How Can Individuals Influence World Politics?

[buksh26]

How Can Individuals Influence World Politics?

One may ask whether it is possible for individuals to influence world politics. Or how can political parties influence the direction of the states, especificly that this direction has become deeply rooted and continues for centuries? The answer to this is that when individuals or parties pursue political actions and ponder over international politics, they must not do so for the sake of intellectual pleasure and self-indulgence, nor for the sake of seeking knowledge and increasing their information. They must pursue these actions with the aim of looking after the affairs of the world, and of thinking about the method by which they can influence the world. In other words, they must pursue these actions so that they become politicians. It is not fitting for a politician to seek intellectual pleasure, even if he were one of the wisest people, nor is it fitting for him to engage in intellectual self-indulgence, even if he were from among the deepest of thinkers. Hence, he pursues politics, understands the international situation and position and monitors world politics simply because he is a politician, not because he is a thinker or an intellectual. Being a politician means that he endeavours to look after the affairs of the world i.e. to influence international politics. On the other hand, a politician does not work with the preconception that he is an individual, but rather in his quality as part of a nation and within an entity i.e. a state. He may however not be one of those who determine or execute the state's policies; he nevertheless should endeavour to be one of the decision maker or executors of the state's policies, or to account them. Hence, a politician could influence the international arena, even if he were an individual with no competency to determine or to execute. Hence, if he acts as such he will be influential, since the state of which he is a member, does have influence through persons like him, or he will, together with his peers, strive to make the state influential in international politics and in the international situation. This is when the political concepts come into fruition, namely by making the state influential in world politics and in the international situation. This is achieved by grooming individuals who will acquire political awareness and who will become well versed with the political actions that occur in the world, especificly those initiated by the major powers. Thus, the first step in having influence in international politics and the international situation is to crystallise the political concepts, and the first brick is to exhort individuals to pursue the political actions and to ponder over world politics i.e. to generate politicians on the international stage. Then the impact of the state upon international politics and the international situation will come naturally. This is where the necessity of political concepts and their value become conspicuous. However, it must be made clear that the state would only be deemed a state with an international presence if it had relations with other states. An individual in society has no presence unless he has relations with other members of society.

His position in society and among people is judged according to these relations and according to the influence he exerts on the relations between people. Likewise, the presence of the state in the world depends on her relations with other states. Her position is strengthened or weakened according to these relations and according to her influence on international relations.

The Islamic state is an ideological state, and its main role is to carry the Islamic Da'awah to the world. Thus, it is compulsory on her, and it is very much a part of her existence to have a respected international standing and to be able to influence international relations. Thus there is no escape from the fact that the political concepts of politicians must be international concepts and not domestic or regional ones. Therefore, Muslim politicians must have international political concepts and not just domestic or regional ones. Hence, since the state is Islamic they must enjoy full Political awareness. The fact that they are Muslims, and that fact that their state is Islamic, whose main task is to carry the Islamic Da'awah to the world, necessiates that they enjoy full political awareness.

==============

[buksh26]

cont'd

Political awareness does not only mean to be aware of political situations, the international situation, political events or to follow up international politics and political actions, although these are part of the requirements for a comprehensive political awareness. Rather, political awareness is to view the world from a specific angle, and for Muslims the specific angle is the Islamic creed i.e. the view of (There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah). The Prophet (saw) said "I was commanded to fight the people till they say there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah, if they said it, they would protect from me their blood and money except for its right". This is political awareness. So the view towards the world from no specific angle is superficiality and it is not political awareness.
The view towards the domestic and regional domain only is triviality, and not political awareness. The political awareness does not exist unless it satisfies two elements:
1. The view towards the entire world.
2. The view must emerge from a specific defined angle no matter what this angle is, whether it is an ideology, a particular idea or a certain interest or anything else.
This is the reality of political awareness. Of course, for the Muslim, political awareness must come from the angle of the Islamic creed. So if this is the reality of the political awareness, then it is a natural necessity for the politician to engage himself in the struggle in order to form a particular concept about life for man in his capacity as man, wherever he lives. The formation of this concept is the first responsibility thrown on the shoulder of the politically aware person who would have no rest unless he makes the effort to form it.


The politically aware person must struggle against all the trends which contradict his view, and against all concepts which oppose his. At the same time he strives to firmly establish his own concepts and direction. So he heads in two directions simultaneously, and these directions never part in struggle from each other at all, even by the measure of a hair, because they are one thing. So he dismantles and establishes, destroys and builds, clears away the darkness and ignites the light. Thus, as it was said, he is a fire that burns the falsehood, and a light lighting the path of guidance. As he engages in consolidating the concepts and planting the directions, he concerns himself in applying the thoughts on the events, and in distancing himself from abstraction and logic. He also enters into struggle against the directions, strife and slanders attacking his view of life, and against the deep-rooted concepts which developed during the age of decline, and against the mischievous influence which the enemies spread about the Islamic thoughts, and against belittling the high aims and distant goals into partial aims and immediate, impatient goals. So he struggles on two fronts: internal and external, and in two directions: destroying and building; and he works on two levels: the politics and the thought. In summary, he immerses himself into the battlefield of life in its most high and valuable sense. Therefore, the collision of the aware people with the issues, through their friction with the situation, people and life's problems, is inevitable, whether at the domestic local scene or the worldly international one. Through this collision, his capability will emerge in giving the message which he carries, and the specific angle from which he views the world, according to the concept which he adopts, is the basis, the judgement, and the goal which he strives to establish and the aim which he endeavours to achieve. But because he commits himself with a specific view, and because he has a certain taste and inclination, whether they are natural or ideological, unless he is fully aware of himself he might colour the facts in the colour he likes, and interpret the thoughts the way he wants, and understand the news to give the result which he wants to arrive at. Therefore, he should beware lest his inclinations dominate his opinions and the news. The self desire for a personal, or a partisan or ideological thing might make him interpret the opinions and news wrongly, or it could add to it points that make him think the opinion is true when it is false, or think it false when it is true. Therefore, the aware person should understand the speech which is said and the actions which are made. In regard to the events, whether they were matters or incidents, he must understand them tangibly and logically, as they are, not as he wants them to be. With regard to the thoughts, he has to understand them according to their reality, so he moves with his mind outside, to see by his heart the reality expressed by that thought, and understand that thought according to his vision of the reality which denotes it, as it is, not as it agrees with what he wants. It is true that the expression may be metaphorical, or indirect, or a sentence whose meaning is understood from its context in the whole sentence and not from the words which compose it. But all this does not prevent him from thinking widely and seeing the reality which the expression denotes, according to the meaning of language, and what is meant by the linguistics. So the practical aware person has to go with the truth, but according to his viewpoint which he adopts with conviction and decisiveness. He has to see the facts as they are, but in accordance with his tangible or intellectual vision. By such he would have perfected his awareness, where the tools of meditation become available to him. But for him the view towards the world from a specific angle has to be the basis for everything; of vision, awareness, feeling, and understanding.

[buksh26]

cont'd

The question may arise as to how one who is politically aware can be absolutely free in regard to committing himself with the truth and seeing the facts as they are, when he has to view the world from a specific angle? If such a question arises, then it would be due to adopting a superficial view towards things. If the person was deep in study he would not bring such a question because there is a difference between the reality of the matters or events and judging upon them. People do not differ over the reality of the matters. If it was related to eyesight or vision, then everyone who has sight would see things as they are, unless cheated or misguided. And if it was related to the feeling or senses, then everyone who can sense reality can feel, whether by tasting, like bitter and sweet, or by touching such as the soft and rough, or by hearing, or by smelling. So the people feel with the things as they are no matter what the differences between them are. What the people disagree over is the judgement on the matters. So the view of the world from a specific angle is related to judging over the things and actions, whereas seeing the facts as they are, is related to the feelings (senses) and understanding. Therefore, he must see the facts as they are, and limit himself to the side of the truth, and he must look at the world, the events and all matters from a specific angle.


As for how this is applied to international politics, a demonstration of some examples show how the view of the political events from a specific angle works. Let us review some examples from the politics of the Prophet (saw), examples from the politics of the Middle Ages, and examples from modern politics. The Prophet (saw) made the spread of Islam as the angle from which he looked at the world. Because Quraysh was the great state in the Arab peninsula and was the spearhead of Kufr that stood against the Da'awah, the Prophet (saw) limited the political and military actions to Quraysh. He used to send people to spy on Quraysh and to intercept her trade. He also engaged in wars against her. He accepted from the rest of the tribes to remain as spectators or to be neutral. So his political and military actions were planned according to the view of the world from a specific angle.


When the Prophet (saw) knew that Khayber was in the process of convening a pact with Quraysh to attack Madinah and destroy Mohammed and Islam, he limited his angle of work to suspend hostilities with Quraysh or to sign a peace treaty with her to free himself to destroy Khayber (the Treaty of Hudaibiyah). From this specific angle he adopted the policy of peace with Quraysh as the basis of his future actions as long as these actions fulfilled his aims. So all his actions in this period i.e. going to Umrah, accepting that Quraysh avoid him, his soft attitude towards the adamance of Quraysh, and opposing his companions, etc. were all done in accordance with his peaceful policy. So his view of the political actions towards his enemy which he focused his attentions upon, emerged from a specific angle, and were modified according to the requirements of this specific angle.


These are two examples from the actions of the Prophet (saw), one is general and focused on a great state that was his main enemy and the focus was from a specific angle. The other action was specific and restricted to a defined aim. This defined aim was the specific angle, and the Prophet (saw) began to view his political and military actions from this specific angle. This makes it clear how the view of political events from a specific angle dominates the actions and the behaviour, and had not the view been taken from a specific angle the actions would have had no meaning.


The great powers after the Berlin conference took the plunder of the Islamic state's (Ottoman state) properties as the specific angle of their view, although they discussed both the destruction of the Islamic state and its plunder it was the latter issue they adopted. Thus they modified their actions to suit the robbing of the Ottoman state and hence entered into a political struggle with each other for more than a century. Though the struggle ended with the destruction of the Islamic state, this was not the specific angle from which these viewed the political events and actions.
America after the Second World War said that the world is a company in which America has the largest share, and therefore this company must be administered by her. She took this as the specific angle from which she views the world. All her actions were conducted to suit this angle. Her view from this angle was the reason which made America agree or rather ally with the Soviet Union and snub England and France.


This is the manner by which the view towards the political events of the world should be taken from a specific angle, whether this angle is general, like taking the spread of Da'awah as the basis of foreign policy, or specific, like restricting the enmity towards a specific state whose defeat would enable us to go forth in the world. The angle can also be more specific than this, like engaging in a political war, so that the other states can see a model of our political wars. So the application of the view to the political actions and events from a specific angle is an easy matter which does not need the practice of politics in reality. To understand this, it is enough to review the political events deeply. From this it becomes clear that following politics and comprehending the political concepts must lead to the creation of political awareness. This political awareness is very essential for political work and it is a necessary precursor for having influence on the political events.


Seeing that political awareness has become intuitive for the great states, and the knowledge of international politics is the daily bread of the politicians, then the sons of the Muslim Ummah who are the sons of the Islamic state, are supposed to have political awareness as the first political concept to be endowed with, and the basis of their political actions. They are also supposed to make an effort to make this political awareness common between the masses and intuitive within society and the daily bread of the politicians. Their major function and prime role is the spread of the Islamic Da'awah in the world and spreading guidance amongst mankind. This cannot be achieved unless they are politicians and view the world from a specific angle and enjoy full political awareness.


In order that political awareness does not appear as something too big, and that it not be considered a huge thing that is only possible for the intelligent and educated people, they should know that it is an easy matter and it is also possible for the illiterate and common people. This is true, because political awareness does not require an acquaintance with the political actions in the world nor an acquaintance with everything in Islam, or with what must be taken as the specific angle to view the world. It rather means that the view should be towards the world, regardless of how much information he has about it, and it is this view which must be from a specific angle. So what matters is that the view should be universal, even if the action is a single political action, and this worldly view must be from a specific angle. So the view of the world from a specific angle is enough indication for the political awareness.


It is true that this political awareness differs in strength and weakness according to the amount of information the person has about the world and the political events, and also differs according to the knowledge that person has about the specific angle. However, it is still political awareness which leads to the same result i.e. an elevation above superficiality in politics and triviality in looking at the events. Accordingly, the political awareness is not restricted to the politicians and thinkers, and it is wrong for it to be restricted to them. It must be common to all the people and it can be established among the illiterate and common people, as it can be established amongst the scholars and the learned people. The political awareness must be established amongst the Ummah even in a general manner, because the Ummah is the ground in which men grow. So this Ummah must be politically aware in order to be able to produce men of real character and in order to be able to criticise the leaders, to evaluate the men, and to face the foreign dangers with real awareness.


The way to establish political awareness amongst the individuals and the Ummah as a whole is through a political education in the political sense, whether this education relates to the rules and ideas of Islam or to the following up of political events. The ideas and rules of Islam should not be taught as abstract theories but they should be applied to the events and the situations. Also, the follow up of political events should not follow the line of the journalist who wants to know the news, nor the learned person who wants to increase his information. But the political events must be followed and viewed from the specific angle so the events can be judged or linked with other events and ideas, or with the current situation of political actions that lies before us. So the education of the people with the ideology and politics is the way to establish political awareness in the Ummah and the individuals, and this education is what enables the Muslim Ummah to carry out her duties and fulfil her role i.e. to spread the Islamic Da'wa to the world and to spread the guidance amongst the peoples of the world. Accordingly, the Muslim Ummah must be educated politically on the largest possible scale, because this is what establishes political awareness and helps the Ummah to produce a mass of creative politicians.