the world. We believe that Pakistan has a special place in the Divine scheme of things. The history of the last four hundred years show that unusually prominent reformers have appeared in this part of the world. Dr. Israr Ahmad believes that with the beginning of the second millennium of Hijri calendar, the spiritual and intellectual center of the Muslim world has shifted from the Arab world to the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Pakistan itself was created in the name of Islam, and despite all the un-Islamic practices prevalent in this country, our Constitution still contains the Objectives Resolution which proclaims the sovereignty of Allah and the need to live according to Allah's guidance. The conditions are much more congenial for the establishment of Khilafah in Pakistan than in many of the other Muslim countries. Moreover, every Muslim is obliged to call people towards Islam and to work for the establishment of Deen in the country where he is born and raised, or where he finds himself living.

What is the basis of Shi'ah-Sunni discord?

The following paragraphs about Shi'ah-Sunni differences is written from a Sunni perspective; Shi'ah Muslims may not agree with all of it.

The history of the Shi'ah-Sunni Conflict is almost as old as that of the Muslim Ummah.  Only 25 years after the death of the Prophet (saw), internal discord and a series of civil wars started.  This has been referred to in the history books as the "Al-Fitnatul Kubra" or the Great Discord.  What was the cause of this internal conflict?

Every revolution is followed by counter-revolutionary movements, which seek to overthrow the new order and to revert back to the previous system.  Many of these counter-revolutionary movements were dealt with by the first Caliph, Abu Bakr (raa).  However, there were still two groups who openly resented both Islam and the Prophet of Islam, and these were the Jews of Arabia and the Persians.  The Jews were angry because they were expecting the final prophet to be one of the Israelites, and they could never accept and reconcile themselves with the fact that he turned out to be someone from the Gentiles.  (The envy of the Jews of Madinah is mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah.  It is also mentioned there that they refuse to believe in the Prophet even after recognizing him as the promised one, only because of their jealousy and arrogance.)  The other group that never accepted the ascendancy of Islam were the Persians, who developed a special hatred towards the second Caliph, Umar (raa), under whose era Iran was conquered.  Indeed, it was a Persian man who killed Umar (raa).

During the later years of the Caliphate of Uthman (raa) an underground conspiracy was hatched, led by Abdullah Ibn Saba, a Jew who had outwardly converted to Islam, in order to produce political unrest.  The conspiracy succeeded, mainly because a lack of proper communication facilities in those days made the spread of rumors against the Khalifah rather easy.  This resulted in a rebellion against Uthman (raa) on various fabricated charges of nepotism, and he was martyred in the course of the rebellion.  In this chaotic situation, Ali (raa) became the next Caliph.  A disagreement arose among the Muslims about the killers of Uthman (raa). Some demanded that the killers, who were hiding among the supporters of Ali (raa), must be punished immediately.  Ali (raa) was of the opinion that we need some sort of order and peace to return before we can do this.  These two groups were known as the "Shi'ah of Uthman" and the "Shi'ah of Ali" meaning the pro-Uthman and the pro-Ali parties.  As you can see, this was a purely political disagreement, not a religious one.  The "Shi'ah of Uthman" later became known as the "Sunni" and the "Shi'ah of Ali" became just "Shi'ah."

The Shi'ah community has four points of distinction as compared to the Sunni Muslims.  The first is the school of Jurisprudence they follow, which is Fiqh Jafari, and it is just like Fiqh Hanafi, or Maliki etc., except that "Muta'h" or temporary marriage is considered lawful by the Fiqh Jafari, whereas it is prohibited in all the Sunni schools.  The second is the Shi'ah belief in the "infallible Immamate," which means that only a genuine "Imam" who will be a direct descendent of Ali (raa) and Fatima (raa), can authentically lead the Muslims.  The Sunnis believe, on the other hand, that the trait of "infallibility" no longer exists after the termination of Prophethood.   There are a number of divisions among the Shi'ah, e.g., the "Twelvers" believe that the 12th Imam disappeared and went into seclusion somewhere 870 A.D., and that he will reappear to lead the Muslims (the promised "Mahdi").  The Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, believe that the promised "Mahdi" will be a normal human being, an Arab Muslim who will lead the struggle for the domination of Islam sometime in the future.  Thirdly, whereas the Shi'ah community believes that the first three Caliphs, Abu Bakr (raa) and Umar (raa) and Uthman (raa), were usurpers, and that only Ali (raa) was the rightful successor of the Prophet, the Sunnis believe that all four of the "Khulafa" were rightfully chosen by the Muslims and none of them was a usurper.  Fourthly, the Shi'ahs accept only those Ahadith (traditions of the Prophet) which are transmitted by the household of the Prophet (Ahl Al-Baiyt) by which they mean Ali (raa), Fatima (raa), and their two sons, Hasan (raa) and Husain (raa) and their descendants; they refuse to accept the traditions which are transmitted by most of the other Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet.

It may be noted that Sunni scholars have criticized the beliefs of the Shi'ahs for hundreds of years, and have written a very large number of books to refute the Shi'ah beliefs.  Some scholars have even declared the Shi'ahs to be kafirs.  However, there has been no consensus on this, i.e., there has been no collective verdict of apostasy (Kufr) against the Shi'ahs (as was given in the case of the Qadiyani community), and therefore the Shi'ahs too are considered Muslims, despite their having beliefs which are against those of mainstream Sunni Islam.

Finally, note that during the early centuries of Islam, Shi'ism was synonymous with an attitude of uprightness on the part of the descendants of Ali (raa) and Fatima (raa), and their courage to speak out against the rulers and to resist their unjust actions even in the face of oppression.  The present sectarian version of Shi'ism is a later development which took shape especially during the rule of the Safavid dynasty in Iran (1501-1732).  The Safavids wanted to foster a distinct religious identity in Iran so as to maintain the population's loyalty in the conflict against the powerful Sunni Ottoman Empire, and for this purpose they had imported Shi`ah Ulama from Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and provided them with wealth and power.  This distinction between the Alavid and the Safavid versions of Shi'ism was emphasized by Dr. Ali Shari'ati.  According to some analysts, the Iranian revolution has revived the Alavid Shi'ism, and the Safavid Shi'ism is on the decline.  According to them, the stress is now gradually shifting towards the dynamic teachings of Islam and the Muslim Ummah's unity, rather than hairsplitting on historical, doctrinal, or juristic matters.  If this happens, it would be very beneficial for the Muslim Ummah.

What is the disagreement between Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Tanzeem-e-Islami?

The basic thought behind Hizb ut Tahrir and Tanzeem-e-Islmai is very nearly the same, namely that Islam is not just a private affair of the individual, but that its teachings must be implemented in all public spheres as well.  In other words, both parties agree that Islamic State should be established and the System of Khilafah should be revived.  The disagreements concern the "methodology" and the "features of the future Islamic state."  We believe that an Islamic State can be established in Pakistan by means of a popular non-violent movement, the basis of which is found in ayah no. 112 of Surah Taubah ("those who safeguard the limits of Allah") and hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw) according to which one should stop evil with his hand (nahi anil munkar bil-yad).  We believe that Khilafah cannot be established by taking part in the electoral politics; armed struggle is no longer feasible in today's world and is out of the question; and a coup d'etat can never produce a stable and positive change as it does not involve changing the beliefs and thoughts of the people.  Instead, we need to follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and therefore preaching, exhortation, and purification of souls are essential initial steps in the establishment of Khilafah.  We also believe that there is a serious deficiency in the level and depth of Iman among the Muslims, and the dream of an Islamic revival cannot be realized without the revival of true Iman in a significant portion of the Muslim society, the only reliable means of which is the propagation of the Qur'anic teachings both at the popular level as well as the highest level of intellectual sophistication.

Concerning the future Islamic state, there can be many opinions about the details of its workings, especially because we do not have an Islamic state in real life and all we can do is theorize.  Having said that, we believe that an ideal Islamic state of the future will not be a theocratic one; we also believe that we should take advantage of the new political institutions that have been developed by mankind during the social evolution of the last few hundred years.  The Prophet (saw) said that wisdom is the lost treasure of the mo'min.  The Qur'an and hadith do not give details of the workings of an Islamic state but only provide us with basic principles.  We can apply these principles according to our age and conditions.   The ideal model remains the Islamic state that was established by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and maintained by the four rightly guided caliphs.  The principles derived from this model must be incorporated into the modern political institutions (the executive, the parliament, and the judiciary) in order to establish a modern Islamic state that can deal with the challenges of the contemporary era and can become a model for the whole world.

The sovereign in an Islamic state is Almighty Allah (swt) and all Muslims are His vicegerents (Khilafah is collective rather than individual).  This provides the basis for democracy in the Islamic state, although it is not absolute because the ultimate authority rests with the Qur'an and Sunnah.  The affairs of the state are to be decided and executed with the spirit of democracy and mutual consultation (the principle of Shura must be upheld); the legislature is bound by the injunctions of the Qur'an and Sunnah which it cannot transgress; the judiciary makes sure that no law is formulated, and no decision is taken, that is repugnant to the Islamic teachings; the Ulama are there to educate the masses and to guide the parliament and the courts, but they have no real authority.  The provision of the basic necessities of life to all citizens (whether Muslim or non-Muslim) - including food, shelter, security, education, and health care - is among the foremost responsibilities of the state.

What is Tanzeem-e-Islami's stance towards Jama'at-e-Islami and it's founder Maulana Abul Ala Maududi?

If one is familiar with Dr. Israr's thought through his books and tapes, then one must be aware of the fact that he considers himself a product of the dynamic teachings of Maulana Abul Ala Maududi.  Dr. Israr Ahmad has described on several occassions how he was introduced to the message of the Qur'an by reading Maulana Maududi's exegesis of Surah Yusuf.  He considers Maulana Maududi to be his teacher and mentor and publicly admits, without hesitation, that he was able to understand the comprehensive and holistic concept of Islamic obligations from the writings of Maulana Maududi.  All this and more is on record, in the form of Dr. Israr Ahamd's various writings and his numerous speeches that are available in the form of audio/video tapes.

Having said that, however, it must be mentioned that one's loyalty should be to the cause of Islam and not to any particular person or party.  This, as you must know, was the teaching of Maulana Maududi himself.  Dr. Israr Ahamd resigned from Jama'at-e-Islami in 1958 because he was convinced that the Jama'at, by deciding to plunge itself in the arena of power politics, had deviated from the original methodology of the pre-partition era.  The disastrous consequences of this change in methodology have now become too obvious, and Dr. Israr's criticism on the Jama'at should be seen in this perspective.  He has been inviting the leadership of the Jama'at to give up power politics and to turn back to the original pre-1947 methodology.  Again, the details of Dr. Israr's views on this issue are available in his writings and tapes.

Dr. Israr's criticism of the Jama'at are in the spirit of the famous saying of the Prophet (saw): Al-Deen Al-Nasihah, i.e., "Deen is the name of loyalty and sincere counsel."

Why is Tanzeem-e-Islami focusing on Pakistan when the Prophet (saw) did not focus on Makkah alone but went to Ta'if and Madinah in search of a base?

The call of Tanzeem-e-Islami is global in its apporach is directed for all Muslims, irrespective of their race or nation.

Having said that, please note that the focus of the Prophet (saw) was on the ARABIAN PENINSULA, and that since Ta'if and Madinah are located within the same country, he cannot be said to have moved to a different country in search of a base.  The Prophet (saw), in fact, moved to a different city in the same country.   Makkah was the central place in the Arabian peninsula, that is why the "Revolution" of the Prophet (saw) was completed only after the conquest of Makkah and not before that.

The struggle for Iqamah Al-Deen is a duty for all Muslims, irrespective of where they happen to live.  However, it is obvious that a Muslim majority country is better suited for this purpose than a country where Muslims are in minority.  Among the Muslim majority countries, the case of Pakistan is especially significant. This is a country created in the name of Islam and where the Constitution has Isalmic provisions and the Objectives Resolution in it.  More importantly, the revivalist and spiritual/intellectual center of the Muslim world has been the Indian subcontinent ever since the second millinium of the Hijri calender started. We believe that this part of the world has a special place in the Divine scheme for Islamic Renaissance.

Note that the Islamic revivalist struggle depends on the kind of response generated by its call.  If the response is stronger in a country other than Pakistan, then the movement will obviously get stronger in that country.