Tag Archives: scholarly

Understanding the Role of an Ustaz: a Guide to Islamic Scholarly Leadership

Margaret Murray, in her 1921 book The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, proposed the theory that the witches of the early-modern period were remnants of a pagan cult and that the Christian Church had declared the god of the witches was in fact the Devil. Even the strictest scientific minds in the world are honored to be immortalized in this church after death. West Beijing Catholic Church on April 15, 2017, in Beijing, China. The first being: Islamic thought that states that all ideologies other than Islam, whether associated with the West (capitalism or democracy) or the East (communism or socialism) have failed and have demonstrated their bankruptcy. In the aftermath of widescale repressions after the Arab Spring, accompanied by their political failures, the activist-Salafi movements have undergone a decline. The second largest group are the Salafi activists who have a long tradition of political activism, such as those that operate in organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Arab world’s major Islamist movement. Second, they agreed that it is the duty of the believers to depose any leader who falls into error.

The fast occurs from dawn to sunset each day, during which time believers are expected to prohibit themselves from any food, drink, sexual intercourse, or smoking. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims to be either infidels (kuffār) or false Muslims (munāfiḳūn), and therefore deemed them worthy of death for their perceived apostasy (ridda). By investing time in self-improvement, ustazes ensure they stay updated with contemporary issues faced by Muslims worldwide. However, even though the peace of Westphalia was established in 1648 and thus introduced the nation state, the writings of the formative centuries of Islamic history are influential to the contemporary writings that were coined radical after the concept of the nation state was established in the Muslim world as well. First, a ‘Manichean’ view of the world. One of the few points that the various Kharijite splinter groups held in common was their view of the caliphate, which differed from other Muslim theories on two points.

Because of their readiness to declare any opponent as apostate, the extreme Kharijites tended to fragment into small groups. The feeling was that these goals could be achieved only through mass education (up until then education was reserved for a small elite). Muslims are ordered to get education of all kinds of education and learning. The second being: Islamic thought that states that (semi)secular regimes are wrong because of their negligence of Islam. It divides the world strictly into ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’: those who are blessed or saved (i.e. the “right kind” of Muslim) on the one hand and those who are to be damned for eternity (i.e. the “wrong kind” of Muslim and everyone else) on the other. For violent Islamic extremists, the “wrong kind” of Muslim includes moderate Sunni Muslims, all Shia Muslims, and many others who are “mete for the sword” and can be killed, and anyone who associates or collaborates with them.

The most numerous are the quietists, who believe in disengagement from politics and accept allegiance to Muslim governments, no matter how tyrannical, to avoid fitna (chaos). The only requirements for leadership are piety and acceptance by the community. However, in recent years, the acceptance of cremation has grown among Christians. However, both Islamic fundamentalism and Islamism can also be classified as subsets of Islamic extremism. Islamic extremism is different from Islamic fundamentalism or Islamism. Meanwhile, Islamism constitutes a form of political Islam. The spread of Islam generally followed the trade routes east through the primarily Buddhist region, and a half century later the first dynasty arise in the Malacca in the form of the Sultanate of Malacca, and at the far end of the Archipelago, it was formed by the conversion of one Parameswara Dewa Shah into a Muslim and the adoption of the name Muhammad Iskandar Shah after his marriage to a daughter of the ruler of Pasai.