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Hope

Introduction

In spite of its often bloody, blood-thirsty history, religion is good for you, it gives hope. Sincerely followed, it ‘reflects your heart’s secret desires’. They, those secret desires, though you rarely perceive them, are ‘desires with feet-in-Reality’. The hope, to the religious, is based on a belief that true understanding can be sought, will arise, should be followed. We do falter. The prayer comes to mind that Sir Jacob Astley is reputed to have said, before an English Civil War battle: ‘I must be busy this day, Lord; if I forget thee, do not thou forget me’. This living a religious life, even better the spiritual life, is no easy path. It is a lot more difficult than being just intelligent (as a character in the film Red Planet said). We are human, with human frailties, which constantly re-appear. The religious strive, albeit intermittently, and this is good. However, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, others, do not want to ‘take over the world’, religiously-speaking. Missionary zeal, tele-evangelism, use of modern technology provide a platform, but none of those accepted religions aim for a planetary transformation. But for a thrusting minority of the politico-religious side of Islam, this is a stated intention. Can the ‘ordinary’ Muslim (and there are apparently 1.2 billion of them out of the planet’s 6-7 billion population – enough to make you take this ‘minority’ seriously), live life well and die naturally, without striving to ‘take over the world’ ? Of course they can, and such are the physical pressures of primarily ‘just living’ for most of this 1.2 billion, they do just that. They are human first, activists mostly not at all. They are blessed, as are all humans, with fundamental discrimination, meaning in the Sanskrit, 2-3,000 years before Christ, ‘unshakeable knowledge of true or false, truth or untruth.’ They know that harm one, harm all. The spiritual, when it peeps through properly, undeniably, shows you the honest other, shows you that Yes there is a struggle but No you are not that struggle. You are beyond. For some it moves on, dawns in permanence; true knowledge, the guide. What a relief. So for all, religious and not very religious, there is Hope, always. And one Hope of course is that Mankind’s latest religious violent delusion called ‘Islam’s modern extremist religiosity’ and its totalitarian vision of ‘taking over the religious, even the secular world’ will be dissolved, not soon, but we can hope, within the foreseeable future.

WORK FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY  
According to Islamic prophecy, the Imam El Mahdi to come is described as a messianic figure and a just leader, good for repressed and poor Muslims, good for the west and good for the complicated affairs of the international world. Likely to be a politician rather than a military leader, he will work for justice, democracy and prosperity everywhere. He will achieve this after the Earth is filled with injustice and oppression - exactly as it looks now. He is likely to achieve his goals through peace, though having force behind him to help him. He is very likely to be able to prevent the clash of civilisations by getting Muslims and non-Muslims to accept a new non-confrontational existence.  
(Maged Taman, response on website, October 2006)  
  Greek mythology says Hope might be as dangerous as all the world’s evils. It is far more potent than any of the major evils.
  Open-source information, in all languages, must be gathered, read, understood, analysed and acted upon before we can possibly communicate any message to anyone (West and Islam). Forget about the message, deliver the tools for truth – the Internet, education, translation software, information-sharing devices – and get out of the way. The people will educate themselves, and in educating themselves, will be inoculated against terrorism.
  On integration, consensus is that ties to the Islamic countries must be cut. Imams must be educated at European universities. “What goes for the pastor must go for the imam”. The legal situation of Muslim mosques and communities must be legalised.
  Muslim leaders in Britain are implementing a training programme for imams in non-theological skills including inter-faith dialogue, conflict resolution and promotion of integration.
  Discipline over principles was the cause of our Muslim strength, long ago. Salahuddin sent his own personal doctor to tend Richard the Lionheart when he fell ill. Some say if we follow principles like that, given our circumstances now (2006) we will appear weak and it will worsen our scenario. Principled behaviour is the secret of the Ummah’s strength to which it is now high time to return.
  She was born here, in Britain, of Pakistani parents and says she loves this country and is proud to be British. She has no problem reconciling her race or religion with her nationality.
  There is (in the West and in Islam) a seeing of the need, even a hunger for spirituality and the desire for social change. Christianity personal but not private must speak more prophetically, articulate moral truth, diagnose problems, offer solutions.
AT PEACE, WITH MODERNITY  
Islam traditionalists emphasise that ‘human agency’ did not interfere with the process from revelation (of the Koran as delivered to Muhammad, pbuh) to transcription. Islam is fixed and unchanging. Christianity changed over the centuries. Islam therefore is the last true faith. One enduring strength is its eastern-ness, resistant to western modernisation. The majority of (traditional ) Muslims believe this. Change is however pressed for. Sardar, Ramadan, Soroush, Hanson, each has a different vision and a different way of working. They all want Muslim societies, and minorities, that are vibrant, just, human, at peace with themselves, and with modernity.  
(précis, Islam and reform, UK magazine article, 2006)  
  Many people are terrified of Muslims, of a “brother” walking down the road with his eastern dress and his hat and his beard, because they have seen these images associated with suicide bombers. ‘It is up to us to dispel that fear, to smile at people, to convince them that the message of Islam is not about bits of cloth or the face veil or violence. It is about peace’, said the Imam.
  The Muslim Sufi is a supporter of love, peace, justice, respect and tolerance. UK Sufis therefore see it as a duty to help shed light on current events, while working to ensure that the wave of militant radicalism sweeping Muslim nations does not strike again in the UK where we live.
  We (USA) fail to listen to foreign cultures, fail to understand what is in the minds of the very people we are trying to reach. Education and not guns is the heart of (communication) power today.
  Sweden is reducing its welfare provisions, encouraging the work ethic, demanding immigrants integrate. The country’s integration and equality minister is demanding immigrants learn Swedish and find a job. Criminalising forced marriages, female circumcision, banning the veil and funding for religious schools are all under way – despite Muslim group opposition.
  Jesus said the peace-makers not the peace-lovers are blessed. They actively make peace. Debates about pacifism and just-war theory are outdated. Pacifism that goes not beyond protest, does not affect the terrorists killing thousands, even ignores terrorists taking control of the Muslim world, must (develop and) be more effective.
  Freedom of speech in the Islamic world is more likely to evolve from within the Islamic interpretative tradition than from outside attacks on it. ‘Heretical’ approaches to the Koran today (interpreting the text metaphorically rather than literally) were widely practiced in mainstream Islam a thousand years ago.
  Leaving Islam was quite like the greatest decision I’ve ever had to make. The religion kept me shackled from the diverse richness that is life. I re-discovered love, the unconditional loving-kindness and equal respect for all humankind, irrespective of gender, caste, race, language, nationality, religion, or the lack thereof.
CALLING FOR ISLAM REFORM  
There's a psychopathological streak running through Islam which urgently needs attending to. Islam needs to modernise. We are in the 21st century, not 1428 (according to the Muslim Council of Britain's homepage). There are modern and intelligent Muslims calling for reform - getting rid of the so-called "Medina" verses from the Koran which spell out Shari’a law for example, and just sticking with the more spiritual "Mecca" verses. But these people would probably be targets for the militants of Birmingham, if the latter got to identify them. No debate is possible with the kind of Muslims under the influence of preachers at the Green Lane mosque.  
(email comment to article in UK national newspaper)  
  This country, the UK, is in many ways a success. It has improved. Differences in colour of our skin seem to matter less. This is extraordinary, giving the growing cultural rift between militant Islam and the secular West.
  I still believe there are grounds for hope (in Europe), largely because Muslim hotheads have overplayed their hand by blowing people up, rioting in their neighbourhoods or broadcasting hate-filled speeches which alienate them from the host societies.
  Islam and Christianity did co-exist peacefully in the past and these two great religions can co-exist in peace today – provided that Muslims follow the teachings of Islam and Christians the teachings of Christ.
  A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it. A man must die to himself to live in Truth.
  Diversity becomes a strength rather than a weakness. We (in Leicester, 2001) have overcome the trauma of racial conflict. The turn-around in attitude is partly due to the long, sustained effort in public education. The city has learned to embrace its rich cultural diversity.
  These Islamic countries get corrupt tyrants. Policy should ensure they are friendly tyrants. That is Western policy. It is a false approach. The whole Islamic political tradition is strongly against despotism, authoritarian yes but not despotic. Modernisation weakened the limiting factors. But they can develop their own Muslim democratic institutions. We in the west must not hinder it.
SOLUTION NEEDS TO SHOW ITSELF  
After 9/11 and the London bombings, the finger was pointed at the Muslims and it pushed the (UK Muslim) ghettoes into yet more isolation. The solution is in improving the economic situation and education, so that people can obtain better, higher-status employment and start moving out (of ghettoes). There has to be more dialogue with the real representatives of ghettoes for a solution to show itself. Action by the government is essential and overdue.  
(UK regional newspaper interview with Muslims, 2006)  
  One who has not found peace within himself will forever be giving speeches about peace. There is no end to his talk. There is no use in making speeches. Man must acquire the qualities of God and live in that state. Only then can he speak of peace and dispense God’s justice.
  Islam requires that Muslims show loyalty towards the country in which they live. There should be no conflict between faith and patriotism. Those who feel that they cannot be loyal to Britain now (2001) should leave the country.
  Many Muslim intellectuals are trying to create a place for dissent, in public life, to help Muslims appreciate that if Muslim societies want to return to the forefront of global intellectual life, they need to be comfortable with public dispute.
  During the first three centuries of Islam, Muslims came into close contact with Christians in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and their collections of sayings attributed to Jesus showed they saw him as a great model for Muslim ascetics, preaching poverty, humility and patience.
  Modern Muslims have been especially devoted to Jesus, calling him a prophet of Love. One renowned Sufi knew him as ‘the Seal of the Prophets’ just as Mohammad (pbuh) was known.
  When you say “enough” and stop teaching your children that God wants you to hate, that God approves of war and violence, then you will begin to have the option of being civilized. Not until then. Either you see it for yourselves, or you don’t. It’s not up to someone else to show you.
  In early centuries Muslims were capable of enlightened self-criticism. The hope is that their long-held tradition of pluralism and appreciation of other Religions can be revived.
  (In Leicester, UK) we created a successful atmosphere for (multifaith) dialogue, and although the political parties were desperate for us to tag along with them, we steadfastly refused.
  Christianity should look into its own past (and present) and consider why it has forfeited the respect that Islam’s scholars once had for Jesus.
  Britain is a good place for Muslim women to live, offering more equality and opportunity than any ‘Muslim’ country. Girls can stay on at School, go to University, and have careers, and are not ‘blamed for violence and rape against them’.
MUSLIM AND NON-MUSLIM FRIENDSHIP  
The Qur’an, like most religious books, is full of ambiguities and contradictions, and people, both Muslim and non-Muslim, tend to fasten upon these in an ad hoc manner to prove their own points. I make no claim to being an Islamic scholar, but I can assure you that in practice, the number of Muslims who feel their holy book forbids them to have non-Muslim friends is so small that in over 12 years working in Islamic countries, I have yet to meet a single person who feels this way. And I am quite open about being an atheist, something far worse than being a Christian or Jew from a strict Muslim point of view.  
(email response to email discussion, over article in UK national newspaper, February 2007)  
  Toleration, love and peace are the only ONE way forward, after all God created us all equal (and for those that do not believe in God, we surely are all equal in humanity. We all came about in the same way. Enjoy life, we are all blessed with it.
  We achieve more change through love than through conflict.
  Islam and the West have much to offer each other. Islam once played an essential role in preserving knowledge during the ignorance and barbarism of Europe’s dark ages.
  Western realists believe that for the good of all nations, a road to Muslim integration in Western nations must be progressed. There are very difficult obstacles involved, but it would be to the ultimate benefit of both.
  “The world has failed to notice that we (Iran) is the only country in the region that is having a proper dialogue about Islam and modernity.”
  The healing comes when someone refuses to be passive, summons up the courage, moral and physical, to go forth and slay what has scared everybody else into terrified passivity.
  Generations of immigrants into Britain have proven more patriotic to and appreciative of British values than native-born citizens who take their country for granted. British-ness and enduring British values need to be taught more.
  On the moral question, Islam needs some first-class minds to interpret the old in terms of the new for substance, and new in service of the old for ideals.
  Nothing productive will develop today in dominant attitudes of bigotry, suspicion and fear. A sympathetic exchange of knowledge, flowing from the West to Islam societies can revive Islam to play a significant, creative new role.
  Christianity competes today for the allegiance of intelligent and spiritually-minded people. The relationships (between the Religions) exercises our minds and hearts. The world is smaller, more inter-dependent. More of us have personal contact with humble people, holy of heart, in all walks of life. We realise, they have been taught of God.
REMEMBER ISLAM’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS  
The Abbasid dynasty, which ruled from Baghdad from 750 to 1258, provided the peak of Islamic civilization. This was a civilization that surpassed all others in its prosperity and achievement. The Abbasid’s greatest achievements were in the area of philosophy, science and mathematics, in which they led the world. Muslim scholars provided major contributions to mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, chemistry, physics and medicine. They also studied, preserved and translated the Greek classics. Muslims are justifiably proud of its achievements in this regard.  
(précis, from website, John L Perkins 2003)  
  Everywhere, surrounding us, interpenetrating everything, all the time immanent, is God’s glory.
  The presence of evil (in extremist activities?) have given us a most precious possession – hope. Hope is that moral activity which prompts us to challenge and to conquer evil. It gives us courage to take life ‘strivingly’.
  Islamic ‘rationalist’ scholars and leaders are appearing in larger numbers in the USA and Britain. They are building the case for Muslim societies to ‘change from within’. They are asking Muslim minorities, in Western countries, to change how they ‘think of themselves’ in their wider communities.
DIALOGUE BUT NO PARTY POLITICS  
It was a notorious racist (UK) city, an abominable place to live. It is a long story. It all began to change when we set up new structures and organisations, which were completely divorced from any party-political agenda. We created an atmosphere for dialogue (indigenous population, immigrants, Muslims). The first-ever race-relations committee on a Council resulted. It straddled a broad political spectrum and played a part in Council policy.  
(précis, report in 2001 looking back at Leicester 1972)  
  Birds have two wings and fly beautifully. There are two wings to our existence, the material and the spiritual. An awful lot of people, in their lives today, cling to one wing. They need to realise they need both, must consider both, must work on both.
  My religion is my fellow human being. I have faith in people, not some contested God that everyone believes in, but cannot ‘get right’. Do not Muslims, Christians and Jews believe in the same creator? A prophet talks great wonders, so who really cares who says it.
  We Sufis strive to differ from the politicised presentation of Islam in the UK. That presents Muslims as separate to other peoples, a key element in radicalisation and extremism. We cut across nationalities and ethnicities. We focus, among spiritual aims, on purity of thought and deed.
  In the early centuries, Muslims were capable of enlightened self-criticism. The hope is that their long-held g tradition of pluralism and appreciation of other Religions can be revived.
  Christianity should look into its own past and consider why it has forfeited the respect - almost unknown except to deep-searching scholars - that Islam once had for Jesus. There is need to be respectful without being reverential, knowledgeable without being pedantic, sober allied to generosity.
  Jesus is honoured in the Qur’an as a great Prophet. Not Divine. His birth is seen as the birth of the Eternal spirit in all human beings. He is ayah, a revelation of peace, gentleness and compassion in the world.
  Once within the emancipating and accommodating haven of liberty (in the West), those who wish to remain Muslim can retain and practice the good teachings of Islam, but renounce intolerance, hatred and violence.
TRUE VALUES OF ISLAM AND BRITAIN  
There are 126 full-time Muslim Schools in England, of which 115 are independent. They are subject to inspections by OFSTED but do not have to follow the National Curriculum. A School is required to “Assist pupils to acquire an appreciation of, and a respect for, their own and other cultures, in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony.” A teacher who has left a Muslim School, in the UK, says that “I will always try to stand up for my values of tolerance, fair play and peace. Those are the true values of Islam and the true values of British Society.”  
(UK national newspaper article, February 2007)  
  Our children have said they are not like us as Muslims (in the West). We are from the pre-modern era, and they have said, we question everything. They're not content with the kind of answers we had. Yet I have given your book to my children who are Westerners. Because of this book I feel I can bring up my children Muslim. (Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase)
  Around 1900, Muslims were 12 per cent of the world’s population. The population has increased, so have we, Islam is now 24 per cent. The intactness of our basic doctrines and practices is our greatest achievement, it comes from Allah’s desire that this ummah will not go astray in its forms, be acceptable and accessible.
  The vast majority of scholars both Eastern and Western agree that Islam in the Middle Ages was (mostly) spread through (intelligent) assimilation and conversion rather than exterminating indigenous populations.
  During the first three centuries of Islam, Muslims came into close contact with Christians in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and their collection of sayings attributed to Jesus is not comparable (is greater than?) to those collected by non-Christian religions. He was a great model for Muslim ascetics, preaching poverty, humility and patience.
  Muslim Sufis have been especially devoted to Jesus, calling him a prophet of Love. One renowned Sufi knew him as ‘the Seal of the Prophets’ just as Muhammad (pbuh) was known.
  Isaiah, Buddha and Socrates, all these people said question everything. Never take any one else's word for it. Never take anything on faith. If a religious belief doesn't work for you, leave it, that's fine. Question everything, even utterly sacred truths.
The truth is always available.
IS THIS TRULY THE WAY FORWARD ?  
Compulsory citizenship lessons (started in UK schools five years ago) must not endorse British values or history, but instead concentrate on universal themes. Social and cultural lessons should touch upon what is distinctive in the inheritance and experience of contemporary Britain and the values of our Society today. Teachers should NOT dwell on Monarchy, British freedoms, military successes or the Empire. Culture and history should COME SECOND to human rights and diversity. Pupils should be taught to acknowledge and accept homosexuality and abortion.  
(UK Parliament’s education and skills committee, reported (critically) in UK national newspaper)  
  Britain is a good place for Muslim women to live, offering more equality and opportunity than any ‘Muslim’ country. Girls can stay on at School, go to University, and have Careers, and are not ‘blamed for violence and rape against them’.
  How do you counter terrorism and religious domination, well, principles must rule, in support of hope and decency. Step away from the highest principle, the searching for loving truth, and appeasement must arise. We are all human, full of errors, but terrorising others, and ‘my religious truths must dominate yours’ is unacceptable. Stand by that. Actions for loving, compassionate truth arise. Stand by those. Accept the consequences. (précis of dinner table statement, December 2006, author present)
  Early immigrants (to Britain, 1960’s onward) wanted to identify with a nation whose own culture, values and history they admired and within which their separate ethnic identities could flourish, under an umbrella of share national identity.
  A truly spiritual person knows the vital role of religion. Anytime one seeks to "link-back" to one's spirit, one is being religious. Whether or not one belongs to an established religion is another matter.
ENLIGHTENED, PROGRESSIVE ISLAM  
Muslim leaders have a responsibility to tell our people and the world that an enlightened and progressive society is entirely compatible with Islam. We cannot allow the militants to monopolise the image of our religion and to tarnish its name with violence and terror. The vision of theocracy is taking away freedom, taking away individuality and taking away freedom of thought.  
(précis, article, Benazir Bhutto, 2007)  
  The Islamic community today is at a crossroads of global consequences. Millions of Muslims live their lives in silent desperation. We are a diverse society that has lost the ability to look at itself critically. We can instead choose the path of discovery and understanding. We must expand our understanding. The West must acknowledge its role in the radicalisation of our communities.
  We Muslims need to be very realistic and honest with ourselves. Most of our imams (in Britain) lack the capacity to intellectually engage with our young people. We need to help them build that capacity.
  The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and disobedience. Believing that we have sinned unforgivably only leads to despair. In light of this, Islam teaches that: only the misguided despair of the Mercy of Allah.
  Substantial numbers of young Muslims hold extreme views but it is nothing at all to worry about. Young people frequently adopt badly though-through extreme political positions, just for the sake of acquiring a bit of radical chic or edginess. Today's Qur’an waving young fanatic is quite likely to be tomorrow's investment banker.
  In Malaysia and Indonesia, moderate Muslims are practising the compassionate and just Islam taught in the Qu’ran without rejecting the West and modernity. They are hardly weak people. But they are fighting against formidable odds to create a dialogue between Islam and the West. There is strong anti-American sentiment prevalent.
  Britain’s Muslim mosques have been recommended to open their doors to non-Muslims in the wider community. The aim is to give out more information about Islam and what its followers believe and to allay suspicions about activities within mosques. “The purpose of a mosque is to help raise young people who are God-fearing and a benefit to society and the community around them.
  There are real signs, certainly through the central mosque of Birmingham (UK) of Islam trying to understand what it means to live out of an Islamic society and in a secular multi-faith society. It can only be a long process.
  Most Muslim immigrants to Europe (estimated 15 m) have come simply with hopes of a better (and peaceful) life (these past 35 years). These hopes are more important to them and their families than any apprehensions they might entertain about living in a society ruled by non-Muslims, something historically prohibited in Islam.
  How realistic is the policy of (attempting the) spreading of democracy in the Islamic world? These people (area of humanity) are incapable of decent, civilised open government – that is the common view in the West. It defines humanity. How arrogant, how uncompassionate. May it change.
  The West has, predominantly, unshackled itself from the sort of mindset that seeks religious justification for cruelty and barbarity. Much of the Muslim world has to go through the process. They’ll still be Muslims (Islamic) but will not use that as justification to murder people.
  It is up to the leaders of Muslim communities, particularly those who speak from a national platform, and the educated Imams, to develop programmes to protect the young often disenchanted from the siren voices of the deluded, who ‘consciously work’ with poisonous, pernicious and disruptive intent.
  When the gesture is so genuine, and while we can observe he (a young wealthy footballer) remaining true to his roots, it is not time to abandon all hope. There are times when we despair of modern ego-mania. These are times when some behave like anti-heroes, abandoning all hold on morality, and betraying the finer example they should be setting to the less fortunate. This was not one of them, and he is to be praised. (précis, reflections on modern behaviour, UK national newspaper, May 2007)
  Despite global tensions, the majority of people (in a 2007 poll) believe common ground exists between the West and the Islamic world. The ‘confrontation’ was about political power and interests, not religion and culture.
  The 9/11 head-on assault on the United States had unintended consequences for Islamists. Firstly, Islamists have a caricatured vision of American life and hence have mid-read the impact. Attacks such as this are intended to demoralise, prompt civil unrest and weaken the country. It brought American together in a way not witnessed for years. Bin Laden became the target of a massive military campaign. It is also hard to see how use of force, such as 9/11 can wear down the country much less bring down the U.S. Government.
NO KORANIC ROOTS FOR ISLAMISM  
Koranic verses lend themselves to many different and even contradictory interpretations. We must look to something other than Islamic religious sources to understand Islamism, the war Islamists wage internationally and on (sections of) their own societies. Basic texts do not enjoin terrorism and murder. There are no Koranic roots.  
(excerpt from website on basic Islam)  

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