The manner in which the West addressed this issue perhaps inflicted the greatest damage upon the
Muslim Ummah because it struck at the very mechanism which implements the Islamic system.
During the Middle Ages, the Western nations suffered tremendously as a result of the theocratic
systems imposed upon them. A severe backlash erupted as a result of the oppression that the West
experienced, which caused some groups to deny religion altogether. In order to resolve this
confrontation, the West formulated a compromise solution which separated the Deen from the life
affairs, and this solution became the Secular basis of Western Capitalist societies. With the
separation of Church and State and the subsequent adoption of Capitalism, Europe entered a phase
of rapid progress. Thus, the notion that religion and politics cannot coexist and that mixing the two
is synonymous with backwardness and decline became a cornerstone in Western political thought.
The West exported this notion to the Muslims and brilliantly deceived the Muslims into thinking
that the historical experiences which the West encountered was a universal one which applied to
every religion or Deen, including Islam. As a result, the Muslims began to view Islamic politics in
the same light as the West viewed politics mixed with the Deen as a lethal cocktail. And just as the
West perceived their decline as the result of mixing religion with politics, the Muslims began to
perceive their own decline as the direct result of implementing Islam in the life affairs.
Muslim Ummah because it struck at the very mechanism which implements the Islamic system.
During the Middle Ages, the Western nations suffered tremendously as a result of the theocratic
systems imposed upon them. A severe backlash erupted as a result of the oppression that the West
experienced, which caused some groups to deny religion altogether. In order to resolve this
confrontation, the West formulated a compromise solution which separated the Deen from the life
affairs, and this solution became the Secular basis of Western Capitalist societies. With the
separation of Church and State and the subsequent adoption of Capitalism, Europe entered a phase
of rapid progress. Thus, the notion that religion and politics cannot coexist and that mixing the two
is synonymous with backwardness and decline became a cornerstone in Western political thought.
The West exported this notion to the Muslims and brilliantly deceived the Muslims into thinking
that the historical experiences which the West encountered was a universal one which applied to
every religion or Deen, including Islam. As a result, the Muslims began to view Islamic politics in
the same light as the West viewed politics mixed with the Deen as a lethal cocktail. And just as the
West perceived their decline as the result of mixing religion with politics, the Muslims began to
perceive their own decline as the direct result of implementing Islam in the life affairs.
Such a problem could have been easily alleviated if the Muslims realized that the experiences of the
West were specific to the West and stemmed from certain factors, such as: The inability of the
Christian doctrine to address the life affairs because of the original doctrine being mixed with man-made ideas and innovations; the fact that the whims and opinions of the clergy, and not even the
Christian doctrine itself, was used as a basis for rule; and the incorrectness of the manner in which
the Europeans attempted to resolve their intellectual dilemma, which produced an incorrect solution that inherently contradicted itself. None of these factors could be generalized to the Muslim World because the Islamic text is proven correct and was never polluted, which made Islam capable of addressing the life affairs at any time or place. And Islam, unlike the existing Christian doctrine in
Europe at the time, is intellectually conclusive and directs the human being to build his Aqeedah
based on the intellectual method. Furthermore, the Islamic Aqeedah is comprehensive in its nature,
and from it emanates a comprehensive system of life. Therefore, there was never a conflict between
the reality deduced from the intellect and the Islamic Aqeedah. And the Islamic System addresses
all aspects of life, leaving no aspect of the life affairs unanswered. Because of these attributes that
were unique to the Islamic Aqeedah, the Muslims never had a "Dark Ages" which the West
experienced. The decline which the Muslims were undergoing was a result of misunderstanding
Islam, which resulted from the accumulation of several factors, none of which had any relation to
the factors contributing to the European Dark Ages. However, the West capitalized upon the decline
of the Muslims and their intellectual confusion by misleading them to believe that the presence of
Islam in the political arena was the central cause of their decline. As a result, the Muslims were
diverted into perceiving their decline as well as the issue of revival using the West as a model,
which caused them to call for the separation of Islam from the life affairs and abandoning the
Islamic political system as necessary to revive the Muslims.
West were specific to the West and stemmed from certain factors, such as: The inability of the
Christian doctrine to address the life affairs because of the original doctrine being mixed with man-made ideas and innovations; the fact that the whims and opinions of the clergy, and not even the
Christian doctrine itself, was used as a basis for rule; and the incorrectness of the manner in which
the Europeans attempted to resolve their intellectual dilemma, which produced an incorrect solution that inherently contradicted itself. None of these factors could be generalized to the Muslim World because the Islamic text is proven correct and was never polluted, which made Islam capable of addressing the life affairs at any time or place. And Islam, unlike the existing Christian doctrine in
Europe at the time, is intellectually conclusive and directs the human being to build his Aqeedah
based on the intellectual method. Furthermore, the Islamic Aqeedah is comprehensive in its nature,
and from it emanates a comprehensive system of life. Therefore, there was never a conflict between
the reality deduced from the intellect and the Islamic Aqeedah. And the Islamic System addresses
all aspects of life, leaving no aspect of the life affairs unanswered. Because of these attributes that
were unique to the Islamic Aqeedah, the Muslims never had a "Dark Ages" which the West
experienced. The decline which the Muslims were undergoing was a result of misunderstanding
Islam, which resulted from the accumulation of several factors, none of which had any relation to
the factors contributing to the European Dark Ages. However, the West capitalized upon the decline
of the Muslims and their intellectual confusion by misleading them to believe that the presence of
Islam in the political arena was the central cause of their decline. As a result, the Muslims were
diverted into perceiving their decline as well as the issue of revival using the West as a model,
which caused them to call for the separation of Islam from the life affairs and abandoning the
Islamic political system as necessary to revive the Muslims.
Today, the separation of Islam and politics has become deeply rooted among the Muslims in general
and among Muslim politicians and intellectuals in particular. In addition, two recent factors
compound the problem. First, the educational curricula laid down by the Western Colonialists
which the Muslims were exposed to depicted the Islamic history under the Khilafah as a ruthless
and barbaric era in which the Muslim world was engulfed in conflicts, instability, and endless
killings immediately following the Era of the Sahabah. The Khulafaa were presented for the most
part as bloodthirsty dictators preoccupied with lavishness and women. Such images were so
successfully implanted in the minds of the Muslims that they began to view their history with
shame, thinking that the Khilafah was something that spoiled the image of Islam. Added to the
history books are the existence of some regimes in the Muslim world which claim themselves as
Islamic, as well as the behavior of Muslim political parties and individuals who play the same dirty
politics characteristic of Western politics. Such regimes, although they are nothing more than
Secular regimes which apply fragments of Islam, nevertheless present a very negative portrayal of
Islam. Because of the inability of most Muslims to distinguish between what constitutes an Islamic
state and the existing states which claim themselves as Islamic, and their inability to differentiate
between politics practiced based on Islam and "Politics in the name of Islam," such regimes and
individuals further shatter the confidence of Muslims in Islam's ability to address the life's affairs.
As a result, many Muslims, out of despair and frustration, take the easy path and separate Islam
from politics altogether.
