Allah says: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." Surah Ar-Ra'd (13:11). You must change yourself. You must probe deep into your own condition and your concepts. What is your understanding of Islam? What is your understanding of reality and intellect? Think, scrutinize, and study thoroughly. Do not remain superficial. Change must be methodical. That is the issue.
They want to change our concepts. They even tried to talk about Islam and about tolerance in Islam. They want to abort all the meanings of our nation’s strength that oppose and challenge. All of that is in the name of being tolerant. They say do not fight the occupation and accept its conditions. They say be tolerant and accept the accomplished fact. They say do not disturb the arena with concepts of rejection. They say be tolerant and protect your head from the storm. There is someone who is blowing the storm to root out all your values.
Dear beloved, in a world where concepts are shaking, we know the meaning of having an Islamic education. The issue is not only others' distorted reality about Islam. It is also their perception of Islam that is subjected to cultures governed by deposits. Cultural plans attempt to confiscate the expressions.
But the problem is that we need balance in understanding Islam within the Muslims. There is chaos. It is a chaos of concepts among Muslims. This happens through judgments that collide rather than resort to dialogue. It happens through backwardness that produces preaching outside the balanced road. It provides guidance away from the precision of concepts.
This chaos in Islamic reality has disturbed all the situations. The challenges ask us questions. Does Islam encourage openness or does it move within a circle of isolation? What are the conditions of openness and its guidelines? Does openness mean you open your Islam to others so that no authenticity is left inside of you? Or, are there guidelines that consolidate and methodize this openness? Is Islam with extremism or with moderation? Does extremism represent the line that meets religious obligations? Or is extremism moving so that you put yourself on the brink of hell without a strong footing?
Is Islam extremist or moderate? Does moderation represent a submission to the accomplished fact? Or does it represent a study of the accomplished fact and an attempt to change it?
We are addicted to backwardness and to non-intellect. The Holy Quran has guided us against blindly following opinions. It has given freedom to the intellect to argue loudly. It has condemned those who say: "We found our fathers on a course, and we are in their footsteps guided." Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:22).
Scholars are not infallible. They make mistakes and also do the right thing. For the Mujtahid, there is a double reward if he is correct and one reward if he was wrong. The educated people are not infallible. We all make mistakes. How come we allow those in the past to accuse each other of mistakes while we have no right to argue about them? Does a man from the past become infallible just because he justifies our views? Does time provide infallibility to man?
The arrogant offenses we are confronting on security and political levels in many Islamic countries are the most dangerous. There is a cultural offensive that aims at counterfeiting the Islamic lines. It wants Islam to become American at times and British at others. The late Imam Khomeini used to say: "Understand Islam very well so that you can distinguish between the genuine Islam and the American or arrogant Islam." But if we cannot understand the genuine Islam, then how can we distinguish right from wrong?
We must continue our genuine battle in Palestine. We have to freeze all the marginal differences and all the minor things. People are plotting against us.
What is needed is much awareness, unity, solidity, planning, and future outlook. We must protect the Mujahideen and take care of them with all possible means. We also have to expel all those who represent "cultural ignorance". We must not allow them to introduce an immature or counterfeited culture. We have to choose those who talk and work. The stage we are going through, which they call an international coalition or rather American coalition, is aimed at making a new world order. They want to make a world according to their interests. We have to think how to prevent them from approaching our world. We have to plan for the future the same way they do. We have to make our world according to our values and interests. We have to build the individual human who moves as a pathfinder. We have to build the human who personifies the society and the nation.
Shall we make the first step? Shall we freeze all the marginal issues or kill our major causes for the interest of our narrow and minor causes? This is the major challenge. This is the path of the Islamic religious teaching. This is the path this enduring and blessed association has taken upon itself. We want it to progress in its Islamic teachings through its curriculum, techniques, and contents.
Allah says: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." Surah Ar-Ra'd (13:11). You must change yourself. You must probe deep into your own condition and your concepts. What is your understanding of Islam? What is your understanding of reality and intellect? Think, scrutinize, and study thoroughly. Do not remain superficial. Change must be methodical. That is the issue.
They want to change our concepts. They even tried to talk about Islam and about tolerance in Islam. They want to abort all the meanings of our nation’s strength that oppose and challenge. All of that is in the name of being tolerant. They say do not fight the occupation and accept its conditions. They say be tolerant and accept the accomplished fact. They say do not disturb the arena with concepts of rejection. They say be tolerant and protect your head from the storm. There is someone who is blowing the storm to root out all your values.
Dear beloved, in a world where concepts are shaking, we know the meaning of having an Islamic education. The issue is not only others' distorted reality about Islam. It is also their perception of Islam that is subjected to cultures governed by deposits. Cultural plans attempt to confiscate the expressions.
But the problem is that we need balance in understanding Islam within the Muslims. There is chaos. It is a chaos of concepts among Muslims. This happens through judgments that collide rather than resort to dialogue. It happens through backwardness that produces preaching outside the balanced road. It provides guidance away from the precision of concepts.
This chaos in Islamic reality has disturbed all the situations. The challenges ask us questions. Does Islam encourage openness or does it move within a circle of isolation? What are the conditions of openness and its guidelines? Does openness mean you open your Islam to others so that no authenticity is left inside of you? Or, are there guidelines that consolidate and methodize this openness? Is Islam with extremism or with moderation? Does extremism represent the line that meets religious obligations? Or is extremism moving so that you put yourself on the brink of hell without a strong footing?
Is Islam extremist or moderate? Does moderation represent a submission to the accomplished fact? Or does it represent a study of the accomplished fact and an attempt to change it?
We are addicted to backwardness and to non-intellect. The Holy Quran has guided us against blindly following opinions. It has given freedom to the intellect to argue loudly. It has condemned those who say: "We found our fathers on a course, and we are in their footsteps guided." Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:22).
Scholars are not infallible. They make mistakes and also do the right thing. For the Mujtahid, there is a double reward if he is correct and one reward if he was wrong. The educated people are not infallible. We all make mistakes. How come we allow those in the past to accuse each other of mistakes while we have no right to argue about them? Does a man from the past become infallible just because he justifies our views? Does time provide infallibility to man?
The arrogant offenses we are confronting on security and political levels in many Islamic countries are the most dangerous. There is a cultural offensive that aims at counterfeiting the Islamic lines. It wants Islam to become American at times and British at others. The late Imam Khomeini used to say: "Understand Islam very well so that you can distinguish between the genuine Islam and the American or arrogant Islam." But if we cannot understand the genuine Islam, then how can we distinguish right from wrong?
We must continue our genuine battle in Palestine. We have to freeze all the marginal differences and all the minor things. People are plotting against us.
What is needed is much awareness, unity, solidity, planning, and future outlook. We must protect the Mujahideen and take care of them with all possible means. We also have to expel all those who represent "cultural ignorance". We must not allow them to introduce an immature or counterfeited culture. We have to choose those who talk and work. The stage we are going through, which they call an international coalition or rather American coalition, is aimed at making a new world order. They want to make a world according to their interests. We have to think how to prevent them from approaching our world. We have to plan for the future the same way they do. We have to make our world according to our values and interests. We have to build the individual human who moves as a pathfinder. We have to build the human who personifies the society and the nation.
Shall we make the first step? Shall we freeze all the marginal issues or kill our major causes for the interest of our narrow and minor causes? This is the major challenge. This is the path of the Islamic religious teaching. This is the path this enduring and blessed association has taken upon itself. We want it to progress in its Islamic teachings through its curriculum, techniques, and contents.