Islam and Modern History is a critique of Islam in the current context about the Muslim intellectuals in the Islamic world, rather specifically Arab, Turkey, Pakistan and India. The author Wilfred Cantwell Smith, a Canadian professor of Comparative religions, regards the creation of Pakistan as nothing but a mistake. The author vehemently condemns the Pakistanis for idealising the past.
He says “It is impossible indeed meaningless, to try to reproduce in one age, the government of another. Pakistan cannot relieve a segment of the history of Arabia.”
and the author in his book has spoken of a lavishing future the Muslims in India can have:
” In the 1030’s Hussain Ahmed Madani, pronouncing India to be the nation of its Muslims, provoked from Muhammed Iqbal a scornful retort in poetry that a Muslim can have no other nation than Islam. Recent events have at least begun to dislodge this conviction. The Indian Muslims have seen law and order prevail. They have seen how police have stopped fanatic Hindu riots against them and how the government has prevented the conversion of a mosque into a Hindu temple. They find themselves free to practice and preach their religion. Not much reflection is needed to realise that the welfare of the Muslims in India depends on secular state. Whatever traditional theology says, secularism works. As a result, relatively few Indian Muslims still cling to the Islamic state idea.”
Wilfred Cantwell Smith has failed to realise that Islam is not a mere system of belief and faith, but rather it is a complete way of life that is feasible and has the solutions for almost all the world dominant problems the secular laws have made us face.
The Islamic culture and way of life is irreconcilable with the Hindu culture. It is not going to make Islam expressive if we start compromising with non-Muslim culture. We have plenty of incidents to show where some Indian Muslims have forgotten what Islam is all about and have started adopting Hindu culture, going as far as committing shirk.
Due to the fact there has been corruption in the government, judging Pakistan as a mistake is completely a baseless view. Pakistan is the necessity for the complete expression of the Islamic civilisation in the Eastern part of the world. Even as the Pakistani Muslims fail to make the maximum effort of their potentialities, they still have more chances to represent an Islamic state while Indian Muslims are lacking it.
Pakistan as the republic state of Muslims has the ideal potential for the revival of the Khilafah through the implementation of 100% Shariah law. The current democratic system prevalent in Muslims countries all over the world does not have an edge over the Khilafah. The current system of Democracy based on capitalism has only increased the greed of consumerism among people, which is now a disease lingering in the minds of people. The desire for materialistic needs and power has increased to an extent where the brotherhood amongst Muslims and even the love within a family is diminishing in various parts of the world.
It is the Khilafah, the unity under one flag that can unite all Muslims in brotherhood. Khilafah was our shield and it is lost today. The western capitalistic and colonist regimes are shaking each branch of the ummah tree one by one. What do you want? Do you want Democracy that isolates and alienates Muslims, or the Khilafah which unites and brings victory to us?