Throughout Quran, there are stories about two groups. The first group is the owners of political, military, and financial power, and they abuse and misuse this power. The second group is people who do not have political, military, and financial power but who are not afraid of it and who is balancing it with the power of intellect. The first group practices art of war. The second group practices art of the word.
The representatives of the first group are Pharaoh, Nimrod, and many oligarchies, tribes, clans, parties, families, including but not limited to Quraishi oligarchy (2:49, 2:258, 7:60, 7:66, 7:75, 7:82, 7:88, and 106:4).[i] The representatives of the second group are prophets and their followers. The first group use swords, cruelty, warfare, and lies. The second group uses words, compassion, welfare, and truth. The first group is exilers, murderers, and jailors. The second group is exiles, martyrs, and prisoners. These two groups battle and fight for public opinion, i.e., opinion of the inept, inert, and indifferent majority.
It is seductive and simple to label the first group as evil and the second group as good, but the story of Yusuf shows that reality is much more complex, opaque, random, and jumbled (12:9, 12:10). Also, Quran tells the psychology of people who seem to be good on the outside but who are evil inside, i.e., hypocrites (63:4).
The existence and interaction of these two groups tell me one important conclusion. The concentration of political, military, and financial powers in the hands of one person or in the hands of a small group unavoidably and inevitably leads to abuse and misuse of power. The Western world tried to solve this dilemma by distributing, dividing, and dispersing power. See voting in Ancient Greece and practices of Roman Republic (not Roman Empire), and the current practices of dividing the power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Muslim world tried to solve the dilemma of concentration of power by focusing on the moral qualities of the ruler and by the existence of independent scholars who never were afraid to criticize the rulers. The word “independent” in the preceding sentence must be understood, underlined, and highlighted.
Nowadays, the division of power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches is not working properly. Authoritarian and populist rulers attempt and try to hijack, unite, and concentrate these powers. Similar to the concept of “critical mass” of radioactive uranium, the union, concentration, and combination of executive, legislative, judicial, military, and financial powers lead to an uncontrollable chain reaction and subsequent political and social explosion and turmoil.
The difference between the nuclear bomb and nuclear power plant is in the nature of the process: uncontrollable and controllable. The controllability of the political and social processes depends on knowledge, and people who produce, propagate, and perpetuate knowledge are called intellectuals.
Knowledge is both right and responsibility. Therefore, intellectuals are responsible, and intellectuals have a responsibility to oppose and criticize the concentration of power and its inevitable abuse and misuse.
The concentration of power is epitomized by a nation-state. When we look at pure statistics of the last few centuries without intoxication of emotions and feelings like patriotism, nationalism, militarism, etc., we can see that the biggest killer and murderer, the largest thief and robber, the darkest rapist and reaper of the last centuries is the nation-state. When we sum up the number of people murdered, robbed, and killed by, for and in the name of nation-states, we can see that scourge and plague of humanity are not criminals and petty thieves because they can be easily stopped, but the scourge and plague of humanity are nation-states because their concentrated military, political, and financial power can be stopped only with great sacrifices and giant losses.
Nation-states are the biggest, largest, darkest killers, robbers, and rapists, and if you ask for proofs, then read history.
Killing done by a person herself is called a crime, and that person is called a criminal.
Killing done in the name and for State is called heroism, and that person is called a hero, and she receives medals, awards, and recognition.
The concentration of power inherent in the structure of the nation-state unavoidably and inevitably leads to abuse and misuse of power. Therefore, the power of the state must be limited and constrained. Power of state can be limited and constrained in two ways: first, by arming the population with military weapons, and second, by arming the population with intellectual weapons.
The first way has an example in the Second Amendment of the USA and gun laws of Switzerland and the Czech Republic.[ii] Other countries do not believe, trust, and respect their people to allow them to keep and bear arms and weaponry because politicians know that armed citizens will not put up with their bu****it. Politicians who know that every citizen has weaponry will think twice or thrice before making decisions that threaten and annul the safety, security, freedoms, and rights of citizens. When citizens are armed, police understand that it is not “a dog” of politicians, and the military comprehends that it is not “a boss” of the country.
Nation-states want their citizens to be weak, docile, and domesticated because they want no one and nothing that can threaten their power. Political Islamists never will allow citizens to keep and bear arms because the basis of their power is fear, and armed citizens do not fear politicians, police, and the military.
The second way to limit and constrain the power of the state is intellectual weaponry.
Nations-states invaded and monopolized education through public schools and state universities. Public schools and state universities are the tools of ideological slavery and mental brainwashing because they produce zombies who mindlessly worship the state and obey the orders of the state. For these zombies, the state (government, motherland, fatherland, flag, etc.) is a fetish, and they are ready to sacrifice their own lives and the lives of other people for the sake of their “State.” That is why the seat and heart of education, knowledge, teaching, and learning must be transferred from public schools and universities to family libraries.
Nation-state limits and abolishes the freedoms and rights of citizens – it is the goal and aim of the nation-state. State kindergartens, schools, and universities do not produce free- thinkers and independent thinkers, but they produce zombies and slaves. That is why the learning of a child must happen in the family library.
Political Islamists do not want the existence of family libraries, and countries under the rule of political Islamists are “book deserts.” Political Islamists are enemies of books, libraries, reading, and writing. You see political Islamists building and opening huge mosques, but you don’t see them building and opening libraries. You see political Islamists “show-praying (107:4),” but you don’t see them reading and writing. Political Islamists dumb down schools, close universities, cut down the budgets of education and science because they do not want learning, thinking, writing, and reading people in their vicinity. Political Islamists are like zombies who try to make all other people zombies, and the virus they try to spread is called stupidity.
The combination of the nation-state and political Islamists is deadly and explosive. On the one hand, we have a concentration of power in the nation-state; on the other hand, we have uneducated power-hungry maniacs with the inferiority complex who, without blinking and thinking, destroy anyone and everything that do not fit their whims, caprices, and tastes. The current rise of political Islamists is the result of and combination of lack of learning and education of Muslim people and pragmatic Machiavellianism of world powers: “a SOB, but he’s our SOB.” [iii]
What are the solution, answers, and antidotes to political Islam? The solution, answer, and antidote to political Islam is intellectual Islam. What is intellectual Islam? Intellectual Islam is the practice and philosophy of the first pillar of Islam (Testimony-Shahada) through verses 96:4 and 96:5. Intellectual Islam is the daily habit of reading and writing from the age of four or five till death.
Every person who calls herself Muslim must write and read every day because it is her individual obligation before God and her personal connection to God.
The life-long daily learning habit of reading and writing is the embodiment of intellectual Islam represented by prophets and their followers. Abuse and misuse of political, military, and financial power represented by Pharaoh, Nimrod, and oligarchies are what political Islamists are doing now.
The dragon must not be destroyed, but the dragon must be domesticated. The three- headed dragon or Hydra of military, political, and financial power must be domesticated because if it is destroyed, then the destroyer of the dragon becomes a dragon. In history, there are many examples and stories when the hero who slew the dragon becomes a dragon because an empty throne and power vacuum are destined to be filled. Oppressed become oppressors. Invaded become invaders. Deceived become deceivers when there is a chance, opportunity, and option. Retaliation becomes a new attack. Revenge becomes the start of a new cycle of violence. That is why the dragon must be tamed and chained, not slain, burned, and buried.
Destroying does not require knowledge. Domesticating requires knowledge. Intellectuals possess and produce knowledge. That is why intellectuals must stay away and be above politics and politicians. Intellectuals must not destroy politicians because that is when they themselves become politicians. Intellectuals must domesticate politicians, limit their powers, and limit the duration of their access to power. Intellectuals must tame and chain politicians. Politicians are like dogs: politicians must be on a short leash, and politicians must be muzzled. Politicians are like dogs whose job is to serve, protect, and sacrifice for people. If politicians are not leashed and muzzled, then politicians become like prison dogs that attack and imprison people.
Humans must be owners and feeders of dogs, but dogs cannot be owners and feeders of humans. People must realize that they own and feed politicians, and politicians do not own and do not feed people. The dog is a dog, and a politician is a politician. A dog cannot be the boss of the human, but the dog is the servant of a human. Politicians cannot be bosses of people, but politicians are servants of people. Politicians are like dogs, and politicians are the dogs, not gods.
The concentrated power of nation-states and the egotistic ambitions of politicians do not make a recipe for success, but it is a recipe for disaster. People must start to see politicians as “dogs,” not as “gods.” Not “god,” but “dog.”
In political Islam, the politician is “god.” In intellectual Islam, the politician is a “dog.”
Intellectuals must domesticate, tame, and chain politicians. Intellectuals must not become politicians because systems cannot be changed from within, but systems are changed from outside. Politicians are inside of a system, and they are proponents of the status quo. Intellectuals are outside of a system, and they are opponents of the status quo.
The example of an intellectual who became a politician is Vladimir Lenin.[iv] He was “the hero” who slew “the dragon.” However, later, this hero became a dragon. He was the hero when he practiced the art of the word. Later, he became the dragon when he practiced the art of war. In my opinion, Lenin should not have destroyed the dragon, but he should have domesticated the dragon. Lenin could have domesticated the dragon by instituting a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. In this way, the loss of countless lives, civil war, brain drain (Sikorsky and others) could have been prevented.[v]
The same fate “from hero to dragon” can be seen in the life of Mustafa Kemal and many others. It is as if political, military, and financial power is the Ring of Power from the stories of Tolkien that transforms and mutates heroes into dragons.
Who is intellectual? Intellectual is any person who reads and writes every day throughout her life. Intellectuals must not be the “dogs” of politicians. Politicians must be the “dogs” of intellectuals.
I chose, and I am choosing to be an intellectual, not a politician. I chose, and I am choosing to practice the art of word, not the art of war. I chose, and I am choosing intellectual Islam, not political Islam.
2:111 … Say: “Produce your proof if you are truthful!” [vi]
25:30. And the Messenger says: “My Lord! Surely my people have made this Qur’an something worthy of no attention.” [vii] [viii]
-İman isteyen münafık
Endnotes
[i] Ali Ünal, The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English, n.d.,
www.mquran.org www.theholybook.org.
[ii] Wikipedia, “Second Amendment to the United States Constitution,” in Wikipedia, March 5,
2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitut ion&oldid=1010377405; Wikipedia, “Firearms Regulation in Switzerland,” in Wikipedia, June 7, 2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Firearms_regulation_in_Switzerland&oldid=1027403 398; Wikipedia, “Gun Law in the Czech Republic,” in Wikipedia, May 26, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gun_law_in_the_Czech_Republic&oldid=102521576 3.
[iii] Wikipedia, “Anastasio Somoza García,” in Wikipedia, May 2, 2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anastasio_Somoza_Garc%C3%ADa&oldid=102106 4626.
[iv] Wikipedia, “Vladimir Lenin Bibliography,” in Wikipedia, December 23, 2020,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Lenin_bibliography&oldid=995826492.
[v] Cambridge Dictionary, “Brain Drain,” accessed June 14, 2021,
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/brain-drain; Wikipedia, “Igor Sikorsky,” in Wikipedia, June 10, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Igor_Sikorsky&oldid=1027919495.
[vi] Ünal, The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English.
[vii] Ünal.
[viii] hypocritewhowa1 hypocritewhowa1, Newspaper or Quran? (Turkish Language), 2021,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69qvo-lmhMA.
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