THE CRISIS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION pdf download

The Crisis of Islamic Civilization (English) By Ali A Allawi

THE CRISIS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

Iraq in the 1950s, in which I was raised, as well as in the broader Arab and Islamic world of that time, we were at a stage when the secular elements in society — the ruling political class and the cultural and intellectual elites — had moved far away from an overt identification with Islam.

 It then appeared to be only a matter of time before Islam would lose whatever hold it might still have had on the peoples and societies of the Muslim world. Even the term ‘Muslim’ was unusual for the period; Muslim countries identified themselves more in terms of national or ethnic status or ideological affinities. Islam was not a noticeable factor in daily life.

Religion was a mandatory course in school, it is true, but the life around us was decoupling from Islam. Nobody taught us the rules of prayer or expected us to fast in Ramadan.

We learned the shorter verses of the Quran, but the holy book itself was kept on shelves or in drawers, mostly unread.

The pilgrimage to Mecca was only for the old, atoning for the transgressions in their lives, in preparation for their inevitable end — more like an insurance policy than an act of piety. I don’t recall ever coming across the word jihad in any contemporary context. The prevailing rhetoric was more to do with Arab destiny and anti-imperialism.

A bit of religious fervor popped up during the Suez Crisis of 1956 when Cairo radio blared out martial songs calling for divine support against the Anglo—French-Israeli invasion, but that was about it.

Women, not only in my own family but throughout the urban middle classes, wore only western clothes. They had long ceased to wear the hijab. The only connection to a pre-modern past that I had was