Islamic Reformation

Washington's recurrent dream: A “Muslim Martin Luther.”

What is an “Islamic reformation”?  Well, the first thing that should enter your mind is, “Why are the words Islamic and reformation even in the same sentence?”  Reformation literally means overhauling and improving a thing, an institution, or an idea. Yet how can something as perfect as Islam need a reformation?  To us Muslims the very question should seem contradictory, paradoxical.

But among the rulers in Washington and in Europe, the question finds an easy answer. Everywhere you turn today, you find Western leaders looking for new ways to change Islam.  For instance, France declared recently that they are building their own shaykh school to graduate imams well versed in a “French Islam.”  Denmark, for its part, had politicos crying out, “We have to show our opposition to Islam for it poses a global threat”.

Even the new Roman pontiff has said, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, that it is time for Islam to follow Christianity and “make a distinction between the emperor and God”.

However, the United States of America really takes the cake on this issue. US News and World Report  just completed a four-month investigation, using more than 100 interviews and a review of a dozen internal reports. (The full text is in our “Articles from Elsewhere” section-Ed.) In their article, the writers concluded that in addition to the millions of dollars spent on the so-called war on terrorism, the US also is pouring tens of millions of dollars into a new campaign to influence not only Muslim societies, but Islam itself.  Washington officials make no secret that they are trying to bring about an “Islamic reformation.”

According to the report, this new strategy is dubbed “Muslim World Outreach.”  The plan is having the US work through third parties—“moderate” Muslim nations, Islamic foundations, and Islamic “reform groups”—to promote certain ideas merchandized as “democracy,”  “women’s rights,” and “tolerance.”  In addition to working with these third parties, the US News piece reveals that Washington has also quietly funded Islamic radio and TV shows, shaped coursework in Muslim schools, established Muslim think tanks, and created a variety of other programs that have one objective: promoting a “moderate version of Islam.” An example is the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), a US-funded Muslim think tank.  This group of Muslim “moderates” contributes a vast amount of research to Washington’s domestic and foreign policy. 

Even the CIA has a role, as the report points out. Similar to tactics used during the Cold War against Soviet communism, the CIA is now aiming to discredit any Islamic media, religious leaders, and political parties that don’t agree with western ideas.

We do not present you with this article simply to rehash what you may know already, but to pose the burning question:  Why is the superpower of the world trying to change the very face of Islam?

Well, the man best qualified to give us the answer is the Pentagon’s No. 2 man, Paul Wolfowitz, who in 2002 declared, “This is a battle of ideas and a battle for minds”.

The logic behind this statement is simple: the United States knows that the best way to fully conquer a people and their land is to make them abandon their own political aspirations and to assimilate peoples’ minds into its own ideology. Talking about “western values” of democracy, women’s rights, and tolerance are just nice ways to promote a secular way of life where we Muslims abandon the political, social, and economic systems of Islam.

But just to be clear, the West has no problem with Islam by itself, so long as Islam is confined primary to the private sphere of life: where we pray, visit Mecca, and accept the international status quo.  But the moment Believers start to speak about having the Prophet’s system of government instead of corrupt rulers, or talk about replacing the interest-based funny-money system of capitalism with a universal gold standard, or merely ask about bringing back true Islam—then the West finds a wrench in its plans.

We Muslims should never forget that the Middle East is a vast region of strategic and economic resources: one country controlling this region would have a tremendous advantage over the rest of the world. That is why for many years the US has sought to conquer this area.

Now that Washington holds the heart of the Middle East, i.e. Iraq, the plan is two-fold: keeping a grip over the area, and making sure no rivals emerge from within, including political Islam.  That is why the United States now spends tens of millions of dollars, even in hard times, to create this “Islamic Reformation”.

Keep in mind that the United States is a superpower. Presidents both liberal and conservative will come and go, but the enduring political leadership doesn’t just think about next year, or the next four years. To ensure its survival as a superpower, America’s political class plans for fifty years and more from now.

It might seem like the US is just making a complete mess in the Middle East today; but we must remember that its leaders are patient, willing to wait for the results they want. Their actions in the region are very much a work in progress. They see the shock, awe, noise and smoke in Iraq as just one small step in a long process of keeping America on top forever. Elsewhere, Washington is hard at work, quietly and confidently targeting the minds of the next two generations of Muslims. Today, they’re simply planting the seed. What happens next depends on us Muslims. Are we going to bring the water, or are we going to get a shovel to dig the weeds up? Remember, Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is watching. (Submitted 5/20/2005)