A Sceptical Islamist

British Muslims and the problem of mainstream politics

"As in all general elections, British Muslims have been bombarded with advice as to whether and how they should vote. All the parties have appealed to the Muslim vote in constituencies where it has the potential to affect the result, while making sure they do not make promises to Muslims that can be used against them by their opponents... At the same time, there has been a variety of voices from within the Muslim community giving equally conflicting advice... Faced with this confusion, several British Muslim organizations have organized meetings to discuss how Muslims should engage with mainstream politics, and how they should use their votes to maximum effect.

"The problem is that the months and weeks before an election is the wrong time to be thinking about such issues, simply because there is no time to do anything about it. The immediacy of the situation forces Muslims into reactive and short-term responses, instead of more considered ones..."

Muslims intellectuals must take on the universal myths of democracy

"Sooner or later Muslim intellectuals, particularly those operating within Islamic movements, must take on the task of challenging the universal myth of democracy instead of pandering to it, and dare to define their ideas and the aspirations of the Ummah in purely Islamic terms. Until that happens Muslims will never achieve the conceptual clarity that will enable them to articulate their political ideas in terms that will offer a genuine and credible alternative to the seductive but oh-so-dangerous myths of democracy."

Contemplating the possible end of Iran's Islamic experiment

"The unfortunate reality is that the ideals, vision and significance of the Islamic Revolution have not been understood even by many of its own officials and representatives, and have therefore not been effectively communicated either to the rest of the world, or to many of Iran’s own people.

"For 30 years Iran has stood virtually alone as a beacon of Islamic political power in a West-dominated world. Its example has inspired Islamic movements elsewhere, including many that would not recognise its leading role, totally transforming the political dynamics of the entire Muslim world. But there has never been a guarantee of its success; Islamic Iran it may yet fail, like numerous other attempts to re-assert the power of Islam in recent centuries."

Only in Pakistan? -- a response to an article by Irfan Husain (Dawn, Nov. 8, 2008)

On November 8, Mr Irfan Husain published a column on the US presidential elections in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, under the title "Only in America" (click here to open article in new window).

This was picked up by some Muslims and circulated by email, which is how I came to see it.  Yesterday I wrote some comments on the article and circulated them on the same emailing lists.  A revised version of those comments is given below.

As this was originally part of an email discussion, the same format is used here.  Irfan Husain's original column is reproduced in full, in standard black text, with my comments inserted throughout in bold blue text.