الأستاذ محمود محمد طه: سيقتلعون من أرض السودان إقتلاعا

من موقع الفكرة

التاريخ: 12/06/2007
من: Chris Chrisman mailto:[[email protected][[email protected]]
الموضوع: The Second Message -- Did I Miss Something؟
Dear Sir or Madam,

When I learned about Mahmoud Taha and his radical philosophy of Islam I was hopeful that there was indeed a reformist version of Islam that would lead to peace, tolerance, and justice in the world. Frankly, I was underwhelmed by Taha's signature book, The Second Message of Islam.

Please help me if I have misunderstood Taha. My take is that the peaceful Islam of Mecca represents the ideal -- the Second Message of Islam, but that Muslims were not ready for that. Therefore, they first had to be given the message of Medina - filled with draconian rules and hateful intolerance. What Taha predicted was that there would soon arrive a new beginning for Islam on the threshold of socialism where ownership of the means and sources of production by individuals or groups would be prohibited.

The reality is that there is no Muslim society (past or present) which gravitated toward true socialism. Rather, the opposite is the case: the ruling elite always amass the wealth and privileges to themselves, leaving the masses more and more impoverished and ignorant. Saudi Arabia and Iran are prime examples. Taha seems to have been chasing an illusion.

The second problem is that in over twenty years since Taha's death, there is still no revised version of the Koran or Shari'a law which contain only the pure, "second message" scriptures. Such documents is sorely needed if Taha's vision is ever to be accomplished. Without a destination, all roads are equal. How can Muslims and non-Muslims talk about what is possible for Islam if there are only vague pronouncements as to where and what that possibility might be؟ (For example, "the real test of perfection . . is to have your truth with God and to render your Shari'a fardiyah an integral aspect of that truth.")

Please, if I am missing something, please give sources to complete my inquiry into Taha's philosophy. Surely, the world needs a different view of Islam than the one that makes the headlines daily in very negative reports.

Chris Chrisman, Los Angeles

التاريخ: 16/06/2007
من: Webmaster [Chris Chrisman ]
الموضوع: RE: The Second Message -- Did I Miss Something؟
Dear Chris,
First let me thank you for taking the time to write to us about your thoughts and concerns regarding Ustazh Taha’s reformist ideas.
You are right when talking about the two levels of Islam. Ustazh Taha proclaims that The Second Message of Islam, which corresponds to the scripture and revelations of Mecca, propagates freedom of belief and equality (economical, social and political) and was rejected by the people of the 7th century. Not only did they reject them but the people of Mecca persecuted the Muslims and attempted to kill the prophet Muhammad. So, when he migrated to Medina, these scriptures were abrogated and replaced by a lesser level (in the jurisprudence system of the Muslims but remain as verses in the Koran). The new scripture was more suited to the culture and level of comprehension of the 7th century people who did not seem to understand or accept the higher level that was initially introduced thus proving practically that it was not suitable for them. Hence I would not call these laws “draconian rules and hateful intolerance” because they were not, given the historical context they were introduced in, and given the rigid discipline that goes with implementing them in the initial years of Islam, which requires piety and fairness from the followers. But of course when some Muslims try to implement them today, taking them from their historical context, and mixing them with their political and economical aspirations, they will surely fit your description.
Ustazh Taha was not satisfied with the status quo of the Muslim world, specially those countries that labeled themselves guardians of Islam, such as Saudi Arabia. He was particularly discontent with the Traditionalist such as the Wahabis of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brothers of Egypt and Sudan, and he criticized them for their misrepresentation of Islam and for their exploitation of religion for their earthly gains. He faced relentless and at times cruel opposition from these groups and in fact they were behind his execution in 1985. So, we can not link his message to the prevailing situation because his message is yet to be understood, adopted and implemented by the Islamic world which currently lacks democracy, socialism, and social justices and is basically ruled by tyrants. But people in the streets are starting to ponder upon message and distance themselves from these groups especially after the experience of the Muslim Brothers in Sudan and the 9/11 actions of Osama Bin Ladin and his fanatic group.
Ustazh Taha is not calling for the revision of the Koran but he was basically asking the Muslims to look at some of the verses in their historical context and not try to implement them in today’s world because they were not meant for it. The Wahabis are now listening after the west put some pressure on them after September 11 and so are the Muslim brothers of Sudan who were forced to denounce their Jihadi attitude towards non-Muslim citizen and to enter into peaceful agreement with them and share wealth and power. Never the less, those of them who are in power, are still playing the cat and mouse game with the international community as evidenced by the Darfur crisis. Hopefully, the Sudanese people will be able to get rid of their fanatic government altogether as they have done in the past, twice, through peaceful revolutions, and look back to their peaceful Sufi heritage and to the example and thoughts of Ustazh Taha.
I will be posting a small booklet titled “The Religion of Man: A New Conception of Islam”. I think it elaborates on what I tried to say in these few lines. It was produced by the followers of Ustazh Taha in 1979 but I was unable to get hold on a copy until recently. So, please check it out within the next few days.

Best regards,
Omer Abdalla
Webmaster