(Part 2)
By Abu Umair al‑Afghani
Westerners who have studied Islamic sciences such as the Quran, Hadith, and Jurisprudence (Fiqh), as well as Muslim nations, and have acquired expertise in these fields, are called Orientalists. Westerners implemented two primary plans: first, instigating divisions among Muslims, and second, distorting and destroying the thought and thought of Muslims.
For this purpose, Orientalists were divided into two groups:
One group was overt, conducting a propaganda war, while the other group was covert, conducting an intelligence war.
The responsibilities of the first group, those leading the propaganda war, were as follows:
1. Defaming Islam.
2. Misrepresenting the character of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
3. Propagating that Muslims are enemies of Allah Almighty and that killing them is a meritorious act.
4. Claiming that the Holy Quran is not a divine book, but rather a human creation.
5. Distorting Muslim history, such as labeling Islamic conquests as barbarism, describing the Caliphate as tyranny, and portraying the Crusader invasions as a war for civilization.
6. Declaring war against Muslims as an obligation upon Christians and telling them that there is a spiritual reward in killing Muslims.
The general objective of this group was to weaken the faith of Muslims, motivate Christians to wage war against them, and interfere in Islam itself.
The second group, which was covert or intelligence-based, traveled to Muslim territories and introduced themselves as Muslims. The responsibilities of this group were as follows:
1. Collecting information regarding the strength, intellect, and future plans of Muslims and providing it to Christians.
2. Instigating divisions among Muslims in the name of ethnicity and religion.
3. Promoting the idea of friendship with disbelievers among Muslims.
4. Portraying Jurisprudence (Fiqh) as worthless and provoking controversial issues.
5. Changing the culture of Muslims.
6. Gaining proximity to Muslim rulers and leading them astray.
7. Instilling the idea of friendship with Christians in the minds of rulers.
8. Diminishing the importance of Islamic rituals and paving the way for changing certain rulings in the name of “progress.”
Both groups of Orientalists have continued their activities against Islam. Readers might ask: Why did Westerners train these individuals at that time? Were there no Muslims back then who would work for them?
In response, we must say: Yes, but at that time, Muslims possessed independent thought, a distinct culture, and their own traditions. Their governments were not under the influence of others. Muslims were generally strong from an intellectual and ideological perspective, the Islamic system and Caliphate existed, and religion and politics were not separated.
In short, Orientalism is not the product of a single day or year. Rather, its seeds were sown from the 8th to the 10th centuries AD, it emerged between the 11th and 13th centuries, grew from the 13th to the 17th centuries, and finally took on a colonial form and reached maturity from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Some Famous Orientalists:
1. William Muir: Wrote critical books concerning the biography of the Prophet (PBUH).
2. Joseph Schacht: Raised doubts regarding Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and claimed that Fiqh was developed at a later stage.
3. David Samuel Margoliouth: Expressed skepticism about the authenticity and reliability of Islamic sources.
4. Ignaz Goldziher: Attempted to raise doubts concerning the Hadith.
It should be noted that these are the Orientalists who operated openly. As for those Orientalists who outwardly claimed to be Muslims, some remained hidden under the title of Muslim scholars until the end, and even today, certain individuals continue to follow that same path under the title of “Religious Scholar.”
