The Islaam of Double Vowels

By Irfan Yusuf

Do we all remember that really cool Palestinian American academic, the late Dr. Ismail Faruqi? And what about his cool wife, Lamya? One wrote on Islamic thought, the other on Islamic art.

A whole generation of young Muslims in North America was apparently brought up on that stuff.<

Well, that’s what we in Australia think. You see, we are really not quite sure. The Faruqis lived in an era before the Internet became popular and before we could chat with bruzzerrz and sistarrz across the globe. So in presuming the extent of Dr. Faruqi's influence, we relied on the inside jackets and back covers of his books.

Anyway, Dr Faruqi and his "Islamisation of Knowledge" project was quite grand although it did at times enter the realms of the absurd. Take for instance, his book, Towards Islamic English.

What on earth is Islamic English? Is it just saying "masha-Allah" and "insh’Allah" every second word? Is it the English of that overseas student from Malaysia I met at a Tabligh Jamaa "ijtimah" in 1992 who greeted me with "Assalamu alaykum, insh’Allah!"? Is it a new way of writing the alphabet? Do we draw a little star after every capital "C" so that it looks like part of the Pakistani or Turkish flag?

Then of course there is the Islam (or is it "Islaam") of double vowels.

I can't say I am the biggest fan in the world of this Islaam. But don’t get me wrong. I enjoy reading collections of sayings and doings and reactions of our Noble Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam). But that does not mean I want to "authenticate" and "purify" the "Soonnah" at every stage, even if the hadith is from "Saheeh Bookhaaree" or "Saheeh Moosleem".

I also enjoy reading books of Islamic law. Mostly from the Hanafi school. But I do resent the guardians of Islaam calling me a "blind follower of Aboo Haneefaah". Sometimes I even read Shafi'i stuff too, like that big thick Reliance of the Traveller. But again, the Islaamists say I am reading stuff by a "soofee deeviant".

These are theological (I hate that word!) differences. We can have our arguments and debates and walk away still calling each other "bruzzarr" and "sistarr". But some proponents of Islaam go even further.

And this is where it gets dangerous.

I love watching Islamic videos or listening to Islamic tapes in the car (my tiny car and even tinier budget can't fit a CD player). But I simply refuse to watch the "Islaamic" tapes that show Russian soldiers being decapitated while so-called "moojaaheedeen" laugh and kick around their heads like soccer balls.

And the sad thing is that these tapes are being imported into Australia from North America and are being watched and distributed in Sydney and Melbourne. And not just in private homes but in mosques (at least one musalla I know used to have Saturday night screenings of "jihaad" videos and would invite young people who would laugh and cheer as Russian soldiers were being blown to bits).

I also like surfing the web for Islamic information. But I prefer to avoid websites that glorify the killing of civilians in Russian theatres or that go into great detail about a young Chechen girl who blew herself up. Or websites that recruit people for "jihaad" missions. What I find most appalling about this "Islaam" is that it just confirms every negative stereotype about us: that we are bloodthirsty, narrow-minded, bigotted, legalistic, literalist, fanatical, suicidal and just unfit to live in the 21st century.

Young educated Muslims are not stupid. They can see what is happening around them. They read widely (and not just books on "aqeedaah" and the "purified sunnah"). They watch videos (and not just "jihaad" videos). They can see where the literalism of some forms of this 200-year-old "Islaam" is taking us.

And where is it taking us? It is taking us to flying airplanes that crash into skyscrapers. It is taking us on a path of civilisational war. A war we simply can't win. And more importantly, a war we were never commanded to fight.

Now I have no problem with robust theological (as in "aqeeda") and legal (as in "fiqh") differences within the Muslim community. If people want to follow and promote an understanding of Islam which is the official religion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I see no reason to object. Our community has been strong enough to tolerate and accommodate all sorts of labels and schools and sects.

But sects have to be responsible. Leaders need to be responsible. Followers need to be responsible.

In short, professed believers in Islam (no matter how you spell it) need to be responsible.

Seeya next time, bruzzarrz and sistarrz.