Iqbal Syed Hussain is, by every yardstick, a man of letters and intellect, and possesses a natural tendency and competence to look very deep into the details of the issues and matters taking place around him.
His books are, beyond any cavil, imperative and helpful for the students, writers as well as the general readers who want to go through a series of critical analysis of the Muslim world’s present crises in relation to the other religious and racial cultures. It is an added attempt by Hussain at furthering the process of enlightenment and renaissance that the Muslims across the world need badly at the current juncture of their decline.
‘The Muslim Delusion’, the book under review, is also a valuable addition to his series of books on the crucial and delicate subject of the Muslims’ religious orthodoxies and misunderstanding of the true spirit of Islam and the factors behind surging extremism in the world. The book comprises total fifteen harmoniously interlinked chapters to help the readers in focusing on certain specific areas for separate analysis. The book welcomes its readers with a soul-elevating and inspiring Quranic reference.
Factually speaking, Muslims are going through a phase of history that is tarnished by mounting confusion and delusion, anguish and sufferings for the global community, in general, and for the Muslims, in particular. This has been characterised by growing assaults to destroy the physical and spiritual reserves of the Muslim Ummah. It is why the book has been published and strongly recommended for the students by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Hopefully this composition will prove to be a ray of hope at the end of a dark tunnel occupied with outdated and useless curricular contents and will exude an aura of suspicion and falsehood.
Hussain’s main stress is on the fact that, “The Muslim delusion, based on past achievements, is not likely to play any significant role in the transformation of our destiny. The Muslims, in general, live, in past glory, relish in self-delusion, and waste time in divisive and contradictory controversies. They have a grandeur story to tell and a phoney dialectic to inject.”
Due to their educational and intellectual backwardness, Muslims have fallen prey to so many socio-religious evils that have been manoeuvred by so-called religious scholars. Lack of research-oriented curiosity and investigative approach has made the masses, in our part of the world believe what their theocrats sand cunning political and religious leaders want them to believe.
Truthfully speaking, Muslims are the main architects of their own multi-dimensional depravity and backwardness, but they have been brought up in a social environment and educational setup that have brainwashed them completely, throwing them in an intoxicating dream in which they are the most deified, victorious and sacred nation and all other nations are their enemy and are continuously busy in conspiring against them.
It is, no doubt, incumbent on scholars, philosophers, policy makers and, above all, curriculum planners of all the nation states to infuse patriotism and respect and pride for their socio-cultural traditions into the veins of their youth by teaching and training them with the help of a specific syllabus and conventional stories. But, such practices, when crossing the limits of logicality, trust and objectivity, prove to be counter-productive and make the youth crippled on intellectual and spiritual levels.
The present condition is that Muslims, have nothing to their credit with regard to the revolutionary and unprecedented technological advancement and scientific research took place during last 100 years. It is ironic to discern that anti-western theocrats convey their messages to the masses and the youth through the electronic media and other technology-based means of communication that have been invented by the non-Muslims. Set aside the religious channels, websites and FM Radio stations, even a single loud speaker and the electricity, that make is functional, is not theirs. What could have they have done without all these advancements that are a gift from the non-Muslims?
Hussain in his book endeavours to invite the global community including the Muslims to opt for a path of enlightenment, betterment and salvation for the religious fanaticism which is found not only amongst Muslims but in the West too. This book is an important read.
